Surat Thani to Nakhon Si Thammarat

I had to split the ride from Surat Thani to Nakhon Si Thammarat into 2 route plans due to the number of stops I was planning. Following is the first route plan of the day.

Surat Thani to Wat Chedi (Ai Khai)

I thought about taking a rest day but was happy I didn't. There was blue sky at the start of the ride and I was thrilled to see it.

My first stop was in the city center at the Surat Thani City Pillar Shrine (ศาลหลักเมืองสุราษฎร์ธานี).

I then rode out of the city and up to Phra That Srisurat Viewpoint (พระธาตุศรีสุราษฎร์) that over looks the city.

It was a bit of a ride to get to the coast where I stopped at a beach that I think is named Kho Khao beach.

My route followed the coast line but only caught occasional views of the water.

My next stop was up at the Naern Thae Wada Viewpoint (จุดชมวิวเนินเทวดา).

I had planned on stopping where Viewpoint on Khanom-Sichon Road (จุดชมวิวถนนสายขนอม-สิชล) was marked on the map but the area was really busy so I rode on to the next viewpoint where it was easy to park. I took these pictures at this viewpoint.

Not sure if I talked about some of the planning of this trip in previous posts. One of the things I used was Riding Routes on the Goran BMW Overlander YouTube page. I don't think my few pictures does this stretch of road justice so am including a link to his ride video. Route 4232 Khanom to Sichon | Nakhon Si Thammarat Video.

The Khanom-Sichon Road was a fun ride but there seemed to be a lot more people on the road for my ride compared to the BMW video. I did the ride on a Saturday so it may be the reason for the groups of riders that were on the road.

When I arrived at Wat Chedi (Ai Khai) (วัดเจดีย์ (ไอ้ไข่)) the place was rather busy but I have no idea why. They seemed to be selling a lot of firecrackers with markings like they were for a Chinese holiday. I guess I should have taken a picture of that but didn't think about it at the time.

I started the 2nd route plan at Wat Chedi (Ai Khai).

Wat Chedi (Ai Khai) to Nakhon Si Thammarat

I stopped near a place on the map called The good view (อ่าวทองคำ ท่าศาลา). I spent a bit of time here with an ice coffee and enjoying the view of the Gulf of Thailand on a nice sunny day.

I rode into the city and was planning on hitting a few more stops. I then decided I was a bit tired and it started drizzling on me which made my decision to head to a hotel an easy one. It was a great day and I hope she sun is back tomorrow.

Ranong to Surat Thani

I had planned to go from Ranong south into Phang Nga and then back up to Surat Thani but changed my mind in Ranong and went straight to Surat Thani. I plan to go through part of Phang Nga later on this trip.

Following is a picture of the route I ended up taking.

Sorry this is going to be a boring post and I didn't even take one picture on this day.

I headed out on my bike for another day full of rain. I saw a guy riding along on his bicycle with panniers on the front and back and I thought I'm not enjoying the rain but at least I'm not him.

I started by riding up to Ranong Canyon and it looked more like a lake than a canyon. I thought I would keep going down the road that went past the canyon until it hit the road going west to east. I didn't understand why my phone was telling me it would take so long to go what seemed like a short distance.

About 5 kilometers past the canyon the road got really narrow and had places with about 6 inches of water covering the road. Maybe a kilometer later the pavement ended and there was a steep hill. I started up the hill but quickly thought this was a bad idea.

I turned around and went back through Ranong and took the main highway.

I think the route going from the west to the east would normally be a nice ride but with the heavy rain I can't say I enjoyed it.

I didn't have any problems reaching Surat Thani but was happy when I arrived, found a hotel for the night and dried off a little bit.

Chumphon to Ranong

Following is my route plan to go to Ranong from Chumphon.

Chumphon to Ranong

I wasn't 5 minutes away from my hotel when it started to pour. This dsy was full of rain rain and more rain.

I battled my way through the rain to Wat Suwan Khiri (วัดสุวรรณคีรี). Here are a few of my pictures from the temple.

I missed the turn for the Khao Fa Chi View Point (จุดชมวิวเขาฝาชี) but went a few kilometers down the road until I could make a U-turn and return to the access road. It was a very steep road with a lot of leaves and jungle stuff on the road. I didn't think about it when going up but trying to control my speed with the wet and the leaves caused me to be a bit nervous.

I made it up and down OK and snapped a couple of pictures where not much is to be seen. I think there are supposed to be great views across the water into Myanmar on a clear day.

The Punyaban Waterfall (น้ำตกปุญญบาล อุทยานแห่งชาติลำน้ำกระบุรี) is right next to the highway so you can see it a bit from the road. It is part of a national park so there is an entrance fee to go to the viewing platform. Even though I live in Thailand I would have to pay the tourist price which is 5 times the locals price. I am too cheap so only have pictures from the road bridge.

I made my way into the city of Ranong, found a hotel and tried to towel off.

After a bit of a rest I went to the Rattana Rangsarn Palace (พระราชวังรัตนรังสรรค์). This Royal palace is built from teakwood and is where King Rama V stayed when he came to Ranong.

I arrived just after the closing time but have read there is not much to see inside.

After a stop at the palace I stopped at the local market and bought a curry and rice for my dinner in my hotel room. I also bought a custard apple which seem to be currently in season and it was wonderful.

Chumphon

I planned to stay in Chumphon for 2 nights and do a bit of sightseeing around the city. My plan was to use the following route for my sightseeing. I ended up adding in places I skipping on the route to Chumphon from the day before and then skipped some of the sites around Chumphon due to afternoon rain.

Site to see in Chumphon

My first stop was at Wat Sala Loi or Wat Chao Fa Sala Loi (วัดศาลาลอย or วัดเจ้าฟ้าศาลาลอย) but it appeared to be closed so only snapped a photo.

Nong Yai Wooden Bridge (สะพานไม้เคี่ยม หนองใหญ่) was my second stop of the day. I didn't make the full 40 minute walk of the lake going over and around it. I only walked to the middle of the bridge and then moved on.

Cape Pathiu was supposed to be a stop yesterday but I ended up skipping it so added to this day. There is a pier here for Lomprayah ferries to Koh Tao.

My camera lens must have been fogged over because my pictures are awful so not posting them.

I stopped along Ao Bo Mao Bay and snapped a photo and then rode up to the Shrine of Krom Luang Chumphon Khet Udomsak at Laem Thaen and snapped more pictures of the bay and a statue.

I rode up the steep road to Khao Dinsor Viewpoint(จุดชมวิวเขาดินสอ) and was rewarded with an amazing view of the coast below.

My next stop was at Saphli Beach (หาดสะพลี).

I was sitting at Saphli Beach when the sky opened up and ended what up to that point had been a gorgeous day.

I decided to keep going through the rain and made it to Laem Hua Mong-Kho Kwang Viewpoint (จุดชมวิวแหลมหัวโม่ง-คอกวาง). I think this place may make for good views without the rain.

I stopped for a coffee and dripped all over the coffee shop. The rain seemed to let up so I went on to Khao Matsee View Point (จุดชมวิวเขามัทรี).

I was riding up the hill to the viewpoint when the rain became heavy again.I parked snapped a picture and sat down under a small shelter to think what I wanted to do next.

I looked at my route and came to the conclusion that checking off things on a list was a bit silly. There were no must see sites on this list so the dry hotel seemed like the one site I wanted to see.

A bit of a sneak peek to the next day post, rain rain and more rain.