But one of the great advantages of Phuket’s location is that on our doorstep lies a treasure trove of quiet, relaxed cycling locales in gloriously enlivening environments. Without doubt one of the finest and nearest such ‘escapes’ from the island’s hot season cauldron is Thai Mueang Beach and National Park located just 30 minutes’ drive north of the Sarasin Bridge along Highway 4.
With my Italian road bike safely bound onto the car’s bike rack, it was there that I set off last week for a little off-island heat escape.
While Thai Mueang is close to Phuket geographically, it’s a million miles away in terms of pace of life, friendly welcoming people and opportunities for beguiling stress-free cycling that this enticing cocktail offers.
Am I alone in feeling an almost tangible exhalation of relief as the charming portals of the (old) Sarasin Bridge release me from Phuket’s frenzied grasp and the REAL Thailand begins to emerge? After just a few kilometres, everything starts to slow down, frenzied drivers seem to become more relaxed and if you stop for fuel, or at a store, the famed Thai ‘Smilometer’ seems to ramp up in frequency and sincerity.
Certainly, as I drove into the little town of Thai Mueang (don’t blink or you’ll miss it!) the feeling of returning to REAL Thailand was palpable. Delivery vans lazed insouciantly outside grocery stores, their drivers chatting over shared ciggies, oblivious to any traffic congestion that might ensue. Madame Noodle-Cart trundled her slothful way through town, bawling out her menu through a megaphone, while soi dogs napped on the road’s warm tarmac, oblivious to the slow-moving entourage of vehicles crawling past centimetres from their snouts!
It’s a step back in time and a step up in sanity and relaxation for sure and lifting my road bike off the bike rack made the transition feel all the more real.
I’d planned my ride starting at 5pm out along Thai Mueang’s iconic Turtle Beach through the National Park and out six kilometres to the abandoned tin mining lake and workings at the northern end of the Park. It was a perfect ride with the Andaman Sea gently susurrating along the endless sandy beach on my left, an almost continuous shady canopy of vaulting Casuarina trees above me and the beguiling spine of forested hills on the horizon away to my right. The ride is flat, well shaded and almost devoid of distractions other than a few other cyclists and the occasional soi dog sleeping in the middle of the empty road.
At the National Park gate, I was waved through (no charge!) and cycled the six clicks to the northern extremity of the ride. Here a fabulous viewpoint looks north along the stunning beachscape toward Tap Lamu – with tree-clad headlands rearing up in the distance above the crashing surf.
Silently brooding and massive stand pieces of rusting, tin-mining machinery like ghostly sentinels in the forest, by the weed-filled lagoon. I stretched, then plunged into the waves of the deserted beach for a relaxing muscle-stretching swim followed by a long walk on the endless sands to dry off.
I cycled back to the Thai Mueang Resort (Tel: 076 571 151) where I’d booked an air-conditioned cottage two minutes from the beach for B500 a night. After showering and changing I cycled five minutes along the beach road to George’s (Tel: 081 787 1790) charming little ramshackle restaurant, right on the beach. Here, a lovely world of bric-a-brac elegance welcomes you with sand-between-the-toes ambience, plus incredibly affordable prices. The Thai and Italian cuisine are excellent and will cost you around B300 for a meal and a drink.
Sitting under the palms at George’s and watching a new crescent moon rising over the Andaman, I felt a million miles away from the mayhem, price-gouging and torrid heat of Phuket, which in reality were only 30 minutes’ drive south.
‘Bicycling’ Baz Daniel has been penning his Blazing Saddles column, chronicling his cycling adventures in Phuket and beyond, since 2013.