What a storm in Mukdahan.

 Amnat Charoen doesn't have much to offer the tourist and we stopped there because of the distances between Ubon Ratchathani and That Phanom.  We couldn't do the full trip in one day.  Suppose you could call us soft.

By the time 9.30pm came around last night it was time to call it quits.  I had set my alarm for 6.15 to meet Len for breakfast at 6.30am.  At 6.45am I heard this ringing and had no idea where it was coming from.  I was in a coma.  At first it I thought it was my ipod alarm going off.  Nope, not that.  My brain kicked into gear and realised it was the phone.  Who the hell was calling me.  It was Len in his usual jovial tone.  'What are you doing aussie, it's 6.45 and you were supposed to be down here 15 minutes ago?'   I told Len the alarm didn't go off and I would be down there shortly.  I couldn't believe I had made a mistake and not set the alarm.  He'll never let me live this one down. 

We got out at 7.10am and headed north.  We are following the 212 highway all the way to Vietienne in Laos.

 After nearly 2 hours of riding at a good pace, it was time to stop for morning tea.  This time we couldn't find our favorite 7/11 store and decided to stop at a nice coffee shop Len had spotted.  What a nice little place.  This lady could speak good English which she learnt at university.  I always leave my bike where I can see it when I stop for food and coffee.  The photo above is of the coffee shop we stopped at en-route to Mukdahan.

 We stopped along the way to take a photo of this entrance into another Wat. Some of the entrances are quite impressive.  For a region which is not loaded with wealth, people always find money to build a Wat, Mosque or church.  Work that out.

Today was another hot one reaching a maximum of 111 degrees with an average of 97 degrees all during the ride.  We rode 92kms on nice roads with a good shoulder and a couple of rolling hills to make us work harder.

The last 5kms I found the temperature to be really taking its toll on me.  It didn't appear that hot but I think fatigue might be creeping in. Len is going fine and feeling his legs in this heat.  We rolled into Mukdahan around 12 midday.  The hotel we decided to look at the day before was the Submukda Grand Hotel.  The hotel has a lift and they're allowing us to take our bikes in the room. The hotel costs around 17 dollars for the night with aircon, WiFi, cable TV and I'm not really sure about breakfast.

 Obviously this is my room.  Nice big bed, nice plastic flowers beside the bed head and of course the most valued piece of furniture in the room, my bicycle.  The best thing about having the bike in my room is that I don't have to take the pannier bags off.  All I have to do is open them up, find what I want and that will save big time tomorrow morning.  The bike just got inside the lift by standing it on its back wheel.  Perhaps the Gods are looking down on me.  If I had to drag all my gear up 5 flights of stairs I would have been busted.

 Now the photo above is taken from inside a cafe we were having a late lunch at.  I know it's a bit hazy but you can see the water on the road with ripples all over the place.  It was a hurricane was going through the city.  You can see the sign across the road that had been blown over and water covering the entire road.

 After sitting in the cafe out of the rain we decided to head back to the hotel.  When we walked around the corner we could see that the rain, lightning, thunder and wind was not over.  The skies were a really dark grey and the rain was starting to pour down once again.  

 We could hear the thunder and lighning going off in unison, Obviously the storm was overhead.  At times we thought the doors to the cafe which was being pelted with driving rain and hail would blow open.  It was one of the heaviest storms I've ever been in.  As you can see from the above photo the entire awning has come crashing down onto the pavement during the storm.  Just to the left of the photo there's overhead beam that came down blocking the road.  Signs were hanging from buildings, the rescue squad was guiding the traffic and the place was in darkness.  The power in the town was down and this meant no lift, no air con and no TV.  I wasn't too worried about 2 of them, but no air con in a sweat box is going to be hard night.

After about 2 hours of no power in the town we went back to the hotel.  Climbing the stairs to the fifth floor in darkness was not a problem, what my major concern was getting down the stairs with pannier bags, front bag and a bicycle in the morning, and in darkness.

To top off my day, as we got back to the hotel the power had come back on. No walking the stairs this time.  As I entered my room I was busting to go to the toilet.  Now, you're not going to believe this but the due to the storm, the wind has blown through the toilent window and slammed the toilet door shut, braking the handle.  Now I can't even have a pee in my room.  Talk about shit happens. Yeh, only to me. And to make things worse, Len thought it was real funny and offered his room at a rate of 3 dollars a pee.  I politely told him what I thought about his kind offer.

