Chum Phae

November 3, 2024

The 2133 turned out to be not half as bad as we were expecting with a less traffic than the day before and a few birding opportunities along the way.

A row of Ashy Wood-Swallows (Artamus fuscus).

After a long stop for breakfast in the town of Phu Wiang we turned down the 2005 which would lead us to Highway 12. Fortunately we missed a turnoff which would have limited our time on Highway 12 to a handful of kilometers but in doing so we came upon the highlight of the day.

As we entered the village of Non Sa-at we had to pull over to the side of the road because a small procession was underway ahead of us. We have no idea what it was all about but it was quite festive.

Ahead of the procession the people of the village waited, some with money trees at the ready.

Two guys symbolically "sweeping" the road clean ahead of the procession.

A long red rope trailed behind a vehicle and everyone behind it held onto the rope.

Most of the folk holding onto the rope were mature women.

The dancing ladies were the next to last element of the procession. Just ahead of them were a group of ladies, also dancing, who seemed not to have made the cut.

Finally the vehicle with the sound system. One of the one cylinder farm vehicles we often encounter on the back roads.

Once on Highway 12 we endured a busy 20 kilometers to Chum Phae. It isn't the most attractive town but we're hoping that it will be easy to catch a ride from here up to the Nam Nao National Park. The owner of the very nice hotel where we are spending the night, the Baan Norn Muan, has suggested finding a s̄xng t̄hæw at the bus terminal. So that's what we will try tomorrow morning.

A s̄xng t̄hæw, which translates as two rows and is pronounced something like song thaew, is a pickup truck with two rows of seats running lengthways on the loadbody. They used to be the common form of cheap public transport but there seems to be far fewer now than on our previous visits to Thailand.

Today's ride: 54 km (34 miles)
Total: 1,839 km (1,142 miles)

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