Day 5

Chiang Mai - Tha Sop Sao, Mae Tha District, Lamphun

Katie and Jared get off to an early start and so do I. I do my usual first 2 kilometres going the wrong way on a 4-lane motorway: there’s no changing sides before the faraway crossroad. The “joys” of entering any bigger city seem to be the same all over the world. I pull up at 10ish to a fab eatery and get the best breakfast eva! I’m ready to handle any number of temples that Chiang Mai will throw at me.

I leave the city southbound by one of many country roads. I don’t find the scenery very welcoming, so am just devouring those kilometres as fast as I can. I’m happy there are many temples to rest my longing eyes on, for I’m craving the beauty I can’t seem to find.

However, despite my efforts, I am not able to reach my preferred destination for the night. It’s only 6pm but it’s already getting dark and I still have over 30km to go. Maybe, on a country road, with my bicycle lighting in working order I would have tempted the beast, but the truck-heavy highway at night do not inspire me.

I try my luck at a police box to see if I could rest my head at the station (I hear other cyclists have managed the trick) but all I get is a 2-km lift at the back of the police truck to a nearby resort run by a phuying kham phet (in short, Thai’s “third gender” or, in long, a person labelled male at birth but growing up as female).

Km: 71.09 km
Tm: 3:58 h
Av: 17.8 km/h
TOTAL: 296 km