Nang Rong, Thailand.

Finally Len talked me into getting out of bed early and getting on the road by 6.30am.  Although I don't like to admit it, he was right.  It was much better to start the day nice and early to avoid the heat, and also the traffic.

We left our little villa just outside the town of Ta Phraya heading north to Nang Rong some 90ks away.  This riding is really enjoyable.  The road is really smooth with a good shoulder to ride on.

Our goal was to reach Non Din Daeng about 45kms away.  We intended to reach this town yesterday but the heat got the better of us.

On the way to Non Din Daeng some of the cane farmers were in the process of doing some burning.  It didn't look like it was under control at all.  We continued north with one or 2 stops along the way to fill up the bottles.  It took to 9am before the weather got over 35 degrees with a humidity reading of about 5 million percent.  It doesn't matter what you do or don't do in this part of the world, you will sweat as soon as you raise your head from the pillow.

That's just a photo standing in front of our villa at 6.30 this morning.  The best part of the photo is my jersey, eXsight Tandems.  I have to take this jersey wherever I ride.

As we pedalled on with the heat increasing we came to the base of the mountain before Non Din Daeng.  It was roughly 4ks at over 12% gradient.  Climbing that hill caused me to sweat more than any other day on tour thus far.  It was pouring off me.  We stopped for a drink at the top of the hill and work out the next part of the day.

Basically it was a fast run down into town and a stop at the 7 eleven store.  With a nice coffee and a break of 1/2 an hour we were ready for the 40k push to Nang Rong. 

 These tractors are everywhere and are a major transporter of goods in not only Thailand but Cambodia as well.

We found this road kill just outside of town,  I have no idea what type.  I'll have to do a google search and get back to you on that one.

Len was feeling real good today and didn't want to stop at our usual 20k intervals.  I didn't care as I had plenty of food and water to make it to our final destination.

As we rolled over gentle hills the time seemed to fly past and soon we were in the town of Nang Rong.  We got caught in some heavy traffic in the centre of town and it's wasn't till we were standing there trying to get through that you really notice how damn hot it is.  When you're riding you have the wind to cool you down, not in this town.

We followed this sign today which took us directly to the Phanomrungpuri Hotel which looks pretty impressive.  The room cost 35 dollars a night.  The room comes with a huge bed, cable TV, wifi, swimming pool and breakfast. 

Tomorrow will be a rest day and checking out some of the historical sites of the region.

Time to relax, wash some clothes and go for a swim. 

Until tomorrow, safe riding.