The last few days have been so. freaking. hot. Boiling, sweating, too-hot-to-breathe hot… Not really the kind of weather you want to be cycling around ancient ruins in, although it does provide a great excuse to lie down in the middle of the day!
We arrived in Sukhothai, a city filled with ancient ruins, two days ago, and promptly hired bicycles to cycle around the town and the historical park (where all the most impressive ruins are). There’s an Old City and a New City to Sukhothai, but Old City is definitely the way to go – it’s right next to the ruins, so you can catch them early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when all the tour buses have left… Excellent!
Cycling around ancient ruins is a pretty wonderful way to spend a morning or an afternoon, let me tell you… We decided to picnic in the park for dinner last night, and it was such a surreal feeling, sitting next to these crumbling stone structures, thousands of years old, and eating chicken. An afternoon to remember…
Today we’re packing up and getting our things in order for the next haul – Sukhothai to Bangkok by bus tonight (7 hours, 10.30pm to 5.30am eep!) and then Bangkok to Ban Krut, a supposedly beautiful and unspoilt beach in the South, by train at 8am tomorrow morning. As if the heavens pitied us for the amount of traveling we’re about to do, the clouds opened about an hour ago, pouring torrential rain over the city and allowing us to cool down for the first time in days… Simply heavenly to feel a cool breeze!
The heat isn’t only a bother because it makes us hot, of course. It also makes carrying insulin around really tricky – especially when you’re riding a bicycle in the open sun! I had some crazy high readings yesterday and the night before, that didn’t make sense given the amount of exercise we were doing and the amount of carbs I was eating, and I realised it was because my insulin must have reached temperatures of over 35 degrees Celsius, and deactivated. It’s happened to me once or twice before, and I find it so frustrating. Especially when I’m being good and eating the right kind of food, and it’s not even my fault that my blood sugar goes high!
It’s all sorted out now, though, thank goodness – that’s the advantage of bringing far too much insulin on a trip like this, I can easily throw away a bad one and get a fresh pen from my cooler bag.
So now! Adventures await. First on the list is lunch, there’s a yummy fried rice and vegetables lady down the road who’s been calling my name for the last half an hour… (Figuratively, of course!)
See you soon!
