On November 4th Fred the bike is embarking on a six month journey across Southeast Asia. Starting in Singapore, Fred plans to make his way up the west coast of Malaysia, across Thailand, Cambodia, up through Vietnam and into Laos. After that... who knows? Fred invites you to follow him through his adventure. Any advice from fellow travelers is always welcome.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Sukhothai-Nakhon Sawan

Total Distance:186.01km
Total Time:10h18m21s
Average Speed:18.0km/h
Maximum Speed:27.4km/h
Total Distance So Far:8722.25km

Sukhothai was great. It's sort of thought of as the Thai equivalent of Cambodia's Ankor Wat. Having seen both I can tell you it doesn't even come close to the vast ancient empire of Ankor Wat, but it was nice all the same. The ruins of the ancient city consist of a series of old temples. There are five separate sites, all consisting of at least a dozen temples, stupas and chedis. They are pretty far spread and it makes fora great day of easy cycling.
After spending a day seeing the sights I was, once again, on the road. This time I was headed to Lopburi. It's pretty far from Sukhothai. Over 300km, so I knew I would be making a stop on the way. I took the main highway. There really wasn't much of a choice. It went quickly, but traffic was dense. Constantly riding along side zooming cars can wear on you. The scenery... well, there wasn't really any to speak of. It was flat and dull, but as I previously stated I'm just happy to have a break from those hills of the north. There was a rather strong head wind. My least favorite thing in the world. It slowed me down quite a bit.
There are things I had almost forgotten about riding in Thailand. Some good, some bad. The good: There are gas stations everywhere where you can stop for a break. Each one is equipped with a coffee shop, 7/11, and a toilet. That's right, no more squatting in the bush for yours truly. I also missed the rain shelters. They are little benches along the side if the road with roofs where you can stop to get out of the rain or the unbearable heat. The bad: DOGS! The dogs are back in full force, trying to get a mouth full of cyclist meat. At least they keep you moving. There's also a fair amount of road kill. It can be pretty gross.
I stopped in Nakhon Sawan. It's a fairly big city, but aside from that I can't tell you much about it. The next stop is Lopburi. I should spend at least a couple of nights there. Then off to Ayuthaya and back to Bangkok.

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