So after trying to tell the reception staff that the door to my toilet won't open and I need to go to the loo, I finally got someone up.  After taking the entire lock off the door and replacing it with a new one I was now able to relieve myself.

So while this is all going on, it was now after 7pm.  We were both getting hungry and needed to buy dinner.  We walked the streets and couldn't find a place open.  This was not a good day.  We ended up going to the 7/11 store and buying some rice dishes heated up in the microwave.  Actually they tasted better than some of the crap we've been fed by restaurants.

Back to the hotel to eat my meal, do some reading, and relax.  Tomorrow we are riding to the town of That Phanom about 50kms away.  I don't need to be doing long rides in this heat.

And that's a photo of my cycling buddy playing in the water.

Well another long day in the sun.  Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Staying at the FAIKED Hotel.

We did go to the market last night and had Len's favorite, chicken on a stick X 2.  Washed down with yo guessed it, COKE.

We walked around and I found those rude girls who thought I was fat and old from the night before.  I bought one of their cakes and scuffed it down right in front of them.  They must have thought I was a pig, but boy did it taste nice. Len decided not to partake in the cake trip.

We headed back to the hotel to get a good night's sleep for the 80k ride to Amnat Charoen tomorrow.  We bought some food and drink at the 7/11 for our breakfast tomorrow.

I was up by 6.30am had my bike packed and ready to go as Len was coming down the stairs. We rolled out around 7am for the trip north. The traffic heading out of the city was the worst so far on tour.  There were a lot of people who wanted to cut us off and open car doors on us.  It was becoming a little like home.

As you leave or enter a city in Thailand or Cambodia you will always find a monument/structure over the road indicating you've reached the city limits.  This one is on leaving Udon Ratchathani.

After 30 minutes of riding we were out of the city and on the 212 highway with a slight tailwind to help us along.

By the time we came across our morning tea stop we had covered close to 35kms.  We pulled into the Amazon coffee shop and ordered a nice latte.  We chilled out for a while talking about riding, racing, family and friends.  I really enjoy the coffee stops.  This one was disrupted by Len spilling his ice coffee all over the place. 

Back on the road we rolled along at a good speed on good roads, passing a roadside fire which was not under control by anyone. 

 For other cyclists who may consider taking the 212 north, the road about 15kms outside of Amnet Charoen is under construction in parts and you have be on your guard at all times.

With another short stop we were now getting close to the end of our ride.  We rolled into town and Len directed us straight to the Faikid Hotel.  Not a bad name for a hotel.  This one cost 15 dollars with air con, WiFi, cable TV but no English channels, and 4 floors of stores.  No elevator so we have to drag our tired ass's up 4 levels.

Tomorrow is a long ride to Mukdahan where we'll cross over into Laos.

Safe riding.

No respite from the heat.

Last night we went for a walk around the night market.  There was plenty of good food being cooked but Len and I had stuffed ourselves earlier on in the afternoon and didn't feel like eating anymore.  We'll make up for it tonight at the market.

 If I hadn't made such a pig of myself I wouldn't have had a piece of this cake. 

Now appearances can be deceiving and in the case of these 2 young ladies you better believe it.  As we were walking around the market looking at all the nice food, Len was saying something to these girls.  Next I know they're saying I'm fat and I'm old.  Now how rude can one be.  I hold Len totally responsible for the situation.  I'm going back tonight to front these 2 with a bit of good Aussie medicine.

Now for today.

We both went down for breakfast around 8am.  I was still tired and could've slept more, and Len was feeling the same.  I decided to go for a walk to get out of the hotel.  After about 1 hour of walking the streets I had to come back inside, the heat was oppressive.  What really surprised me is that at 10am the streets are bare.  No one is out, and not many shops were open.  There's one good reason,  too damn hot.

The rest of the day will be planning the next couple of days cycling and when we'll be entering Laos.

Now this is what I'll be eating tonight. When you look at the prices, 15 Baht is 50 Aussie cents.  Better deal than Gloria Jeans any day. 1 piece of cake less than a dollar.

