Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Day 5 - Chiang Rai to Thoed Thai

Stayed in bed late today as we anticipated an easy 100km+ ride only. But as usual we were proven wrong again. We woke up 10.30am with heavy heads after drinking till 4am the night before and had breakfast nearby before setting off at 12pm.

The drama started immediate as I meet with a minor accident at the Chiang Rai clock tower roundabout barely 500m from our hotel. A bike tried to overtake me from me left as I was trying to exit the roundabout and I had to jam my brakes to avoid a collision. Lost traction on the front wheel and down I went with the bike. Luckily there was minimal damage on my body and the bike. The bastard ran away but I escaped injury as I was properly dressed for the ride.

Shaken but undeterted, I realized that my riding was noticeably more cautious today. We made our way to Doi Hua Mae Khem to visit the hill tribe village village and market. But we left disappointed as there was nothing remarkable to see. The mountain air is fresh and the views were great but journey was not easy as the road conditions were not good to say the least. Not worth the ride.

We retreated about 30km down and stayed in Thoed Thai town instead. The weather is noticeably cooler in the highlands once the sun is down. Nothing much in this town with only a few small guesthouse, a 7-11 and a few Karaoke bars. Well at least we got a nice room at the Rim Tann guesthouse, a decent dinner and some nice cold beer for the night.

Distance travelled: 140km
Ride time: 12pm to 5pm
Quote of the day: Stupid roundabout.

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