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Dan&LJ RTW
"LEECHES, LEECHES! Everybody check for leeches.....I've got one, it's hooked on good & I've not even been in the water! Abort the nature trail."
Daniel Denton airs his concerns to his fellow trailers.
NAN
First impressions of Nan can be varied. There's not an awful lot to this town, but in a sense that's what makes it so alluring. Possibly for the first time in Thailand, we found ourselves in a region where the people are relatively still 'Thai' in their lifestyles. It was the perfect opportunity to try to be part of the life here.
With only 1 full day in town, there was only 1 way to explore the surrounding regions......Hawk 4. Whereas Hawk 3 had been a brand new, marvelous machine in fully working order, its successor could only be described as 'basic'. Nevertheless we selected a 120km round trip, up incredibly steep mountain inclines and main highways to a nearby national park - enough to test even the hardest of buttocks.
After leaving the main highway after an hour of steady 'straight road' riding, we then entered the winding mountain tracks which led us the remaining 25km to the national park. It is safe to say that we had possibly bitten off more than we could chew as the inclines and hairpins became increasingly extreme. 10km into the mountain route, the battered old hawks were struggling bad. Our bike refused to go into 1st gear and Nat and Dan's bike simply cut out more than once. It was at approximately the 4th hairpin of 12 that the first Hawk incident occurred and we both ended up in a roadside ditch. Luckily we both came out unscathed with only our pride bruised. Dan would just like to put on record, that the 'incident' was 100% the fault of the sticking gear box and in no way due to his immense hawking expertise......the jury (drury) is still out on this one!
After the long slog we did eventually arrive at the national park, and what better way to relax than on a gentle nature trail down stream. At the trail head however, due to a recent rainfall, the stepping stones across a river were dreadfully water logged and in some cases under water. The girls were immediately unsure of the 'passability' of the river, but the 2 Dan's managed to get across quite simply. Lj, witnessing how easy they made it look, decided to take Dan's path and inch across. What followed was the most comic, delayed, stumbling, arm flappingly ridiculous fall ever seen on a single loop family nature trail. First the right leg, then the left, then the right arm, followed by full immersion into the freezing water, but not before the flailing left arm was able to grab Raw and take him down at least as far as his waist. A small consolation for lj, who by this stage was dreadfully water logged and in all cases fully under water. It was at this time (after the laughter had at least died down a fraction) that Daniel made his leech discovery and we decided to get out of the forest ASAP. The only thing left to do now was hawk it back down the mountain - joy.
Joking aside, the entire 4 hour round trip was totally worth it for more of the breathtaking scenery that Thailand has to offer. As we drove through the mountain we were literally riding along the ridge at some points and the 360 degree views were indescribable - magnificent.
Nan, although only a brief and fleeting visit was a wholly valuable experience and the memories of the views will stay with us for the rest of our lives.
One more stop now and a 15 hour journey to the beach.
KO SAMET
We had always planned to end this section of the Thailand trip & our time with Nat & Dan, by spending a well earned 5 days relaxing on the beach.
Ko Samet is a very small island off the east coast and is relatively untouched by tour groups & resorts. The sand is powder white, the sea is turquoise green & our beach hut had a direct view of them both - stunning.
As is usual for lj and Dan, a trip to the sea is automatically accompanied by copious amounts of fresh fish & seafood, and this place had it all freshly bbq'd on your doorstep.
Not an awful lot to report back on really, we just really relished in the laid back surroundings, ljs skin has turned dark brown & Dan is what is termed as 'patchy red'. A great 5 days of pure relaxation before the 4week holiday ends and the real traveling finally re-commences.
Ahead of us is a 3 day trip through Cambodia on our way into Vietnam - our first overland border crossing. Hardcore.
Natalie and Dan have now left us and have returned to real life. Thanks for a fabulous time guys, it's been fantastic and a great excuse to break the budget.
Missing you already.
Hope all is well back at home.
Will update again soon.
Lots of love Danny & lj xxx
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