There's nothing better than going for a walk in a market.  I could spend all day walking around these places.  I did find this smiling lady chopping up the meat.  As I was standing there she was doing a roaring trade with motorcycle riders coming in, getting there plastic bags full of meat and driving off.  The thing I can never find in these markets is refrigeration.  It doesn't exist.  How long would you leave your meat out and still eat it.

As I continued my walk I came across a Wat, a place of divine worship for the monks of the city.  In Ubon Ratchathani there are plenty of these to see.  . 

Yeh, I know I should provide a history lesson about some of these monuments, but with today's technology, do a google search and enlighten me.  I just take photos.

During my walk I went down to the esplanade of the Mae Nam Mun River.  This is Thailand's 2nd largest waterway.  For a town that is the Laos-Thailand border crossing I would've expect to see more people walking around.  Looking 1km west, nothing.

Looking 1km east towards the Laos border, nothing.  I was the only soul around.

The time is getting on and I'm getting hungry.  I'll have to go and drag Len out of his room and head to the markets.  I'm having waffles, some sort of pancake with banana's and a huge slab of cake, washed down with a coke.  My family think I'm sponsored by Coke because I mention them so much. 

Tomorrow we leave nice and early to beat the heat, looking at 7am.  Not going to eat at the hotel as I thought the breakfast was very ordinary today.  Perhaps more waffles and banana's might be on the menu.

See ya on the road to Amnat Charoen.  Safe riding.

Wollongong the centre of the Universe.

 Today was a nice sleep in to 6.30am.  Breakfast was a little slow at the Boonsiri Boutique Hotel in
Si SaKhet.  We rolled out at 8am and once again Len and his Garmin directed us around streets and eventually onto the 226 heading towards Ubon Ratchathani some 72kms away.

Like usual we just rolled along with the headphones belting out Susan Boyle and some other nobodies accompanied with a nice tailwind.  About an hour into the ride it was time for the Aussie morning tea stop at 7/11 and the Amazon coffee house.  Inside the coffee shop was a large notice board, well at least I noticed it.  I thought it was for anyone to write a comment on, so I did.  See above. I couldn't think of anything else to write.  After all, it's true and everyone knows that, even Len.

After filling the bottles it was time to get back on the road for another hour of being cooked in the 100 degree temperature.  The sun was now belting down big time and my satnav was reading 110 degrees.  Now back home, I would be sitting in the pool or having the air con on, certainly not riding my bicycle. But this is a holiday and you have to be challenged at times.

After a couple more refill stops we were now 20kms outside of Ubon Ratchathani.  Along the road we came across this huge Budha sitting atop of a new building.  To guage how big this Budha is we were bout 50 metres away.  It was massive.

Enough culture for the day.

We rolled into Ubon around 12.30pm after a nice ride.  Len led us directly to a hotel he had stayed at some time ago.  It use to be called the Montana hotel, but had since changed it's name to Ubon International Hotel.  After Len paid his money for 2 nights I asked them where we could park our bikes for the next 2 days as tomorrow is a rest day.  The reception staff said the bikes would have to be left outside.  Now these bikes cost a lot of money and for the hotel not to allow us to put them under the stairwell and completely out of the way was a joke.  They insisted they be left outside in the carpark.  This was totally unacceptable to us, because if they were stolen the hotel would not care less.  Perhaps they care now as we took back our money and moved onto the Sri Isan Hotel down the road.

Eventually we got our room with the usual Wifi, air con, cable TV and the market just across the road.  Tonight we're going to walk to the market and take it easy.

Both Len and I are slightly tired after all that riding in the sun and need a rest.  Tomorrow is our rest day.

So, at this stage I have no idea where we're going next.  We might pull out the map tonight and work on distances for the next couple of days.  We will enter Laos in the next week.

Today we rode 72kms, average temp 99.3 degrees with a max of 113 degrees.

Safe riding and good health to all my friends.

2 flats, 114 degrees, 109kms.

Riding out of Surin at 6.05am.

Firstly, don't think I gave into the Yank and agreed to leave for our ride at 6am.  It it so happened I woke early and couldn't sleep any longer.  So I was aware the chosen one was awake by all the noise he was creating and suggested to him that since I was now wide awake, why not leave early and get on the road.

