A famous saying says: "tour bikers make plans only so they can change them". Yesterday evening before going to sleep, we looked up some more information about Thung Salaeng Luang and found out that this is one of the few Thai national parks, where they charge 500Baht pp entry (for foreigners). Well, we've already sponsored the Thai national parks a lot, but found this a bit over the top (just for a nice night camping, still have to add the additional camping fee), especially since we also had to make a serious detour for it with big hills to climb. So: we left our 10th Thai national park for what it was, and decided to head in the right direction towards the Mekong.
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| Road 2013, much nicer cycling. Notice the dry surroundings, almost looks like autumn... |
It was still the intention to make this a short day, to recover fully. It become a 37km gentle ride, with a few ups and downs (more down than up!) towards Nakhon Thai, a small town a bit before a good climb on our route towards the Mekong and with several nice resorts. We did leave in time, and we took our time today; even though it was a short ride, we still had our coffee break, this time supplemented with a delicious watermelon. We also had our first "mechanical problem": a flat tyre. When we left in the morning, my rear tyre was a bit flat, so I just topped it up. After 15km or so it was a bit flat again, so I inflated it again and this time part of the valve came out. I fixed it and the thought that solved the problem, but it didn't. So a few more pump stops - it was deflating slowly enough - and we were at the resort, where I then fixed the tyre properly.
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| Coffee break in the dry fields, just besides a small pineapple plantation |
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| After enjoying a fresh cup of coffee, did the dishes, and found a nice drying spot |
It was also no longer road no. 12, but no. 2013 now - much nicer cycling. 2 lanes, some traffic but OK, nice scenery. It's already quite dry here, the dry Thai "winter" scenery we know from Isaan when we lived there; this will remain dry until April when the rains come. Yes, lush green is much nicer, but the dry scenery is also nice for a change, it's different.
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| Totally essential for full recovery |
The resort we had in mind, Panya Garden Resort, was as nice as expected, had many rooms available (I guess it only gets busy here on weekends and holidays) at a very affordable price. Because of the short ride, despite us taking it easy, we had arrived by noon, and after a shower and a short break we went for a good lunch and yummy dessert!
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| At Panya Garden Resort, we're in the middle one |
After that, bicycle repair and maintenance time, and just plain good relax time on our terrace. It feels good to take a rest day! Tomorrow, "for sure" on our way to the Mekong - although you never know of course!
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| Intimate moment with the bicycle, nursing its wounds. |
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| Ouch, that hurt! No surprise I had a flat tyre... |