And just like that, my time in Thailand has come to a close. Today took me from Chiang Mai to the Chiang Khong / Houayxay border with Laos.

Today’s route in blue

It is a bit sad to be leaving Thailand so soon…no more beautiful tarmac, little villages with smiling, friendly people, and the killer PTT/Cafe Amazon/7-Eleven combo.

But the linear nature of the journey is also what makes it special. Like life, each passing day brings forward new thoughts, emotions, and experiences, while leaving behind the familiar.

I am a believer that in life, “you get what you are given”, and that is enough to live a full and rich life. There is no room for regret; each day you get exactly the experience that you were meant to receive on this journey, and if that was not enough, tomorrow is a new day.

This probably stems from the line of thinking that the most important factors which determines one’s life are usually out of one’s control. Individual agency matters, but the cards you are dealt are much more significant than the way you play.

To illustrate my point, your lived experience more than anything else was determined by:

• the year you were born (imagine being born in 1300s Europe, or in Central Asia in the 1200s)
• the location you grew up
• the family that raised you
• the people you met in school, university, your career

and so on and so forth. You are a function of your environment plus a sprinkle of individual agency.

Anyway - with that off my mind - back to the journey. Today’s trip I was rejoined by my friend Kiat, who will be riding with me to Xian.

I started the day with an espresso from Roast8ry, and also picked up a bag of beans from them (a natural Ethiopian), as I’m worried that good coffee is scarce along my route. I’m going through about 20-30g of beans each day, and now have ~500g of beans, so i should be good until Xi’an, where I’ll hunt for some more (or in Chengdu if i get the time).

I need to learn some new poses (Lake Phayao)

Then, a relaxed morning of riding along route 118, which is a windy highway through Khun Chae National Park, to the town of Phayao which is built next to a large lake.

Lunch with Kiat

Lunch was by the lake, and we had some fried prawns, basil pork mince, and mixed vegetables.

Following lunch, we rode north east through country roads winding through small villages towns, until rejoining with Asia Highway 3 for the final stretch to Chiang Khong. All in all not too taxing a day of riding.

Somewhere under the rainbow (Laos to be precise)

Chiang Khong is an incredibly quiet town that sits on the Mekong river (which is the natural boundary with Laos).

Boats on the mighty Mekong

It has quite a slow pace to it, and while strolling along the walking street, i noticed that the population is split into two demographics (1) under 18 and (2) 50 and over.

Chiang Khong walking street

Youth and working age adults have most likely left to work in the cities, and those with children have likely left them with their grandparents. There are a handful of tourists, but typical tourist infrastructure is very much absent.

Biking back to the resort in the rain

Dinner was old style Pad Thai, with mosquitos blessing us with their presence (and really making it known), and then a pit stop at 7-Eleven to stock up for Laos.

Tomorrow; Boten!

Some stats:

• 327 KMs traveled
• 27.8L fuel added
• 0 unique interactions
• 43g coffee consumed

Progress so far. Country #3 awaits (excluding Singapore, which I didn’t ride my bike into)