March 15 – 19, 2017

Wednesday March 15, 2017

I wasn’t going to write a daily blog, but I had to write about our wonderful discovery on Wednesday night. We cycled out to find a fish restaurant. I am allergic to shellfish, therefore I am limited at what I can eat at a fish restaurant – fish but no shellfish. We knew there were two or three beach fish restaurants about 2 kms from the hotel/condo.

I spotted a little place that advertised German/Thai food. We stopped and checked out the menu! Jaeger Schnitzel mit spaetzle OMG I have died and gone to heaven. We ordered two beers and the schnitzel it was wonderful. We had to wait about 20 minutes as they were making the spaetzle from scratch. In the meantime we chatted to two older German fellas who live here permanently. They asked if I spoke German, I said I understood most of the conversation – “We can speak English if it is easier for you”. The conversation went from German to English and back again, it was very entertaining.

What a lovely evening – the cost for this wonderful meal and great company $22.00 which included four beer and a German sized meal!

Friday March 17, 2017

Cycle to Rayong for Shopping – 24.71

We cycled into Rayong along a back road and then on to the Hwy 3 which was busy but not too crazy.  The back road was quiet and will be the road we take when we leave this area.  It is an industrial area that is full of chemical plants etc.

We needed to get some groceries and there are two very large supermarkets – Tesco and Big C. We opted for Tesco, as it was closer and easier to find. Although we can find fresh fruit at road side stands, the choice for veges is very limited and I really wanted some veges to make a stir-fry tonight.

What another Wat…. I also knew there was an interesting Wat to see. This Wat – Wat Pradhu houses a reclining Buddha which is over 11 metres long and 3 metres high. It is unique because it reclines on the left side rather than the usual right side. This difference makes this Buddha revered with the local people. There were a lot of people praying in this temple. The interesting thing we noticed was that people were buying small pieces of gold leaf and adding it to the Buddha, after their prayers. The temple area housed several smaller temples and an active kindergarten. This temple is also one of the oldest we have seen – reportedly to have been built in the Ayutthaya Period which was from 1350 to 1767.

There is also a small kindergarten in the temple complex.

We headed back to the resort along the busy Hwy 3. There was a lot of cars double parked, which meant we had to go into the main lanes to get around them.  Why do they do this, can\’t they park properly and walk to where they want to shop. I wished I could have changed into the hulk to get rid of these idiots.

After we got back, I went for a nice swim in the pool.

Saturday March 18, 2017

A relaxing breakfast and lazy start to the day, as it rained shortly after breakfast. A short ride today only 15.38 kms.

We were back by 12:30 had another smoothie and then the power went out. We walked up the seven flights of stairs to our room.I asked when the power would be back on – don’t know. The staff at this place are not very helpful.

I went for a swim and Ralf went for another ride to investigate the area. 

There is a lot of streets and hotels that have been developed and then abandoned.  Apparently the Russians bought into this area and then the Ruble dropped and they moved out.  Other streets have a couple of houses that looked nice and the rest of the houses on the streets have been abandoned.  I am guessing you could pick up a very cheap bungalow in this area (if you had a Thai partner).

Tonight after another lovely German meal we sat in the lobby to check the email and book a place for Monday night. No email – I asked the night porter about the internet. “Tomorrow” he said, “What is the matter?”  I asked, “It’s gone wonky” the best answer ever – it’s gone wonky! You can’t help but laugh. Let’s hope it is back tomorrow as we need to book a place for Monday night or we will be winging it again, and we know what happens when we wing it! Brothels and indoor camping etc!

Sunday March 19, 2017

Sunday Ride to Ban Phe – 36 kms

Up early for a nice relaxing ride to Ban Phe Market and back again. I found it difficult to cycle slowly. Today I managed to reduce my speed to an average of 16 kms per hour, but it was difficult.

We arrived back to the condo/hotel about noon and I made a fried egg sandwich for lunch. We bought some ice-coffee, the coffee shop across the road is closed. We cannot get our lovely smoothies today.

Ralf went to do some final washing and hopefully he can find a coffee shop with internet!

Back on the road tomorrow and heading north towards Bangkok. We are going to outskirt Bangkok as we still have almost two weeks before we fly to Korea.

We are getting a lot of “interesting” news from North Korea, it might be an exciting trip!