April 3, 2016
Chiang Saen to Chiang Khong
A day of contrasts.
We left Chiang Saen at about 6:30, probably 45 minutes too late given the heat we were to encounter later, and had a wonderful ride for the first 59 kilomters. There is still a detour out of Chiang Saen because of the new bridge being built on the 1290 (the route on the map below does not show this detour). Don't make the mistake of ignoring the signs which other folk on CGOAB did last year. A surface that varied between excellent and somewhat rough and potholed, but mostly good. There was almost no traffic and we were bombarded by shouts of "Hello" and friendly waves from the roadside. We had some 7-11 sandwhiches and the remains of a watermelon for breakfast so we weren't chasing around for food. We did stop for a cappacino for me and a piece of chocolate cake for Leigh plus a few colddrinks along the way.
There was a young American nurse at the coffee shop who is working in Laos (but living in Thailand) who was keen for a chat plus a Belgian on a bicycle (who was spending 5 weeks with his family in Ban Had Mai) about 15 kms further on (to whom I spoke in Afrikaans and he to me in Flemish - the languages have a lot in common) so we had a chance to have a more in depth conversation with people other than ourselves (we mostly have little to do with other foreign visitors - I'm not sure why).
Speaking of the Belgian on a bicycle, we have only seen 2 other pairs of cycle tourists (one lot who shot past us on the opposite side of the road with a perfunctory wave and the other couple cycling up the road in Chiang Mai while we were standing on a pedestrian bridge) during the almost 4 weeks we have been here. I guess few people are crazy enough to cycle in the hot and dry season.
Just after Ban Had Mai we rolled past 1000 kms on the bikes for the trip. I know this journal reflects less than that but I am only recording the "real" cycling in the journal while my bike computer shows the distance from when we left the guest house near Suvarnabhumi Airport and includes trips to restuarants and close by tourist attractions etc.
At the 59 km mark the hills arrived at the same time as the temperature suddenly increased. The first climb was enough to get Leigh off her bike and pushing for the first time on the trip. Halfway through the hills my rear derailleur decided to start throwing the chain right past my 34 tooth cog rendering it unusable so I also had my fair share of suffering.
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After finding a guest house (18 Coins - slightly quirky and probably overpriced at 500 baht) we wandered down the hot and sleepy main street to find some food (although I had no appetite for anything else than a large Beer Chang) and something cold to drink. The drinks came in glasses in whih the bottom half contained a solid block of frozen water - quite a neat way to keep your beer cold.
Today's ride: 80 km (50 miles)
Total: 1,038 km (645 miles)
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