Monthly Archives: February 2017

Allister

Day 34 – Donsak to Surat Thani

Leave a comment

A great spot to stay the night. I don’t normally take a picture of our accommodation, but we had a great bungalow in amongst a orchid farm. We got up early and were on the bikes by 7am and Paddy was saying he wanted a jumper it was so cold (25c).

The ride was fast along the highway and we made our destination by 9:30am (our earliest yet). It gave me a chance to try to get my phone to work, by taking it into an official Samsung Service Centre. They were very helpful, but didn’t have the parts, so left the phone with them and hopefully they will send it to Hua Hin when it is fixed.

Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/860233577

Julie

Children

2 Comments

On a trip like this you expect to have ups and downs.  I always knew that there would be times when we would not get along. You only hope that the good times out weigh the bad. 

What I find the most puzzling is why the boys take it in turns to be naughty.  If Robert is giving me grief then Patrick is an angel.  If Patrick is being contrary then Robert is behaving like the perfect young man I want him to be. 

There is no break from them either.  No time out. No friends for them to run off and play with.  You have to be a parent but you also have to be a replacement best friend when they need you to be. We cycled past a private school today and it was tempting to drop them off. As much as it is challenging, I feel closer to both of them than I have in a long time. 

Robert

Beyblades!

Leave a comment

When we first entered Thailand, me and Patty got some beyblades. They were great fun but they got damaged. So we needed to get some new ones. Today we got some really cool new ones that are really fun and we found the perfect tray to play with them in.

Allister

Day 33 – Ko Samui to Donsak

4 Comments

The ride today was split in half by a ferry ride from Ko Samui to Donsak. We were all well rested and feeling good so the ride progressed ahead of time and was relaxed. It was also one of the rare times we back tracked, so we didn’t need a map to return back to the ferry. It gave us a chance to take a picture of a natural tunnel like section of road.

After the ferry ride, the route to our accommodation was via busy road. After an enforced 2 hour break because of the ferry ride Julie and Robert set a cracking pace and we got to the resort in about an hour. The resort had a working orchid farm and restaurant. It was also included a large swing that gave hours of fun and exercise.

The photo below is for my Mum, who loves orchids and her grand children.

There was also a river running around the property. We went down to investigate whether we could swim, but the boys got distracted by the mud. Nothing like watching children play, especially in the natural environment.

 ​​


 
Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/858102148/

https://www.strava.com/activities/858105598

Julie

Great day. 

1 Comment

After a rest day on Samui we all woke up with a spring in our step. We made it to the ferry at Nathon with plenty of time. The only eventful bit about the morning ride was the 26% gradient on one of the hills. You can see in the photo that the road disappears. The ride on the ferry was smooth. We all get a kick out of riding the bikes onto the large ferry with the cars and motorbikes.  

We then had to cycle another 22km to our hotel. We flew.  We all have our mojo back after the pork. Our accommodation is gorgeous.  It is called Donsak Orchid Resort.  It’s a bit more expensive than we usually pay but it was the only place that we could find in the area.  The resort grows Orchids and has the most beautiful gardens. The boys had a good time on the huge swing before heading to the river to get muddy. Muddy photos can be found on Patrick’s post. 

Robert

The dog.

1 Comment

This story begins when we were halfway through the day. We were passing a house with an old lady sitting outside weaving a basket. The house behind her was on stilts and dogs were playing underneath the house. Until they saw us! They bolted out from underneath the house and sprinted for us. Patrick started swearing his head off and Dad pushed as hard as he could. They flew off in front of us. They left me and Mum for  dog meat. So I got out my foot and kicked one of them in the head. They all retreated after that. I thought it was quite fun, but Mum didn’t.

Julie

Somewhere on the island of Samui.

3 Comments

I booked us into a very highly rated bungalow style accommodation on the southern coast of Samui. It’s hard to know what the surrounding area will be like when you have never been there before but if someone has bothered to build accommodation, you assume it must have something to offer.  As we cycled to our accommodation today the roads got quieter and we ended up in a remote place just inland from the coast. The bungalows are ok but the French couple who own them are lovely. 

We headed out for dinner thinking we were going to have to cycle a fair way to find a place to eat but just down the road we found a British sports bar. They had a large tv playing the rugby and a free pool table.  Not the type of place we would normally choose but tonight it was perfect. Allister wished we had been here a couple of nights ago when the tennis final was on. 

Allister

Day 31 – Surat Thani to Donsak Pier

10 Comments

Everybody feeling a bit better today, which was lucky because we had a long day and needed to catch a ferry to Ko Sumui by 1:30pm. Having the goal was a good way to keep us focused and plan out our cycle. We broke it down in the 15km blocks and took short breaks at the end of each block.

Not everything went to plan. Like always we tried to keep off the highways, but that sometimes means the road weren’t well maintained. One section was on potholed gravel and Julie’s front tire got stuck in thick gravel and she had a nasty fall. Robert is a master in this situation (it is not the first time and won’t be the last) and jumped off the back of the tandem like a rabbit and didn’t have a scratch to show for the fall.

In another incident further down ride we rode the worst potholed sealed road of the trip so far. It is also the first time we have over taken a car – see below. Although the road was in bad condition on two wheels you could navigate around the potholes. The driver of the car was very cautious and couldn’t avoid the potholes, so was only doing about 15kph.

Anyhow, we got to the ferry terminal in perfect timing and rode to the front of the line. The ticketing lady wasn’t sure how to handle a tandem, but after phoning a friend, just treated the bike like a motorbike with a passenger. The ferry trip was very smooth and gave great views from the bow.

Here’s the less glamourous view of the cargo hold with our bikes.


Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/854499213/