Today we said good-bye to Cambodia and crossed back into Thailand to begin the final leg of our trip. We set off from Pailin shortly after 7am, having savoured another tasty Cambodian breakfast for the last time. We arrived at the border just before 8am and crossed through our final check point without any trouble.
Once in Thailand, the landscape gradually grew greener and we commented on how this land would have once been part of the mighty Khmer Empire - information we didn't yet know when we first began our journey in Thailand.
It wasn’t long before we began to recall how easy it is to travel by bicycle in Thailand. The roads are in excellent condition and there are plenty of hotels, restaurants and cafes to stop at. While the driving is still not what we're used to in Australia or Europe, the drivers are more courteous than what we've experienced in Vietnam and Cambodia and they give us plenty of room on the road.
(A banana crop gives the landscape an injection of green)
(In Thailand we learn the shapes of the words to know where we're going)
15km from our destination of Chantaburi, we decided to stop for lunch. The food was simple and tasty and we watched with admiration as the cook's hands flew from her giant mortar and pestle to the small bowls from which she ladled up all kinds of liquids, before rapidly and finely slicing some fresh vegetables, all of which went back into the mortar for tossing and turning into some delicious dish. As we prepared to leave, she signalled for us to come and stand with her to have our photo taken. She was full of laughter and it was a nice sort of welcome to receive on our first morning back in Thailand.
(This lovely woman wanted our photo taken with her so we just had to get a photo too)
Back on the road and 10km out of Chantaburi, we encountered some roadworks where Nicky managed to locate a huge nail and drive right over it which resulted in a flat back tyre. We were glad to roll into Chantaburi once we finally arrived.
Chantaburi is located on a river of the same name. Thanks to its past life as a popular trading hub, a mix of East-meets-West architecture grew up around the waterfront, some of which can still be seen today in the Old Town. By happy accident, we ended up staying in the Old Town and had a lovely afternoon and evening slowly wandering up and down the eclectic waterfront area, known as Chantaboon.
(A giant zebra. Colourful street art outside an art gallery)
(Sukhaphiban Road)
(A family who run a business downstairs and live upstairs in this old colonial building)
(We followed the white rabbit down the rabbit hole and into the lovely old town)
(A section of the waterfront with houses wading in the river)
(This woman kindly allowed Nicky to photograph her using her foot pedalled sewing machine)
(This Cathedral is the oldest in Thailand)
(This man pulled up to the pavement and his dog jumped aboard for a ride)
(A corner office with a riverside view)
(The Chantaburi River)
(A small Chinese temple lights up the market area)
Tomorrow we will cycle to Laem Singh, a small seaside town popular with Thai holiday-makers. Tim and Tina have kindly given us some more recommendations to check out. We're looking forward to a relaxing couple of days before we get back on the road to Bangkok.
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