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.