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.

Even more Thai Cycling

On the beach in Phuket.

Hey, I am travelling again!  A bit anyway.  Thanks to Covid-19, much of the world has remained closed off for all of this year, and foreign travel has been very difficult, although of course I should put this in perspective - my not being able to visit new countries is a lot better than getting sick or dying, as sadly many people have.  Still, I have managed to get back to Thailand, which for all of the grumbling I hear from expats has opened back up faster than any other country in Asia.  When I arrive the rules say tourists can only avoid quarantine by staying in Phuket for at least a couple of weeks, which is hardly a hardship, there are beaches, the usual temples and other tourist attractions, and some rather nice walking through the jungles.  Domestic travel within Thailand is still quite restricted, in the end I get away from Phuket via a long, long minivan trip to Bangkok, then after a night in a hotel, another long overland trip, the train up to Chiang Mai.  Despite now being fully vaccinated, I need to get various Covid tests along the way, and of course, this being Thailand, obtain all manner of documents.  It sure is nice to finally return to my house, it has been a while.

The farm I stayed at in Phrao.

So, I should do some sort of trip and write about it, yeah?  Well, there are still restrictions on travelling between provinces, in theory this involves filling in online forms in Thai, although I suspect many people aren't bothering and indeed I drive to neighbouring Lamphun a few times without difficulty.  But, Chiang Mai province is a big place, and I succeed in planning out a decent cycle trip that doesn't cross a provincial border.  First day is a shortish ride north along the river Ping, interesting to see that you don't need to get far away from the city in this direction before the river becomes rather narrower and faster flowing.  I stay the night in a resort, it is very pleasant although pretty quiet, the restaurant is shut though it's easy enough to find another a short ride away.  More serious riding the next day, to begin with a long stretch along a fairly major road, but then I turn right, into the mountains, I'm off the beaten track now.  Where previously I was passing luxury resorts and the expensive houses of Chiang Mai civil servant types, now I pass through hill tribe villages with houses built from bamboo.  And of course I'm going up, destination for today is Phrao, a town set in a small area of flat plain surrounded by hills, there's really no way to get there without climbing.  Well, I manage it, though I fear I am a little out of condition and unsurprisingly have to push the bike at times.

Riding the dirt track was worth it for the views.

Phrao is, of course, not much of a place.  I do have a really lovely place to stay, on a working farm with views over the paddy fields to the nearby hills.  I won't get dinner there, and I think that even without Covid, I wouldn't find a bar open in Phrao.  I do find pizza - of a sort, here they have decided that mayonnaise would be a good substitute for that weird 'tomato' stuff the foreigners use.  Well it has calories.  I get more of them the next day, traditional Thai breakfast is a sort of rice porridge with bits of pork in it, there is also a lot of fruit, and some interesting, gelatinous things baked in banana leaves, I think they are essentially rice, but there is also some sort of nut in there, quite tasty.  It all provides power for the day's ride anyway, a lovely one today, firstly over the flat terrain surrounding Phrao, and then along a small river into a gorge, heading up into more hills of course.  It is actually easy enough going, this is the main route back to Chiang Mai though there isn't much traffic, and it is a beautiful road to ride along.  I'm not following the main route the whole way though, rather I have a 'scenic short cut' planned - what can possibly go wrong?

Crossing the bridge at Mae Kuang.

Well at first the new road is lovely, more or less flat and through a conservation area, I'm riding through forests with none of the roadside shacks and piles of rubbish that sadly disfigure much of Thailand.  There are signs warning me of monkeys crossing the road, though I don't see one.  This route should be taking me towards the substantial Mae Kuang reservoir so I'm expecting to start going downhill, and sure enough I do, very steeply.  And then up again, and up, and down - seems I am in very hilly country now, this is hard work, and on quite a few of the slopes the road diminishes to a mere gravel track, I am glad my brakes are in good shape!  A fair bit of pushing ensues, but it's OK, and I'm rewarded by glimpses through the trees of the reservoir itself some way below.  One last long, steep descent and I'm rather surprised to find a large and impressive suspension bridge, connecting what are essentially dirt tracks on either side.  A good place to take a few photos, the reservoir is certainly very scenic.  All downhill from now, and not much further, I have a resort booked in the rather hi-so region nearby - again, no luck at the resort restaurant but I find a rather nice Italian place not far away - home made ravioli and tiramisu!  From here it is a very short fourth day of riding back home, I'm there for midday in fact - time for a rest!

Photos to go with this trip can be found here.

