[YEAR 7!] Quit our jobs, sold our home, gone riding...

[lightcycle]

After such a long and harrowing hot day, it was nice to finally relax and enjoy our surroundings

The closer you get to the equator, the sunrise and sunsets converge to deliver a perfect 12-hour day. Daylight begins at 6:00AM and finishes at 6:00PM with a variation of only a few minutes regardless of what time of year it is. It's fortuitous that we arrived at Wat Pha Sorn Kaew right at sunset because we've got some astounding views of the temple in the golden hour. But moving ahead, we've resolved to waking up early and starting our riding day sooner. which means we'll be making more use of the 12 hours of daylight we have. Plus it won't be as stinkin' hot in the mornings as well.

Still fine tuning the riding experience...

Amazing detail in the temple at sunset

It's no accident that Buddha is facing the falling sun as it disappears over the mountain range ahead

 

[Herbie]

Thanks! Always nice to know someone out there is reading this stuff!

Always! I have to read most of it twice, since my work ISP sometimes blocks the photo host (paranoid on our end).

 

[loonwheeler]

I keep up on your travels as well. Check nearly every day for the next update. Great trip reports. Keep them coming! 555!

 

[profdlp]

I love how the sun appears to bend around the statue in the second-to-last picture. Incredible!

 

[lightcycle]

Thanks, guys!

Yes, the light does amazing things around sunrise and sunset!

 

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/289.html

This morning, we're leaving from Lom Sak, just a few kms away from the amazing temple we visited yesterday evening. We're heading further east into the province of Issan. As promised, I drag myself out of bed up extra early and Neda looks up from the Kindle that she's been reading for the past hour and smirks at me. Morning people. I don't understand how they work. A quick breakfast at the hotel and then we're packing to be on the road by 7:30AM. Ugh.

But at least it's nice and cool outside for a change!

Oh hello, Yamaha R3. Doesn't your seat look much more comfortable than ours!

Speaking of which, I just discovered my AirHawk cushion sprung a leak yesterday. The cushion comes with a patch kit but unfortunately the leak is right at the valve stem, so it's going to be very difficult to fix. I think I'm going to need some rubber cement. Can't even return it for a refund or exchange, the shipping would be too expensive and where would they send the replacement to? I hate when new stuff breaks down when we're traveling. There are no options.

Past some of the local fields where they grow tobacco

Does anyone have Trypophobia? Sorry for the picture, then...

 

[lightcycle]

Just outside of Lom Sak, we enter the Nam Nao National Park. This is probably the last scenic area we're going to see in a while, as Issan is a pretty flat province with not a lot of parks.

Enjoying the last twists and turns for the day

I thought this sign was funny, but I guess it might not be that amusing to round the corner and run into a 7,000 lb elephant...

Inside Nam Nao Park, we found a lookout tower next to a Buddha statue

Climbing up to get a better view

 

[lightcycle]

From here you can see most of the park

Except that it's *still* burning season and the view is obscured by the haze. Too bad...
But we're on our way out of Northern Thailand so it should get better soon

Supergirl leaving her Fortress of Solitude

Packed mule meets pachyderm

 

[lightcycle]

Bye bye scenery...

... hello, urban Thailand

It's a short, but boring ride from Nam Nao Park to our next stop: Kohn Kaen. It takes us less than a couple of hours to reach the city, but with our butts sore from the CRF seats and the rising temperatures, we're just taking it slow and easy. We thread our way through the big city traffic, eager to check into our air-conditioned room for the day to escape the heat and congestion. I've noticed that we are getting a lot of looks on our bikes and thumbs up from all the vehicles around us, cars and motorcycles. Although we are on 250cc bikes, they are still pretty tall and I guess they look much bigger than they really are.

We stop at a 7-11 to pick up some snacks for the evening, and a guy approaches me outside and starts asking the usual questions, "Where are you from?", "Where are you going?" But then he pointed at our license plate and said, "Chiang Mai", nodding appreciatively.

Ah! So that's what the squiggly writing on our license plates read. It wasn't the bikes that people were giving the thumbs up for. It was the fact that we had ridden all the way from Chiang Mai! "All the way" being only 650kms from Kohn Kaen, but I guess not too many motorcycles stray too far from where they are registered... Now we know why we are getting so much attention. Plus the fact that we are in full gear. And that Neda is a farang woman on a big bike!

So much for blending in...

When I tell my new friend that we are heading south towards Buriram, with a low whistle, he shakes his head and exclaims, "Hot! Hot!"

What? It's 35 degrees here right now. How much hotter can it get?!?!

