I have obviously misunderstood the text in on of the materials I was using to plan this trip, as the renowned temple Doi Suthep is not in Mae Chaem, but in Chiang Mae (or more exactly 22km off Chiang Mae). I went to see the local temple again to take some better pictures than I had the chance with approaching night yesterday evening. This temple is actually quite pretty and I could feel it had a soul. That is probably because one can see the monks living in the buildings around. I also liked the contrast of the colorful temple and the old temple-like house which obviously serves as a dormitory for young monks.

On my way to Chiang Mai the locals directed me “the wrong way”. I was originally told that I would have to backtrack only 3km and than take a more direct road there than going back via the town of Hot. As there are probably no signs to lead motorists that way the ones I followed (and confirmed with other locals) lead me back 75km to Hot on the road I came here on. I wasn’t happy about that since, as I mentioned earlier, I don’t like to travel the same road twice and also it was quite a bit longer. The map shows that part of the road that I wanted to take was unsealed, but still, they could put up some road signs to navigate you there.

Anyway, I reached Chiang Mae around noon and was trying to find some accommodation again. There is no problem at all with this in Chiang Mae. There is virtually guesthouse next to a guesthouse. After some roaming I managed to find a guesthouse in a side street with a yard where I could leave my bike safely again. The price? 100 Baht per night, but since I was going to stay at least 2 nights I bargained that price to 90 Baht per night. That was good enough for me and I took it. It was so hot and the slow roaming through the streets on the bike didn’t help cooling me down much. The room is quite big with an on-suite, although, for the first time in Asia, I have only a single bed. 

I have spent the afternoon roaming the city bit more, mainly looking for a good Internet place of which is no shortage here either. I ended up at a place with a really fast connection – the best so far.

In the evening I was supposed to meet up with a couple of likable French guys who I met in the guesthouse just around the corner while I was passing by and they were just arriving. We even agreed to share a three-bed room, but the only one on offer had a queen bed and a single. I could understand that the guys didn’t really feel like sleeping right next to each other and told them not to worry, as I already had a place to stay anyway. We were supposed to go and check out the nightlife in the city. They had some recommendation from their guidebook.

I was a little bit late to meet them (5 minutes only) thanks to having a little problem when I managed to squeeze my bike with its wide additional tanks between a well and a wall of the guesthouse when I was coming back from the Internet place. I squeezed it in but didn’t get through, so I ended up with a bike wedged firmly between the two unmovable objects. It really didn’t seem narrower than 1m to me before I found it was. I got some help from the owner of the guesthouse as well as two other guys. That was also where I met Frank – another interesting character, but about him later. Anyway, the French guys didn’t seem to be there the whole day - at least that was what I was told by the owner of the guesthouse they were staying in. I was also sure they would wait 5 minutes, wouldn’t they?

OK, they weren’t there but I also promised that on our way we would pick up an English girl who I met while checking some of the guesthouses before. After waiting for the guys a while it was already the time to meet Jessica so I went back to pick up the bike and rode to find out if she was waiting there. She told me she was also expecting a friend to arrive who probably arrived as she wasn’t there either and the owner of her guesthouse told me that she hadn’t seen “the girl” since she showed us the rooms.

OK, so I was alone for the evening. I went to the riverside as that was the place where all the bars are apparently. I came across a market where I had dinner, bought a kilo of Lychees for 20 Baht (about 80 AUD cents!) and decided that while eating them I should try Thai foot massage – 30 minutes for 49 Baht is not a bad deal at all either. Then I talked to some Thai men very interested in my bike and my trip after which I walked the streets a bit before returning to my guesthouse. The number of girls in the bars trying to grab you to make some money is unbelievable. One in particular wouldn’t let me go for good 10 minutes. She was really persistent but not my type anyway… J She was actually quite chubby for a Thai girl and I don’t like getting girls this way anyway. Oh yeah, my budget doesn’t count with these kinds of services either, although still very cheap by western standards – they tell you almost straight away that it is 1000 Baht. So now you are informed in case you are looking for such a thing.

On my way back from my evening out I managed to forget about how wide I am on the road again and took a couple of concrete slabs flanking one of the intersections when I was turning. It is amazing how solid my additional tanks are. It’s got a scratch, but that is all and a couple of quite large slabs of concrete is now misplaced by about a meter…

I checked the bike and the pannier frames more properly when I returned to the guesthouse and found that there was a bolt missing, which was most likely not thanks to the encounter with the concrete. Nevertheless it neededsome attention. There I started talking to Frank again who had just returned from somewhere as well. He gave me a new bolt and nut and we talked for quite a while, before I mentioned I was a Czech. And he goes: “Nekecej, ja jsem taky! J” (which means “No kidding, I am too!”). Well, as it turns out he is a son of Czech emigrants. He lived in the USA since he was 12. They emigrated in 1968. Now he has been lazing here for a few years already.

(188km)