Americanos with Milk

December 14, 2025

Fak Tha to Nam Pat

When we left our bungalow in Fak Tha that was always damp we were pretty sure the rain had ended. I mean, ended for the year. It normally doesn't rain this time of year and as we move further towards the flat plains of central Thailand it is even less likely. Mountains possibly, but not the central valley. But, that rain that did fall really cleared the air of smoke and the day was beautiful. The hills were receding in our mirrors as well. So, we were sitting pretty, on our bikes heading south. We even had a bit of a tailwind which was the icing on the cake.

If a Thai person owns a bit of land they will usually dig a big hole so that they will have a pond.

We are not sure if this is garlic or green onions. Since it is winter I'd say garlic.

So, we were in good moods as we rode except we hadn't had much of a breakfast. We haven't seen a papaya in a long time so we substituted bananas in our muesli. Bananas are nice, especially Thai bananas, but they just aren't the bulk that a nice big papaya is. That did not deter us from wheeling into a side-of-the-road little coffee stand after we had ridden ten miles.

The family was eating at a table under the trees in their yard and khun pa or grandpa was manning the little coffee enterprise. He most likely started it as a little retirement fun thing to do. He spoke a little bit of English and with our little bit of Thai we figured out that he was serving "Fresh" coffee and not the old style Thai cafe bolan. He said he could make Americanos so that's what we ordered but we wanted sweetened condensed milk in them as well. An Americano is a black coffee with no milk. We've had this runaround in the past when we have broken all the rules and perplexed a Thai coffee maker that we indeed wanted Americanos but with sweet milk. It drives them crazy so we avoid getting into that whole mess but he brought it up! I finally said, "Yes, Americanos with sweet milk, iced." He was a very cool guy and he laughed at our order but made us the best coffee! Wow, they were good.

We sat at his little table in front of his place and shouted answers over to the family, all women, who had lots of questions about us. It was one of those very lively Thai families - everyone in a great mood. Let's see....yes, it was a Sunday so they were all relaxed and not working except khun grandpa. But it didn't look like work as we watched him. He was into it.

His little granddaughter was running around and she too was very curious about us but was too shy to even look at us. She mostly hid behind her mother's skirt. I kept trying to take a photo of her and eventually that became a game of her getting away before I could take a photo. She was really good at avoiding the camera. If you play around with a Thai family like that they really love you. I imagine that is pretty much true in most cultures but it seems especially true for Thais. Thais always enjoy light hearted play or joking around in a friendly manner. That's what we were doing there as we enjoyed our tainted Americanos.

I did finally get exactly one photo of the little girl.

Then, suddenly three forest monks (wandering or traveling monks) appeared at the edge of the road. The family jumped up and I am sure they were not expecting them because they were forest monks with no schedule of receiving alms first thing in the morning like regular monks. However, each family member somehow had some food item in which to give the monks. Maybe they had a tiny little store for junk food that I hadn't noticed in the downstairs of their house and when they saw the monks standing there they raced over and grabbed something for them. Each woman had some packaged junk food for the monks. Impressive. Maybe Thais are always prepared for the possibility of monks.

Forest monks are my favorite kind of monks. They are travelers and usually always smiling and laughing. They carry a large orange, usually folded up, umbrella which when they are ready to bed down for the night in the middle of the forest they stick the umbrella handle in the ground and unfold from the umbrella part an attached mosquito net down to the ground and curl up in a ball and go to sleep. I didn't notice any umbrellas that these guys had though. The rule for carrying the umbrella is maybe as loose as an Americano being strictly black coffee. These forest monks looked like they might break rules or maybe they had small tents. They were certainly carrying a lot of stuff. All the women crowded in front of the monks and fired questions to them as they had with us. I heard one of the monks say they had walked from Chiang Mai. Wow! That's a long way. But that's what forest monks do. They think nothing of it. They walk a few miles each day and either find a forest monk sympathetic temple to stay at or head to the forest. It's just like us. We ride a few miles each day and the miles add up. We either head to a cheap guest house or....we.. well, there really isn't an alternative anymore for us since we don't carry a tent anymore. But the big difference between forest monks and us is that usually women don't come streaming out of their yards to give us packaged junk food. I wonder how we can change that.

