Hua Hin

After another 120 odd kms yesterday, I finally reached the Mida de Sea hotel on Thailand's west coast for a couple of days back-pedalling. No girlie bars here than goodness.
This area is mostly a Thai tourist spot. The king has a palace down the road and there are some fancy resort hotels not far away, but the area does not have class.
I told the girl on recepton I wanted to go to the Kaeng Krachan National Park tomorrow (today), as mentioned in their room directory, the one full of animals and over 350 species of bird, in particular hornbills. She had no idea what I was talking about at first but then seemed to understand the words National Park. Then this man sidles up and starts talking to her in Thai. I said to him, Excuse me, I am not finished here yet (or, in other words, Butt out!). He turned to me, with great composure, and looked me straight in the eye (though he must have been sorely tempted to steal a look at my unruly 6 weeks old beard, which is now travelling so far down my neck it is linking up with my chest hair) and said, Yes sir, I realise that and I am trying to interpret for  you. (Though dressed in civvies, he was the manager!) He had her make some phone calls and assured me she would book it for me if I could be ready for 8am, which I readily agreed to.
So I was rather excited this morning when the air-conditioned mini bus arrived on time. National Park?, asked the driver. That's it, I replied. We drove to another hotel where we picked up some more people and the guide. To get acquainted, I asked the guide whether he was actually an expert on birds. He said no, not really, but in any case, there not many birds in the Khao Sam Roi National Park. What? I want to go to the Kaeng Krachan park, see the hornbills!! Ah yes, you would see hornbills there but we are heading south to see a throne and a pineapple farm.
It was actually not bad. We started at a fisherman's village, then took a boat round a headland to walk to a height of 450m up a mountain side, catching a glimpse of some Dusky Langurs, (the monkeys that appear to be wearing glasses), and then descending into an enormous cavern in which a beautiful tetrahedron, royal pavilion is sited, lit up from above.

Heading south.

To avoid cycling the same route twice, we caught the public bus back down to Kachanaburi (of Bridge over River Kwai fame). Our aim was to skirt round the south west of  Bangkok and head for the coast.
The first morning we kept to the quiet side of the river and yet came across a temple complex (Wat Tum Seu) which as we approached in the misty morning light could have come straight out of a Disney film.

Death Railway

I had every reason to feel on top of the world this morning. Any ideas why? It is not hard to work it out if you have been following my Facebook page.

Thursday, Feb 5
Two days ago, our cycling brought us to Kachanaburi, famous for the Bridge over the River Kwai. Despite the town now catering for those who are reluctant to leave behind their usual cravings, cycling across the railway bridge - a bit tricky - felt rather momentous, most especially after visiting the Thai-Burma Railway Museum. This railway, the so-called Death Railway, was built on the lives of nearly 100,000 men. Asians made up the vast majority of this figure and, hard as it is to imagine, suffered the worst.
Part of the railway is still in use but nowadays a massive dam at the confluence of 3 rivers has submerged a long length of it.This is roughly where we have cycled to today, over rolling hills, the River Kwai our companion, with mountainous National Reserves and Sanctuaries to left and right.
Despite the unreserved friendliness of everyone we meet, few English follow the roads we are cycling in Thailand; perhaps for this reason, hardly any English is spoken. Signs (and frequently menus, too) are mostly in Sanskrit. So it is difficult to find the answers to our many questions - about the Buddha and the ubiquitous temples, the names of birds we see, the crops they are growing or even what is it we are eating?
I know it was a pit viper I very nearly cycled over in Sukhottai, the 2 metre snake some young men had caught on the roadside was a copper headed rat snake and the distinctive birdcall we hear everywhere is of the Common Myna bird. I think we now also can recognise fields of tapioca, sweet potato and of course sugar cane.
However, on the flight over we saw a Tourism film about the many types of Hornbills in Thailand. It is our hope that we will yet get to see one.
Today we cycled 72 km to a little town further up the river called Thong Phu Phum. I had to change some dollars for baht in the bank. I had forgotten to take my passport. One would expect to be shown the door; instead, the staff tried to find a solution. They used the ID card of the doorman. Smiles all round.
We ourselves cannot tell the difference but we do know that there are in these parts near the border quite a number of tribespeople who have fled Myanmar. So it is common in this pleasant little town to find more varied food and the sale of crafts and jewellery made by the Mons tribespeople.
Steps from the town lead down to a wooden bridge from which one can appreciate the fast current of the Kwai and cross over to the large temples on the other side. They are built on the mountainside, easily visible from the town, especially when lit up at night. When I walked around at about 6pm, monastic music calmly filled the still air, while some of the monks prayed in a small chapel. Ironically, the spell was penetrated by the barking of some of the dogs. They seem to be everywhere in Thailand, not, it might often seem, cared off but not mistreated either.

Friday
Rising up out of the town at 7am, feeling a little chilly at 16 degrees, we were soon past the 37 (give or take 1 or 2) large statues of the Lord Buddha, leaving the river for a while as we rode through hillsides covered in thick jungle, except where frequently clearance had, or is, taking place to grow crops.
Our next view of water was a dazzling view of the large lake, edged by floating houses. We were not far now from Songkla buri, the last town before the Myanmar border, but first we had a beastly climb to contend with.
We have found beds at Jays, a very clean and pleasant spot. I think that at £2 for the night it has been my cheapest stay so far. There are several bridges over the water here, one being the second largest wooden bridge in the world. Naturally we had to cycle over it and then share the magic of the sunset with the mainly Thais milling around.
A fine day was rounded off with wonderful Burmese food at the Burmese Inn.