Uttaradit to Pitsanulok by Kayak : 1

My very pleasant hotel in Uttaradit.

Proper adventure time again!  Albeit a short one... I fear that in the age of Covid, trying any sort of trip lasting more than a week or two is asking for trouble, and in any case I have places to be fairly shortly.  Nonetheless, my recent cycle trip was fun, good to get out of the house and all, and so I'm heading a little further afield - still in Thailand, but I am going to risk actually going to different provinces.  And, this time I'm not cycling, oh no - it is time for the revenge of the kayak!

Yeah, my last attempt at a long kayak trip here didn't work, I failed to allow for how slow the thing is, and more importantly how many weirs there were on the river near Chiang Mai.  So this time, rather than starting near home I have a route planned along the Nan River (prounced 'naan'), between Uttaradit and Pitsanulok.  Yes I have been to these places before.  I'm not going to do more than thirty kilometres or so per day, and as far as I can tell there is just a single weir (actually a substantial dam) on the entire route, fingers crossed.  Easy then!  Well, there are logistical issues.  While both cities are on the train line between Chiang Mai and Bangkok, no trains from Chiang Mai to Uttaradit show up on the booking website I usually use.  Maybe not running because of Covid?  In any case... while I can see 'resorts' - probably more like motels - on the map at each place I want to stay, they are also not bookable online.  So - I opt for driving from Chiang Mai to Uttaradit, staying a couple of nights there, and using the free day to drive a little way south, visiting each of the first four places I'm looking to stay at.  They are indeed all open, and seem perfectly pleasant, all good.

About to make a start.

I will have to hope the car will be OK in a car park in Uttaradit for five or six days.  And another worry is that I can't even manage to book a train back from Pitsanulok to Uttaradit... I know there are trains going through these places, I can hear them from my (charming) hotel, so whatever, it's an adventure!  I will try the station when I get there, if not maybe a bus, or if worst comes to worse it is only 100km, a taxi won't be that much.  Uttaradit, much like Chiang Mai, is technically under some sort of Covid lockdown, no alcohol to be served, etc.  In practice this seems to mean that an open bar is maybe a little bit harder to find, and you have to drink your beer out of a coffee cup - this is, of course, Thailand.  In fact I find a nice little place by the river, while scoping out a spot to set off in the kayak.  There is larb tort (deep fried spicy minced pork), it is good.

I am doing it!

Anyway... the kayaking.  Will I fail again?  Well, I get going OK, the Nan is a pretty big river here, although surprisingly it does seem to lose elevation slightly at times, it sure isn't white water but there are some fairly substantial waves, all good fun and it is moving me along.  I pass interesting stuff, many fish farms, also lots of floating bottles pulling on pieces of string - marking the presence of some kind of crustacean trap I assume.  Also lots of tapering sticks, looking like fishing rods in fact, poking out of the water and wiggling in the current.  They don't have any line on them so not sure what that is about.  There are no weirs!  In fact, the worst obstacles I face are where somebody has set up a tethered barge pumping water out of the river, often the pipe carrying the water blocks most of the way, but I can get round - the rope holding the barge in place isn't much of a barrier.  They seem to generally be using the water to manufacture concrete, I think.

One of many 'view from the kayak' shots.

Well, I keep going, although this is hard work - I have to keep paddling or the boat really doesn't seem to move much - after the first ten kilometres or so the river is pretty flat.  And to be honest my arm muscles are not the largest - maybe I can build some by doing this eh?  But, I keep going, the scenery is lovely, and it is nice not to have to carry my pack, or worry about dogs.  I keep checking the GPS, I am definitely getting there - I do make a couple of stops, not least turning the boat over now and again to let water pour out is a good idea.  And by 5pm, I make it!  OK, I could do without the kilometer walk carrying the kayak in its bag, but my 'resort' is very nice... of course one problem with the kayak, it is useless for getting me to a shop, restaurant, or whatever else this place (called 'Tron' I think) has.  Well, I walk half an hour and find somewhere to sell me a Pad Thai and a bottle of beer, then friendly locals spot me and insist on driving me first to somewhere I can buy supplies and more beer to take back, and then to the resort.  I am the only foreigner they've ever seen here, they tell me!

Photos to go with this post can be found here.