While today wasn’t a big day on the bike, something just felt a bit “off” - the riding gear was more uncomfortable than usual in the morning, corners were no longer “in the pocket” and slower speeds felt much faster than over the last few days.

The morning was spent exploring Pilok village, on the Thai-Myanmar border, just a few kilometres from where i had stayed the night before. This was a quaint little town with a small domestic tourism industry; mainly vans of thai aunties and motorcycle travellers (likely coming from Bangkok).

There is a natural border between Thailand and Myanmar here, being the mountain range - and the (unattended) border post featured stunning views on the Burmese side of the border.

Hmm empty border post…View from the Burmese side of the borderDefinitely not me on the Burmese side of the border

Then, i rode up to the local temple (quite rocky/unpaved surface up a hill - it was a chance for me to get more familiar with worse surfaces), and got a spot of breakfast in town.

Pilok temple on the hill

In lieu of proper communication, i have decided to hand the burden of choice to the restaurant proprietor; i simply ask them to choose something for me and wait to see what i get.Trusty spicy pork mince + egg was served

While i was about to set off for my next section of riding, i was swarmed by a group of Thai aunties who were about to leave in a van. One proudly declared that she was from Hat Yai in fluent English, and then started asking for photos with me + the bike. Soon, the entire group joined in! And then many wanted individual selfies too. I wonder why they are so keen for photos - perhaps I remind them of/am a similar age to their children.

Universally loved by aunties

I reached the next stop, the petrol station in town, around noon. A pair of motorcycle travellers said hello at the cafe, and we communicated through gestures (and me trying to understand their Thai). The more adventurous looking one had been riding in India, and also in China (on a postie bike!), and proudly showed me photos. I showed them this website. I wrapped up the stop with some KFC, and then continued on. 1.5 hours to Sangkhla Buri!

En route to Sangkla Buri

Sangkhla Buri is an interesting town. It hosts the Mon people, a major people group in Myanmar, and a minority in Thailand, and the town of Sangkhla Buri was actually relocated in ~1985, due to the construction of a nearby dam. This led to the old town getting flooded, and the consolidating around higher ground. When riding around town, this becomes increasingly clear:

• there is a large wooden bridge across the lake to connect the two sides of the village (which used to be the outskirts of the main village)
• There are a host of sunken buildings, such as temples, gates, etc, which can be visited by boat.

Sandeep at Chedi Puttha KhayaSunken churchSunken buildingFloating bamboo bridge between the two sides of Sangkhla Buri

Today, this is another spot for Thai tourists to visit, and much more accessible (roads are much more less curvy) than Pilok!

Tonight I am staying in a floating room on the lake - a bit nicer than yesterday!

Tomorrow; Ban Rai! (Or somewhere there or thereabouts)

Some stats:

• 182KMs traveled
• 3 unique interactions
• 16L fuel added
• 18g coffee consumed

Some photos:

View of the lake from Phra Puttha Rup Ong Yai

“abandoned” temple (i suspect this was an old temple that used to be frequented by locals before the flooding, but repurposed for tourists)