Len agreed to my surprise

That's me doing some filming and telling Len how stupid his idea is of riding a bike at 6am is.

We left the hotel around 6am with our lights on just for precaution.  I was feeling fine on the bike although I had about 6 hours sleep  Len is a firm believer that 5 hours sleep is enough.  I told him that only applied to Americans, not Australians.  They need more sleep because they're smarter than the rest.

The ride today was to take us from Surin to SiSaKet in the east.  We were moving along real fine with a good tailwind.  Once again at times the wind would suddenly change and our speed would drop by 10kph.

We were really cruising along nice at around the 28kph for the first hour and a half.  Just as we were pulling into the 7/11 for our mandatory morning tea stop I noticed my front tire was flat.  I still was going to have my coffee before I fixed the tire.  The process of taking the tube out and finding the glass that was in the tire didn't take that long. The problem was pumping the tire back up again and ensuring the tire sat properly on the rim.  No matter what I did, it just wasn't working.  The tire needed to pop out all around the rim so there was no bump in the tire as I rode along.  It got to the stage where I pulled out my shampoo and rubbed it along the tire and the side wall of the rim to get the tire to pop out.  Eventually it worked.  Whilst I was sweating like a pig, my sidekick was taking photos of the homie, thinking it was the first time I'd ever sweated in my life.  Len's got absolutely no idea how hard as Aussies work.

 Flat No.1. 

Tire fixed and back on the road to that nice tailwind.  Once again the wind was pushing us along at speeds reaching 35kph.  Len was driving on the front and I was bringing up the rear like usual.  After another hour of riding we pulled over for some chicken on a stick, Len's favorite.  Once again as I was pulling into to have some chicken, I noticed my front tire flat again.  Boy was I pissed off.  Try and change a tire in over 100 degree heat and see how long your patience last.

Whilst Len was sitting down with his chicken on a stick and nice cold coke with ice, I was working on my bike.  I decided to throw the front tire away, something I should have done before I came on this holiday and put a new one on, with new tube.  Now I have 2 tubes to repair when we reach SiSaKet today.

I never did eat to my chicken on a stick because I didn't have time.  I bought some coke to put into my bottle and headed off.  We did need to get today over and done, and midday was our target.  Due to my flat tires and coffee stops and refill stops, we arrived at SiSaKet, Boonsiri Boutique Hotel around 1pm.  It's quite a nice place.  It costs around 18 dollars with cable TV, WiFi, and breakfast.  Oh, and air con. 

As soon as we got our rooms it was time for a nice cold shower and wash the cycling gear for tomorrow.  This washing my own clothes is a serious pain in the arse.  I should have brought the cook with me.

After a couple of hours chilling out we went for a walk through the town.  The only thing of interest was the intersection.  1 lady on a motorbike and heap of people in a taxi truck.  This town is only a stop off to get to the major town of Ubon Ratchathani tomorrow.

As soon as we got back from our walk in the burning sun, an enormous thunderstorm with pouring rain,hail and lightning struck the town.  We didn't see that coming 10 minutes ago.

Today we rode 109kms and the temperature peaked out at 114 degrees.  Now that's hot.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.  I paid for breakfast which starts at 6.30am. 

2 beautiful people and a new record on tour.

Firstly a bit of an update about last night.  We both decided to go and check out the night market.  The sketch plan we received from the lady at the hotel who had good intentions, probably would have suited someone who was trying to navigate their way to Afghanistan.  We didn't make it to the market and ended up back at the hotel for a nice meal.  I'm still amazed at the price of food and accommodation in this country.  I went to sleep at 9pm and didn't budge till 6.45am just before breakfast.  Breakfast was a couple of eggs on toast, fried rice, juice and a cup of coffee. 

We were rolling by 8am.

As we rolled out of Buriram and hit the highway for the short trip to Surin we were accompanied with a gentle tailwind to help us along.

About 40 minutes into the ride Len pulled over at a 7/11 store which has a coffee shop attached.  Good time for a stop.  As we pulled into the service station Len rode over to this couple who were all dressed up in my favorite attire, Lycra.  After a brief chat, the couple joined us for a drink.  The gentleman was from Perth and has been living in Thailand for 9 years. He is married to a lovely Thai lady.

