Ban Takhun to Surat Thani - 74km

So last night I was eating at this restaurant when I met a local guy Jack (Cha - in Thai), who was running a language school in Ban Takhun. He was forty-seven and born in Surat Thani, but moved to Germany to study Psychology on a scholarship when he finished high school. He said he was quite a good student, and his father was dissapointed when he did not pursue a career in politics, as his family were involved with the Thai goverment in some way. By the sounds of it he had travelled alot, and had been all over Europe, lived in France amongst other places, and said he had managed to learn Germain in just one and a half years. Quite impressive. He claimed his english was poor, but I think it was probably the least exhausting communication I had experienced from a non native english speaker thus far. He was interested in recruiting native english speakers for his school, particularly those from Europe or Australia as  our pronunciation is more suitable for dealing with the droves of tourists that come to Thailand from these places. He currently had a couple of filipino girls working for him. So if any english speakers reading this want a teaching job in Thailand, you can get work here in Ban Takhun. I think he said it was 20,000-40,000 baht per month, which is much higher than the average wage of 8,000 baht. If interested contact Jack - shaihong2009@yahoo.com. Ban Takhun isn't a bad place, there are no tourists despite its close proximity to Khao Sok National Park, reputedly the best in Thailand. I think most base themselves in Phuket or Surat Thani and make the trip to Khao Sok by minivan.  Jack described Ban Takhun as a kind of rich village. Most people were farmers from the surrounding hills, but apparently they make decent money working their rubber plantations. Unlike the buildings, all the cars there looked shiny and new.

So anyway, I was hungover this morning and tried to revive myself with a traditional Thai breakfast as recommended by Jack. It was great, a breakfast curry with rice, omlette and some vegetables. I didn't get going until about ten, but I felt good by this time. The riding was nice too, some of the best scenery so far. I even managed to capture the landscape free from powerlines by heading down a side road for a short while. I might even have to go to the national park to see this lanscape at its best, but early today I rode through some nice country. There were some climbs, but nothing too bad, and once through the mountains I rode through rubber plantations for most of the day until I reached Phun Pin where it was forested again, and much cooler. I got to Surat Thai around 3:30, and was generally impressed with my experiences today.