An hour further down the road we pass through a town called 'Hot' - and it is. Leaving Hot behind we ride through some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen, jagged terrain clad in green and shining bush, which provides us with pockets of shade as the road cuts between moss lined banks before breaking out into the open again and leaving us alternately hot, just right, cold, just right.....

We stop for Fantas. (I've rediscovered Fanta! Remember Fanta? When we were kids we drank Fanta! It's still great! What strange sinister thing happens to us in puberty that causes us to forget Fanta? Now they make it in all sorts of colours but to me if it's Fanta it has to be orange.) These Fantas are found and consumed in a beautiful little village, which must remain nameless as it isn't marked on my map. It is found nestled on one side of a deep valley as the road sweeps down to cross a stream before rising again in a long straight gear grinding gradient toward the peaks of the range behind.

We travel on through more wonderful national parks to Mae Sariang. Here we visit an indeterminate relative of my friend's and then travel on to the home of her mother. I'm left to sleep on her bed in the breeze of an electric fan whilst she visits with her family for several hours. When I awake at last it is time to make our goodbyes.

We then head back to the village centre but run out of fuel on the way (this bike uses way more fuel than the CB but I am having so much fun I forget to keep an eye on this) and the Thai-ger (which had settled to a purr) re-emerges with a vengeance. This time it is my fault, even if I don't make this error on purpose, so I take the only course of action open to me which is to shrug my shoulders and think 'Oh well!' My companion heads off to find petrol and returns in an amazingly short time. I find it quite remarkable what she can accomplish equipped with a fistful of my money.

We spend the night at a Hotel, with the bike, at the request of the proprietor, parked prominently at its front door. The building is a huge historic teak house that has been converted into guest accommodation. The food is great and the beer cold but there is nothing to do after ten pm.