BRUCESTATS - THAILAND PARTS 1 & 2 - Both Sides of Paradise

January 15, 2015

BRUCESTATS - THAILAND PARTS 1 & 2

BRUCESTATS THAILAND - PARTS 1 & 2

Biking Thailand Part 1

Mae Sai - Chiang Saen - 24 miles

Chiang Saen - Chiang Khong - 35

Chiang Khong - Thai Immigration/Friendship Bridge to Laos - 5.5

Total Part 1 64.5 miles

Biking Thailand Part 2

Ban Pak Huai - Chiang Khan - 33

Chiang Khan - Pak Chom - 27

Pak Chom - Sang Khom - 39

Sang Khom - Nong Khai - 54

Nong Khai - Phon Phisai - 28

Phon Phisai - Ban Sa Ngo - 50

Ban Sa Ngo - Bung Kla - 46.5

Bung Kla - Na Prachai - 49

Na Prachai - Nakhon Phanom - 45

Nakhon Phanom - That Phanom - 34

That Phanom - Mukdahan - 32

Mukdahan - Chanuman - 30

Chanuman - Khemmarat - 26

Khemmarat - Hat Salung - 26

Hat Salung - Kong Chiam - 52

Kong Chiam - Chong Mek (Southern border with Laos) - 15.5

Total Part 2 587 miles

Thailand Biking Total - Parts 1 & 2 651.5 miles

Best meal - take-away from a market in Sang Khom

Best meal - take-away from a market in Na Prachai

Best meal - tray and pot food from a night market street in That Phanom

Best meal - tray and pot food from a special street market in Khemmarat (This might have been my favorite of all. The woman who cooked it was truly a gifted cook.)

Cheapest room $6 in Ban Pak Huai

Most expensive room $21 But we chose to stay in this fancy super modern place in Nakhon Phanom overlooking the promenade along the Mekong.

Most expensive room without much of a choice - $15 in Hat Salung

Old Style Thai Coffee is pretty regularly $.43

A huge bag of ice Thai coffee (five hours of coffee) - $.70

Cheapest bananas - 64/$1 - delicious small ones in Ban Pak Huai

Whole very ripe amazingly delicious papayas - $.26

Number of squashed snakes on the road - 65

Number of live snakes seen on this trip so far - 0

I never knew just how much tobacco Thailand's farmers produce. We rode through vast areas of it right along the Mekong River.

I now realize that bikes dream. Here I caught my Bike Friday daydreaming of becoming a Penny Farthing.

We have come to really love the many rest pavilions along the roads in Thailand. They are everywhere. We climb inside and eat our snacks. We are out of the sun sitting on the nicely worn wood benches. From this one we also viewed the passing animals.

To find a temple along the way such as this one made my day. I later read that it is exactly 100 years old but it seemed much older. It was tiny and the inside walls were completely covered with interesting paintings. It was 10 kms. north of Sang Khom, Thailand.

The inside of our basic $10 room in Kong Chiam, Thailand. We like rooms like this that allow us to bring our small bikes inside for the night. Often we wheel them into the shower to get squirted off.

Just another great meal at one of the small restaurants inside the central market in Kong Chiam, Thailand. This one was chicken with loads of basil.

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