We sat and chatted for about 30 minutes and soon it was time to hit the road.  I asked the gentleman about his Buriram cycling jersey and where I could get one.  He said that if I followed him home which was about 5kms away he would give me one.  Before I left for this tour I payed my good friend Frank Soto a visit.  He ended up giving me a couple of jerseys for the tour.  Now Frank and I have raced together over the years, and he's the guy who always sat on me in the race. He tells a different story on that one. 

So, with a ride of 5kms which ended up about 8kms, we reached there home.  I exchanged a brand new Illawarra cycle club jersey for a new Buriram cycle jersey. I thought, 'what a bargain'.  We didn't stay long at the home as we needed to get going and off the road by midday.

We said our farewells and rejoined the highway with about 35kms to go.  Now the heat was really going through the roof.  We stopped once to refill the bottles and have a break before the final push into Surin.  I did have the intention of going to the golf driving range this afternoon, but having ridden in temperatures that topped our record for the tour at 113 degrees, golf is not going to happen. 

As we rolled along I found this person doing some painting and cement work on a new building.  What you will notice is no harness, no safety net, no scaffolding, nothing to prevent hitting the ground 3 floors below.  

It was now getting close to midday and when we stopped at the traffic lights entering Surin to check out our directions to the Maneerote Hotel the sun just cooked us.  I checked out my satnav  and the temperature at the 65km mark, midday, was 113 degrees.  A new temperature record for the tour.

Len's Garmin took us directly to the hotel, a hotel he and Colin stayed at on a previous cycling tour of the county.  For 16 dollars we have a huge room each, air con, WiFi and cable TV.

Yeh, I know some of you people will be saying, what type of holiday is this when you have the luxury's of home with you.  I say wrong, I didn't bring the kitchen, or the cook.

Tomorrow is the long ride to Si Si Ket, some 110kms away.  Len reckons we have to leave at 6am.  I say Bullshit Len, I'm sleeping in.

Safe riding till next time.

Buriram.

The thing I like about staying in nice places is that the breakfast starts at 7am.  After a nice brekkie we were on the road by 8am for the relative short ride to the town of Buriram.  Buriram is your typical Thai mini city.  They have everything you want, like a bike shop I just had to go and visit.  I did look at their jerseys but they weren't that great.  The shop did have some very expensive bicycles with all the racing gear.  There is one thing Buriram is famous for, they have a big football club.  Just last week they played FC Seoul, and on the 2 April 2013 they play Adelaide City.  Unfortunately we won't be able to make it as we'll be somewhere else.  I have no idea where that will be, I just leave it to Len, he knows where we're heading.

 The Road north again was excellent.  Great pavement with a shoulder wide enough for 2 people to ride side by side.  The road was dead flat and at times we were really moving along with a slight tailwind, then all of a sudden it was hitting us head on.  The conditions today were really strange.  As least we didn't have to contend with temperatures over 100 degrees.  Today's distance was 58kms.

We fell over the place we were looking for, called the Rinradee Place with a bit of help from the locals.  Once settled in I went for a walk of the town coming across some interesting sights.  I couldn't work out why there was  an sulky made of timber sitting on this persons verandah.  I walked up onto the verandah and took the above photo.  Who cares, no one was home.  I never seen anyone travel around this place on sulky.

 What is very common  in Thailand and also Cambodia are the shrines that people put at the front of their homes, shops or in parks.  The Thai are spiritual people and always stop and pray to the Hindu god and then continue on.  This shop had thousands of them for sale from huge to small ones.  Too big to carry on the bike.

 I'm always in the hunt for unusual signs to photograph.  I couldn't work out why you would go to the effort in putting up a road khm sign with 0 on it.  It was outside a house and had no meaning at all.  I suppose it means you've reached 'something'.  Not sure what that something is.  I continued my walk back to the hotel to get out of the sun and relax.

Our hotel is 450 Baht a night with breakfast.  And you guessed it, breakfast is 7am.  I'm sleeping in. 

Tonight we're going to the local market to try out the local cuisine, and I mean food.

Tomorrow we have an easy day to Surin.

Safe riding.