February 11th: Tak to Kamphaeng Phet – 70km

Day 121

I’m not sure what fantasies we nurtured when we started this trip, but living the ascetic detached life of Chris McCandless is mostly boring, mixed with periods of excitement. We’ve read a lot of different blogs on cycle touring and many share their highs and lows, but few share the mid-level monotony. As Cher put it when she was vomiting while cycling in Taiwan during our test trip, “what’s the point, all we’re doing is endlessly pedaling, and we’re going nowhere.” Although now we’re nowhere near Cher’s almost existential crisis, we need other entertainment and have begun listening to podcasts and music while we cycle. We couldn’t have done this in China, where we were regularly dodging trucks and motorcycles. But here in Thailand with our dedicated motorcycle lane, we have plenty of opportunity to expand our minds. I’m renewing my commitment to learning Chinese and Cher has added a collection of science podcasts – including Stuff You Should Know, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Star Talk and our all time favorite – radiolab.

Our new listening habit has many benefits, other than alleviating boredom. When you spend every moment of every day with the same person, eventually you don’t have anything new to talk about. Now we are living our separate intellectual lives and can share what we learned at the end of the day. Also we are learning again, and we can start to dissipate the cloud of mental stagnation that has been creeping in during the long hot days. Mornings are the perfect time for learning. As your heart rate increases, and your cup of coffee kicks in, you’re refreshed and alert.

Today passed quickly with more gentle rises and descents. Even though we were on the road by 6:45am, the majority of the day was over 30°C. Our southern route is leading us into warmer, humid weather. We are seeing coconut palms in greater number and trucks overflowing with mountains of sugarcane. We are growing more accustomed to the heat and with the addition of our new sun hats are prepared for the tropics.