7 November 2014
- A3PPABT7: Hin Dat - Chong Sadao Bicycle Track
- General data:
- We started our bike trip at the Pha Tat Valley Hotel in Hin Dat and ended the seventh bicycling day at Ban Kokkod in Chong Sadao.
- Technical data of the trip was as follows: Total Distance: 84.19 Km; Moving Average: 22.5 Km/Hr; Overall Average: 18.2 Km/Hr; Maximum Speed: 53 Km/Hr; Moving time: 3 Hr 44 Min; Stopped Time: 54 Min; Total Time: 4 Hr 38 Min.
- Number of participants: 2 (Pat & Steve)
Our seventh day of travel. We felt the end of our trip nearing as in two days we should arrive in Ayutthaya. Today we would switch from the Khwae Noi to the Khwae Yai River valley. All the tourist attractions we had seen already on the way up, while upcoming ones are limited. We had a departure at first light. At a good pace we milled the first 25 kilometers and halted for a coffee at the Sai Yok Coffee; the place we stayed overnight on our third day. Here we met the guys from Braveheart who were walking the Death Railway to raise money for two charities.
We had a quick chat and at 0750 Hr we were back on the road, ready to tackle an altitude difference of 250 meters. We reached the top (335 m ASL) 40 minutes later after some light rain. We continued to Wat Phu Toei where we made a fuel stop. The Death Railway ran through Phu Toei area and a rusted discarded German Henschel locomotive can still be seen there.
Arriving at Sai Yok Noi around 0930 Hr, I stopped as planned near the waterfall. The fall is located mid-hill, so I had to brake very strong to come to a halt. I took the occasion to look for my sun glasses as half an hour earlier the sun in all her glory had pierced through the clouds. I saw Steve coming down at full speed, but he did not stop and taking profit of the descent, continued until the crossroad for Sri Sawat.
From Sai Yok Noi there was only 20 Km left to bike to reach Chong Sadao. Most of the stretch was along the road between the two river valleys. We arrived at Ban Kokkod at 1100 Hr. We checked in, took a shower and went for lunch near the bridge over the river about 2.5 Km from the resort. The afternoon was used for a siesta.
At 1630 Hr I went for a small kayak trip on the Khwae Yai River and the Tha Thung Na Reservoir formed by the construction of the Thung Na Dam end of the 70s. The dam named after the location were it was constructed, is a rock fill and concrete gravity dam of 840 m long and 30 m high. The power plant has two hydroelectric generating units which generates a total of 38 MW.
After the kayaking we went for diner; again at the same place near the bridge we went at noon. After diner we visited a 7-Eleven and returned to the resort for a good night's rest.