To Si Satchanalai: A confusing day

November 5, 2016

The day started okay. I was able to rouse the proprietor of the guest house with one simple "hello" at his door. He returned my deposit and unlocked the front doors to allow me to retrieve my bike.

I rode west to the Sukhothai Historical Park. It's quite developed, compared with Kampheang Phet, with a lot of vendors outside, even early in the morning, and signs and traffic controls. I expected to be underwhelmed, and can happily report that I was disappointed. Once I got past the entry gate, it didn't feel crowded at all, and the ruins were breathtaking. I rode around the perimeter, and stopped and parked my bike to see some of the structures up close. There are the ruins of several wats, with their associated Buddhas, and also some large elaborate buildings.

Then I headed north toward Si Satchalanai. I had already put about 10 miles on the bike this morning. I thought about stopping for breakfast, but was anxious to make some distance before it got too hot.

I seemed to be in a really rural part of Thailand. There were still rice fields, but I wasn't passing any shops or food stalls. It was pretty, but I was getting hot and hungry, and dragging with low energy. I did eventually start seeing some options for food.

As I passed one stall, the lady there called out to me. I saw eggs on the table, did a double take, and turned and went back. She immediately motioned for me to sit with her in the shade, and then went into her house and came back with a glass of cold water. Then she went across the street to what looked to me like a car repair shop and came back with a large bottle of drinking water for me. Then we had a brief discussion, which I think neither one of us really understood, to establish that I wanted some of whatever she was cooking. It turned out to be an omelet of sorts, with bean sprouts and something sort of sweet and salty, a bit chewy and sticky, inside. She poured some sweet watery liquid over it. It was really tasty, but I still don't know what I ate. I'll admit that I spent the next few miles of my ride imagining all sorts of weird things it could have been. But having cooled off a bit, and feeling better with some food in me, I headed on. The woman and her friends insisted that I take the bottle of water on my bike.

The woman in the middle gave me cold water, cooked an omelette for me, and was generally concerned about me! The woman to her right arrived by motorbike while I was eating. She had her head wrapped up in protection from the sun and the wind, but removed the wrap for the picture.

Then I continued to Si Satchanalai.

Transferring cattle from the small truck to the large one. The cow didn't seem to want to make it happen! Maybe he didn't like backing in.

The map was a little confusing, as there didn't seem to be a central area of town. And there is Si Satchanalai Historical Park, and also Si Satchanalai National Park. The signs to the town and to the Historical Park and to the National Park all looked the same to me. Coming toward town, I stopped and took a room, actually a little bungalow, at the Sak Thong Resort. (500 baht, AC, fridge, no breakfast). I thought it was on the road to the Historical Park, but it turned out to be on the road to the National Park. In my defense, the map I got from the tourist agency yesterday, and which was in the map case on top of my handlebar bag, had a drawing of the Historical Park on this road. Only careful squinting at the map showed a line from the drawing to the actual location!

So I am once again at accommodation outside of town with no restaurant or food available. After I cooled down and showered, I took another bike ride to get a meal and pick up some snacks for the morning. I had a very tasty pork noodle soup at a restaurant about a kilometer up the road. It was surprisingly sweet. Then I went looking for town and for a shop. Town seems really decentralized. The ubiquitous 7-Eleven is absent. I found a cold drink at one shop and some random chips and cookies at another, and headed "home" to another shower and the AC of my room.

Just a note that there would have been more services, and the map shows some 7-Elevens on the highway, but I was on a smaller road.

Tomorrow's goal is Wang Chin. I considered trying to catch a bus there, or on to Lampang, but based on internet search that doesn't seem to be an option. I haven't found anyone who speaks English well enough to understand my question about a bus.

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Today's ride: 82 km (51 miles)
Total: 537 km (333 miles)

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