January 12th: Lampang to Lamphon – 76km
Day 91
Today was the first day that in the middle of the ascent I just wanted to get off my trike and let loose a long stream of expletives at gravity and the sun. I didn’t though and kept my aching ass to myself. Travelling in a pair has this effect, you have to stay strong for the other person. However, you don’t want to remain heartlessly cheery when the other person is in pure agony; it’s a balance between stoic forbearance and gentle empathy.
We planned on stopping at 50 km and had chosen a resort as our destination, which usually when in the middle of nowhere situated on a highway, tend to be comfortable bungalows. Stopping at the star I dropped on Google Maps, the GPS from our tablet indicated that we were there, but there weren’t any signs. Walking through a gate I inspected the bungalows while Cher guarded the trikes. I knew that place was expensive as soon as I saw modern glass cubed bungalows with little porches covered in assorted decorative pillows. We soon found out that the bungalow costs 2,500 Baht per night. The owner laughed when I told him we were looking for something around 450 Baht.
We pressed on and were mocked by paragliders coasting about overhead. Luckily for us the rest of the day was downhill and we were only a day away from Chiang Mai.
