All in a day's ride!

I am an adventurer now (as Chris keeps reminding me) and today was jam packed with exciting adventures!

Last night we slept in a beautiful wat, which topped all of the previous wats we have slept in (even the one with air conditioned room and internet access!). This one was on a peninsula, surrounded by two quiet bays and the monks here were extremely 'sabai sabai'. When we rolled in they smiled and said 'sleep wherever you want', so we chose to pitch our tents undercover with a view of sea.

It was already piping hot by 8am, so we stopped for second breakfast in Ban Krut, a quiet beach in Prechuap Khiri Khan Province. With food in our bellies and glucose in our legs, we were able to make the steep climb up to a BIG buddha on the hillside and visit the Phra Maha That Chedi. We were really glad we did, as it is a stunning temple with surrounding views of the beaches below.

Continuing along the beachfront meant we were riding into a headwind, so eventually we turned off onto a dirt track which took us through coconut plantations - a great spot for filming. While standing there (in the middle of nowhere) an ice cream man passed us and so we indulged in a a paddle pop - Amazing Thailand!

Lights, camera, action! We set up the shot and started to ride down a side path into the distance, where there was a dog sleeping. Chris had already turned back for his solo performance, when the dog jumped to it's feet and started telling his buddies that there was a new toy to play with. All of a sudden I found myself surrounded by a pack of eight angry, gruesome, teething mutts (at least that's how they seem when your heart is racing at a million miles per hour and you are backed up against a tree, fending for yourself with your bike as a barrier).

The dogs did not seem happy to see me, and unfortunately the small rocks that I keep in my handlebar bag only served to amuse them. Eventually they got bored of growling at a petrified white lady, and by that time Chris was coming down the path with some large coconuts. They made a pass at him, while I made my escape, and with sheer luck no man or dog got hurt. I was a bit shaken, and rode with a bigger sized rock in my hand for the rest of the afternoon.

We continued along the small roads and came across a very odd beach where all the signage was in Swedish and there were lots of older foreign men, shuttling their wives around on motorbikes with sidecars. Figured it must be the word on the street in Scandinavia that Prechuap Khiri Khan is the place to be!

Eventually we made it to the town and found a nice guesthouse to stay in. It's been so long since Chris and I have paid for accommodation that we obviously forgot how to behave! First I locked the key in the room which caused a stir, as the hotel didn't have a spare. In the end they called in someone to pick the lock - so we were able to get out of our sweaty bike clothes.

When we eventually got in the room, we were so tired that we went straight for the showers. Chris grabbed his towel and said 'Wow, check out how big the towels are in this guesthouse!' I was equally impressed and while showering in adjoining cubicles we were still talking about the lovely over sized towels supplied by the owners of this (cheap) establishment. These same owners were shocked when they realised that we had been using the blankets as towels, and were perplexed that we hadn't seen the smaller versions on our beds!

These type of adventures occur on a daily basis when you are riding to Pai...Straight Up!