December 23, 2016
To Nang Rong: Cooler and overcast, hurray!
It was a nice ride today, although I got off to a shaky start. I had booked last night's hotel on Agoda, and it included breakfast. One of the difficulties of Agoda is it doesn't tell you what the breakfast hours are. I was determined to make an early start, and had been disappointed yesterday when I was told breakfast was 7 to 10. I asked if it was possible to get it at 6:30. After a call to the restaurant (which was in the hotel next door), and a delay, the hotel clerk knocked on my door and told me 6:30 was okay and gave me the breakfast ticket. This morning at 6:30 I was told it wasn't possible, that they were sorry I had misunderstood. I hadn't misunderstood. The chain of communication was broken. But I managed to get breakfast about 10 minutes before 7, and it included a freshly cooked omelette, so I was happy. I do much better on the bike with protein in my stomach.
Furthermore, the day has been overcast and much cooler. Every now and then the sun poked through and I thought "now I'm done for", but then the clouds came back.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
I stopped about half was for a coldish drink. Today's Fanta flavor was banana, pineapple and orange. It was better than the watermelon, which had been too sweet.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
I had my first unfriendly encounter with a Thai man today. Maybe unfriendly doesn't describe it. Too friendly. He was driving a motorbike with a side car for selling ice cream. He passed me on the road. I saw him staring, and waved. He pulled over a bit later, and cut me off. He asked questions, and as best as I could understand I answered. I was going to Nang Rong, and yes, I am one person. Then he yammered on for a bit, and I didn't understand at all. Finally he gave up and made some lewd gestures suggesting we have sex. I just stepped on the pedals and got out of there, and he left me alone. That rattled me a bit, but I realized we were at the side of the road with lots of traffic, and I wasn't really in any danger. Hey, once in 2 months of travel isn't bad.
I arrived in Nang Rong early, and stopped first at P California Inter Hostel, where the owner has a reputation for speaking good English, and his wife is a professional cook who has cooked Thai food in Chicago. The owner told me I could take a minibus to the Khmer ruins at Phanom Rong with my bike, and then ride back. That's important because the ruins are at the top of an extinct volcano. Taking a tour requires 4 people, and so far I'm only one. Then I went on to Honey Inn. It's the original backpacker place in Nang Rong, and the owner there also has a reputation for also speaking English and for helping with travel. The owner there told me that there is no minibus, only a Songthiew, and that it only goes to the village, not to the ruins, so there is still a 6 km climb up the volcano. Hmmm. The first guesthouse was in a better location, closer to the market and weekend walking street. I went back to P California Inter Hostel and checked in. It's more of a guesthouse than hostel, and I have a single room with AC and hot water for 350 baht per night for 2 nights. I could have had a fan room, without hot water, for 250 baht per night.
There was a couple here, backpackers, who had checked out and were getting ready to leave. They had rented a motorbike yesterday and ridden to the ruins and some other sights. I didn't get their names, but she was Italian and he was mixed Spanish and UK, and they are headed to Australia for a year or two. They are both fluent in Mandarin, and don't really have any place they call home. Interesting people. They seem to be zigzagging through Thailand visiting places in order of their interest rather than geographic proximity.
After I showered, I walked to Wat Rong Mun Thet, near the guesthouse, and to the Friday walking street. The street was just being set up, so I went back to the guesthouse.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Back at the guest house, the owner confirmed that it's really a songthiew that can take me up to the ruins, and that it normally only goes to the village, and that I would have to negotiate for the bike and for the ride up the hill from the village to the ruins.
I ordered dinner at the guesthouse. You need to pre-order before 6 pm, so they can buy the ingredients before the day market closes.
Today's ride: 61 km (38 miles)
Total: 1,986 km (1,233 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |