Molten Plastic better than Metal - Khao Soi better than Noodle Soup - Song of the Koel

November 15, 2025

Molten Plastic better than Metal - Khao Soi better than Noodle Soup

The day started earlier than usual because we had to eat breakfast at the Great Tray Food Restaurant right after they opened so that I could get back to our hotel to brush my teeth before going to the endodontist. All three places were sort of near to each other but not so near that we could walk and still make all of those rounds in the time we had. There was nowhere to park bikes at Kitcha Dental Clinic if we were fully loaded, which was also in the mix since checkout time at our hotel was earlier than any other hotel we have had so far. It sounds complicated but as things usually go for us in Thailand it turned out to be not complicated at all.

The breakfast was its usual greatness and the coffee woman at that same restaurant knew what we wanted and the hotel owner was so incredibly nice that he didn't care if we were late in checking out and the endodontist was his usual efficient self with his assistants actually running down the hall to the x-ray room and back.

I can't say enough good things about the restaurant, no wait, I meant the endodontist.....well both actually. But the endodontist, Dr. Attapon Saelo, is someone I can surely recommend to anyone who needs a root canal. He softspeaks perfect English. I said once that the Thai language is like listening to music, well, he spoke English the same way. I sat down in his chair at exactly the minute my appointment was to begin. He told me exactly what he was going to do and that it would take a half an hour. When he was finished I was rushed down to the x-ray room by the women and some more giggling ensued over my glasses and where they put them but it turned out one of the women was holding them the entire time! Much laughter and then rush rush down the hall back to the chair where Dr. Saelo showed me the final x-rays and compared them to the first ones. I asked what he filled the canal with and he said, "Molten plastic." That left me speechless. He said it was better than metal. I was thinking, 'Hmm, molten metal, yeah, I'd rather have molten plastic'. He also told me that the filling on top was ceramic. And suddenly I was walking out with a fixed and not to mention, saved, tooth. I thanked the Dr. profusely. It took twenty minutes.

Down at the front counter I was told my x-rays would be sent to me via my email. That second visit where the nerve canal was filled with molten plastic and the permanent ceramic filling was placed was included in the cost of the endo. What a great deal. Plus, I got to see how the decibels were doing at the front desk. Since there were not as many women rushing around and through others' arms to get pens or tap something into a computer and sliding the door behind, the decibel level was way down.

That all took twenty minutes which left me ten extra minutes to walk back to

The decibel monitor is way low without a lot of women climbing all over each other at the front desk.

That all took only twenty minutes which left me ten extra minutes to walk back to the hotel to check out on time except I took what I thought was a shortcut and I found myself lost (happened all the time) in the maze which are sois and alleys and paths to homes etc. Often they are dead ends or send you off in a totally different direction. There is hardly ever a cut through that works to your advantage. But that's partly what I love about Chiang Mai. This time I got to see a bunch of stuff I hadn't seen, like temples, even though I lost those ten minutes I had gained.

A new temple I didn't have time to explore while lost.

Can't jump walls when lost in alleyways.

Then we rode the tall tree road one more time to Lamphun. Traffic at first was intense because it was almost noon on a Saturday. It eventually cleared out and we rode happy to be back on the road on our bikes knowing we had accomplished what we had to do and thrilled that it went perfectly. We were maybe going to stop at the noodle soup lady's place by the enormous tree but when we got there we stopped and looked but khao soi was filling our heads. We were remembering the excellent khao soi we had had in Lamphun. We thought we could make it there before his pot went dry and what better incentive to ride a little faster than khao soi, way better than the carrot on a long stick that I travel with.

We had had khao soi at a certain place, Sai Narm Phueng Khao Soi, in Lamphun and remembered it to be some of the best of the trip. We made it in time and the nice owner greeted us for a second time, a little surprised that we were back and with fully loaded bikes. He saw that we were hot and put us under the air conditioner and soon we were slurping Thai iced teas and khao soi.

Revived completely we went looking for places to stay. We couldn't stay where we had stayed ten days before, the Phaya Inn, because it was Saturday and it was fully booked. We checked around town at other places but failed in various ways and ended up staying at the same place we stayed four years ago. The same woman was running the place and I was amazed that she still hadn't learned one word of English. I don't think everyone should learn English but if you are running a hotel where foreigners come to stay all the time I would think you would want to learn a little bit. I guess what irritated me was that she wouldn't speak Thai to me but insisted on saying her Thai into her phone translator. It was almost as if I didn't exist. The translator apps are great inventions but for something as simple as getting a room it seemed like an unnecessary impediment to having a nice personal interaction. Whatever. It was a place to sleep.

We didn't even go looking for dinner and instead wanted a bunch of sleep because tomorrow would actually be our first day of riding in totally unfamiliar territory and we didn't know what to expect. But we were as ready as we could be and excited to get this adventure underway, finally.

lovebruce

This noodle soup lady lost out to our desire for khao soi this time.

Today's ride: 23 miles (37 km)
Total: 106 miles (171 km)

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