Another early start after a double breakfast and we immediately joined a busy road that grew steadily more busy and smelly.
I was hoping for views of the adjacent lake, but sadly, I think the lake is a bit like yesterday’s waterfall – yes, it’s a lake but that’s it.
Once we turned off the main road, as you can guess, life became more tranquil, sort of. We took some wrong turns got lots of hello’s, and I even fixed an old lady’s bike.
Her chain had come off so I put it back on. I doubt the chain had seen any lubricant in twenty years but I resisted the urge to lecture her on bike maintenance.
We were soon back on track as the day started to warm up. We stopped for coffee and then looked for a snack in the town of Sikhio where I found these Khanom Krok. They look like some sort of coconut poffertjes. They were excellent.
Leaving town, we stumbled on a super impressive temple complex
Then it was off to find a suitable lunch stop – it had to be popular as well as off the highway. Miles found the perfect spot and we enjoyed a great chicken noodle soup each and felt pretty lazy, so we stayed a while. As usual, the people in the restaurant looked after us, asked questions and were simply very nice to us. It’s one of the best things about travelling in Thailand – great food and nice people.
We had only 16kms to do after lunch and by then it was pretty hot, but the riding was easy. With only one wrong turn, we had a great run into town to the Moonlight Hotel, where I’m enjoying some cooling AC and water.
Later, we walked way too far and looked at the city from the tower at Terminal 21. We tuk-tuk-ed it back to the night market which was barely going – strange for a Saturday night.
In the end, we found a place whose speciality was Chicken rice which was reminiscent of Lou Wong’s in Ipoh, Malaysia. Add to that an amazing tamarind, chilli sauce and it was a winner.
Another day down. China feels a long way away and the Stans feels like it’s so far in the future that it’s hard to contemplate, but I’ll get there a day at a time.
