Ayutthaya by Kayak : 1

Setting out from Nakhon Sawan.

Another Thailand adventure!  I wanted a change from cycling, so it is time to break out the inflatable kayak.  The plan is to paddle from Nakhon Sawan to Ayutthaya, which was the dominant city state in the region until the Burmese razed it to the ground in 1767, by all accounts a very interesting place.  So, a long train ride from Chiang Mai, a familiar hotel, then the next morning I'm pumping up the boat alongside the Chao Phraya river, which is considered to have its source here, at the confluence of four tributaries.  From here it flows south to Bangkok, I am not going quite that far though...

I have a long day ahead, some 35km, and this is hard work.  The river is mostly very broad, but it sometimes narrows and there's quite a current, this is good.  Sadly the kayak is not healthy, it's slowly deflating, I have to stop to pump it up every two hours or so.  Well, I make it to my planned stop just before sunset, leave the kayak and check into the nearby homestay, but then I get confused when owner shows me a better way to river, now I can't find the boat, oops.  I end up putting it in its bag in the dark...  As is often the way with kayaking, the homestay is near the river but not anything else, I have to walk a mile to find food...

I took quite a few photos like this.

The owner of the homestay comes to watch me inflate the kayak, he says he might buy one, and why not.  Apparently I am not the first guest with one here.  He also gives me some water, which is nice, though I still don't want the noodles he went to buy for me last night, in a bit of a misunderstanding - I was in fact capable of walking to a restaurant.  Anyway, a shorter day today, only 27km, but still hard work.  My suntan lotion is not working, my ankles are badly burnt, and I have blisters on my hands from the relentless paddling, but still I keep going.  It's pretty at least, there are hills to either side, and many birds, a small one hovers over the water and then dives to catch a fish, most cool.  There are many guys fishing with nets too.  My destination today is another resort in the middle of nowhere, and when I arrive they tell me to go away, won't listen to my Thai, and can't even read the name of the resort, in Thai, on my phone.  Well, I work it out... There's nothing here of course, so I walk 5km to Uthaithani, it's worth it for beer and tasty fish curry.

Selfies in the kayak are not easily done.