Hat Khlong Dao Beach, Ko Lanta, Thailand.

Distance: 0 miles
Time on bikes: 0 hours

The view this morning must be one of the best we’ve seen. Our bungalow looks out across the pool, to the buffet breakfast and with the beach and sea in the background. It looks like it’s going to be a tough day ahead of us.

We take a walk along the beach after breakfast to see what the place looks like during daylight. The sea is flat and the water is clear. Thousands of little crabs scurry around on the sand, burrowing themselves as we approach. We’re on the furthest north beach on the island and it only takes about ten minutes to walk to the northern end where there are a couple of resorts with beachside bungalows.

We stop by one for a drink. As it’s a bit more remote than where we’re staying and not looking so polished, we wonder about moving here to save a few Baht. After a nice lemon tea sitting at the bar next to their pool we pop to their reception, but are a bit surprised to find out that they’re charging £90 for the beach bungalows. That’s a fair bit more than the £35 we’re paying, so we decide to just stay put.

Béné isn’t feeling 100% today and seems to have, quite strangely, come down with a bit of a cold. We just take it easy and stay where we are tonight, rather than head off to explore the island. To make use of the time however, we do a bit of light maintenance on the bikes which includes cleaning and lubing the chains, cleaning out the front sprocket cover which gets caked with road grime flung off the chains when riding, and removing and refitting the front wheels to make sure all is well after the bikes were reassembled in Bangkok.

When checking the front wheels it becomes apparent that a wobble Béné has been experiencing on her bike is due to worn front wheel bearings. We’re carrying spares and will get these replaced when we find somewhere that can do the job for us. Maybe we’ll fly in Béné’s Dad to help?

In the late afternoon, a thunderstorm threatens but never really makes an appearance. We take a walk and on the way pick up a bottle of local Mangosteen wine as, according to the label, it’s full of natural antioxidants and healing properties. We’ve not had much alcohol lately, aside from a few beers, so it’ll be interesting to see the effects. The fact that it was half the price of the other European wines on offer, had nothing to do with the choice.

In the evening, after finishing off the wine, we take a walk along the beach to a nice little restaurant. Carl is slightly tipsy as he may have had a bit more medicinal intake than was strictly necessary.

Jour 215 – Vendredi 19 Novembre 2010. La plage de Hat Khlong Dao, Thaïlande

Distance: 0 km – Temps a moto: 0 heures

Le bungalow à une belle vue sur la piscine, des palmiers et la plage et la mer en fond, c’est agréable de s’y réveiller ! Nous allons prendre le petit déjeuner et profitons de la belle vue sur la mer.

Nous allons ensuite nous balader sur la plage et nous en profitons pour nous baigner dans la mer qui est plus claire que ce que nous avons vu jusqu’à présent. Il y a plein de petits crabes sur la plage qui sont très occupes à faire leur trous et partent dans toutes les directions quand nous nous approchons. Nous faisons une pause dans un des hôtels un peu plus au nord, et comme il nous semble être assez bien, mais surement moins cher, nous demandons le prix…nous sommes surpris car il est plus du double que ce que nous payons ! Nous resterons donc ou nous sommes, ou nous payons environs 35 euros la nuit.

Je n’ai pas trop la forme aujourd’hui, j’ai un rhume et je n’ai pas trop d’énergie, nous décidons donc de rester au moins une nuit de plus. Nous huilons les chaines des motos et vérifions l’état des roulements de ma roue avant qui a commence à vibrer un peu de temps en temps, et en effet, les roulements sont un peu abimes, nous les changerons donc des que nous aurons accès a un garage.

Le soir nous achetons une bouteille de vin de Mangoustine, un fruit local, mais ca n’est pas le meilleur vin possible… puis nous allons manger un morceau, les plats Thaïlandais sont vraiment délicieux, nous faisons le plein de fruits de mer.