Thailand 2016 Day 6. From Pha Yao to Phrae

Not much to report. Pha Yao has a beautiful lakeshore but little else, so after riding up and down the town I decided to head east for a short distance and then follow minor roads south. The day was beautiful, the landscape was gorgeous, and at times I felt I was riding through the French countryside. Add to this the feeling of owning the whole road and you can well understand my satisfaction with the ride. I should add here that honking the claxon is practically unknown here in Thailand, so you can really get high on the landscape and the breeze.

I did stop at a Wildlife Refuge and went for a walk hoping to see tigers and elephants, but the only wildlife I experienced was an ant that bit me on the arm (and wildlife refuge or not I smashed her into a pulp at the same time I hopped in pain).

I have rediscovered the joy of stopping at 7-Eleven here in Asia. You can actually live out of 7-Elevens because they carry hot food, but my current addiction is to their iced coffee, which is only 14 baht (about 35 cents US). Besides, stopping at each 7-Eleven gives me a good excuse to stretch and break the ride into manageable segments.

Eventually I got to Phrae, which I wanted to visit because in the past it was the heart of the teak wood trade, and it is reputed to have very nice architecture. From what I have seen so far the old city must have been tiny, surrounded by the traditional wall, but around it has grown a rather nondescript town of dubious merit. I finally found a hotel, but it is definitely several notches down from any other hotel I have stayed in Thailand. I can only hope there are no bed bugs to make my sleep miserable.