Off the Beaten Path

27 July 2006
6:00 pm


Khorat to Phon
100 km

My first day was rather brilliant and I logged more miles than expected. It was combination of adrenaline, unseasonable cool weather, and of course my nature of pushing myself. The roads have been very well maintained despite the occassional need to go around water buffalo (I believe that is what they are?) manure.

The countryside scenery is stunning and a welcome change from my typical white capped mountain excursions.

I was not too thrilled with my greeting into Phon as a dog with very large teeth desperately wanted a piece of my brown butt (i tanned it on Koh Tao). And after 100 km of riding, it was torture to outsprint Phon's gatekeeper.

Phon has been an absolute treat and truly off. No description in lonely planet nor anything on google english gave me some indication that I was going to have to be some exploring.

Phon is an up and coming small town that sees very few western travelers. One of my goals of this trip was to venture off the beaten path and observe the day and the life of typical contemporary Thai culture. Phon painted a very pleasant picture with a good balance of modernism while still embracing a strong sense of self. It was a refreshing view not to see ipods, diesel t-shirts, jeans, and 7/11 shops monopolize the landscape. With very little tourism, Phonians have relied on good ol fashion local economy to drive growth. People were so nice and open. In fact, the local police officer gave me a personalized escort to the local guesthouse (I gave up searching on my own within 1 hour). This would have never happened in Bangkok. There are no English translations for roads, buildings, menus, or the like. No pestering taxi drivers or street vendors. There are no famous Buddhist temples or ancient ruins to go check out. The shopping is nothing special. But rather observe and appreciate normal folks trying to make an honest living. Please keep this information to yourself. Hopefully it will stay this way for a little while longer.

I’m sticking to main roads for the first part of the trip to basically get my fitness up. I already have some saddle sores forming and my knees are a bit ache. But you know me…If it was easy everyone would be out here! And I have had the open road all to myself so far. I will be encountering some rough terrain crossing from Laos into Vietnam (I would be lying if I said I wasn’t intimidated) and figured I might as well milk every paved road between here and there. The rain is sporadic but bearable so far and heading northwards the weather is significantly cooler (upper 80’s at the most).

I’ve attached 2 photos of some very beautiful fruit I ate on my way. Have no idea what they or how to eat them but I basically just sliced them open and went to town. I challenge anyone reading this blog to identify this mysterious fruit and educate my ignorance. A surprise awaits the winner!



Note to all those globetrotters….Take a chance and don’t follow the guidebook all the time. You might be as I was pleasantly surprised! Step out of your comfort zone and be curious.

Note to all NE bound Thailand travelers: About 10 km south of Phon there is a free Wi-Fi spot within a petrol station. They don’t speak much English but they are very excited to see folks stop and use their connection. There is a large banner so you can’t miss it. The guesthouse I stayed at in Phon is to the right of the town center roughly 5 blocks northwest. The name was in Thai script so cannot help you with that information. There are some great vendors with all sorts of goodies conveniently located across the street. The cost is 200 Baht for fanned single and 300 Baht if you want A/C.