Mae Chan to Thaton

16 February 2012 - Mae Chan to Thaton – 65 km

I took 1089 because the cyclists I met in Pakbeng had said it was one of their best rides in Thailand. It would mean I would miss Chiang Rai but it seemed that this was just another city. Things to offer but nothing that I'd really be missing.

The ride today was very beautiful. I'm glad I cut off some kilometers yesterday though the climb itself was much more pleasant than I expected. I know some of the others had went on a hillier route which I could imagine being both more beautiful and a lot more hilly.

As it was the heat got to me more than the hill...as usual. Luckily I did have a fair amount of riding in the shadow of the hills. Went through little villages with hay stacked up everywhere. It was a pleasant ride but if it was one of the best in Thailand I'm glad that I choose just to do the north.

Outside Mae Chan

Two of the buddhas as you get to Tha Ton

Closer up view

The last 20 kms were hard as they were flat, hot and dusty. The scenery was actually the best here but I'm close to my mental endurance and I just wanted the last 15 km to go away. Of course I know some of this has to do with the fact that I need to adjust my left cleat as my foot starts to bug about 45 km in.

After traveling in Laos my mental fortitude is just a lot less. Laos was the first place that I thought it was disgusting that westerners were traveling there and where I just didn't want to be part of it. (That being said I had some of the best experiences in Laos and met some of the best people)

For one thing westerners have an alarming rate of illiteracy! I'm guessing about 90%, they also aren't able to recognize pictographs! Laos is a very conservative country (most in SE Asia I've been to) with people that are extremely poor and quite shy in nature (curious but never imposing). Here almost all westerners ignore the signs that state to cover yourself! I will say that I was bad with wearing my sleeveless below the knee dress...but laundry takes 2 days and it's all I had (plus is my swimming outfit).

So after dealing with items like this plus some personal items my brain is spent. It doesn't want to test it's limits. It just wants to get somewhere, relax, look for jobs, and get back to some routine. That will have to wait four more days but I've broken it out into short days with some sightseeing mixed in.

Don't feel too bad for me I'm having an amazing time but sometimes I just need to vent some of the negatives.