December 21, 2025
There’s Always Food in Thailand
Khiri Mat to Kamphaeng Phet
Dear little friends,
Today’s route was going to be a bit long for us. Since the weather has heated up to what are basically normal December central Thailand temperatures we really need to be out of the sun and heat by midday. We were going to start out on Highway 101, which is a relatively busy four-lane, not our favorite, and then leave it as soon as possible to take a bunch of quiet back roads, all of which go through rice fields, maybe a small village here or there.
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
It’s a Sunday, and because of recent difficulties with finding breakfast restaurants, and leaving civilization early in the day, I didn’t want to take a chance on finding food. We say this a lot: there’s always food in Thailand. And mostly that is true. But not always, and we needed to be sure that we would be fed today.
So, yes, we went to 7-Eleven. We got some heated up food, tucked it into a pannier, and set off down ze highway.
As we’ve mentioned earlier in the trip, like back when we were riding north from Nan, there has been a significant wind from the north. Today, it was our friend, blowing hard again as we piloted south on the highway. The highway with very, very little early Sunday morning traffic, with a buttercream surface, wide shoulders. A tailwind. We sailed, baby.
We were having so much fun cruising at an effortless 15 mph that we skipped the first possible turn onto farm roads and just kept on going. There would be more chances later. After a couple of hours of this we pulled into one of the many, many beautifully new and beautifully kept roadside rest stops and chowed down our food, drank some water, and set off again.
It was a good plan and we were right to do it that way, although of COURSE we saw open restaurants along the way. You just don’t know how many, many times we’ve gone to a restaurant that is not open on that day or at that hour even though its listing on Google Maps says it is. We’ve really lost trust in that. And let’s be honest here. Sometimes introvert Andrea (I don’t speak for Bruce here) just doesn’t want to deal with ordering food and dealing with people, even though the majority of those interactions are absolutely stellar. Plus I can get a grilled cheese sandwich and a cup of yogurt from 7-Eleven and we’re far enough into this trip that I get a yen for some western food sometimes. If only they had tomato soup.
But we did eventually leave 101 and go onto a series of rice roads. Irrigation is a big deal here, as management of thousands of acres of a water-dependent crop has to be decided on by the local water czar and individual farmers given permission to start pumping into their fields. We followed a lot of long straight irrigation canals, really in the middle of nowhere. Small locks, different kinds of pumps (some driven by plow motors), it’s all pretty interesting. When I was a kid my grandparents’ farm in Missoula was criss-crossed with community irrigation ditches, some big enough to swim in, which we did. Don’t think it didn’t cross my mind as we rode through those sunbaked farming areas.
| Heart | 2 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 2 | Comment | 2 | Link |
1 month ago
The tailwind continued even on less traveled roads so by noon we were approaching Kamphaeng Phet, a town we stayed in three years ago and liked so much we are planning on a pre-Christmas rest period here. We weren’t sure there would be a room available for three or four days. Looking at booking sites it wasn’t readily apparent, but we’ve stopped using those for the most part because they inflate the prices, have some hidden fees, and the hotels themselves don’t make as much money. Unless it’s a big city place on an important holiday we are better served by rocking up to the door (early in the day if possible) and booking on the spot, cash in hand.
So the tailwind was our pal as we charged into Kamphaeng Phet, screeching into the guesthouse we stayed at before that has a big free breakfast in a room full of huge log furniture. It’s called The Big Tree Resort in English, and there used to be a gigantic teak near the entrance that we think died and turned into the log furniture. The grounds are shady and cool with tons of plants. And yes, they had a room for us, for four nights, 500 baht/night with aforementioned breakfast for two, $16.
| Heart | 2 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Discussion of our ongoing health conditions is not something we really focus on in this journal but they’re real, we’re aging, we want to stay healthy and rested and well-fed and keep it fun. And the sun is getting pretty darn hot. I’m delighted to stop for a few days.
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 2 | Comment | 2 | Link |
All this to say, that after we had showered and rested and drank a lot, lot, lot of water, we did a late afternoon foray out to look for an early dinner and everything nearby was closed. Which proves my point about the unreliability of our restaurant research. If I hadn’t been so tired we could have jumped on our bikes and probably found something within a mile. But it’s Sunday, and maybe not.
I’ve been wanting to try this out anyway so I used my Grab app and ordered food. All over Thailand half the motorbikes you see have some sort of food delivery person on them. Grab, Line, 7-Eleven, FoodPanda. I only have Grab and have only used it to order rides while we were in Chiang Mai. So it was very exciting to have our Pad Thai come to us!
Except that it didn’t come to us. The poor Grab guy used our location back in the trees behind the Big Tree and sent us a photo of our food hanging on the gate of a residence on a nearby street. He tried calling us but doesn’t speak English and so I sent him a photo of the guesthouse entrance and we saw him whiz by and retrieving our food and arriving all flustered. He deserved the tip we gave him, we should have been near the front when we ordered it, Live and learn.
Our pad thai was wrapped in paper and came with little packets of sugar and chiles, no utensils. That was pretty funny. But it makes sense, because most people ordering food in Thailand are ordering it to their homes that have bowls and plates and silverware. And so do we. I was pretty pleased that I had successfully ordered our $2.82 meal and didn’t have to go out looking for it.
A rather odd day for food here in Thailand. So yes, it’s Thailand, there’s always food. It just may not come the way you think it will. We ain’t starving here.
Today's ride: 35 miles (56 km)
Total: 673 miles (1,083 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 9 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 2 |