Before I decided on staying somewhere near Monkey Resort, I checked that there was no mention of Monkeys in their reviews.
This was another transition day – I’ve had a few of those. I’m heading to the area of Temple ruins around Sukothai, and there’s not much except 150kms between Uthai Thani and Kamphaeng Phet.
So, I checked for accom along the way and lo and behold, there’s plenty.
It was a fantastic ride except for the last 20kms on the main road. After another late start (I couldn’t resist another one of the wonderful coffees from Solar Cell Homestay). I got my usual snacks and water from 7-11 and headed off along quiet roads and lanes.
It was steamy at 8am and it only got worse. Thankfully, the GPS took me near the hills where the cloud cover was great.
There was a guy herding cattle and water buffaloes and all of the water buffaloes went for a swim while the cattle stayed high and dry. As i was watching the spectacle, an old guy (probably my age) came up and we had a great conversation. It may as well have been in gibberish because neither of us understood a word the other was saying. Lots of smiles though, and he finished by offering me a bottle of water – I had plenty and graciously declined.
The good thing about a late start is that the dogs are all dozing by the time I came past. Only one or two showed interest, and one just wanted to play ! That was so funny, as I was expecting the worst.
At one point, I was in the middle of nowhere – literally – when I came around a corner and saw the most magnificent wat complex that I’ve ever seen. It was over the top ornate.
My judgement may have been clouded by my hunger and the fact that there were three restaurants overlooking the lake, … but the wat really was wonderful. I only found that out after I’d eaten. You can’t visit a wat on an empty stomach.
Then it was off to find the main road and 20kms of boredom interrupted by a smoothie at Cafe Amazon.
When I got to Monkey Resort, I asked if they had a room for the night. The lady burst out laughing as the place was completely empty at that stage.
I did the usual cleanup, washed my riding gear, ate the rest of my food and drank as much water as I could. There was even time to clean the drive belt.
Luckily, they had a restaurant, and dinner was a soup and rice, delivered to my bungalow.
I ordered a new chainwheel (should be called a beltwheel ?) for the bike as the one I have is damaged. The bike shop in Chiang Mai asked me to order and pay for it. So I did that, and paid the $, but have absolutely no confirmation or delivery estimate. Fingers crossed.