ferry | Taking Our Time

June 27 – We heard rain early this morning, but it stopped by the time we finished breakfast. Twelve miles planned for this cool and cloudy day.

Programming my phone for today’s itinerary

Good morning, masked horses! The masks help keep the flies out of their eyes

The way markers seem clearer today, or maybe we’re getting smarter? The Pieterpad marker is the red and white in the middle.

A bit of road walking, with a decorated overpass

Take care – chicken crossing ahead! We did not see any chickens…

This was the only cafe we passed by today, but we had already eaten our lunch with a pot of Jim’s good coffee, so we didn’t stop in.

Now, here’s a sign you don’t see every day! An unusual way to alert folks that there is a ferry crossing ahead.

Sitting and waiting for the ferry – how often does it run?

It runs about every five minutes, taking pedestrians, bicyclists and cars across the Meuse River

The ferryman collected one euro from each person, and before we knew it, we were on the other side.

Some more good signage – don’t take this path!

Look in the distance – that must be Vierlingsbeek!

We walked into town and waited on the church steps for Nena from the Hotel de Kroon to come pick us up. The walk to Meerlo is too long for us old folks to complete in one go (24 miles and a bit) so our travel company split it into two 12 mile walking days with a rest day in between. This is the good life!

6/22 – We arranged transport over the Thai border with our Koh Kong hotel. A posh air conditioned van picked us up and delivered us to the border, where people pushed handcarts of goods and produce across the border.

Our van driver put stickers on our shirts and escorted us to the border, where the stickers identified us to the van driver on the Thai side. We are back in Thailand for another 30 days. When we were here in April, we explored the northern part of the country. Now we will spend a month on the vacation island of Koh Chang, home of white sandy beaches and azure seas. Koh Chang means Elephant Island, as it is shaped like an elephant ear.

Another posh van, and a two hour drive got us to the ferry terminal. We watched as the ferry pulled away from the dock, so we will have to wait a half hour for the next one.

We shared the van ride with Kennedy Smith, a Scot who spends half his time here. He loves the climate and the food, and has a Thai girlfriend. (Newsflash: if you’re an old white guy looking for a pretty young girlfriend, Southeast Asia is the place for you. I stopped counting all the old men with sweet young Asians clinging adoringly to their arms.). Kennedy told us about the different beaches, and to stay away from the ‘walking street’ where the prostitutes were located. The ferry ride took about a half hour.

Koh Chang, here we come!

Our van ride was supposed to include a drop off at our hotel, but when we told our driver where we were staying, he added $15 to the fare. We chose the most isolated beach at the end of the island, far from the other towns. A half hour after dropping Kennedy off at his place, on a single lane road with exciting hairpin turns, we reached Klong Koi village.

Where was our place? We shouldered our packs and walked down the beach, as there is no road (and no sign!) for the Bangbao Beach Resort.

So now we are settled in our cozy cabin for the next three and a half weeks. We have air con, a good hot shower, and amazing wifi, considering where we are. The best restaurant in the village is 20 steps away, and the clear waters of the Gulf of Thailand are right outside our door. I think we’re going to like it here!