Philsanulok

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We traveled another 400km North of Bangkok to the wealthy city of Philsanulok, central northern Thailand. With our first day we hire a motorbike each and set off to journey the route to Lam Sok which is famed for its beauty. We visit three nice waterfalls and eat lunch. The biking is fun and Im impressed with how well Kate manages the bike. As we clock through the K's and proceed further into rural arrears I notice changes. Road traffic, starting with bustling cars and buses, thins out, then turns to bikes, then to tractors, then to peasants, finally people to cattle. Similarly the villages alter by with diminishing size and increasing simplicity. With every mile time slips backwards. The scenery is awesome by the time we reach the national park, we cruise at 80kph along gravel roads encompassed by hilled paddy fields with labourers tilling the soil. After 4 hours and 150 miles we reach our destination; a mountainous viewpoint overlooking a lush tropical valley, it is breath taking. We turn back with a long journey to make. With light fading we race the sun to the horizon and pull hard on the throttle to reach Philsanulok before nightfall.
We lose! Nightfalls and my lights fail. I try riding in pitch darkness, but discover it reasonably dangerous! We dice with death for too long, then chance upon an isolated road side restaurant. After eating we discover there is no transport, public nor private, back to Philsanulok. Shit! Fortunately the wealthy owner likes our story and offers us his guesthouse for the evening. We order a bottle of sam song and settle down for a night of luxury.

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