After a long day’s drive from Si-Kao, I reached Krabi late in the afternoon yesterday. It is one of the two larger provincial towns here in the south of Thailand. The day before yesterday I had a long way around Trang.
Here in Krabi there is a large selection of smaller hotels and hostels, the city is swimming a bit on the swelling tourism wave. In the wider area there are very beautiful beaches, hot springs and archaeologically interesting sites. However, everything is not within realistic reach of my bike, because after eight days in the saddle since Georgetown, I want to take a break again.
I find a clean room with a small balcony in a side street and rinse my laundry in the evening so that it has a chance to dry on the balcony. But that will last until the next afternoon.
It was raining twice yesterday and I was able to find a shelter in time only once, the second time, just on a climb in a section of forest without anything, the shower really caught me. Shortly thereafter, I was able to dry myself in a small restaurant and use the rain break for a coffee and late lunch.
Today is a chain care day. After more than 1500 kilometers, this important component in my bicycle drive deserves a thorough cleaning and readjustment. That sounds a bit high, but the chain had to be a little tense. I have done this about every 500 km, because there is no compensating spring element on my hub gear. The chain lengthens with daily use and then sags more and more. Actually not that bad, but in the chainglider that surrounds my chain, this effect is negatively noticeable through more grinding.
And despite the very tight chain guard, of course enough dirt still penetrates to the chain links in every rain.
With the coarse microfiber cloth that I found earlier in a shop for household goods, the chain is like new. Fresh oil on it, cleaned the bike a bit, and so I can continue my journey tomorrow.
My glasses also need care. With the constant air humidity and my sweat on the plastic glasses, I haven’t gotten them really clean for a long time. Especially my sports glasses, which I wear when cycling all the time, except when it is raining, and on the inside of which my face sweats during the day and on the outside of which a fine film of moisture forms due to the wind, I wanted to have it professionally cleaned by an optician.
Unfortunately, however, I don’t find an optician with an ultrasonic cleaning device, although there is no shortage of eyewear stores. But I am sold a chemical cleaning agent and it works (at least at first glance).
Krabi is also the first place in Thailand where I can find postcards and I can replenish my stamp stock here at a post office without having to wait long. I had already bought some in La-Ngu and, like in Malaysia, I have to get a waiting number, but people do not queue up with forms, do not have to have their ID card read out and leave fingerprints on the forms that have already been signed, before each process is completed and the next person waiting is called. So I get 20 pretty stamps after five minutes.
