Day 9 - Nakhon Si Thammarat to Surat Thani (145.33km)

Day 9 - 10th July 2008
145.33km

The distance to Surat Thani was short compared to what I've done so far but this was a section which had a couple of hills to conquer. They were seriously not too tough and it was a welcome change from the usual flat terrain I encountered along the main highway 4.

This province is the gateway to Ko Samui, Ko Pha Ngan. If you watched the movie "The Beach" starring Leonardo Di Caprio, you'll have a rough idea of what's in store in this beautiful islands. The islands are very touristy nowadays.

Along the way to Surat Thani, I also passed Don Sak. Don Sak also has regularly scheduled ferries to the islands such as Ko Samui. Bicycles and motorbikes are allowed on the ferries.

In Surat Thani, I was paced by a lady on a motorbike who was kinda interested to know where, why and how I came down to her town. What was interesting about this conversation was that the lady spoke English to me. Told her the details and reassured myself by asking her if I was heading to Surat Thani in the right direction.

I was in Surat Thani at around lunch and by luck when I approached a police officer to check for the nearest hotel, I discovered that I was at the back of a hotel. I immediately proceeded in without knowing what was the name of the hotel. Approached the staff and the first thing I checked was if there were rooms and if I was allowed to bring my bicycle into the room.

I discovered I checked into Siam Thara Hotel. It cost 390 baht for an air conditioned room. The furnishings in the room were retro. Especially liked the red dial phone in the room. It was a decent place for the night.

As always food is never an issue in amazing Thailand. Just across the street, there was a shop selling cooked food.

Saw a couple of cyclists riding past, decided to find out if there was a bike shop nearby but didn't get a chance to explore the town fully. Will probably be back there sometime in the future.