While the scenery along road no 4 today was similar to yesterday - rugged mountains to our right, lush greenery everywhere, some mangrove forests, very enjoyable - another element was added to the equation today: Laem Son national park. Yet another Thai national park. This one is a marine national park, and includes 15 islands and over 100 km of protected Andaman coast line. Really, the Thai do know how to protect their nature! So while we had the mountains on our right, we had the marine park to our left. Most of the time we could not see this, but we made a stop at Praphat beach and ended our ride at Bang Ben beach, both part of the national park.
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| Praphat beach, part of Laem Son national park |
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| First break of the day after 25km, at Praphat beach |
It was definitely also the least developed part of Thailand so far. Very few villages along the way, and mostly very small, very rural, simple. The road was still really good, otherwise it would have felt very remote for sure.
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| The first possible lunch stop after quite a while, with delicious pau and some dim sum; surprising! |
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| Drizzle on the thatched roof |
Around noon it started to drizzle, just about the right time to have lunch. After lunch, the drizzle was a bit less, so we continued cycling but the rain got worse. It was still a drizzle, not too bad, for more than an hour. Then, the last half hour, on our way to our final destination for today (Wasana Bang Ben Beach Resort, very nice budget accommodation), it became real rain and we arrived dripping wet... No worries, that's part of the deal! We checked in, took a room with air con - so our things can properly dry - and a hot shower, and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon with rain on and off. It's a very beautiful area here, but we have not yet been able to fully explore because of the rain. It's still raining now, hopefully the weather will get better by tomorrow. We might stay here an additional day and enjoy the natural surroundings a bit more, we'll decide tomorrow morning...
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| Still raining and more on its way, but these threatening clouds are also beautiful! Boats near Bang Ben beach |
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| Buffaloes grazing near our guest house |