With the road bike through Thailand

We're going cycling this weekend Thailand! And then not organized with a group of tourists along typical sights, which is also very nice, no we are going full throttle on the racing bike this time!

With a greater focus on healthier living, sports tourism is also on the rise in addition to medical tourism, and I can imagine few places where cycling is better than in Thailand. Good roads, beautiful scenery, food and drink widely available along the side of the road, a nice climate, a friendly population that finds farang cyclists enormously amusing (more on this later), and if you're lucky, a number of beautiful ladies on the scooter who drive up with you! So just take that road bike with you next time you come to Thailand!

We leave

For this weekend trip we leave for Laem Mae Phim (LMP), a small fishing village on the coast in Rayong province. Or actually it is not even a real town but more a strip of asphalt with restaurants and beach on one side and hotels on the other hand. This is still a piece of undiscovered Thailand – at least for most farangs – which will develop rapidly in the coming years. The farangs that stay there are mostly Swedes looking for sun and tranquility, but if the apartments and hotels being a benchmark, that rest will soon be over. For the time being, however, lovers of Thai nightlife have very little to do here.

LMP is located about 25 Km east of Ban Phe. The latter place is perhaps somewhat known to the farang because most boats to Ko Samed depart from here. The coastal road numbered 3145 runs along the coast with beautiful views of the Gulf of Thailand and Ko Samed. A wide marked roadside strip in most places for slow traffic such as scooters and som-tam vendors makes cycling here feel quite safe…with the emphasis on 'fair', as I know of no greater waste of white paint than the road markings on Thai roads . Fortunately, you can still get away well on a road bike with normally ridiculous looking brightly colored lycra, so at least make sure you are clearly visible!

In LMP you can book several cheap independent hotels such as Villa Bali and Tamarind Resort. In both resorts you have your own detached mini-bungalow. The price of the hotels fluctuates between 1,000 – 2,000 baht per night depending on the comfort offered. For the larger budgets there is really only the X2 Rayong resort. This weekend we checked into the Tamarind Resort for 1,200 baht per night, run by the friendly and hospitable Khun Tom and his wife.

Undiscovered Thailand

After an early breakfast, we depart west towards Ban Phe at 7 AM. The beach is on our left, and some fishermen are inventorying that night/morning's catch and preparing it for sale. There is hardly any traffic, and monks from the nearby temples collect alms here and there. The road breaks away from the coast after a few kilometers and the area becomes a bit greener here. We drive past weathered signposts pointing to deserted beaches, fruit sellers, temples, hotels and here and there a small shop. Above all, the area exudes tranquility ... this is the real undiscovered Thailand!

A small truck, completely loaded with already inflated air mattresses and other flotation devices, drives in the oncoming direction to the beach. We don't even see the driver sitting down, but we do see a cigarette-accompanied hand sticking out between the air mattresses – we wonder how the driver can still see anything.

We don't have much trouble with stray dogs, and for the few aggressive specimens we have a very effective solution: just spray a firm jet from the water bottle in that direction. After about 10 Km we pass the brand new apartment complex Pupphatara and an adjacent future Marriott hotel. Another two km away is a lonely Novotel, the first larger international hotel in this region.

The road curves back towards the coast, and we catch a glimpse of the sun reflected on the waters of the Gulf of Thailand. After passing another new apartment and villa complex, Oriental Beach, we drive through a small town where a rusted Trabant has been parked on the side of the road for years one day. The smell of grilled chicken settles in our nostrils. Beautiful view of Koh Samed

A little later we drive along the coast again, Suan Son beach. A beautiful road with lots of greenery, directly adjacent to the beach. As we drive under the vegetation we have a great view of Koh Samed. Many restaurants and bars along this beach. It is certainly not the most beautiful and cleanest beach in Thailand, but it has a certain undeveloped ruggedness that has something.

We drive past a busy fish market and with our 35 km per hour it is now hands on the brakes, because Thais just don't look around when they cross the road, especially when food is involved. Estimating the speed of a road bike is difficult for those who do. A last bit under dense vegetation and about XNUMX minutes after departure we drive into Ban Phe.

