In the weeks leading up to the our ride to Ko Samui (a touristy tropical island off the East Coast) of Thailand we were beginning to wonder if we could still call this trip a bicycle trip. In the course of almost three weeks we had been on our bikes touring (excluding day trips) for only a day and a half. That was all to change though. The ride to our island destination was a flat but long one.

The ride took 5 days and we totaled 370 kms. It was a very nice ride. It gave us a good chance to see the untouristed side of Southern Thailand. Most people who come to Thailand head south for the beautiful beaches that can be found there. As we saw on our ride though it is not all so glamorous. Especially the first day the land was dry and not as lush as we were expecting.

The main industry was shrimp farming and the road was lined with dug out fields filled with ocean water and serviced by machines that "plow" the water to get more oxygen down there. Also there were lots of factories with names such as "Asia Frozen Shrimp Processing Plant" that obviously were preparing the shrimp for export.

Needless to say we ate shrimp every day. In curries, in fried rice, grilled and seasoned, and in many other ways we enjoyed them. One of those ways was in somtham, a dish that must rank as our most popular so far in Thailand. Basically a salad made of green papaya, fish sauce, limes, tomatoes, as many chilis as you can stand, and of course dried shrimp, we eat it everyday. One day after biking we decided we needed some and asked some school girls where we could get some from. They couldn't tell us so we continued walking through town. After twenty minutes or so they came up running and telling us they had found the somtham. They took us to a stand and even though they didn't know the lady at all they helped prepare the salads all the while talking and joking with us.

Another thing that we started to notice as we got more north and it started getting a little lusher was coconuts. Lots of them. All along the road we saw people in groups husking the coconuts and drying them. Quite a sight.

Well after five days of biking we made it to the ferry port (Dan arrived to the port, after making a mad sprint, five seconds after the ferry we had wanted to take had left). We boarded and after two short hours arrived in Ko Samui. For the five days we had pretty much not seen another tourist face (and had had enjoyed it) so it took a little adjusting to Ko Samui where there are so many foreigners residing and visiting that more signs are in English than in Thai. But after five days in the saddle we were ready to plop down into a nice beach chair and enjoy the views. So that is what we did!!