The RIDING BEGINS....

They even put a sign up just for us.

The first day of riding was a breaze. We estimate we did about 55kms of riding through rice paddies, prawn farms and papaya plantations. Surprisingly, Kit's hand drawn map got us to where we needed to be with many a smile and confused look from the local people. Chantaburi was where we spent our first night on the the road. It was a great city. So much more enjoyable than Bangkok.

Do they eat this or frame it? Deep fried smiling pig's face. Mmmmm

The next day we were driven 10kms out of the city where we began our ride. What a day! The last 10km was all hills and they were steep, as we made our way up into the mountains. It was a very hard day and we rode about 50 kms, ending up in a great large town called Pong Nam Ron. We had a fun time trying to find the only accomadation place in a town where no one spoke english and we were so thankful for a bed at the end of the day, even though the bed was as hard as a dining table, with no exaggeration.

Getting a passport photo in Pong Nam Ron is a serious affair.
They handed me a comb, tucked my hair behind my ears and told me not to smile (which was very hard to do)

I had heard and read about the friendliness of the Thai people but I had never found them to be any more hospitable than any other Asian country. But this trip has clearly pointed out the difference between taking the tourist trail, as I have done in the past, and being off the beaten track. In three days we saw only two other Western tourists and we experienced such wonderful Thai people. They love the fact that we are riding bicycles through their country and they have been so helpful, generous and friendly. Perhaps they are feeling sorry for these two girls from Australia who cannot even afford a scooter.

I would highly recommend Chantaburi and Pong Nam Ron for travellers for what felt to me like a real experience of Thailand. No young party ready teens drinking buckets, no end of season footy trips, no overweight, middle aged, over sexed white men. Just Thai people going about their daily lives, welcoming us and allowing us to catch a glimpse into their world.

Just one of the happy Thai shop vendors we met along the way to Pong Nam Ron

So, if we thought the hills on the second day were tough, Day Three was much worse. The difference being that with every up hill we got a chance to go down the other side of it. The border crossing at Prum was so easy and uneventful compared to the one I had done two years prior at Poipet, so I was feeling quite relaxed standing in Cambodia at 10.30am in the searing heat which must have been in the high 30's.

We purchased some checkered shirts to cover ourselves from the blazing sun and we were excited to be riding on those notoriously flat Cambodian roads. Alas, it was not meant to be. The hills continued one after the other all the way to Pailin. 65kms of sun, sweat and hills. We were knackered. But surely Day Four would be the downhill part....surely....

Ouch. Sunburnt and swollen feet and hands in Pailin.