The Gang

Here are what is left of the group after 3 Canadians left us before we crossed into Thailand. This is our last day together and it has been a great ride. Tomorrow we all go our different ways with lots of fun memories, including the painful ones, and their have been a fair number of those. Wearing two pairs of padded bike pants was my invention!

We are staying at a relaxed beach resort on the Gulf of Thailand, about 3 hours from Bangkok. After a short ride to visit a mangrove preserve which is sponsored by the king in an effort to help clean up the water quality, we have had time to swim in the gulf and relax in the hammocks. Also visiting the mangroves were scores of school children on organized outings, with leaders who had microphones set to maximum sound, and therefore could be heard throughout the whole area. Really peaceful!!

Just for you Floridians, the mangroves were of a different type, much bigger leaves and way taller than ours, as you can see in the picture. They also used to have manatees, but they have been extinct here for 30 years. We don't realize how lucky we are to have our inter-coastal waterway with all its wild life.