The intention of our stay at Veni Vana Valley was simple: enjoy 2 nice days without too much action! It is quite remote, still far enough from Chiang Mai, easy to enjoy some "time off". Although... we did go for a run, not too long and just once, good to get it going again. During the entire cycling trip we succeeded to run now and then. It's the first time we were able to combine it, usually we have the intention but it just doesn't happen. It was just about once a week and short distances, but still. Enough to maintain a basic running condition, not enough to keep it strong. So, with the cycling tour coming to an end, it's time to increase the running mileage again! We also took the opportunity at the resort to give our bikes a thorough rinse. Hugues, the owner of the resort, is a fanatic cyclist himself, so he happily gave us everything we needed to clean our loyal wheels - inclusive of a tool to clean our chains properly. And finally, we even did the effort to cycle back to that super cool coffee shop I mentioned in my previous post, 15-16km return - only to find it closed that day (closed on Mondays...).
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| Beautiful scenery near the Veni Vana Valley resort |
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| Prepared for planting new rice |
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| And rice freshly planted |
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| One evening, there were even some heavy clouds on the horizon, and sure enough: we had a thunderstorm and quite a lot of rain at night! We hadn't had any rain for the past 6 weeks or so. |
After our lovely stay, it was then time on 16/1 to ride the last stage of the tour: to Chiang Mai. Well, Hugues had also borrowed us his good pump to get our tires properly inflated. Normally I do this with a small handpump, and I thought it gave enough pressure. However, this last ride, what a difference!!! A bit stupid to discover after 2500km that our tires should have been more inflated, it would definitely have made a difference. Ouch... It went so easily, this last day. We took our time, avoided the big road 107, had our coffee at a shop besides the rice fields, and still arrived in Chiang Mai around lunch. So we had lunch before we went to the hotel, as it would have been too early to check in. By 2pm we arrived, with another 46km done, at the final destination! It's a very double feeling. On the one hand, we're really happy to get to Chiang Mai. It's a place we love, and soon Sander and Vere will be joining us here for a vacation together which we eagerly look forward to. On the other hand, we absolutely enjoyed our incredible 7-week cycling tour and are sad it's over; we could have easily continued this cycling trip for quite a while still!
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| Coffee stop on the way to Chiang Mai |
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| Time for the final decision: make that difficult U-turn on the 107 and head to Chiang Mai, or take the easy turn left and head off again? |
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| We rode a few kms on the 107; there are more pleasant places to enjoy cycling |
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| Like here, on a cycling lane before entering Chiang Mai |
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| Our hotel for the first 6 days in Chiang Mai. It looks better on this photo than it is in reality, although we're not complaining - at all! |
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| Enjoying Chiang Mai, its many temples and other pleasant places |
It's time for a new chapter: 6 weeks in Chiang Mai! We stay at a hotel in Suthep for the first few days, then we'll move into a little house we've rented for 5 weeks in the Wat Pong Noi area. We'll be enjoying the city, the nature and mountains around it, get our massage from time to time, find those nice restaurants (it was Lebanese on our first evening here!). We might do a few short (cycling) trips from here too. There is some repair and maintenance to be done to our bicycles, we'll try to get that done too. In fact, today we went to 5 bicycle shops to find our if they can repair my front brake (the oil is leaking). They all can't do it... They don't have the same system, don't know how to handle it - maybe they don't use hydraulic brakes that much (or not Magura), or maybe our bikes are already too old after 8 years? Tomorrow we'll try another shop, one that is supposedly specialised in touring bicycles. We've also gone to some running shops, because we needed new shoes and wanted new running sandals too. Who knows what else we will find, do, explore, eat, enjoy, experience, meet...
For now, it's sayonara however - although I still plan to write a trip summary, as I usually do, so don't forget about the blog just yet.
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| Honestly, after 7 weeks on the road, a good piece of sourdough bread and some Gouda cheese taste heavenly! |
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| Within 24h in Chiang Mai, we were at the Basecamp, Chiang Mai's trail running centre of gravity at the foot of Doi Suthep mountain (and trails of course) - which "happens to be" a few 100m from our hotel |
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| There is a charming local company doing running sandals (called Chiang Mai Running Sandal, how apt), they make your pair of sandals custom, on the spot. We just had to go and get ourselves a pair there. |
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| Oh yes, something else that needed to get done, it had been a while again |
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| And running of course; this is at Chiang Mai University, a lot of people go there for an evening walk or run, very nice atmosphere with a sunset mountain view as a bonus |
