Because of some technical problems in the last weeks I was not able to post new pictures. So although I left Thailand almost two months ago here is the new one.
I left Chiang Mai as planned in southern direction and I noticed quickly that I gained some strength. After a while the flatland got boring again, and so I changed my route towards some mountains. It was a good decision, they were not as steep as the mountains on the border to Myanmar and the roads took me to some beautiful pieces of untouched nature.
One night I slept next to a supposedly empty temple surrounded by little stupas in the neighbouring forest. When I looked at them in greater detail the next morning, I noticed that their tops were removable. Underneath it there were bones. I had slept on a cemetery and as I understood later, directly next to a crematorium.
A big event in the beginning of November was Loi Krathong in Sukothai. A Krathong is a little raft, traditionally made out of banana stalks, decorated with leaves, blossoms, candles and incense sticks. They are ignited (just the candle and the incense stick!) and set into the water. Then they drift away and carry with them all grudge and anger of the soul. The feast is celebrated in whole Thailand and also in Laos.
Following Sukothai, it was my plan to cycle 600 km to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, but after a few days that plan found a sudden end. For not comprehensible reasons the back wheel hub and the derailleur broke within a day, which made cycling almost impossible. As the next workshop was in Vientiane, I took a bus in Phitsanulok and rode within half a night what I cycle in a week. Thailand was left behind.