Dedicated to a wonderful Mother Jean Noble 31/5/1929 - 20/8/2007 - may we never take our mothers for granted. - Goodbye Mum


THAILAND PAGE 6 JULY 2008

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Prices in Aussie Dollars

Sunday July 13th 2008 Thap Sakae (KM352) to Kui Buri.
Approx.
61.65k's Average Speed 17.77kph Cycling time 3Hr(s) 28Min. Max speed. 44kph Max temp we recorded 38°C
Terrain:
Very Hilly Road Conditions: Very Good Overnight Accommodation: $9.50. Standard Good. (Cycle Friendly)
A hot start to the day, when we pulled in to have our breakfast, it was already 36°C. As we chugged along we came upon the narrowest part of Thailand – at just under 11km, by “country” standards it's only a little bit..



We stopped for the obligatory photo shoot then re-mounted and were on our way...
Lee has a second cousin roundabout here somewhere, she only met the girl as a child and does not know her, however, we will try and catch up – all we know is a phone number and we have not called yet (Will call tonight after dinner). If we do figure it all out and meet, you will see the pictures here :-)
The hotel we found is another “gem” at less than $10.00 per room per night it is fabulous value. Air conditioned, Ensuite, TV and a HUGE room, big enough to park the bikes inside... Next door is a good restaurant, where we ate a two large rice dishes with chicken, egg, seafood and veggies each and soup to start... Total cost for the two of us $2.80.

A little on the petrol prices: The price now is about $1.40 per litre – yes I know, less than Australia – BUT, with an average wage of less than $150.00 (About B5000) per month, the low income earners are suffering badly. The average car (At “say” 25 mpg) would take about B504, to travel 100 kilometres. We average about 60 k's per day – if we had that car – travelled the SAME distance - and paid for the fuel it would cost us B300 each day. Some of our hotels are less than what it would have cost us in fuel..... Fuel is now sold in 700ml bottles for B30... Motorbikes and sometimes cars stop to buy this fuel. We see motorbikes, cars and trucks, run out of fuel, daily on the roads. It must be a terrible worry for these people!

Whilst the roads are brilliant for cyclists, with wide shoulders.. Lack of fences on the “spoon drains” see many roll overs – like this.....



A simple fence system would all but eliminate this type of accident. We saw a car written off today, after the driver made an error of judgement.. Police and bystanders were working furiously on the occupants... We did not stop as we were on the other side of the road. The “centre” spoon drain would have made it difficult, if not impossible for us to cross, plus the four lanes of high speed traffic.

Not much more for today, after my “rant”.... Catchya Later....
Monday July 14th 2008 Kui Buri to Pranbury.
Approx.
42.05k's Average Speed 16.50kph Cycling time 2Hr(s) 33Min. Max speed. 25kph Max temp we recorded 41°C
Terrain:
Flat Road Conditions: Very Good Overnight Accommodation: $0.00. Standard Stay with family.
We rose late today only expecting 33k's to Lee's cousin... As usual it was wrong... Still we arrived about 2.30pm... We begun the process that psychologists “coin” as “Forming, Norming, Storming and Performing”. Of course we do not do the lot, but, because Lee needed to establish all the connections... things took time. We had not intended staying with them, but they insisted – so here we are. We enjoyed the cycle despite the heat. Met this guy who grows “Dragon Fruit”, it takes approximately 8 months from planting to produce fruit...



His first year produced an income of about B150,000 – a significant sum in Thailand... He is now in his eighth year and it has been a resounding success.



We did not delve deeply into his earnings, however, I know a bit about house prices in Thailand... He would have had little change from B3,000,000 for the house that is on the property... The total property is about 4 Hectares or about 10 acres. Roughly 50% is cultivated.

Sauntered on only to find this HUGE pineapple... Are they copying OZ with these giant icons? :-)



The house where Lee's cousin lives is an an Army compound that is absolutely HUGE – from the Army's entrance gate to the house, it is over two kilometres...



The view across the road from the house is picturesque – the house and grounds are fully maintained by the Army and rent free....



that's about it for today... Will put family photo's as Lee takes them – she is the chief photographer :-) Having some tooth problems (sensitive), I had same in UK and was on antibiotics... Don't want to go down that route, so may seek out a dentist in the next big town... Being a suk!! I will probably need days to recover from the torture dentists enjoy inflicting on people :-) - Catchya Later....
Tuesday July 15th 2008 Pranbury to Hua Hin.
Approx.
30.60k's Average Speed 14.91kph Cycling time 2Hr(s) 03Min. Max speed. 32kph Max temp we recorded 29°C
Terrain:
Hilly Road Conditions: Good Overnight Accommodation: $15.50. Standard Very Good. (Cycle Friendly)
We started early and reached our destination by 08:30... Taking our first picture in the early morning light.... Lee – her second cousin and her second cousins granddaughter....



Our intention is to have a “rest day” (“Make and Mend” – for me old mate)... We will see how we both feel tonight and go from there... The body is crying out for a break with some soreness here and there... We did discuss cycling the other 35k's to Cha-Am (next main town) but felt we would be pushing the “bodies” unnecessarily. Hua Hin – being a tourist destination - is a bustling town of VERY high prices...



Finding “budget” accommodation here is not so easy, however, Lee's keen eye and her native language skill's saw us in a superb 1 bedroom “unit”, after checking only three places prior.... One place wanted $25.00 and would not even change the sheet from the previous tenant....



We asked the owner if we could put our bikes in the lounge – he is OK with that... The “units” are also rented on a long term basis, for couples and small families to live here permanently... At bellow $15.50 per night the value is astonishing.. Catchya Later...
Wednesday July 15th 2008 Hua Hin Rest Day.
Approx.
k's Average Speed kph Cycling time Hr(s) Min. Max speed. kph Max temp we recorded °C
Terrain:
Hilly Road Conditions: Good Overnight Accommodation: $15.50. Standard Very Good. (Cycle Friendly)
Rest day and exploration day... We had a lunch on the pier... You can see the beach is crowded with buildings and hotels...



However, there are some nice stretches of beach outside town... Personally I love the sea, but, do not like beaches... I know YOU do :-) Catchya Later....

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