Even though Ban Phe really is a small and friendly coastal town, after the rustic 25 km we have just completed, driving here feels like we are being overwhelmed by a metropolis. Travelers in transit, minivans, (disco) buses, souvenir shops, markets and even a real Tesco Lotus ensure that the relatively busy traffic often moves in unpredictable directions, everyone with a different final destination. English signs at restaurants, guesthouses and bars are silent witnesses to the presence of farangs, mostly passing through or coming from Koh Samed. We drive through this town as fast as we can, stared at by motosai taxi drivers who are probably wondering why on earth those 'rich farangs' are on a bicycle.

Rest stop: Pai nai?

A rest stop, or any other interaction with the local Thai population, results in beautiful but now predictable conversations. The first question is always 'pai nai?' or 'where are you going?'. When we then present our route of about 100 km in broken Thai, disbelief is our part. In addition, the Thais absolutely do not want us to end up in the same place where we started. 'Thamaai?', 'why?' 'Okkamlangkaai', 'for sport', we are still trying. The Thai looks at us pityingly and shrugs. The bicycles are then subjected to an extensive examination. It always starts with feeling the straps. They are always pumped up a lot harder than expected apparently, because while uttering surprised cries, other bystanders are usually also invited to squeeze the tires.

Then the bicycle must always be lifted. Here too the result is unexpected. They usually know 'Carboooon Fibuuuuuuur', with the typical Thai emphasis on that last syllable. After everyone has been allowed to feel for a moment, the supreme moment of course follows: 'taorai?', 'what does it cost?' This is always a bit of a difficult moment. Do I now give the real price, an unimaginable amount to the average Thai onlooker that would confirm all the prejudices surrounding the 'rich farang', or do I mention a fictitious low amount and possibly disappoint them?

Knowing that in the end it will always be compared to the price of a motosai, I choose the golden mean. So it becomes 'Muen gan motosai', 'the same as a moped'. 'Peng make!', 'very expensive' is the immediate answer. Those weird farangs anyway. Spend all that money on a bicycle, when they could have bought a nice moped with all the trimmings for that money!

And on again

We continue via the foot of the hill that forms a natural separation between Ban Phe and the next coastal strip, Mae Rumphueng. Nothing to worry about, a gradient of only 3%, just switch gears and hop we're over it. With a sharp turn we turn onto the 10 km long coastal road past Mae Rumphueng. This beach is known for dangerous currents; people drown here on a regular basis.

We drive past quite a few half-empty apartments, a remnant of the financial crisis in Asia in 1997. The coastal strip looks a bit desolate, and a Dutch friend with a restaurant in Laem Mae Phim refers to this area as the 'Gaza strip' . For around 700,000 baht you can call yourself the owner of an apartment on the beach here. In the last year we have also seen more development here, just like in the rest of the coastal area of ​​Rayong. So who knows a great investment!

Headwind, but lucky

At the end of the coastal road, we turn sharply north at a weather station, towards the number 3 main road that connects Rayong to Chanthaburi. In the town of Taphong we can turn left and continue towards the town of Rayong, only 8 km away. However, we don't feel like cycling along the busy road. We turn around towards the coast and do the route again, now in the opposite direction. Laem Mae Phim, our home base, is 42 Km east from here. With headwind!

I'm lucky today…2 ladies on a motosai driving around 45 Km/hr. I get into the wheel and for a few miles out of the wind I make a wonderful contribution to my average speed today. The ladies think it's very funny that I can keep up with them, and of course also want to know where I'm going: 'pai nai?' Unfortunately they turn off the road a little later (beware: Thai brake first and only then give direction or not) and I get the wind full from the front again. We stop at the pier in Ban Phe for coffee, and about 3 hours and 85 Km later we drive back into Laem Mae Phim at full speed, just a last sprint to see who is the strongest today.

Rest and entertainment

We fill the rest of the day with a massage, an extensive lunch on the beach, some swimming and some reading. Even though there isn't much to do in the evening, there are plenty of good restaurants and bars to keep you entertained. A favorite is the Italian restaurant La Capanna, where you get the best pizza in Thailand. Lovers of sausage and sauerkraut can go to Tequila garden, run by Harold, a Dutchman, among others. For cocktails by the sea, the beautiful and trendy teak-built Phish Café is worth a visit.

For the real party animals there is a disco in Klaeng, 16 km away, where you will really be the only farang visitor. A typical Thai 'country style karaoke' wooden party hut called Sabai Sabai is about 15 km the other way towards Ban Phe. Here it really goes wild every night, whether or not in the presence of the local ladyboy brigade. However, I call it quits for tonight…tomorrow morning is the next 'stage'.