Well, we're about to find out. The next morning, it's another early start as we turn our bikes south through more of the urban scenery of Issan.

 

[lightcycle]

I don't normally like to take posed pictures, but here I'm telling Neda, "Are you ready for the shot?"

Halfway between Kohn Kaen and Buriram, we stop for lunch outside these very pretty ruins. It's called Prasat Pueai Noi and I recognize the "Noi" as meaning "little" in Thai. Prasat is castle and Pueai is the name. Little Castle Pueai. It's a Khmer sanctuary, which makes sense as we are nearing the border to Cambodia. The architecture is also very different from anything else that we've seen in the country so far.

Going in to explore the little Cambodian castle

Built over 1,000 years ago, it was fashioned after Angkor Wat

These were once part of the largest Khmer sanctuary in the area, but not much stands anymore except these doorways

 

[lightcycle]

Very detailed and ornate carvings on the tops of the doorways

Staying out of the heat in the middle of the day

Maybe we should consider traveling at night...

 

[lightcycle]

It's not that far to Buriram where we're going to make our home base for a few days. All the hotels are fully booked there, but we're able to find a promising place on AirBnB. No reviews, but the place looks nice enough.

When we arrive, we are greeted by the very friendly faces of Jinny and Pea Jim, our AirBnB hosts for the weekend

Our hosts are both teachers at the local university in Buriram (well Pea Jim just retired). It turns out that we are very fortunate to have found this place, because they are also both tour guides getting their certification to lead tours in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Because we are staying with them, we got a whirlwind tour of Buriram on arrival!

A quick visit to Pa Khao Noi which is right in town

We also went to the market to pick up some food for the weekend as our hosts are treating us to home-cooked Issan-style breakfasts every morning. Walking through the aisles, Pea Jim pointed out some local delicacies. She showed us a basket of tiny white bubbly things, like a cross between white beans and puffed rice. I may not have heard clearly but I think she told us that these were ant eggs.

Um. sayagainWHAT? Ant eggs? What do you do with them?

"You eat them! They're delicious!"

Um. What?

I nodded, but inside I wasn't entirely convinced. Ant eggs?!?!

Jinny and Pea Jim took us out to a traditional Issan restaurant

The staple of Issan food is sticky rice, which you knead and then roll up into a ball and dip into the various salads and sauces on the table. What makes Issan food different from the rest of Thai food is the generous portions of herbs they eat with their dishes. A whole basket of greens and what look like tree branches is placed in the middle of the table and you pick off the leaves and put them in your food. Aromatic flavours like coriander, basil, mint and cilantro lend a very unique taste to the dishes.

And of course, a dish of ant eggs gets sent to our table!

The ant eggs are served in a salad called Koi Khai Mot Daeng. Well, if it's a local delicacy, we have to try it! What do ant eggs taste like? Mostly like the spicy sauce that they are served in, but the consistency when you bite into them is kind of like cooked barley. It's actually quite tasty and we finished the entire dish!

We like Issan food quite a lot! Even the ant eggs! Glad we tried them.

The next morning, Jinny and Pea Jim have left to complete their tour guide certification, but they left us a with a breakfast feast

We need all the energy because we have a busy weekend ahead of us!

 

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/290.html

Spoiler warning: Results of the 2016 World Superbike Race in Thailand are discussed in this post!

We're spending the weekend at the Chang International Circuit to watch some motorcycle racing! Why do we enjoy watching motorcycle racing so much? Neda and I used to do a lot of track days on our sportbikes back in Canada, so a part of us can imagine what it's like to actually be out there, twisting the throttle Wide F(ull) Open and leaning the bikes at those crazy, insane angles.

But for me, the real draw of motorcycle racing are the personalities out on the track, watching them pit themselves in head to head combat with each other - two-wheeled gladiators, clashing fairings, risking life and limb for personal glory, sponsorship dollars and the promise of a continued ride on a competitive bike.

You know, racing is kind of like sales. Before turning nomadic, I used to work in a sales office and the mentality between racers and sales people are very similar: competition, pride, ego, jealousy, survival are all prevailing traits. So I'll introduce to you a few of the more interesting people in the race paddock and show how they're exactly like Four People You'll Meet in a Sales Office.

Riding to the track. We're only staying a few kms away, but still glad we have the bikes to go back and forth. It's HOT!!!

The format for World Superbikes (WSBK) has changed this year. There's Free Practice on Friday, Qualifying on Saturday morning, Race 1 on Saturday afternoon and Race 2 on Sunday afternoon. Plus all the lower-tier race series in between. A whole weekend's worth of motorsports activities!

