Lop Buri to Chai Nat - 92km

I awoke this morning to find a hive of activity in the streets of Lop Buri. Children and high school students were all congregating in the town square just next to my hotel. Many dressed in traditional thai clothing, some with masks and musical instruments. As I ate breakfast nearby, more and more students arrived until at nine o'clock the procession marched out into the streets of Lob Buri, dancing and cheering to the beat of drums and traditional Thai music. I raced back to my hotel to pack up, hoping to get some really good shots with my SLR before the parade came to end. I quickly packed everything up, and just as I wheeled the bike out of the hotel, I realised I had a flat on front the wheel. I spent the best part of thirty minutes changing the tube, and by the time I was back on the streets the parade had finished and the students were heading off to school. I captured a couple of quick photos as the parade marched out with my automatic, but didn't get to use the SLR. I must admit this bulky expensive camera hasn't seen a great deal of use so far, it's just too big and heavy to take around everywhere, and I never seem to have it handy when the moment arises.

The scenery was again lush the whole way, I saw quite a few water dragons by the roadside and there was abundant birdlife in the surrounding wetlands. About fifty kilometres down the road I had another flat on the front tyre, a supposedly puncture proof touring tyre made by Vittoria. I think you can cross Vittoria Randonneurs off your list of good touring tyres. The first flat was caused by a tiny thorn, fair enough - thorns are known for getting through even the best tyres-but the second looked to be from a shard of glass, something that shouldn't penetrate the aramid belt. Thankfully the Schwalbe marathon plus on the back is still living up to its name, almost 1000km on this trip, and around 800 before I left, so that's close to 2000km with no flats. The rest of the afternoon was largely uneventful, and I found a decent hotel in Chai Nat, so I've settled in here for the night. I'm contemplating a day off with a trip to the forest park tomorrow.