Tak to Mae Sot

Standing by the side of the road we polished off 10 bananas between us and contemplated our options. It was still 30 degrees and the sun was a fiery red ball , the tarmac was shining rose pink and a tangle of telephone lines golden like the vines encasing the landscape of jagged mountains, palms and a monastery all close by. It would be dark in 40 minutes and we were sore and out on a limb. We could hitch, ask to sleep at the monastery, camp without our tent, or continue riding another 18km, possibly in the dark in unknown terrain amidst signs of road works. The bananas giving us the encouragement of monkeys we decided to ride….and the hills, the climbs of the past 70 kilometres…. the steep ascents, they disappeared. Instead a beautiful, cooling descent towards the setting sun, weaving and twisting, just the right pace to avoid the pot holes and arriving in Mae Sot and our booked hotel just as the light went out. Plink!