Sam Ngao to Mae Phrik

November 27, 2022

I fretted all night that our papaya was not ripe enough for our usual breakfast in our bungalow. The lost sleep was for naught - the papaya was perfect. Our bungalow with its four rooms was perfect too. We've had really good luck finding really nice modern bungalows every night. We are in tiny communities way off the beaten path and we approach the small settlements wondering if this time we will be skunked. But each time we have been surprised and have found excellent accommodation.

Our typical breakfast but with an atypical backdrop.

The Ping River just across the street from our bungalow was flowing at full capacity when we arrived yesterday afternoon but this morning it was nearly dry and basically not flowing. It seems that the big Bhumibol Dam (Named after the last King, King Bhumibol or Rama IX) just a mile or so upstream from here, lets out water at times. I know the importance of dams but to see the river flowing so nicely and then hours later see it dry is unsettling. I like major natural things like rivers to be, well, natural.

We have been going through little towns where all the buildings are old teak wood.

We love these little rest structures that are everywhere on the roads in Thailand.

I'm glad to see this tradition still going. It's a pot of water for passersby. In the '70's, before bottled water, I would drink from these with a coconut dipper that was always hanging next to the pot. Today, the pots might be filled with bottled water but we're sure not drinking it. But I love the thought because it's a hot country.

It's been really hard for farmers to dry their rice when the rain never ceases. They cover up the rice and uncover it repeatedly every day.

We were on the road by 7:30 and the sweat was flowing freely (not dammed up at all) by 7:45 because just out of the tiny town of Sam Ngao was our first major hill. Well, it wasn't major at all but after all the flatland we have seen it was something. We were heading into heavily forested areas with two minor passes we had to get over. It's just a good thing that we had 11 days of riding flat land in order to get a bit stronger than not strong at all which is where we were when we started. In other words we were REALLY out of shape for biking. I was in good shape for climbing trees and pruning branches, but not biking.

The good thing about climbing hills here is that the road was about as smooth as a road can be. And the grade was very gentle. The forests were mysterious, thick and quiet. There were birds occasionally making some ruckus but mostly it was dead silent. Combine dead silent with not a whiff of air movement and no vehicles and the mysteriousness turned into spooky. I'd look into the forest, which some people would call a jungle, and I could totally imagine a tiger or elephant come charging out. In fact, that's what I was waiting for. I figured they would come at me right at the steepest part when I was going the slowest. They would first take time to lick the salty sweat off me.... and then kill me. The licking would be interesting. Raspy I would imagine.

I'm counting the dead snakes I've seen on the highways and not photographing them for you but here is a dead snake wannabe.

Anyway, that didn't happen. The most I can say about the ride today is what didn't happen - that tiger and elephant especially. No monkeys either. Sweat did happen but you have heard enough about sweat. We again dodged rain clouds that were scattered all around us; really threatening looking low black clouds. We rode through places where the pavement was downright soaked and puddles had to be dodged, artfully I might add. But not a drop on us somehow.

The forest and, well, everything is still damp from the summer rains. It has never had time to dry out at all. This is super unusual. Normally by the 15th of November the rains stop completely in northern Thailand and everything dries up quickly and then the people start burning everything in sight. But it's still raining and the humidity has been in the 90% range every morning. It's also much hotter than it should be. Fields are saturated and farmers can't plant. It's climate change I tell you. I've spent many a winter in northern Thailand and it never used to be anything like this. So, we are hoping it goes back to something resembling normal sometime this winter.

Our ride today took us east of the Ping River because at this point the Ping River is a huge reservoir created by that Bhumibol Dam I mentioned. I think it's solid forest for miles to the west of us and then the forests run into the huge reservoir. We went up and over some very minor hills and came down to another smaller river, the Wang River. We followed it to the small settlement of Mae Phrik which, as far as I know, means the 'mother of peppers'. Odd name for a town but it must mean that a lot of peppers are grown around here. I've eaten a whole lot of peppers since we started this trip. They aren't as hot as they are tasty and full of vitamin C. I have drained the little cups full of freshly cut up peppers that are always on tables at restaurants. The peppers are in fish sauce and since I'm losing so much salt I am replenishing with fish sauce which may make my sweat fishy in which case the tigers and elephants might be so disgusted by the smell that they will kill me right off. But the peppers are wonderful.

That's a lot of work to protect a few dwellings way way out in the countryside. Wang River.

Speaking of restaurants.....when we arrived in Mae Phrik around noon we saw a beautiful restaurant and immediately braked. It was a one woman operation and she was the best cook we have encountered so far on our trip. She also had a portrait of the former King, the good King, up inside her restaurant. Whenever someone omits hanging a portrait of the new king and keeps the old we know we are on the same page with them.

What a great cook. And she was super fast, all business.

We love these restaurants with teak tables and benches.

We ordered the basic stuff that most locals eat for lunch. I got fried rice with chicken and a fried egg on top and Andrea got fried wide noodles - pad siew. - with chicken. But this time there were all sorts of vegetables mixed in both our dishes and the portions were enormous. Same price however, just over a dollar apiece! We loved her cooking so much that I figured out how to ask when she closes her restaurant. Often restaurants in the countryside close quite early. She closes at 6PM.

Then we went down the road apiece and found another one of those beautiful little bungalows, took showers, rested and came back in late afternoon for dinner from her. Again, lots of vegetables and huge portions. On our way home we bought a bunch of bananas off a wooden table out by the road that someone was selling for around $.25. It's my favorite way of buying fruit because it gives the money directly to the person who grew it. Calculated out, the bananas came to 52 for $1 but we only got 14. They will be included in our breakfast tomorrow.

We have been going to bed very early so it was odd to be awakened by the guy next door to our bungalow who was obviously watching a World Cup soccer game well into the evening. Occasionally he would groan about a certain play loud enough to rouse me, but rouse me in a good way.

lovebruce

Today's ride: 23 miles (37 km)
Total: 382 miles (615 km)

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