Day #17 (6/7/20)
Distance travelled: 258.7 km
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The sky was a beautiful orange as we rose from our slumber. We had to make a quick exit from the tent as the temperature was steadily rising by the sun’s hot rays. Where else to go but the sea! We had a nice, rejuvenating swim, and took our time as this was our last morning there. Dimi pointed out the island we could see in the distance. It was the famous Koh Samui. Once out and dry, we took our coffee and books to read in the shade, propped against some large rocks, towards the end of the beach. An odd, dry, old coconut lay deserted on the pebbles.
A small group of Thais arrived on the beach as we were back and forth, carrying our packed stuff to the car. As I was getting changed, I heard one of the guys speaking to Dimi, asking him a few questions. Once in the car, Dimi found a coffee place with a pool, Warehouse 18 Pool & Café, not too far away and drove us to it. The fee for using the two pools was ฿100 for children and ฿150 for adults. However, we only stopped for a coffee and a brownie (the best brownie in Thailand, by far!). The café had millions of anime books, spread over two floors, including some on the side of the stairs. We stopped at a petrol station to fill up and withdraw money. A small open restaurant, serving only soup caught our eye, and we went in for a nosey. A wise choice in the end, as the soup was fresh, delicious, and very cheap. A gorgeous little baby girl was sat close to us, on her dad’s knee, being fed noodles… she seemed satisfied like us!
Another long drive today, moving to Ban Lep Karok for the last night of our eighteen-day road trip. The main road was for the most part smooth, traffic-free, and without check-points. We stopped for a ciggie break just before a small traffic jam (lights further up were giving nothing away!). A small, white cat appeared from nowhere as I made myself comfortable on the ground, and we quickly became friends.
Ban Lep Karok, Chumphon Province
Thankfully, the traffic moved quickly and we were back to full speed. We reached — and carried on towards the coast, passing through a small Chinese fishermen village. The road was so narrow that we were practically driving through someone’s living room. There was no way to park there without blocking the road or our rented car being dented to hell. So we drove further along and found an open space to leave it.
We first encountered a group of locals sorting out buckets of ice, presumably for keeping fish fresh. They said nothing but smiled to each other as we stood watching them. Back along the narrow road, we came to a small, colourful, Chinese shrine, with candles and many pictures. Close by, we met a lovely little terrier, who was shy at first, but soon warmed to our friendly manners. Shop and house owners were sat outside their premises, waving and smiling at us as we walked by to take pictures of the place. One older guy couldn’t help laughing to himself and loved it when Dimi turned the camera on him… say cheeese! There were dogs running around everywhere to my delight. Outside one house, two squirrels were kept in a cage and a bird in an old TV box acting as a cage. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. All were quite active and loud.
Continuing further along in the car, we encountered an outdoor aerobic class featuring loud music and frantic movements. How I would have loved to have seen Dimi participate! Shortly after, the road came to a dead-end. Settled was where we’ll sleep. The fruit we bought at yesterday’s market was mangosteen and we had great fun opening its dark purple rind to reveal its lily-white flesh. It tasted like sweet milk. As the sun was setting, we parked our bums on a bench, close to the sea, and buried our heads in our books. Fishermen chattering were heard in the background.
I left Dimi to search the area for a good place to pitch the tent while I sat off in the car. That’s when, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something crawling along the dashboard. A bloody spider. I still managed to see it in the dark, of course! I was out of the car in record time, begging Dimi to get it out immediately. I didn’t fancy driving tomorrow with that creepy-crawly crawling over me. With some patience and balls, Dimi managed to flick it outside, and we watched it scurrying away unharmed.
The wind had picked up by that point, and the most sheltered place to pitch the tent was right next to the car. By the time we finished putting some order in the tent, a large family arrived. The boys set about organising their fishing gear, whereas the girls made themselves comfortable in the hammocks in the back of their pick-up truck. Once we were in the tent, the sound of the wind and children running around slowly faded into the background, as we both fell asleep for the last time on our road trip.
From Chumphon Province back to Hua Hin
Day #18 (7/7/20)
Distance travelled: 328.2 km
Fishermen were heard returning to the shore late in the morning. We woke up early and began on our long journey back to Hua Hin. We stopped at a 7/11 for a quick coffee break and to swap seats to share the longest drive of this entire road trip. We hit a small traffic jam caused by some idiot who bumped into a car full of pineapples – how cute does that car sound!
Close to home, we stopped for a delicious pizza at Morning Bread by Boom and then headed to a guy we know for another coffee at his place. Back in Hua Hin, we checked in at our new place and enjoyed a long, hot shower.
Next morning, we took the car to be valeted for ฿200. Those guys performed a miracle in one hour! After filling up the petrol tank right up, we headed to the rental place and bid goodbye to our lovely car!
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