December 24, 2016
Sightseeing near Nang Rong: Khmer ruins
First let me say that dinner at the guest house last night was outstanding. I had a massaman curry, and it had just the right amount of spiciness to it. Next let me say that I didn't sleep well at all. The noise from traffic and from dogs howling kept me up. I asked to switch rooms to one away from the road for tonight.
The situation to get from the guesthouse to Phnom Rung Historical Park deteriorated from "I'll call a minibus and they'll come by and pick up you and your bike here and take you to the ruins" to "go to the market and find a songthiew and negotiate for him to take your bike and also to take you up the hill". So I did the latter, and it worked out okay. The owner of the guesthouse wrote out a note explaining what I needed, and that the songthiew wouldn't have to wait because I was riding back to Nang Rong, written in Thai.
I waited at the market, and a songthiew showed up in about 15 minutes. I showed the driver the note, and he said okay, but wouldn't tell me how much he would charge. He disappeared in the market for another 15 minutes or so, and came back and loaded my bike. Another guy told me 70 baht. I asked if that would take me up the hill, since it seemed low, and he said yes. There was only one other passenger, but quite an assortment of goods loaded. Huge bags of garlic, some meat, some other things I couldn't identify in burlap bags, and some other veggies.
We left the market, but made a couple of stops around town to pick up other things. Then we headed out of town. The songthiew driver was a speed demon, and we passed every kind of vehicle on the road. We got to the village, and the driver indicated I should get out. I told him "no" and indicated that I expected to go up the hill, showing him the note again. The driver got back in, and we drove around the village making deliveries. Then we started up the road to the Historical Park. Before the road got steep and twisty, the driver pulled over and indicated I should get out. Again I showed him that I expected to be taken up the hill. He said okay, 200 baht, checked to make sure my bicycle was tied down okay, and up we went. It really was steep and twisty and turny. He took it as fast as he could, so it was hard to sit up right. We arrived at the entrance to the park, unloaded my bike, and I happily paid him the 200 baht, and he seemed okay with it.
Phanom Rung (various spellings are found) is a Khmer ruin from the 10th to 13th century. It is in a line with some other ruins that leads to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. It is a Hindu site, paying homage to Vishnu. It's built at the top of an extinct volcano. The restoration was done in the 1970's and 80's. It has a series of Naga bridges which are thought to have been used as a procession to reach the main tower. It's built of laterite bricks and sandstone, and it really is amazing. When I arrived, there were quite a few Thai tourists there. When I left, there were 8 tour buses in the parking area. They had brought groups of Thai school kids. I didn't see any other westerners there. Entrance was free, as at the other historical parks, in honor of the late king.
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After visiting Phanom Rung, I got on my bike for the ride to Prasat Muang Tam. The downhill off of the extinct volcano was fun, but short, and I kept my speed down. The road had been painted red for caution, and I was concerned that the paint would impair my traction.
Muang Tam is just 8 km from Phnom Rung. It's another Khmer site from the same time period. The name translates as lower village, which is in relation to Phnom Rung. It's not the original name. Prasat Muang Tam has a series of ponds, and is organized in a large square, so it is quite different from Phanom Rung.
After seeing Muang Tam, I had some chicken and a cold drink from the food stalls outside. I think the woman who sold me the drink was trying to tell me that my face was very red. It was hot! I decided to skip the other site, Wat Khao Ang Khan, as it would add 16 km to the ride back to town, and headed straight back. It was about 30 additional km on some nice small roads.
I was pretty hot and sweaty, and stopped in a small town at a restaurant with a drink cart at the front. I just wanted the drink, but the place was busy. There was a table of men who invited me to sit down. I sat, and expected to order my drink, but couldn't get the attention of the drink lady. One of the guys got up and got me a bottle of coke and a glass of ice. I drank it up quickly. They got their meal, noodle soup which looked good, offered me some but I declined. I was too hot. It became apparent that the drink lady was ignoring me, and I had cooled off, so I decided to leave. I tried to pay for the coke, but the guy who had gotten it for me wouldn't allow it. People can be so nice!
I got back to the guesthouse, and switched rooms. The new one faced the back so should be quieter, but it still has windows that don't shut very well to block the noise. And this is a noisy neighborhood, mainly from the traffic and dogs. There are a few other guests around tonight, too. I haven't talked with any of them.
Today's ride: 38 km (24 miles)
Total: 2,024 km (1,257 miles)
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