Day two of cycling and a vast improvement on yesterday in many ways. Most of the day was cloudy, way cooler and a slightly shorter distance. Really enjoyed it, which I can't honestly say I did yesterday. Didn't have a stinking headache all day from dehydration thankfully. The scenery changed quite a lot today with much more agricultural land.
We stopped at a tapioca field where they were chopping and replanting. Thailand is the largest exporter of tapioca apparently. We also stopped by a rubber tree forest (providing a nice spot of shade too). There is a forest somewhere in the north east of Thailand, I can't remember the name of the place, that produces some of the best rubber. And guess who has exclusive rights to it...? Durex!!
We have also been learning a lot about Buddhism along the way. We mainly stop at Buddhist temples as they all have toilets and space for all our bikes, vans and gear. There are two types of monks apparently, jungle and city. Jungle monks are more intensely religious in their approach, they only eat once a day etc. Whereas city monks are a bit more relaxed. Men are governed by 227 laws in life but surprise surprise women observe 311. That's because we're so special apparently. Mmmmm!
For the last stretch of our ride today we had to dismount and run the gauntlet of more Songkran celebrations (Thai new year, for those of you who haven't avidly read every post). There were thousands of people out in the streets, drinking and partying to loud music. We all got a complete soaking on the way and everyone just comes up to you en masse and smothers you with talcum powder. Some are more gentle than others and some it just felt like you were getting slapped and smothered in the face. But they were all pretty polite and sweet. The whole thing was crazy though but good fun. One girl really didn't enjoy it at all. No sense of occasion.
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