Day 2

Mae Kon – Chedi Luang, Mae Suai District

Dinner bought the previous day being hardly edible, I stick to the bundle of bananas I was graciously given upon my check-in by the house owner. With some coffee in hand and a river flowing below my balcony, the late start of the day (it’s midday, again!) is not too bad. After two hours I’m already hungry and stop in an easy-to-miss food-serving-hut off the road. The fare is delish and I start to develop the theory the more miserable the place looks - the better food it serves.

I continue off the national 118. Nothing to report really, as it’s all asphalt and roadside commerce. I’m quite disappointed really as I was hoping for some more scenic views and am getting none of that. I guess I would have to go off the byroads, but those don’t really take you anywhere.

I get a bit discouraged by the end of the day when all there is around is non-arable withered land, with not a single friendly spot to pitch your tent. Hold on, I didn’t bring it with me this time round!

With no guest houses in sight, I decide to knock at a temple’s door. After google-translating my pitch, the monks kindly accept to host me. There’s this 18-year old monastic who shows me around and discusses life choices with me. Why he chose to enter a monastery, how he wants to get to know God and himself better. It’s dramatically different from our Western ways, where all that matters is getting richer and more attractive so that we can hook up… Although I hear that Thai women will not marry a man who hasn’t been ordained as it would suggest he has no control over himself to keep it in his pants…

Maybe it *is* about getting laid in both our cultures after all?

Km: 55.87 km
Tm: 3:04 h
Av: 18.1 km/h
TOTAL: 99 km