Thoen to Li and Beyond to Mae Tuen

November 29, 2022

"Paradise"

Our hotel, Silver Place Hotel, in Thoen.

At 7:30 a Toyota pulled up to Silver Place Hotel to pick us up. It was not the sort of vehicle any of us had imagined. It wasn't an open pickup or the type of pickup taxi with two rows of seats in the back. It was some sort of hybrid of every kind of vehicle we had all imagined. The covered back part could take quite a lot of cargo although getting four bikes inside was too much and Andrea's bike had to be tied on top.

There was a back seat for three people and I sat up front with the driver. Perfect. It was comfort I had never dreamed of. No wind whistling through my hair tying it in knots. The other thing I had never dreamed of was such a careful and cautious driver. We totally lucked out all the way around. Plus, in the quiet and comfort of the inside we could talk with Nelline and Lies. We had a lovely chat with them the whole 50 kilometers to Li, a town just on the other side of the mountain pass. They were fascinating, having lived in Laos for 3.5 years until Covid hit. They were returning for the first time in nearly three years to see good friends in Laos. They were also cyclists extraordinaire, having biked all over S.E. Asia, many trips, many years and trips to other parts of the world as well. We had a lot to talk about and the drive flew by even though the driver was going slowly.

I think the most interesting and astute question asked us was, "Do you still like your country?" Good question. I guess I still do love my country but I just hope it gets back on track sometime soon. We all agreed that there are a lot of crazy people doing crazy things in the entire world right now, and we don't know why. Something cyclical? I sure hope so.

Nelline and Lies were going to stay in Li exploring for a day or two but the pull of Chiang Mai was taking hold of us more strongly after getting that pass behind us. We took off down the road in the direction of Lamphun on the busiest road we have been on so far this trip. It wasn't awful but it was quite a change. The road surface, however, was smooth as could be and even with lots of rolling hills we clicked off the kilometers.

A good place to always find a toilet is at a crematory.

This crematory had both the original pit and then the building to burn the dead, which was no doubt built later. But this crematory also had something new I've never seen; a body transport vehicle.

A bodymobile. I've never seen one before.

We only stop at the most interesting places! He must have been a revered monk.

Everything seemed to have changed a bit. The air seemed cleaner and a touch cooler. The humidity was down slightly. But the change we were feeling was different than just the weather. I think we were feeling a slightly different Thai culture in the air. There is something about the north of Thailand that is different and not because sticky rice is available everywhere. The hills definitely identify the north. I know there are big hills scattered all over Thailand but the hills in the north are more substantial and apparent from just about anywhere. And then I checked to see what elevation we were at. Yup, we had risen nearly 1000 feet. No wonder the air seemed different. The road was definitely more active with large vehicles and there were more thriving businesses along the road. Drivers seemed to be in more of a hurry. We were surrounded by lomyai orchards which again explain the more prosperous feeling I was getting. We were liking all the changes we were feeling and were not even complaining about the busier road. Well, we couldn't complain because we couldn't hear each other speaking!

I stopped in front of a coffee shop called Cookie Coffee. I don't know why I stopped right there, I had just stopped. Andrea asked me if I wanted coffee, a legitimate question I suppose since I was looking longingly. I sort of did but there was something about that word 'Cookie' that had hooked me more than the word 'Coffee'. I like chocolate chip cookies but I've never found any to my liking in S.E. Asia. They have always been a letdown. Maybe that is what had me in a daze.

But when we got off our bikes we realized there was also a restaurant more or less connected to the coffee shop and something smelled awfully good. We asked what was available to order and when the woman said, "Khao soi" Andrea literally jumped for joy. We quickly forgot about coffee and sat down to some bowls of khao soi. The view of the hills from our table at the restaurant was great and so was the khao soi. Khao soi is not super common even in the north where it originates from, so we kind of lucked out to pick the one restaurant that had it. As we oohed and awwed over the khao soi I thought that this bike trip of ours could easily turn into a khao soi seeking tour.

Back on our bikes we didn't stop much because we were riding better with slightly less humidity and lots of shade from all the trees lining the road. We zeroed in on a hotel we had seen on Google Maps, again there wasn't much in the surrounding area and we were lucky to find a hotel. It was called Paradise Place. The owner of the hotel had lived in Salt Lake City for thirty years. Her husband, an American, had passed away four years ago and she was torn between the hotel she owned and her two kids who were quite American and living in Utah. We talked with her for some time before heading to our room. While Andrea was in the shower the woman brought us two Thai iced teas. So nice of her and it was as if she had read my mind because when we first arrived in this little crossroads market area I saw a place that could possibly make Thai iced tea and I wanted one but for some reason had not pursued it.

As I sipped my delicious (really sweet) Thai iced tea (cha yen) I thought about the conversation we had just had with the owner of the hotel. I wondered how she could deal with running it after she had become so Americanized. I think she wonders the same thing. She is trapped between two very different worlds. She is, in fact, about to go to Utah on December 4th. I didn't ask how long she will be gone. She wants to be near her kids but she has this hotel. She told us that it was hard to find honest people to run the hotel. They always took in guests but kept a lot of the money and being so far away she couldn't really do much about that. She seemed frustrated and in turmoil. I hadn't asked but I would bet her husband was at least thirty years older than she. They had gotten married when she was only about 20.

This was quite common thirty years ago when there was little opportunity for a lot of people in Thailand. If they were poor and couldn't see a way out and a nice foreign man came along who was obviously wealthier and with lots of opportunities it was a huge temptation for the woman to latch onto the man. All they really want is what all of us want, which is maybe a family but mostly security and to not be poor anymore. Who could blame her. But now he is gone and she has this hotel that they both built ironically so that she would have that security after he was gone. (We know her husband was involved in the building of the hotel because for the first time we have ever seen, the outlets are a foot off the floor instead of five feet up a wall.) It's also ironic that it is called Paradise Place. I suppose when they were building it together it was their little paradise. Things don't always turn out the way we dream. The hotel is nice but in the wrong place and she would have a hard time selling it. There isn't much of a town or reason for very many people to ever stay at the hotel. Cars whiz by on the road in front, easy to get from one population center to another in Thailand these days. This area has nothing for tourists either.

She, herself, summed it all up when I said that the market, which was just steps from her hotel, was beautiful. She looked out at it with tired eyes and under her breath said, "Yeah..... not really." I get it, she was done with the dirt and grime of those markets she had grown up with right here. She told us to watch what we eat. She asked us where we were going to stay in Chiang Mai and when I told her it was a newer area, one we had never stayed in before up near the University, her eyes lit up and she said, "Oh, there's a nice mall there."

She had a good life for thirty years. She has a boy and a girl who are American and, I would imagine that is what she wanted. But she still has ties to this tiny place in Thailand and can't pick up and leave for good. I would have liked to somehow take the turmoil I saw in her away, but she will have to figure out how on her own. It's wonderful and at the same time, tragic and that's the way a lot of these relationships go. However, there is a lot more opportunity in Thailand now and it seems fewer women are choosing the path this woman took. Slowly, slowly (shu-shu) things change and possibly for the better.

There wasn't a restaurant anywhere nearby to have dinner so we walked around the market area and found some shu mai lookalikes and bought two bags of them. We called it dinner. They were glutinous little things and I couldn't tell you what was inside them but they were tasty and I don't believe either of us will get sick from them.

Catfish being baked in a rain barrel. I have never seen this being done. A charcoal stove was placed in the bottom.

At the market. I have no idea what these are but they must me used in cooking.

lovebruce

Today's ride: 16 miles (26 km)
Total: 421 miles (678 km)

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