Mekong By Bike - 3. Phon Phisai to Pak Khat

When the going gets tough.., the tough have a beer stop!

Nah, just kidding, but we certainly had a few after the rides.

After the usual ramshackle night rest we got ready for the second day of cycling.

Just after 6ish we said goodbye to Boontawee Hotel and headed for the riverside.

You gotta love those massive trees!

A bit further we spotted this unusual, but charming, (farm?) house...

A friendly buffalo wasn't particularly impressed by us.

In general, I try to keep temple stops to a minimum as there are so many, but sometimes we make exceptions.

Wat Navit Tharam was of a different caliber thanks to its 3-dimensional decorative work!

No lack of dirt tracks, but these weren't too bad.

At times we passed 'islands' in the Mekong...

Sometimes our trip turned into an obstacle course!

'OK Ray, why don't you try to cycle down full speed ahead while I take a video?!'

But as usual, he refused to cooperate, another missed Oscar Award moment...

We cycled through (& past) the International Buddhist Park, a massive place (enormous parking space, lots of toilets, etc.) but none of us was particularly impressed...

Roadside lunch however was definitely much more impressive!

Stop at Wat Nam Penakharam where I had noticed some kind of 'water-wheel', it's barely visible behind Tim...

Ray was in a happy mood as he had just explained the ins & outs of that 'water-wheel'.

At the bottom of this page, you have the rare opportunity to listen to the full version, warts & all!

This looked pretty scary and we didn't see anyone climbing up!

This guy was at the temple as well, love his clock!

Back to the Mekong path or what was left of it...

This kind lady just pointed out the right direction to us as Mr. Google had let us down again...

We also passed a special farm where they grow different strains of rice.

The last temple stop of the day: Wat Si Suk

Small and charming!

Another drink stop at a 'you name it, we got it' shop, where I bought some cheapo gloves as my hands had turned a suspicious red!

Photo stop at a rubber estate.

This was the first (& last!) time that we saw this kind of umbrella protection!

A little later we arrived at Pak Khat, checked in at Pak Khat Rim Khong Resort (nice place!), had a snooze, and afterwards hit a riverside restaurant for a beer!

To Be Continued

The total route.

Despite my frivolous comment at the end, Ray's explanation was actually correct except for the fact that those 'knotted strings' had disappeared probably a long time ago which made the whole contraption useless...