Simply cycling around
Today we finally reached Chiang Mai after 21 days cycling. We have done 51 km per day in average and stopped 3 days on the way. For this last day, we joined the Ping river again and followed it until the entrance of the city. The landscape did not change very much today. In fact, we avoid one more time the big roads which leads to the centre. Ours did the same but the road was nearly trafficless.
Mmmh, delicious day today :-) The last night at the temple was pretty quiet. After breakfast we cycled few kilometres before we stopped to visit a temple. There was another gigantic statue of one of the three famous monk from that province. After that, we kept on cycling until we reached a very nice coffee shop. We stopped there maybe 3 or 4 hours :-) Later this afternoon we travelled a bit further expecting to find a temple I’ve spotted on Maps but that time it did not work. The people from the place where we ate told us that temple doesn’t accept people to stay overnight. We had to find another place then and it was not easy…
Today is THE day! The windy, hilly road is in front of us. All we have to do is smash it! Actually it was easier than I imagined. During the climb we could even enjoyed some downhill. The steepness of the road was gentle and the traffic, a part few trucks, was mainly quiet. After two and a half hours (including break time), we reached the summit and visited… a temple, of course. Monks (and religions in general) have good taste. They always build temples on hills, close to the water or anywhere we can see them.
Yesterday evening we decided to have a day off today. I thought this spot was going to be quiet. Actually it was! until 4am… when the bloody roosters shout every 10 seconds. There is dozen of them in the area so they compete against each other. “I’m the best”. “No, I’m the one!”. Rah, Shut up! I wish I had the slingshot from last time with me. The worse is, as soon as the sun appears (when I cannot really sleep anymore), they stop suddenly, rah! Then, soon after the chicken shut up, a group of people arrived here and sat around the table for breakfast I imagine. They work in the courtyard at the back. If I knew that, I would have hesitated sleeping here… Why is that so hard to find a peaceful place? Anyway, we spent the day doing nothing particular. I tried to do a bit my blog, fixing some of my clothes, the daily stuff though :-) Tomorrow we are going to climb a huuuge mountain! We must be ready :-)
Today we finally left the Ping river and joined the Wang river for most of today. In fact, the ping river is the one that fills the Bhumibol lake. We will follow it again later before reaching Chiang Mai. The goal for today is to reach the bottom of the mountain range that creates the natural limit between the Lampang and Lamphun provinces. It will be our first climb for this trip (and the first for me too for the whole Thailand). If we get there tonight we will be able to start the climb tomorrow morning when the temperature is still fresh. 17km is not that much but I don’t know how Pita can handle that. Well, I’m sure she will but that’s more a question of time. The more early we start, the less we will be hit by the heat. Simple logic :-)
Today we cycled only until midday but still did 47km :-) We done the first 20km until we reached a temple called Wat Phra Borommathat. After the visit we had breakfast and then continued travelling north. Then we kept on going until we arrived in Sam Ngao, a village very close to the Bhumibol artificial lake. In fact, in the 50’s the government started the construction of the Bhumibol Dam, named after the King. They needed 6 years to build it and another 6 years to fill it! Once we got to temple of the village, after a hot rest, we cycled and visit that famous dam. The way to reach it is far to be flat. That’s the most hilly place I’ve been to in Thailand until now.
Today is another step towards Chiang Mai. The nights become slightly more fresh but that’s still not enough to use my 5°C sleeping bag :-) We have spent most of the day along the Ping river and visited a religious place when we arrived in Tak. This one as the particularity to have a huge collections of animals, mainly elephants and roosters.