A river runs through it
The first leg of the Tour of Isaan takes cyclists to Loei province
TOUR OF ISAAN, a bicycle travel and racing project taking in five provinces in Northeast Thailand got off to a good start last weekend with Loei chosen as the first stop.
Hosted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand in partnership with low-cost airline Nok Air and Life and Living Bikenet in Chon Buri, the inaugural tour started with a round-trip 7-kilometre ride to the Chao Pho Kut Pong Shrine, one of the provincial capital’s major tourist attractions. The city pillar is made of golden shower wood elaborately carved into a lotus shape at its top and gilded with gold leaf on black lacquer.
The second day saw cyclists from Bangkok, Loei and other nearby provinces gather at City Hall, the starting point for the 70-km ride. The first 55 km was smooth enough with only a few small hills and plenty of stops during which bikers were entertained by folk plays like “Phi Khon Nam” and folk dancing by Tai Dam people. The race ended with a steep climb and a 15-km sprint to the finishing line.
Yuttapong Chatchawanwan, aka “The Kuii Bike” won the mountain bike category and Wachapol Karunyawet came in first in the road bike series.
“The second stage of the sprint was very steep and slippery in parts, which made it rather tiring,” Yuttapong, a distributor of XDS bikes, told XP after claiming his crown.
After the race participants were taken in the modified farm tractors known as “e-taek” to Phu Pa Poh in Nong Hin district, which is often called the “Fuji of Loei” and whose limestone garden Suan Hin Pha Ngam is known as Thailand’s Kunming.
With heavy rain hampering cycling plans for Sunday afternoon, participants were driven to Chiang Khan for the night. Early the following morning, we offered alms to Buddhist monks and enjoyed a hearty local breakfast of pan-fried eggs and rice noodle soup.
We also paid our respects to the Buddha image at Wat Si Khun Mueang and took a boat ride to Kaeng Kut Khu, a set of islets in the middle of the Mekong river.
Four more legs of the Tour of Isaan are scheduled for Bueng Kan, Nong Khai, Nakhon Phanom and Ubon Ratchathani provinces.
Flying High
- Nok Air offers two daily flights between Don Mueang and Loei.
- Visit www.NokAir.com.
