While I was in Chumphon, I spent a bit of time just floating around.

By that stage, I’d started enjoying the riding more than the destinations. Google Maps would tell me something was two hours away, and I just knew it wasn’t. Everything took longer. Three hours easily. Three and a half sometimes. I don’t know why Google was so wrong, but it was. I stopped trusting the time estimates and just rode.

I drove around the city a bit. Went to a few temples. Just pulling in when something caught my eye. I checked out the local markets, then the night market later on. The freedom was in and of itself, freeing funnily enough. Grabbed some food, wandered around, watched people go about their evening. It was relaxed.

That night I ended up in a small bar. I can’t remember the name of it, but it stood out. Graffiti everywhere, Trance music on and a pool table in the corner. An older Thai woman behind the bar. Kind of hipster in her own way. She was pretty cool, made awesome cocktails. 

We did the usual back and forth.

Sawadee khrap.
Sabai dee mai khrap.
Khun chue arai?
My name’s Colm

Very basic. Very short. I told her I didn’t speak Thai. She laughed. Said it was good, it was fine. That seemed to be the attitude everywhere — if you tried, people were happy enough.

I had a few cocktails. I think three or four margaritas......maybe 5. After a while a couple joined the bar, had some food and some drinks. Then we got chatting a bit.

They asked where I was from, what was I doing in Thailand. I told them about my little road trip and my jounrye plans. They were shocked I was doing it by myself. " Well done" the lady said. You must live your life, even if you have to experience things alone she said, that one hit home a bit. We chatted some more, I wished them a nice evening and went on my way.

I headed back to the hotel. Slept heavy. Not the best sleep, but enough.

The next morning I hit the road again.

Chumphon to Surat Thani.

Google said three hours. It took closer to four and a half. No surprise at that point.

I woke up a bit rough. Slight hangover. Properly dehydrated. Straight to 7-Eleven. Toastie. Vitamin C drink. Water. And, of course, an M-150. Standard recovery plan.

It was hot. Really hot. Thirty degrees plus. One of those days where you feel it before you even get moving.

Once I was riding, it was just more road.

Long stretches. Some nice bridges. A few small detours that pulled me off the main road without really meaning to. At one point I came across an old train track. Looked like it hadn’t been used in years. You could just ride straight across it. I stopped, took a few photos, then carried on.

The roads were actually great for riding. Smooth. Flowing. Except for the odd corner where the surface felt strange — like someone had scraped it with a rake. You’d feel it through the bike for a second, then it was gone again.

By the time I got to Surat Thani it was late afternoon. Maybe three or four o’clock. I’d wanted to check out a cave nearby, but it was closed, and I wasn’t going to make it anyway.

Surat Thani felt like a working town. Port city. People passing through on their way to Koh Samui. I rode around a bit, visited a couple of temples, got some food, walked around for a while.

By then my body was feeling it.

Four-plus hours on the bike doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up. Sun. Heat. A heavy bike. Detours. Holding position for that long. I was tired. Not wrecked — just low.

That was Wednesday into Thursday.

Thursday was when things really kicked off.

I’ll leave that for the next one.