Surat Thani

The next day, as I was waiting by the side of the highway for the local bus to Surat Thani, I got into a conversation with a Belgian guy, with bandaids all over his bare legs, who was waiting for the bus back to Phuket. He told me that, during a trecking trip the previous day, he had become infested by leaches. In the tropics, any kind of bites like this can become badly infected. As we were talking two of his fellow Belgians - a man and a woman - came riding along on bicycles on which were flying large Belgian flags. They chatted awhile in Flemish, and the guy told me that his countrymen had ridden their bikes all the way from Bangkok. They were touring Thailand by bicycle. I spent one night in Surat Thani, mostly wandering around the outdoor market area. Near the riverfront I discovered a fascinating Chinese spirit shrine which also served as a home for fruit bats.