Buriram By Bike - part 2
Today I was going to do a bit of historical sightseeing...
While waiting for my breakfast I mentioned my intended cycling plans to the lady in charge of Baan BongPhaOhn Resort: Khun Mint.
She looked at me in surprise and asked if I'd realized that Phanom Rung was atop a mountain range...
Sheepishly, I admitted I hadn't, only checked the distance, about 8 km from the resort, which is theoretically peanuts.
The first 6 km to the 'Historioal' Park were easy-going across a two-lane B-road with light traffic.
But that changed soon afterwards and the road went quite steep at places uphill...
Considering that I come from the Low Countries and grew up cycling across pancake-flat landscapes this part became sheer torture.
As a result, I ended up getting off my bike and continuing on foot at times sounding like a horse with a very bad case of asthma...
Sweating like a maniac I finally reached the official entrance!
I parked my bike and continued on foot which was very pleasant indeed.
In ancient pre-Covid times, I had been here once before accompanied by the Dishonorable Edward Pastanga.
That time we went by car and the journey was a piece of cake.
Not much seemed to have changed, everything still looked pretty ancient!
Although I do recall that during our visit the site was overrun by a horde of hyperactive schoolkids whose teachers were very busy with their mobiles...
No doubt about it, Phanom Rung remained a place worth visiting.
The cloudy sky was an excellent backdrop for the ancient Khmer ruins.
As difficult as it was uphill, downhill was maybe even worse, I ended up using my brakes most of the time, especially while navigating the hairpin bends...
Once back at the resort, I ordered a well-deserved drink!
TO BE CONTINUED!
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