Phrao to Chiang Mai: into tourist central


Map
Loading...
Statistics for today
Distance 105.20 kms 65.24 miles
Ride time (hours) 4.97 -
Avg speed 21.1 kph -
Statistics for trip to date
Distance 3,624.00 kms 2,251.85 miles
Ride time (hours) 189.59 -
On this page

Saturday, January 21st, 2017

I wake up famished. The guesthouse apparently serves breakfast sometimes but not today. I load up quickly and head for town where I manage to order an omelette with rice. It really hits the spot. Next up is coffee, supplied by a place I spied yesterday right after the turn south on the road to Chiang Mai. Fully satiated and knowing I've got a relatively short day ahead of me, I head south at a leisurely pace.

Click for a larger version of the picture
Breakfast: minced pork omelette on rice. With loads of hot sauce it makes a delicious breakfast.
Click for a larger version of the picture
It takes a while for the mist to burn off in the valley this morning.

The road is flat for most of the morning, then I've got to head over some hills to get to Chiang Mai's valley. A few steep grades but nothing dramatic. There's a police checkpoint in there somewhere that appears to be more diligent than usual: the traffic is backed up waiting to get through. I ride past it all on the shoulder and as usual no one bats an eye at me as I cruise past the police.

Click for a larger version of the picture
Relaxing ride along the canal into Chiang Mai.

A long descent then I'm out of the hills. I take a left to pick up the canal Andy told me about. It's a quiet road that lets me avoid the highway for most of the way into city. At one point I make the short ride over to the highway just to get something to eat. It's a zoo: no shoulder, heavy trucks, hot and dusty. Happy to return to the canal to get away from it all.

Click for a larger version of the picture
Attached to a pole with a cement block on the other end, let's them wander a bit until the weight drags them back.

Eventually I have to bite the bullet and weave my way through the city to get to the guesthouse I've booked. I have to negotiate what seems to be a ring-road, a busy 3 lane divided highway that's jammed with traffic. On the other side I'm into narrow streets full of tuk-tuks and cars. Gringos appear more and more frequently. Lot's of tourism here. I get to the "old city", a square section of the city surrounded by a mote and the remnants of a protective wall. I thank god for GPS as I fumble through the twisting alleys to my guesthouse. The door is answered by the owner, a French guy from Pantin of all places (Pantin is a suburb of Paris where I lived for 6 months when I worked in France); he say's he's been in Thailand for 20 years. I drop my stuff, take a shower, then head out to eat myself silly.

Click for a larger version of the picture
Remnants of the wall surrounding the old city.
Click for a larger version of the picture
The moat surrounding Chiang Mai's old city.
Click for a larger version of the picture

I take a day off to spend some time on the internet organizing my departure from Thailand. In between chores I wander around the old city and partake of all the good things to eat at the markets. I meat some English expats in the evening at the night market. The market is jam-packed, we have to thread are way through the crowds. I eat Satay barbecue, a curry, those sausages Andy turned me onto in Chiang Rai, chocolate and banana pancakes at two different vendors, a guava shake... an 8 or 9 thousand-calorie night on the town.

Click for a larger version of the picture
One of the city's many temples.
Click for a larger version of the picture
Bridge over the Ping River.
Click for a larger version of the picture
One of Chiang Mai's many markets.
Click for a larger version of the picture
Bad picture but delicious dragon fruit smoothie.

In a park I watch Thai guys play "Takro" (had to look this up), it's like volleyball using your feet or hacky-sack with a net. Looks like fun.

Click for a larger version of the picture
Relaxing at sunset in a peaceful park amid the hustle and bustle of Chiang Mai.

545 meters of climbing according to Strava.