Day 2 – Chiang Mai to Baan Tawai and back again

Filed under Sisters in the saddle, blog

Distance 32km

After a leisurely start (and more time to enjoy this amazing hotel) we’re heading South West of Chiang Mai to visit the ancient ruins of Wiang Kum Kam.

It’s a warm up day for getting introduced to our bikes and time to see a bit more of this capital city of the north. It doesn’t take long to get out of the city and very quickly we are passing through paddy fields and villages, passing and stopping at some Wats along the way. Its picture perfect and exactly what I envisioned when I thought of cycling in Thailand.

The Bike

You can bring your own bike or hire one from Pedalers. Although I don’t think she would actually be that surprised, I imagine Louise might not appreciate me bringing my bike to her wedding as my plus one, so I am loaning one of Tom and Yai’s bikes. Its a Merida highbrid with 700/25 Continental wheels. The gears are 34 to 52 front cog and back 13 to 30 gearset, techtro v-breaks, ultegra derailler and flat handlebars. The bike is kitted out with a computer and Tom and Yai kindly take care of all those other little things, like spare tubes that you would normally have to think about, leaving you free and easy to take in the sights and just enjoy the ride.

Tom and Yai are local to Chiang Mai so that night they take us to their favourite restaurant. There is no ‘Farang’ menu here, only Thai, so Yai orders for us – she is truly passionate about food and really enthusiastic about us tasting and enjoying many different thai foods. We enjoy a beer and piles of fresh and very very tasty dishes, many of which I have never even heard of before, let alone tried. Its a good job we’re going to be eating up some miles as well otherwise they’ll be rolling me back into London.