Day 131 – Salokbat, Kampaeng Phet
Yesterday was capital city of Kampaeng Phet, the city itself was not much to talk about although we didn’t explore it very much. It does run along the Ping River and also has historical ruins which are world listed but we didn’t visit them.
Or visit to this city revolved around eating, resting and relaxing. We found the bicycle shop, we found the post office, we also found a Cable TV crew that interviewed us at the post office, that’s the second strange location we’ve met someone how wanted to talk to us.
In Tak at the Bicycle shop, the lady there was excited to see us, she’d seen us on what we think was Tumai Thailand (why? Thailand) cable show recently and she was very talkative. I really don’t know what to say to these people, they’re excited to meet us, but I feel like I’m just a dude riding a bicycle. So I try and ask questions about them and say thank you a lot. It’s strange feeling.
Anyway we chatted to TV crew, gave them our details and wondered off for food. After the rain stopped we found a hotel that boasted 40mb internet and cheap prices, it was Green Park Hotel, 380 Baht, clean, friendly, newish but not really in a good location.
I think they make the $$$ from people staying at the hotel which family are in the provincial hospital. Anyway, it was nice. We clean the bicycle and they let us put it in the room. Only a short walk away was a pretty decent ‘Steak Place’.
This is a Thai steak place, it was 39Baht a bargin, you get 3 chips, 1/4 of slice of toast, some salad and chicken/pork/beef steak and some sauce or gravy. You cannot expect much for A$1.40 but you probably get what in Australia would a ‘children’s meal’ but what is most likely a acceptable portion size if you asked Jenny Craig.
Anyway, we ate, we watch some movies and slept.
Today it was cloudy but not raining, and we left around 7am, grabbed some food along the way as usual and cycled the 65km towards this little cross-roads-town of Salokbat. It was freeway, it was quiet in the morning but by 10am it was getting busier with giant trucks.
Only 10kms from or finish point we saw a bongo van with people hanging out the windows, they were waving us down. We waves back and cycled, up ahead the pulled into some shade and all jumped out of the van. Giving us the polite Thai motion for slow down which is push the palm of your hand towards the ground and few times.
We did, they smiled. One of the guys was holing the latest copy of A Day magazine open to the page we are on, the all rushed over and said hello. Brandashing a pen they ask if we could their copy. We did.
The three of them has just been discussing our story after reading it and then saw us cycling down the road, they we very surprised. They where going the opposite direction, they must have pulled into 7-11 (we had left 5 minutes earlier) and pick up some drinks and cold towels and driven after us.
So they chatted, said some very lovely things, grabbed some photos and gave us a refreshing drink and cool towel. So very Thai and so very nice. THANKYOU strangers. I hope they sign into facebook and we find them again, they live in the town we’re going to tomorrow so maybe we can catch up and have a dinner with them or something.
This would be the second time a random stranger (the other was at Cafe Amazon) has asked if we’re the couple from A Day magazine, I really had no idea that this man people read it, I would like to know it’s circulation. How many more people will we meet because XXXXXXXXXXXXX to the time (and traveled to Yasothon) to interview us.
Anyway, that pretty much been the highlight of the days, the roads have been long and flat mostly unremarkable, with the occasional flash of brilliance, but it is the last 500kms and we’re pretty excited to be on a way to Bangkok to get back into Your Thai Guide and Bangkok life.