More Munros : Isle of Mull

Munros this section :
Ben More (Isle of Mull)

MV Isle of Mull preparing to head back to the mainland.

Nearly at the end of the trip, and I'm due a rest again - walking today is limited to the few kilometres from the campsite back to Oban, where I do a bit of shopping before boarding a ferry.  I am off to the isle of Mull, location of one of the most isolated Munros, Ben More.  I hear quite a few people make this their last Munro, well, last of this particular trip will do for me.  The ferry is surprisingly large, maybe not as big as those you see on the English Channel, but it has multiple decks, and a bar where I spend the forty-five minute crossing, and why not.  Once on the island I have a very short walk to my campsite, where I really don't have much to do other than pitch the tent, well, good to have that rest.  There is very little here other than the ferry terminal, campsite, a shop and thank goodness a pub - beer and surprisingly enough a burger ensue.

The last summit of the trip - Ben More.

So - the last hill of the trip, it is pretty much on the other side of what is not a large island, I walk for twenty km or so on quiet roads, it is windy and drizzling with rain, well, almost over.  Once onto trail it proves to be one of the wettest, boggiest trails I've ever seen, leading up to a pass from which there is a path up the mountain, I walk a little way up that before dumping my pack and continuing.  From here, Scotland throws pretty much everything at me, there is some astonishingly strong wind, heavy rain, and a scarily steep scramble over boulders and scree.  I am very glad I don't have to lug my pack up here, but even so it is a trial, all for another cairn inside a cloud of course.  Back down, going the other way from the pass the terrain is more of that 'worst ever bog', it is a struggle to find somewhere to camp, it's well past 8pm by the time I find a spot, well, it is time taken out of the next day I guess - and indeed it is a simple road walk, albeit with a surprising amount of traffic, back to the same campsite.  This time at the pub, I add to my lifetime tally of 'things eaten on pizza that probably do not belong there' - specifically, haggis and black pudding.  Well, I eat it.  And then spend most of the next two days on a series of trains and buses returning to England.

One last chance to wild camp.

So, a good trip.  I am approaching half the Munros done now, so some sort of achievement, but mainly it was just really nice to get out into the wild, do some proper walking, get in shape and have some time to myself.  I think I got pretty lucky with the weather, and if there were a lot of midges sometimes, well, I survived.  I am sure I'll return for maybe a couple more trips to finish the Munros off - though there is also a day around Strathyre do be done at some point, as I failed to do two of the planned hills this time.  Partly me being a bit out of shape, but also I really need to remember to go through my route beforehand and work out how much climbing there is each day!  One other thing that was nice was to do a little bit of the West Highland Way - it looks like a lovely walk, without much climbing, and I got the feeling there was a real hiking community going on there, nice.  Definitely one to do one day... it also made me somewhat nostalgic, watching the novice hikers with giant packs full of unnecessary stuff brought back memories of my first Pennine Way trip - a long time ago now.

Photos to go with this trip can be found here.

More Munros : Tyndrum to Oban

Munros this section :

Ben Challum

Beinn Heasgarnich

Creag Mhor (Glen Lochay)

Beinn Mhanach

Beinn a' Chreachain

Beinn Achaladair

Beinn an Dothaidh

Beinn Dorain

Beinn Eunaich

Beinn a' Chochuill

Stob Diamh

Ben Cruachan

Saying hello to the Gruffalo.

Tyndrum is an odd sort of place, there are two giant hotels, a few roadside cafes, but not many houses.  There is a small patch of woodland with a carved Gruffalo, which is something.  Back to the West Highland Way - it has been nice to do a bit of this, I must come and do the whole thing some time.  Before long though I have to leave it, up the long path to Ben Challum, and I'm a bit worried by the rest of the day, the plan has some gravel track, and lots of random pathless wilderness.  Well, it turns out OK, a good route up Beinn Heasgarnich, looks like this would normally be very boggy, but with so much sun it's nice and dry.  It feels very out of the way here, there are no people, and my high and windy campsite feels pretty isolated.

One last sunny summit - Beinn Heasgarnich.

The tent survives a windy night, I pack it up and head straight up a Munro, the first of four today, mostly without trails between them in what feels far from civilisation, but my route is good, I even manage to take a shortcut in the afternoon, this is good on a long day.  It rains on me up on Beinn a' Chreachain but I cope, then the summit of Beinn Achaladair is so windy I can't set up the camera on its little tripod, selfie it is then.  Once again my camp spot is high and windy, but I think the tent can take it.

