December 22, 2025
Day 111 — Sam Roi Yot to Khlong Wan
We were a bit sad to leave our little bungalow just off the beach in Sam Roy Yot. It was a very pleasant and quiet little beach town, and would have been a good setup for a day off or two. We were also a little apprehensive as we had a decent distance slated, and were a bit nervous about a full day in the heat.
With heat management in mind we did our best to get going early. The idea was we’d just get going, ride for a while, then stop for a solid meal as the morning warmed up. It was a solid plan, which was a bit undermined by our riding through a national park which had no services or vendors or food stalls etc. What few food vendors we saw early on did not appear to be open as we cruised by. Hmmmm.
Starting early was definitely tactically the best plan though. The morning temps were tolerable, bits of shade still on the road, and traffic was very light. Our route took us along a fairly wide but lightly trafficked route through Sam Roi Yot Park, which had spectacular and interesting limestone formations.
We were encouraged by how quickly we were making progress. The wind is out of the north in this area this time of year, and we were heading south, and the terrain, though it skirts around jutting limestone cliffs, is also flat as a pancake. We were just turning the pedals over and we were managing to keep our speed over 20 km/h. Certainly the projected 75 km seemed achievable, as it looked like we’d get a bunch of it done by mid morning.
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
After we’d been ticking along for a while, we spied an interesting wat nestled in among the limestone hills, so we took a detour to have a closer look.
We biked slowly into the compound surrounding the two main structures. It was still early, and there was no one around. The immediately notable thing, other than the beautiful surroundings, was that something had happened to the Buddha statue in front of the wat; Buddha’s feet were on a dais in front of the wat, and his head and shoulders were several metres away. No sign of his midsection and legs. We eventually found his hands, still clasped in prayer, behind a meeting pavilion.
We nosed around for a bit, enjoying the quiet ambiance and the beauty of the temples, until I got a bit too close to the second temple which stirred a couple of sleeping dogs into halfhearted action, which led to our slow retreat from site.
Our route took us close in to more limestone formations. We stopped at a pullout which was the trailhead for a hike to a lookout spot, and chatted with the parks workers for a bit. We opted not to spend the hour and the energy to go to the lookout.
We did finally get to a crossroads with several food stands at it. That was probably the record for longest stretch in Thailand without a functioning food stand. Anyway, some fried rice and soup and a sit down in the shade, and we were ready to work away at the afternoon.
The afternoon led us through coconut and banana plantations, all of which had random cows foraging in the undergrowth. We also passed many ponds with simple looking aerating systems, which were undoubtedly aquaculture but we know not what of. What worries we had of crazy traffic evaporated. These were relaxed country backroads, and what little traffic there was was mopeds.
Our afternoon heat management strategy worked ok as well. Ride for a while, stop at a roadside stand for a drink and a break whenever we felt the need, get going again.
We got to Khlong Wan mid afternoon, hot and sweaty, but otherwise in decent shape. Our lodging was a recently built boutique style hotel. Khlong Wan seemed to be making a push for tourism, though as we found not was not much of a beach town, and hotels like ours were odd inserts between older and more basic homes, food stalls and stores. Just a normal town with the occasional modern resort plopped in it at random. A promenade was under construction along the length of the town, but there was no beach per se. After a long amble through the town’s man drag, we finally found a seaside venue for dinner, where we got too much food, all of which was delicious. On the walk back to our hotel after the sun went down, we could see the normal town of Khlong Wan coming to life. All the food stalls were lit up, music playing, people out to get evening meals and hang out, and it seemed a pretty decent place. Not sure it’ll ever come together as a resort destination though.
Today's ride: 80 km (50 miles)
Total: 4,995 km (3,102 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 6 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |