Day Four - Ban Phaeng to Nakhon Phanom 103 kms

Day Four

103 kms 8 hours something!

Our destination today was the town of Nakhon Phanom only 103kms away.  The ride was divided into 5 legs, mainly through rural villages, dusty tracks and endless potholes.  There were 3 punctures today and Kiwi Chris had 2 of them.

I enjoyed the ride today and was surprised at how well I had recovered from the long ride yesterday although I was certainly feeling it by the end of the day.  We had some great opportunities to stretch out and I rode a couple of times with some faster groups to push myself.  The scenery was magnificent as we continue to follow the line of the Mekong river.

One by one, each water stop presents a lovely rural shop, normally with kids ready to greet us, with ladies ready to serve us as we purchase tinned iced coffee, nut brittle and crisps!  They are always delighted and curious.

At one village, water buffalo were herded past the bikes and truck as we sat there resting, followed by a bemused man.  

Later on, as we rattle and clattered through dusty bumpy roads of one village, I heard calls of "slowing" coming from the front.  The whole street or lane had been closed off for some kind of festivity, in the form of a street party under a marquee.  The people were very surprised to see us and kindly got up and moved chairs so that we could weave our way through the marquee!  Very funny.

These are villages and towns that not many tourists visit and so when, in the baking sun of the afternoon, we pulled unexpectedly into a school, we were treated like celebrities.

We handed out little rubber bands for the kids, who danced with us and sang us a song.

 Borat spotted a soccer ball and rushed off onto the pitch, pursued by a swarm of screeching and excited boys.  Rules were soon abandoned as they jostled and wrestled for the ball, sweating in the dry heat.  The kids loved it.

The principal of the school came out to talk to us and spoke good enough English to understand why we were there and what we were doing for Thai orphans.  They were not only amazed by our 800kms in 8 day bike ride but also that we had each personally fundraised at least $10,000 and, jointly, raised over 750k.  

We arrived at our hotel, extremely hot and had only 40 mins to shower and get ready for our outing and get in the back of the trailer to speed through the streets to get to our destination. 

We were treated to a beautiful boat ride on the Mekong.  The sunset was incredible with beautiful stripes and colours in the sky as we cruised between Lao and Thailand, the contrast in development between each side very apparent.

It was soon clear that most of us were ready to start to wind down and have a drink or two.

  That turned into a few more than two for most and we ended up at a bar singing and dancing with the musicians, after Borat tried to drive us there himself by tuktuk!

Where I personally found the energy, I have no idea but I certainly slept well.  My head was to be less forgiving the next morning but thankfully that was the day of rest.