Krung Thep: 20 August 2011

Hugely enjoyed a delicious breakfast of smoked salmon / avocado bagel, and cappuccino with good friends at Dean & DeLuca in Silom (Thanon Naradhiwas next to the Chong Nonsi BTS Station). Over breakfast we discussed Ban Suan beach which is about an hour south of Bangkok on the road to Pattaya. Without prior planning or the GPS, I set off to find this resort.

The road out of Bangkok was easy enough to navigate as I back-tracked to take the Talat River crossing ferry which joins Route 3, Soi Sukhumvit, south – east from Bangkok (my understanding is that Sukhumvit can be followed all the way south - east to Cambodia). Sadly, I was obviously not concentrating and became lost in Samut Prakan, the next province to Bangkok. Google Maps on the iPhone and a good 3G reception soon found my location. Unfortunately I was completely disoriented and miss-read the north and south. 30 minutes later I found myself back in Bangkok and the middle of Sukhumvit's Saturday morning traffic. At this point decided to call it a day and make for home. Nevertheless, an enjoyable ride and I was able to try my Italian Spidi body armour,  purchased the previous weekend while in the Philippines. I found this very cool, comfortable and secure - excellent for around-town riding. Mileage upon return and after the regular car wash - 3,650 kilometers.