The next day I wake up to find the tent is inside a cloud, it is unsurprisingly wet and cold.  Ah well, can't have nice weather the whole trip... at least, my tendon is feeling better, good thing as it is straight up Beinn an Dothaidh, a crazy steep climb, in yet more gale force wind.  From there I climb down to a saddle and make a packless ascent of Beinn Dorain, then further down for a pub lunch, yay, haggis and neeps.  The rest of the day is supposed to be flat unpaved roads, so easy going, sadly a long section is actually a line of bog through trees, then there's some no-trail bog I hadn't noticed, not much fun in the rain.

A sight for sore eyes - the Taynuilt Inn.

Next morning I make an early start, 7am, it looks like a long day.  To begin, straight up Beinn Eunaich, on trail but brutally steep, up to a summit in a cloud of course.  The next two Munros aren't so bad, but the day's fourth, Ben Cruachan, is a monster, the high point of a long ridge of up and down bouldering, then of course I have a long, long descent.  It is enlivened somewhat as I pass a film crew setting up for a new Star Trek movie, there are futuristic gun emplacements, and also a replica of the arched Queen Victoria monument I passed back in 2019, interesting.  It's 8pm by the time I reach Taynuilt, thank goodness I have a bed at a guesthouse, and why yes, there is a nearby pub for beer and burger.

The last day of this leg involves an short, easy if windy walk to Oban, on a minor road through pleasant Glen Lonan.  Oban proves to be a very busy tourist town, lots of the pubs are full, but I do find beer, and indeed an excellent curry, just a shame about the long walk back to the campsite.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

More Munros : Beinnglas Farm to Tyndrum

Munros this section :
Ben Vorlich (Loch Lomond)

Beinn Narnain

Beinn Ime

Ben Vane

Beinn Buidhe (Glen Fyne)

Beinn a' Chleibh

Ben Lui

Ben Oss

Beinn Dubhchraig

Sadly I'm not due a rest day yet, at least I sort of have a bed at Beinnglas, in a wooden cabin.  I make a late start, I feel tired and the tendon in my right calf hurts, I will try to walk it off.  To start with, the long way up Ben Vorlich, on a good track, then what seems like an endless stone stair down.  The weather has turned, there are clouds, and it rains as I ascend towards Beinn Narnain.  I plan to camp high on saddle, this seems a bit dubious, will it be too windy? - I remember poles snapping in the wind back in 2019.  But in fact it is OK.

The endless stair down from Ben Vorlich.

Next day an early start, starting from high up makes Beinn Ime an easy climb, and I make the second summit of the day, Ben Vane, by 11am, but it's slow getting down.  At the bottom I have some easy going on a nice gravel track, but it stops in the middle of nowhere, the plan is a kilometre or so off trail to join a road, it looks OK on the map, but the reality : cliffs - after a lot of searching I eventually find a way down, almost to sea level, I still reach my planned camp spot by 5pm, however the plan was to pitch the tent then climb Beinn Buidhe with a light pack - well, how long can it take?  A long time as it turns out... it is nearly nearly 9:30pm by the time I get back, good thing the sun sets so late here.

Beinn Buidhe late in the day.

One more day, then I can have a rest.  It starts with an easy green lane up Glen Fyne, then I head off piste for several km, this is a little worrying but works out OK.  I climb up to a high saddle, then walk packless up Beinn a' Chleibh, retrace my steps then take my pack the other way from the saddle, up Ben Lui.  There are many people at the summit, including a nice chap who gives me chocolate, indeed this group of mountains seems a good source of free stuff, I find no less than three pole tips over the course of the day.  From Ben Lui, a nice ridge route takes me over Ben Oss and Beinn Dubhchraig, then there's a long trail down to rejoin the West Highland Way, which I follow to Tyndrum.  Here there is of course beer and a burger, in a busy and not terribly hiker-friendly pub - they tell me off for removing my shoes!  Worse is to come at the campsite, as a trio of drunken louts shout, sing and swear at each other until the police remove them at 1:30am.  Good thing I don't have to walk tomorrow.

A typically delapidated fence crossing point.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

More Munros : Cruachan Farm (back) to Beinnglas Farm

Munros this section :

Meall nan Tarmachan

Meall Buidhe (Glen Lyon North)

Stuchd an Lochain

Meall Ghaordaidh

Sgiath Chuil

Meall Glas 
Cruach Ardrain
Beinn Tulaichean

Beinn a' Chroin

Meall nan Tarmachan summit.

