A Fully Lucky Day

November 20, 2025

Lampang to Mae Mo

Dear little friends,

The Lampang Drizzle was over and we were leaving Lampang in case it decided to come back. Checking on the big puddle in the tiny soi out our window, it seemed to be shrinking, the cloud cover higher in the sky, the “Windy” app was showing all clear, let’s go!

But first, Bruce wanted to walk two blocks to the currency exchange. He likes to have plenty of Thai dough on hand. Meanwhile I was packing up, retrieving the shampoo and conditioner from the back of the toilet. No matter where we stay, there is never a working shelf near the shower head, only the remnants of where they had once been, little mounting stubs or holes in the wall. Toiletries end up being stored on the back of the toilet.

I was surprised to see something else stored on the back of the toilet, an eyeglass nosepiece. It looked like a real one, not the tiny ones on my cheap sunglasses. Why lose expensive sunglasses when you can lose cheap ones, I say. I texted Bruce, “did you lose a nosepiece?” Why yes, yes he had. I hunted around for the microscrew that belonged to it but of course it was nowhere to be found and was probably somewhere far far away. Bruce had a repair kit but those screws were too big. As luck would have it, there was an optical shop basically next door to the currency exchange so back out he went. The gal there was excited to fix his nosepiece, tighten up the bows, clean the lenses, and say “Free” at the end of all that.

All this to say that we did not get an early start out of Lampang, and while Lampang did not ring a lot of bells for us we got great food and some of the nicest interactions ever there.

We were not going to ride the big freeway over the big hill. But our plan was to swing around that big mountain on back roads and that’s what we did. Google Maps doesn’t believe in that kind of routing, but Pocket Earth came up with a lovely one and it was pretty darn nice. There was some climbing, for sure, in fact a total of 1044 feet for the day. We have had relatively little riding so far on this trip but I AM getting stronger and the air was cool and pleasant so it was all pretty wonderful.

Rice harvesting and rice drying have started.

After passing through several villages we eventually were in some real countryside, and on a long rolling uphill we spotted at the top a rare sight, another touring cyclist who actually crossed the road and stopped and waited for us. We had a right nice long chat with him, he’s an Israeli/Brit and has ridden all over the world. This trip he had started in Hanoi and was meeting his wife in Chiang Mai for some car tripping, he has toured the US along the Mississippi north to south and he has some inspiring stories from that trip. It was a great encounter. I’ll make a stab at his name, Uri? Ori? Maybe he’ll read this and correct me, I hope so. We were delighted to meet him.

45 minutes well spent, and we wish it could have been longer.

We have seen other bike tourists but not many and often they either don’t see us or just want to keep going and that’s fine. But we learn a lot from others, this guy had some recent information about a border crossing we’re contemplating which was super helpful.

We saw a lot of small plots of rice being harvested by hand. Some very poor people in these parts. Possibly there are a lot of subsistence farmers.

Our plan was to go 20 miles to Mae Mo, find a guesthouse out of the many listed there, and then take another train to the station closest to Phrae. Easy peasy. The last few miles into Mae Mo were on a bike path! That was a big surprise, and the condition of the bike path was also a big surprise, but it ran next to a big highway with zero access to that big highway so we were committed.

Mae Mo was sunny and relaxed feeling. It’s somewhat of a planned community, I think, because there is a gigantic mine nearby. We stopped for a cha yen (Thai iced tea) that was excellent, then hunted down some food 20 minutes before the place closed. They didn’t seem happy to see us but they made us huge plates of excellent food. Then it was time to go find a place to lay our heads. And thus an adventure began.

I’m not exaggerating when I say there were tons of places on Google Maps purporting to be lodging in Mae Mo. But the reality is, that tourists don’t go to Mae Mo and workers do, so we quickly learned that everything was full or had turned into monthly housing for locals. Whoops. Somebody sent us back to the semi-fancy hotel we had passed 5 km earlier. Oh well, you do what you have to. So back on the funky bike path, only to arrive there and be told, “No room”. The parking lot was empty. Our lucky day was quickly turning sour.

This place was obviously no longer a guesthouse.

Out of desperation, I called a homestay we had figured would be super expensive, “Oma’s Garten Homestay”. The phone rang and rang. My heart sank and sank. Then there was a kind man’s voice, who spoke English, and seemed sympathetic to our plight. Maybe he could hear the tension in my voice, I don’t know. In any case he said he had one room with four beds in it but would only charge for the two of us, and we were in. It was not expensive. But even if it had been we were in no position to cheap out unless we wanted to sleep in a temple or train station.

Oma’s was a beautiful place out in the quiet countryside. Our host wasn’t there but the sweet ladies working there knew we were coming and got us settled. Later in the evening we finally met him and you couldn’t ask for a kinder, more hospitable gentleman. The land had belonged to his grandmother, he had gotten an education in Germany, hence the name “Oma”, which incidentally is my name too, to my three grandlittles.

A healthy garden has many different creatures in it, you just need to stay alert for some of them.

He explained that there were a lot of the mine bigwigs/staff in town preparing for the end of the year and that’s why there were no rooms except his that night. We felt so very lucky. The room was comfy and lovely and spacious, there would be a Thai breakfast served in the morning, the cats and creatures and flowers there made it all feel very homey. Sometimes we just get very, very lucky, and we are full of gratitude. Mae Mo turned out all right in the end.

Today's ride: 28 miles (45 km)
Total: 177 miles (285 km)

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John SolemSo sweet. So happy it worked out in Mae OMA.
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2 months ago

Andrea BrownTo John SolemWe’re probably a little addicted to the panic/serendipity feedback loop. But it keeps it all vivid and is a good exercise in resilience.
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2 months ago

Bruce LellmanTo John SolemI usually don't get very worried that we really won't come up with a place to stay but this time I was starting to wonder. We don't travel with a tent anymore so we couldn't wild camp.
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2 months ago

Mark LellmanI think you were with me Bruce, when I had a nose piece replaced on my glasses, in Bangkok. Free. It is a thing with optical shops I guess.
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1 month ago

Kat MarrinerJust seeing the countryside and small bike paths I am breathing easier. I am of course reading much of your journal to this date in one sitting, so I'll end today's read on this delightful bit of travel magic.
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1 month ago