Humming dreams and quiet roads: Tak to Chiang Mai
Harmonica Espresso and Drip cafe at Tak, where the owner very kindly gave me a box of sugee cookies to wish me good luck on my trip
Route: Tak to Chiang Mai
Distance: 280km
Time: 4hrs
Thoughts: The roads up north became cooler as I entered the mountains.
My accommodation at Tak was a chic and nifty SOHO boutique hotel. It had a young, laid back vibe to it, kinda like an up-market scuba diving accommodation. There was only one issue; my room was right above the electrical circuits of the hotel. When I finally realised this at 2am, it was too late to change and so I tried to will myself to sleep, even as the electricity and generators were humming in and out of my dreams. As I dozed off into a fitful sleep, I wondered about the poor parrots who were hung in a cage, just outside the bicycle and motorbike parking. Did they ever get to rest their nervous system, what with the LED lights perpetually on and the noise of people coming and going?
Next morning, I left the boutique hotel and headed to a cafe for my morning coffee before my ride to Chiang Mai. I had a nice conversation with Casey, someone from New Jersey, who used to teach English at Tak five years ago. We chatted about her time here and what it meant to revisit the place where she formed many beautiful memories. It was nice having a conversation with someone who was present to life and its experiences. It made me feel grounded on my relatively fast-paced travel on a bike. Bonus was the boss of the cafe giving me a free box of what she called “Singapore cookies”. I never knew those buttery, melt-in-your-mouth, sugee cookies I love, are known in Thailand as Singapore cookies! With Casey’s reminder to slow down, I finally set off for Chiang Mai.
My ride was largely uneventful. The mountain roads got progressively cooler and the air became fresher. I reached Chiang Mai as the sun was setting; Chiang Mai, the place I was ever-so-curious about since my teenage years. I was so grateful to check into my very zen hotel without any fuss. After a simple dinner, which I ordered two plates of to the giggle of the waitress, I conked out in exhaustion into a deep, dreamless sleep…