Bike route 2014


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Thursday, 27 March 2014

Nan and the flat land beyond.


After all that hill massacre we reached my beloved Nan. Spent the first two days at a guest house relaxing and sort out practical stuff.
Beside that i wanted to meet my friend Jin, a sixty years old woman who runs the best vegetarian restaurant in town in the garden of her house. 

Jin's kitchen.
She got very happy and insisted we moved to her house and I couldn't refuse. In there we got sorted out with a room and a lot of care, first of all we got fed 3 times a day with her delicious meals then after 3 o'clock once the business shout down we went around sight seeing with her car. I'm really impressed how much energy she has at her age!
Opening the restaurant.

Lazy hanging out at our usual table.


Kao Noi Mountain where to look at
sunset over Nan


Our last delicious breakfast, Jin even made us
a lunch pack!

Finally i got my greasy fingers on one of
those giant bananas

That's it off we go, but I'll be back!

Got the chance to see some other people too, Christian and his family  whom invited us for dinner at their place.
As last year everything ended at the Saturdays night market, having lunch on maths on the floor by a small stage with live music. Nan, what a nice city i could really live here for a while!
Four days flew by very fast and before having the time to assimilate all that happened i was already on the saddle, direction Phrae, Lampang and back home, Mae On.

Police station dance, camp, get coffee, and a picture,
very nice people in  we even got a whole bunch of bananas.

There where not many option for the way back rather than following the main highway which we manage to escape only once, it wasn't too bad after all, only before and after a city the traffic raised intensity, on the other end we got some nice stretches through the bush and some hills now and then.
On that flat boredom, one late morning we entered the city of Phrae. At first we planned to stop for a coffee and a feast at the vegetarian restaurant but than things changed dramatically...
After our early lunch, Serjio decide to buy a sim card to get Internet on his phone so i wait for him at a random cafe on the main drag. There i got served the most huge ice coffee i have ever seen in my entire cycling career in Thailand, it was something like a liter of coffee!!! i couldn't believe it!!! When my friend got back, after a while,  amazed he had to get one too. (I guess he needed it after the experience of buying and activating a sim card in this country, not hard, just an experience!).
After all this raving around it got pretty late and the sun was high and burning, we had to continue. Just a few meter down the road we found one of the most scary hotels in history, we look at each other and say:" stay??!!", the answer was yes, we asked a coin to take away the guilt of being too lazy and it confirmed.

Horror Hotel in Phrae


Some scary corners and corridors.


I loved this place!
One of those scummy antiques collectors could
come here and make a fortune! 


We paid 2.50 euros for a room in that piece of history and went back to the coffee shop for another liter. I really enjoyed that lazy day!
The day after we rode 110 km, so easy on the flat land, and a truck brought me over a 10 km uphill by holding on to it. At the top my arm was 6 cm longer.
Got to Lampang, it seemed like a nice city but we staid too shortly to fully enjoy, from there we finally left the high way heading north on a secondary road first, then to a rural road, kind of a short cut to get to our final destination a bit faster.



Going uphill on a lazy day this truck made me realise
i was slower than a three, so i though of holding on to it.

Lampang caught my interest for some reason,
i think ill be back, hope this shitty picture will give you
an idea...


That last day was very hard, but the road was amazing, we rode once again through the jungle. Huge threes and some beautiful villages in the middle of nowhere, everything was so green and different from the usual dry woods we where use to. Many up and downs, every time we got to a view point i though it was the last one  but unfortunately it wasn't. Eventually a waterfall and the first singe of tourism, had a refreshing dip and kept on going. We where on a roller coaster dividing us from the valley of Mae On.
What a ride!



this is the start of that beautiful rural road through
the jungle. 



Not exactly wide, but no cars on the other end.

Butterflies party.






How many more of this view points???
I'm tired!!!


Going for a swim at the waterfalls on the way.


Some scary painting at a temple on the way.



I must admit i really enjoyed this last flat bit
on the way to the house

Back home in Mae On for some last days of climbing
and meeting new neighbours.