2/4/25
We left at almost exactly at 7 o’clock. The Sun was surprisingly high in the sky. We were feeling very tired. It would be nice to get away earlier but we couldn’t sleep any less than we were. Annoyingly the green Surly has what we think is a clicking pedal. Yes, the new ones we bought in Switzerland.
The air quality was actually quite good. We were riding into the wind. Up and down the road went. Winding around the corners. It was nice and quiet too. We were surrounded by plantations. Bamboo and rubber for sure. Maybe something else. The beautiful road went on forever. It was ideal cycling conditions. Temperature and traffic wise. Everywhere was very quiet. Not the busy communities we had become used to. Just as we realised we passed a village with lots of people out on their porches. All waving and saying hello.
We turned off onto an unpaved road, or rather a road that was being resurfaced. It was just stony gravel. It was only for a couple kilometres. We could manage. There was tarmac for another kilometre. But then we turned off onto another dusty track. After another kilometre, tarmac. It kept switching like this for a while. Our eyes stumbled across a very big staircase on the side of a rocky promine. It could only be a temple.
There was a hammock occupying monk at the bottom. He gestured that we should go up and then come back down a different way somehow. Our legs burned as we climbed up the stairs lined with gongs. At the top was a cave with Buddha images within. Behind them, the cave went up. The smell first, then the bats. at the top of the cave was a shaft of light. An owl sputtered to life in fear of Jonathan’s presence. But there was no path to navigate through. We saw the monk again and intimated our confusion. Behind him was another cave. We decided he must have meant go up, then come down.
From here we ended up on a dusty orange track again. It continued for miles. It was really rather enjoyable apart from the tenseness of not knowing if we’d be able to continue at the other end or if it would turn to mud. The road got slowly more rutted and covered with deeper sand. But eventually we popped out on a perfect road, overjoyed to see tarmac again, and to think a little less. It was short-lived. We soon turned right and travelled along a concrete road. Not much better and just as bumpy.
It was a weird place. The road ended again and we were back on gravel track making slow progress. There were random new build houses dotted around. But still a scarcity of people. Thailand seems to be rebuilding all of its roads. Presumably these were next.
The concrete started again and was even worse. The 10m long concrete slabs were joined with raised tarmac ridges. It made for a bumpy and slow ride. Not helpful when hounds were routinely pursuing us. They would run out of the houses with glee, completely unabated, and angrily yap at us. Frankie had developed an angry way of saying ‘Mâi’ – which means no – that proved effective.
We finally reached tarmac again, though we were still heading perpendicular to the direction all the roads ran in. We stopped for a quick watermelon break. The flies were a nuisance. Thousands of these tiny things. We marched about to keep them at bay. We were running a little low on water. Suddenly having found ourselves in more rural countryside we’d found less shops.
All day we’d been surround by farms and plantations. It was all very managed land but occasionally we got a glimpse of some hills in the distance. We seemed to be on track for more established routes. At the next slightly larger group of buildings we stopped. Frankie had a pepsi. Jonathan some kind of tropical drink. They were cold and refreshing. We also bought a bag of cut up guava. It came with a pouch of chilli, sugar and salt. A local man, who stopped to buy ice, desperately tried to talk to us. We managed to say where we were headed for the day. We couldn’t understand many more words. The man didn’t give in though and was keen to give us directions. We could only nod and thank him.
The road was boring after the fun of being on the tracks earlier. We were cycling through endless fields. There were many people lying in hammocks, or under trees. A family was even taking refuge and having their lunch underneath a trailer. We finally saw some burning fields. We hadn’t seen any yet. It seemed to be less engulfing flames and more smouldering piles.
In a bid to stay off the main highway, the 317, we were taking a parallel road. Well it was a road and then it became a track at the next crossroads. Then it turned back into a road. It was 10km of the most boring soul destroying monotony. It was like we were peddling in place and getting nowhere. We were absolutely wiped. The day before had just been too much. Finally we returned east. A shallow hill presented itself but it felt steep as hell. At the top was a mighty Buddha.
Now we were dropping into the town. It was suddenly extremely busy. We hit the 317. A frontage road was on each side. There were stalls and shops flanking the massive stroad. Nobody could live in such a place. With difficulty, we navigated to the other side of the huge highway. The resort was 500m along a side road. It was unbeatable for 500 baht. A nice room but not that clean.
Jonathan unsuccessfully tried to fix the clicking pedal then we walked into town. There was a good market. The people looked at us as though we were from another planet. We found fresh tofu. Cooked aubergine, banana blossom and green beans. A man made us a papaya salad too. We bought a ripe papaya too. When we got back we put our feast together and watched young sheldon. Then white lotus.
Surly They Won't Make It 