November 14, 2022
Ang Thong to Sing Buri
The Lizard Incidents
We have been waking up around 5AM (because we go to bed early). It takes about an hour to cut up a huge papaya and eat our breakfasts in our room or out in the sitting area where there are almost always little packets of Nescafe which we might use but then complain about how bad it is. We hit the road at 6:15 when the temperature was only 74 but the humidity was still ridiculously high.
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We were on a mission to go to a restaurant for Pad Thai, believe it or not. I had been thinking about going to a specific place for 3 years which meant that even though it was a few miles out of our way we had to do it. You see, we had seen a Mark Weins episode, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zAFmH4qsGc from three years ago when he went to a restaurant way out in the country where an 85 year old woman made pad Thai. She had perfected the making of pad Thai beyond comparison. Plus, she used duck eggs. We had to go find it.
We followed canal after canal and at one point a large water monitor lizard came boiling out of the weeds by the side of the road right in front of us as we rode side by side. I screamed! which made Andrea laugh! The lizard gave me a look, paused and then darted for the canal on the opposite side. It was so close and I tell you, if I had hit him I would have totally freaked out and probably ended up in the canal, where there were other monitor lizards. I have no idea if they bite but just looking at them I wonder if I'm getting some sort of bacteria or poison in my eyes! I had had a similar encounter the day before on a busy highway. In that lizard incident I fortunately scared the lizard back into the brush because if he had tried to cross that highway he wouldn't have made it. And if he had kept coming I would have veered into traffic to avoid hitting him, and not made it.
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I thought we were too early for pad Thai which is more of a lunch item. It was only 8AM. I searched for a coffee place so we could slow down enough to be there for lunch time. I mean, what time does an 88 year old woman wake up? And what time does an 88 year old woman start making pad Thai? These were the questions I pondered as I looked for coffee and shook off the shock of running into a monitor lizard.
We found the place all right. The problem was that she didn't cook on Mondays. The restaurant was completely closed on Mondays. An 88 year old woman does not work on Mondays and she sure as hell doesn't make pad Thai on Mondays. We were devastated. We sat on a bench next to a canal in front of her restaurant and basically cried. I suggested sitting there for 24 hours but Andrea wouldn't have it. It was just bad luck. I had really looked forward to, of course, eating her pad Thai but also honoring her in some way because a person's 88th year is especially auspicious.
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We continued on our way next to gurgling canals struggling to still drain their excess water weeks after the flooding. We wound around vast areas of flooded fields on dikes both paved and dirt. We finally found a coffee place and splurged on some ice lattes but they were not served by an 88 year old woman, nor were there duck eggs involved and they certainly didn't taste like pad Thai but it was nice coffee made by a very nice young woman. She seemed shy and a little bit tense and unsure. I seriously doubt she had ever made coffee for foreigners and therefore she was nervous about it because she probably thought we knew more about lattes than she. Little did she know!
The coffee was excellent and we continued our watery route observing all the massive attempts to prevent flooding by hauling tons of clay to make berms which were now being pushed over the sides by backhoes. We were only prevented from our route twice and once we waited while a fire tanker truck hosed clay off the ramp to a pedestrian bridge. We saw thousands of waterlogged banana plants toppled over. Then there was a helicopter above and I thought how a few years back the King would have been in that helicopter assessing the damage and deciding how best to improve everything for the Thai people. It's a far cry from the current King who is probably in his mansion in Germany deciding which of his concubines to use or which fancy car to take a ride in or which gun to shoot; his three top interests.
We were in downtown Sing Buri by noon and stopped to have a bowl of noodle soup ($.80) We assessed our options as to where we might stay and decided that since we had a more basic place last night we might splash out a little bit and get a nice room that included breakfast. We chose the big newish Golden Dragon Hotel for $17. Then, immediately forgetting that breakfast was included, I went in search of a papaya. Not a problem really, to have a papaya along is always a good thing.
We found the immaculate Golden Dragon with all its polished granite and marble and ostentatious lobby. The place was enormous with no one other than the receptionist. Of course we were told we could not bring our bicycles inside. Dark clouds had threatened to rain on us all day but as the day went on they looked more ominous. We put our bikes under an overhang and locked them with two simple cables that anyone with one of those things could snip in two seconds. So far it has never been a problem for us in S.E. Asia.
In our transporting of all our panniers from our bikes to an elevator and then up and into our room, Andrea's water bottle went missing. We asked the receptionist but she hadn't seen it.
Our room was huge and beautiful - luxury for us. We had already seen much of Sing Buri and doubted there was much more to see. We luxuriated in our room because I guess that's what you do when you are tired from riding in heat and humidity all day and you have a luxurious room. Later Andrea sent me down with a photo of a similar water bottle and I showed it to the receptionist. She went, "Ahh!" but still had no idea what happened to it.
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While I was down there I went in search of a restaurant because if they were offering breakfast maybe they could make us dinner as well. There was a restaurant and I surprised the two girls "working" there who were in deep conversation. One of them shot up almost to attention, flustered. I simply wanted to take a menu up to our room which they were relieved to give me. Their actions told me they knew no English and hoped I would go on my way.
Then it poured down rain. Inches of rain, lightning and thunder.
Later we went down to have dinner and were surprised that there was a table full of Thais and a D.J. on stage playing music with his sound machine and singing. I think one of the oldest women was celebrating her possibly 80th birthday and her friends had gone all out and gotten a D.J. They were having a ball and were great entertainment while we ate a rather delicious dinner which bode well for breakfast.
I was still wondering how there could be a buffet breakfast if so few people were staying at the Golden Dragon. I went to ask the receptionist what time breakfast would be served and she proudly presented me with Andrea's water bottle! She was beaming. I was shocked and thanked her profusely. I brought it to the table and Andrea's mouth just fell open. Neither of us thought we would ever see that water bottle again. Andrea immediately left the table to thank the receptionist. So much explanation is lost when there is no common language so we will never know the whole story. But the music the D.J. was playing needed no interpretation. The Thais went up on stage and sang karaoke and fun was had by all. Great entertainment at the near empty Golden Dragon Hotel.
lovebruce
Today's ride: 29 miles (47 km)
Total: 75 miles (121 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 16 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 8 |
Cafe was open alright on Sat, but with 20 people mingling outside. It seems the Indian middle class have discovered Thailand.
Waitress said an hour to wait. For 169b a plate.
Nope, we walked 400m past Ekkamai, to a great wanton noodle shop. Got a few places like this bookmarked on Google maps, just in case.
I blame recommendations from 2 years of you tube.
BTW lots of khao soi waiting for you in the North!
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