I was so happy we randomly stopped there. It was such a great stop. It was the highlight of my day. Just watching the interaction of the monks with the group of women made me feel so good. Forest monks just walk around bringing good vibes to people I think. At least that is what it seemed like. I'm glad we got to witness their stopping there just a few feet from where we were sitting. Random. You put yourself out there in some foreign country and you don't have any idea what will happen. You might understand a little bit or you might not understand any of it. But little by little it sinks in and in Thailand the people are so nice that it makes sense even if you don't understand it all. There's a humanity that is always there. For us it's a recharge.

Back on our bikes and not far after that we came across another crematory. We pass several per day but this one I stopped to photograph. It was small. I noticed that the chimney was exposed brick and the brick wasn't covered with cement and painted white like just about every other one we have seen. It was a really humble little crematory, no big covered area for folks to sit and mourn and mingle. It was one of the most simple ones I've ever seen and it seemed that it was about all that was needed to burn a body.

In the middle of a large forested area I had to make another abrupt stop. There was a woman selling khao lam by the side of the road. I do sometimes stop for khao lam. It's the cooked sticky rice inside a hunk of shaved down bamboo. It's sweet because it was cooked with coconut milk. There is usually a bean or two inside as well. I have no idea why. I bought a couple for snacking on later. They travel well.

We found a guest house bungalow as soon as we entered the small town of Nam Pat. The bungalow was beautiful with a rather luxurious bed. It was spotless and large and had everything we desired. And it was $13.

We had to ride our bikes into town but it was not far at all. We were totally surprised to find that Nam Pat was a really nice little town. It was filled with restaurants and all sorts of coffee houses. It was the biggest town we had seen since Laos. It had everything going for it and actually was bigger than we originally thought. Of course it had a couple of 7-Elevens. We found a khao man gai (chicken rice) restaurant and had a great dinner. Chicken rice restaurants serve just that but they all make a certain sauce that you pour over both the chicken pieces and the rice and the sauce is always super wonderful tasting. The chicken has been boiled I think and is always very moist and tender. It's served with a little bowl of broth that is salty.

Once again the people working at the restaurant were very interested in us and we told them where we had been on our bikes. Always, the people are in disbelief that we rode our bikes to all those places and such great distances! If we were in places where tourists were common it wouldn't be like this. But we mostly ride in the middle of nowhere and that's where people are super curious about us. It makes for a very enjoyable time for all of us. The people are just so nice. And they seem honored that we are here in Thailand and that we chose their restaurant.

It was one of those days when we were feeling very lucky to be here in Thailand doing what we are doing. Lucky that everything has gone well so far. But if something were to go wrong and we needed help, we know the Thais would be there for us. And that's a good feeling. Even if we want them to put milk in our Americanos, they will.

lovebruce

Today's ride: 28 miles (45 km)
Total: 502 miles (808 km)

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Annette SchneiderYears ago, when my mother was residing in a care home, some of the aides were Thai. As you said, they were very friendly and accommodating. One asked if I would like to accompany them on a trip home to Thailand. I declined, as I had responsibilities here at home, but I have to say that I was surprised by the offer. I didn't know whether they were hoping for a benefactor or just a friend.

Some days ago, Bruce, you explained to me the backpacker's unique communication system in the 70's. Sorry I didn't respond, but I've really had no comparative experiences. Onward...I'm certainly enjoying the narrative that you and Andrea so kindly provide your readers.
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1 month ago

Bruce LellmanTo Annette SchneiderAnnette, I would guess that the invitation you got to visit their home in Thailand was sincere. They must have liked you a great deal and they simply wanted you to know where they were from and how they grew up etc. They probably wanted nothing more and would have been honored to show you everything about their lives in Thailand.

Once again, thank you for your comments.
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1 month ago