We take our seats for Free Practice. Not a lot of people show up to watch the racers test out their setup, but it's a good time to take some pictures

Once again we get seats in the grandstand. The layout of the stadium in Buriram is nice because you can see the entire track from here

All the vendors are setting up on Friday for the influx of spectators on Saturday and Sunday

 

[lightcycle]

We take shelter from the blistering heat of the midday sun under the thankful shade of the Chang Circuit Grandstand. From our seats we watch the racers take to the track, with each lap they are fine tuning their machines for this particular track in these specific weather conditions. So as promised, let's take a look at who's in the Sales Office in this year:

Nick Hayden is my favorite racing personality

In a sport littered with Europeans, especially Italians and Spaniards, it's unusual to see an American succeed at the highest levels. If I were to describe Nicky Hayden, the "Kentucky Kid", in one word, it would be "polite". When he gives interviews and talks about racing, the sport, his team and the fans, you can't help but think, "Wow, his parents really raised him right".

I've been a huge fan of his since watching him win the MotoGP World Championship back in 2006. In the modern MotoGP era, spanning the last 15 years, he is only one of four racers to take away a world championship from The GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), Valentino Rossi.

But that was his most successful year, and he hasn't won a race since 2006. This is his first year in WSBK, having lost his ride in MotoGP.

In the sales office, Nicky is like the salesperson who, despite being Mr Niceguy, had a blow-out year a few years ago, the best that anyone has ever seen. It surprised everyone because he just doesn't seem to have that killer instinct that a lot of the top salesguys exude. And since he's so nice, he never brings it up or brags about it.

Unfortunately, in sales, you're only as good as your last results and he's never achieved that kind of success ever since. Now a veteran of many years and with lots of experience, he's been demoted from the International HQ to the National branch and everyone in the office whispers, "Was it just a fluke?", "I could beat him this year"...

But his legend precedes him. Despite this being his first year in WSBK, he is one of the most popular riders in the paddock. Few MotoGP champions walk among us and fluke or not, Nicky Hayden is one of them.

Can he reclaim former glories and win again in WSBK? Will he be both a MotoGP *and* World Superbike Champion? I can't wait to find out!!!

Michael van der Mark, 2014 World Supersport (600cc) champion

On the opposite end of the spectrum, but on the same team is Michael van der Mark. Last year, Neda and I cheered on this rookie sensation and watched him take his first podium in his home race in Assen, Netherlands.

In the sales office, he's like the brilliant up-and-comer. He totally killed it in the Regional Office and now he's got a chance to prove his stuff at the National Office. Everyone has high expectations for him and he's doing solid numbers, but unfortunately he's assigned to the same desk as Nicky Hayden. Hard to get noticed when you're sitting next to an international superstar...

 

[lightcycle]

Jonathan Rae is the reigning WSBK Champion

Jonathan Rae is the guy in the sales office that came out of nowhere. For years he did good numbers, but his name was never at the top of the list. Then he got moved to a booming territory and given good leads and now he's the number one salesguy by a long shot. Nobody even came close last year. At first, everyone in the office scratched their head and asked themselves, "How did that happen?" But now they know: he was always an excellent salesguy, he was just given a really crappy patch and had poor support.

Speaking with a bit of an Irish lilt, he comes across in interviews as a really nice and humble guy. The kind of guy who you feel good about him winning. My second-favorite rider in the paddock.

This year, JRay is facing a bit of a challenge. There's an upturn in the economy and the rest of the guys in the office now also have good territories and are getting excellent support. Everyone is a lot more competitive and they're all gunning for him. Can he defend his spot as #1 salesguy in the office?

No one is gunning for JRay harder than his team-mate, Tom Sykes

In the office, Tom Sykes is exactly what you think of when you envision a typical sales guy. An Ends-Justify-The-Means guy, an intense focus with a Machiavellian streak in his approach, he doesn't seem fazed that his team mate is more popular than he is, he's just pissed off that he's being beaten by him.

Tom was the #1 sales guy in the office back a couple of years ago when Jonathan had the crappy territory and was doing poor numbers. But now that they're on the same team, with the same patch and the same support, it's obvious to everyone who the better salesguy is. Tom is no slouch though. He is still one of the best in closing quick deals (dropping back into racing terms - his single-lap qualifying times are blisteringly fast, the best on the grid), but his focus is too much on the short-term gain. He lacks the planning for the long game and that's where he's losing out to his team mate.

There is no love lost between the two of them, and the rivalry between the two make for high drama!

This year, Tom seems to have matured, having adapted his approach and focusing more on the larger picture in dealing with his fellow salesguys and his team mate, in particular. Will it work out for him?