Kamphaeng Phet - Nakhon Sawan - Frankie goes to.....the North of Thailand (2019)

November 17, 2019

Kamphaeng Phet - Nakhon Sawan

My plan for today was "towards Nakhon Sawan". Usually I wouldn´t hesitate declaring a destination roughly 130 kilometers away from my departure point as my target. In particular when the roads are entirely flat as they are here. Two reasons for my uncertainty today:

1. Unfortunately the wind has changed overnight now coming from a southerly direction which makes a huge, huge difference with all my panniers. I wonder whether there is some sort of scientific acquirement how much more energy you have to invest while cycling against the wind rather than having it in support.

2. I never got comfortable with my new Brooks Cambium saddle. I changed the seat position several times but I always started feeling pain after 3 to 4 hours on the road. Yesterday I moved it considerably forward and changed the horizontal alignment to a few degrees forward, in competitive cycling this is used for time trials.

Two considerably different halves on the same road, the #1048 clinging to the eastern bank of the Ping River. The first 65 km you will never actually see the river although it is never further than 200 m away. Instead the road has been developped to a dual carriageway with a wide shoulder. Makes for swift moving but no visual attraction whatsoever.

From Khanu Woralaksaburi the #1084 changes back to the rural road I remember from 2010. Seems like most vehicles turn onto the east-west running #1074 from here on. Less shoulder but far less traffic too plus the chance to have short sections directly along the river. Not an entirely pleasant ride though as there are quite a few trucks related to the sand quarries around. No aggressive driving but they are throwing a lot of dust into the air. Anyways good progress at that point plus my bum wasn´t hurting so I knew I would make it into Nakhon Sawan and decided to reward myself with a nice hotel when getting there. Agoda advertised the P.A. Thani Hotel as the Deal of the Day. 530 Baht for a 4-star hotel breakfast included? Why shouldn´t I be lucky, the reviews were good. Getting into town I found two modern but atmosphere-free condominium blocks along a huge car park. I can´t really complain as I got a large, modern room and was allowed to take my bike up but it was certainly not what I was after. Being in Thailand the dinner near the market area made entirely up for that initial disappointment though...

Farewell Three J Guesthouse, farewell Daniel. Almost difficult touching his shoulder with him measuring exactly 200 centimeters.... Zinc paste applied as the sun will be right in my face for several hours on those long days. You see, your gift is still in use, Andrew...

The Ping River just south of Khanu Woralaksaburi

A Buddhist cemetery. Believing in reincarnation they never come across as sad places

The huge river terraces at Khao Liao, serving two purposes: setting off the floats on Loi Krathong and grandstands for spectators when the popular dragon boat races are on

I was very fortunate to find this roadside restaurant with the hilarious and most competent chef in proper attire

And that´s what he created for me: Pad kui chai taohu lae moo sub (fried vegetables with tofu and minced pork) and vegetable broth with egg tofu. Delicious, thank you for the suggestion Nong Pom!

Today's ride: 130 km (81 miles)
Total: 1,223 km (759 miles)

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