To Sisaket: In the heart of Isaan

December 21, 2016

It was a shorter ride today, but still challenging in the heat. My Garmin read 85 deg F at 8 am, and 95 at 9:30. It continued up from there.

It took nearly 15 km to be free of the Ubon Ratchathani traffic and development, and then I was out into the rural area that this part of Thailand, called Isaan, is known for. I was on a major road, 226, not a divided highway, but 2 lanes in each direction plus a good shoulder shared with the motor bikes.

I've seen other pictures of this structure on the road. It looked to me sort of like a drawbridge for crossing the road, except that there is nothing crossing. Perhaps it's a stylized entry gate for the city.

The gate, or whatever it is, has Buddhist details.

I got a lot of "hello" today, and plenty of thumbs up. A highlight was when a truck of school girls passed me, all shouting hello and giving the two fingered peace sign (and I'm not sure what it really means to them). I gave them the peace sign back, and have never before heard such squealing!

Isaan cow. When I stopped, it walked toward me. It was on a rope staked to the ground which prevented it from going out onto the road.

I stopped about a third of the way into the ride and had an iced coffee at an Amazon Cafe, and lingered too long. It's easy to do that when I get onto the Wi-Fi and start reading the news and Crazy Guy journals. At about 2/3 of the ride I started looking for another cold drink. It took me until the outskirts of Sisaket to find one. I stopped at a little restaurant/store, and bought a sort-of-cold watermelon flavored fanta. I can't say it was especially tasty, but it got me further along.

Watermelon Fanta. There is such a thing.

This large building was near where I got my Fanta. I'm not sure what it is, but the gold domes were impressive. The building is curved. That's not a camera distortion.

I stopped at a large Makro store, mainly because I hadn't been in one before. It sold things in bulk, sort of like Costco, and I didn't buy anything. Then I made it into the center of the city, and to the Boonsiri Boutique Hotel. I think it's a good value at 400 baht for a clean AC room with fridge and hot water. I'm in a 4th floor walk up room. The lower rooms are identical but more expensive. At least they have a sense of humor about the steps, and have them labelled with 0.5 cal per step to show you you're working out while walking to your room.

Lots of steps up to my room. The labels must be for their foreign guests, since there is no Thai.

The thing that's a little disturbing is that I honestly cannot remember whether I paid for the room when I checked in. I blame it on the heat.

I'm at a decision point today. I'm trying to get to Siem Reap, to visit the ruins at Angkor Wat. I can enter Cambodia from the north, through Anlong Veng, or from the west through Poipet. Anlong Veng is the most direct route, but there is a long stretch from there to Siem Reap, 128 km, with very little by way of services and no accommodation. Other cyclists do it in one day, but it's too much for me with the heat. The entry at Poipet is more heavily used. It has a long stretch, too, but has bus service available. The only transport from Anlong Veng are private taxis, and I'm concerned about hiring one as an individual and also accommodating my bike. So, unless I hear something that makes the Anlong Veng option sound easier, I'm going to continue west to reach Aranyaprathet on the Thai side, and enter Cambodia at Poipet. I'm on the railroad route now, so I may even hop on a train to get me closer. I'm anxious to see the ruins. I've been told that the tourist scene is overwhelming, so I'll just have to find a way to deal with it.

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Today's ride: 65 km (40 miles)
Total: 1,922 km (1,194 miles)

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