Thailand - Pak Chong to Divine Mountain

Today is all about our campsite tonight. Sadly we had to mainly ride busy highways to reach it.

Trucks noisily bear down on us, rattling past at speed. The riding is fast though, and steady. After our first twenty miles we are glad to pull into a roadside restaurant to shelter from the sun - it is 34 degrees and there’s been no shade so far. Lunch is the usual response to our request for something vegetarian - two plates of rice and vegetables - which we greedily wolf down. Just as we think to leave, a joyful loud call comes at us. A beaming lady in cycling shorts skips over with her bike, followed by a younger gentleman in tow, also smiling broadly.

Joanna (Polish) and Alessandro (Italian) met in Bangkok, decided to cycle together to Cambodia, found and bought bikes and here they are now two weeks later! The bikes don’t quite fit them. Joanna’s has no gears. Alessandro’s belongings are literally tied to his bike with string. But a pair of more enthusiastic sunny individuals you couldn’t hope to meet. We sat as they ordered food and heard about their travels. Joanna in particular had an infectious joyful energy and shared stories of recovery from a serious injury and sickness, both of which left her hungry to chase her dreams. One of which is to visit all 50 USA states before she turns 50 herself next year. Hawaii on her way home to the US, and a charity group cycling trip crossing all northern states is planned later this summer, to eventually end in Alaska with her son, and godson.

Wishing them well, we hop back on the bikes to do battle with the highway once more. For the last 12 miles we escape the trucks, cycling through ever more rural agricultural land.

At last, with the sun bathing everything a warm orange, we mount the ridge line we’ve gently been ascending and are hit hard by the view. The land dramatically drops away, leaving us looking out over treetops to the Lam Phaya Klang valley corridor below. A green and gold panorama the valley extends as far as you can see north to south. A knobbly mountain range faces us, running parallel to the ridge we’re on. It’s stunning.

And we get to pitch our tent on a platform on the edge of this ridge. It’s our view for the next 15hrs. This is one of those moments you already know you’re in a good memory. That you know to live in the present, to soak it all up, to have all your senses open. We set up our little tent. We cooked our noodles. We drank our beer. All with the heightened contentment simple things bring when furnished with natural beauty.

To top this idyllic scene off, as we were looking out over the valley our ‘next door neighbour’ - the lady camping on the raised platform next to us - came over bearing two tin mugs full of delicious green curry leftover from their meal. “Traditional Thai food” she said, smiling as she gave it to us.Read more