Bang Boet to Ban Krut

by Roy on January 10, 2013

DAY 38 – There are a number of foods we see constantly, but have yet to try for one reason or another. A few days previous I had told Yami I wanted to try to the rice soup that seemed a popular breakfast choice, and I got my chance on this morning. As we pulled out of Bang Boet there was only one place for food, and the lady running the stall only sold the rice soup, so the decision was made.

Its actually really good. Rice soup mixed together with strips of ginger, a few herbs and a soft boiled egg. It has the consistency of a runny porridge, and tastes great with some added sugar.

Anyway, after breakfast we got a bit lost leaving Bang Boet, but soon found our way onto the small road than ran along the coast, from which we turned onto the 3374 and continued north.

I bought some bananas from a roadside stall for 10 baht to keep the energy levels up. Yami even tried one and has now decided she likes bananas after a lifetime of not liking them!

It was a nice ride north, but we didn’t see any of the sea until we came near to Ban Krut, when we turned onto a tiny road than ran along the coastline the final 10km’s into Ban Krut.

We were not sure what to expect from Ban Krut, but were pleasantly surprised to find a long white sandy beach, lined along its length by large casuarina trees, and a mixture of hotels, resorts and private residences. The town is certainly focused towards tourism, but it is nowhere near as developed as Ko Lanta or Khao Lak.

I think we enjoyed the cycling along the East coast more than the cycling along the West coast as there are more options to get onto smaller and quieter roads, which is much more fulfilling than grinding out kilometers on Highway 4. I also think the resort towns on the Gulf coast, although toursity, have not been overdeveloped and still retain a certain charm.

As we cycled into the main part of town looking for a guesthouse, a Dutch couple in their sixties began a conversation with us, asking us questions about our trip, where we had started, how long we planned to cycle etc. We asked them how long they were in Ban Krut, and it turned out they had rented a decent room in a resort for 10,000 Baht (about US$330) for a whole month, which seemed pretty good value to me.

We found a room in Siripong guesthouse for 250 Baht, where we stopped just long enough to wash off the dirt from the days ride before going straight to the beach. After being in the sun for the whole morning we didn’t fancy an afternoon of sunbathing, so Ban Krut beach turned out to be ideal, as we sat in the shade offered by the casuarina trees and watched the world go by.

We both fell asleep in the shade and woke in time to explore the village and take some photos as the sun set, eating at a local restaurant shortly after, before retiring to our room for the evening.