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| Racetrack for Speed Stage |
Day 9:
Our Day 9 was a drive of 566 km, which required an early start and a late arrival. One of the frustrating things about driving in Thailand is the time spent at traffic lights. Most red lights have a duration of 90-100 seconds. The traffic signals include a neon digital countdown clock. It seems like an eternity to wait 90 seconds at an intersection, but patience is something you need in Asia (no one seems to be in a hurry).....I think it's a cultural thing which is an adjustment.
The Car and the Rally:
We had two good Speed Sections today. The first was an 8 km drive over mixed surfaces. Brant drove it quick and we remembered to stop at the correct parts to write down the code numbers.
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| Our lunch stop on a floating restaurant. The Thai soup was as hot and spicy as I have ever had....but good. |
The second Speed Stage was at a proper racetrack and again our time was very respectful.
Notwithstanding, our good times we have slipped to 9th place. It is difficult for our two-liter car to compete with the larger horse power cars (the two other Porsches have 2.8 liter and 3 liter engines, respectively).
Observations:
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| This faux-Victorian home is typical of the middle class dwellings in Thailands |
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| You see all kind of statues along theThai roads. This one was a bit unusual. |
I forgot to mention several days ago our route book contained an instruction to drive carefully at a designated part of the route because there were working elephants on the road. Alas, we got to the designated spot, but no elephants.
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| Durian Fruit |
Today, we did see herons, saw beetle nuts drying on the side of the road, pineapple plantations, and learned about a new fruit...Durian. This fruit, which is found in Thailand, is a beautiful fragrant fruit inside but has a very course and prickly skin. The problem is that the skin has a horrible stink like raw sewage. It smells so bad that it is banned in many hotels in this area of the world. You need to get through the smell and the outer skin in order to get to the tender fruit. I assumed that the fruit developed the foul smell by evolution to protect itself from natural predators, anxious to eat its lovely fruit.
The beetle nuts are also interesting. Locals will chew on them and add on a little sodium to the chew. Result is a very red juice that has a slight narcotic effect on the user.....it also turns the user’s teeth red if used over a long period. Ilene and I first saw this habit and the result 30 years ago among the people of Papua New Guinea.
Day 10--Rest Day
Slept in; got our laundry done and found a local vendor to buy four new tires for our buggy. We're now rolling on four new Michelins. Tonight we're planning on having dinner in an outdoor restaurant on the banks of the River Kwai which runs through Kanchanaburi. Tomorrow, we begin four more days of rallying before we get another rest day in Chaing Mai.
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| Our baby getting s new pair of shoes (tires) |