Another day off, but I need supplies so make the short walk to Killin, where bagpipes are playing and I get a tasty pub lunch of Cullen Skink (a potato and haddock chowder).  Back to camp, and I do rather better at the restaurant, venison burger tonight.  Next morning a lovely path through young forest, and then a well built trail takes me up Meall nan Tarmachan, busy with people, seems a lot of folks are walking the highlands rather than risking foreign travel in the age of Covid.  I descend onto the minor road above Glen Lyon again, well it is very nice, this time I walk down it, then follow the Glen itself a little way, then a minor road up to an impressive dam, I planned to camp around here but it's not 5pm yet...  OK then, I climb 1km more, pitch the tent, then walk packless up and down Meall Buidhe, why not.

Hydro dam in Glen Lyon.

Next day it's back down past that dam, and straight up Stuchd an Lochain, I get overtaken by a pair of game old girls, they're finishing the Munros today, fair play.  The weather is still amazing, it's so hot, my chocolate melts in my pack and the bogs are actually drying out.  I pass many more dams large and small, lots of hydro power up here.  Onwards, a quiet road, then some off piste to summit Meall Ghaordhie, and a very long climb down on trail.  I walk a flat, easy road, I planned to camp by it but 'no camping' signs abound, so a long way to find another boggy forest.

Another day, straight up Sgiath Chuil, it's cloudy today, still warm though and no rain.  On to Meall Glas, this one must be out of the way, there are no trails, and no people.  Down again, back to the Tay, I walk a busy main road for a bit, it's a relief to find a path.  I am some seven km ahead of my plan, one benefit of this being a pub at dinner time, yay bonus beer plus haggis before heading uphill to camp.

Hebridean sheep!

OK I am ahead of plan, and this was going to be a short day anyway, so I now have only eleven km back to Beinnglas Farm.  Hmm, didn't I miss some Munros around here though?  Yeah... I detour off to take out three of them.  This of course means a twelve hour slog, starting with a long, long climb up Cruach Ardrain, followed by an easy climb without pack up Beinn Tulaichean, then a sketchy descent towards Beinn a' Chroin, I have to drop my bag at one point, and watch it bounce ten metres down before carefully following.  At the bottom of the hill I return to the West Highland Way, walking south this time.  It's nice, but I have to force march as time is getting on, when I finally get to the farm I think I've earned my beer and meatball pasta.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

More Munros : Aberfeldy to Cruachan Farm

Munros this section :

Schiehallion

Meall na Aighean

Carn Mairg

Meall Garbh (Glen Lyon)

Carn Gorm

Meall a' Choire Leith

Meall Corranaich

Beinn Ghlas

Ben Lawers

An Stuc

Meall Garbh (Lawers)

Meall Greigh

Camped out up above Glen Lyon.

Having drunk a fair amount of Schiehallion last night, today it's time to ascend the eponymous mountain - though not for a while, I have a long distance on the flat first.  It's pleasant enough, firstly on a trail along the far bank of the Tay from yesterday, then minor roads to the trailhead.  This being a big name hill, there is a well built trail, and many people on it, but still it's a stiff climb.  Worth it though, the clouds lift and there are fantastic views from the top.  Of course, I'm heading off into the wild, not so much of a trail here, I descend, then climb again to camp in a high glen.

Time to get a bit more serious now - four Munros in a day, hopefully I can do them all.  Well, starting high helps, the weather is good and I feel stronger, I can do this!  Actually I manage all four by 2pm, not bad going at all.  Plenty of walking left today mind, after descending I have a long, long walk along a road with a few too many cars on it.  It's a relief to turn off onto a minor road leading out of Glen Lyon over a pass towards Loch Tay, it's a lovely place, the road has a good grade letting me gain height easily, and there are plenty of wild camp spots - I even spot several others camping, before finding a place myself.  I've done well, a few km beyond where I planned, good as tomorrow is a long day.

Three Munros in a row - Ben Lawers on the left, then Beinn Ghlas and Meall Corranaich.

If yesterday was serious, I guess today is kind of crazy - seven Munros is the plan, hopefully quickly enough that the restaurant will still be open when I reach my campsite.  Well, it's another lovely day, time to do some hills, including big names such as Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers.  Fantastic views from up here, lots of people out enjoying them too.  I've done many of these climbs before, still, it wasn't nearly such nice weather back then... it isn't too hard anyway, I make it over all the summits, down and along another busy road, reaching camp in reasonable time.  Cruachan Farm is, well, a farm in the middle of nowhere, but it does have a restaurant and it is open.  Actually I struggle to finish a plate of greasy fish and chips, I think my body is currently in 'you are too fat for hiking, lose weight' mode.

Striking a pose on top of An Stuc.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.