Feb. 11 - 13, Lampang: Hot days in a quiet town and a hard decision - Cycling in Thailand North to South - CycleBlaze

February 11, 2010 to February 13, 2010

Feb. 11 - 13, Lampang: Hot days in a quiet town and a hard decision

Lampang is a laid back kind of town with enough sights to keep us busy for a few days. We read rave reviews in the Lonely Planet about the Riverside Guesthouse, take a look at it and decide to move there for the next two nights. As the name says, it's on the river and is set in a charming cool, jungle-like garden. At least it felt cool in the morning when we decided take a room with fan and not air-conditioning. By the time this part of Thailand - and the roof over our guesthouse - is looking the sun straight in the eye, our room heats up to 34°C and doesn't become inhabitable again until way past our normal bedtime.

Tropical garden at the Riverside Guesthouse
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Gate to the Riverside Guesthouse
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The following days we spend riding our bikes around to the various temples in the day time and sitting in the Riverside Restaurant in the evenings. A decadent life style, for sure. The hard part is deciding how to proceed from here.

Riding around Lampang
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Lampang is the only town in Thailand still using horse and carriage as public transportation - mainly a tourist attraction, however
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Lampang-style tuk-tuk with sidecar
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Watching life go by on the other side of the river
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Wat Chedi Sao: 6 km from Lampang, set amid farms and rice fields, is the "Temple of Twenty Chedis", named for its 20 stupas in the temple courtyard
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Detail at Wat Phra Kaew Don Tao, Lampang
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Flower offerings
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Buddha figure at Wat Si Chum (I think), Lampang
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Buddha figure on ornate pedastel at Wat Si Chum (?)
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Lanterns hanging under the eaves of a wat
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We have come to realize that the trip as we planned it won't work. Heat, hills, loaded bikes and our age (70 and 72) are a combination of factors that make long-distance cycling more effort than pleasure. Perhaps this is all about coming to terms with our age and capabilities. At any rate, I am sure that I do not want to ride on hot asphalt with traffic, high air pollution and not too exciting scenery. And I feel like a failure. The next stage of the journey will be by bus.

Discrete picture of Bike Friday outside of temple grounds, Lampang
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