Three days down and only another forty-two to go IF we can stay on schedule and get back to the Foundation in Lamphun on 19 October. That could be a big if, as we are approximately 15 km short of where we'd like to be at this stage. Here's a quick recap of how things went on the first two days;
Day 1: Friday, 5 September; Early start as we got woken up at 5.15 when the phone rang and it was Jane and Paul Hennings from The Friends of Croston House Children's Home (Thailand) Trust in the UK calling to wish us all the best for the big off. As they only beat the alarm by 15 minutes, we won't hold it against them! So, we were up slightly earlier than planned and set about getting everything packed away in the car and the house locked up. The first leg started at just after 7 and was a 5 km walk from our home in Banglamung to The Regents School which was done in an hour and ten minutes. The most noticable thing was the difference in humidity between Lamphun and Chonburi, even at that time in the morning, hence our slightly late arrival. When we got there, many of the 400 plus children and staff taking part had already arrived and were preparing themselves for their 15 km walk in aid of our Foundation. Assembly time arrived and I was invited to speak to all the walkers and I tried to impress upon them how much their efforts meant to the children we take care of. I was paired up with Sylvain Delhommeau, a teacher at the school who had done a lot work behind the scenes in order to get the students involved and in planning the route, and his Form group and we subsequently led the procession out of the back of the school and we were on our way at around 9. We had to keep the pace in check as there were some concerns that the groups would become too stretched out but we managed to get to the second water stop at Khun John's restaurant without any dramas. It was hot up by Mabprachan Reservoir and I knew that one or two of the younger kids were struggling but the vast majority were doing really well and the teachers were ensuring that they were taking in plenty of liquids. I then decided to do the final leg of my walk with The Regents School on my own with Ros as my support vehicle driver to give myself the opportunity of a longer break before I was to be picked up by Andy Harrison from St. Andrews International School and whisked off to join his students and staff for their 8 km walk at 11.50. I did the last 4 km to Siam Country Club in 40 minutes and was able to have some lunch and greet Sylvain and a number of the other leading groups before it was time to leave. Andy took me to the start point for his school's walk in what was really the middle of nowhere and we were joined shortly afterwards by around 150 students and staff in a fleet of school minibuses. As they were running late, we set off fairly immediately and kept a brisk pace for most of the 8 km, with a nice light shower along the way that took the sting out of the humidity, stopping some 2 km short of their school entrance where they embussed to get back to school and I went on on my own to start the last leg of the day, approximately 15 km, which would take me down to The Offshore Bar in Banchang for a charity night there and a comfortable bed for the last time in about a week. About halfway into the final leg, I knew that I was beginning to have problems with blisters but decided to wait until we finished the leg so that Ros could have a good look at them and treat them properly at The Offshore Bar. We checked in and assessed the damage and joined those who had made it for our final charity night before we headed north and began our journey back to Lamphun in earnest. A good night was had by all, the highlight for Ros and I being when Chandra Hickox presented us with a cheque for 221,240 baht on behalf of Mermaid Offshore Services Ltd. Ros had discovered earlier that it was Chandra's birthday on the following Tuesday and managed to sneak away and buy a small birthday cake which we presented to her shortly afterwards. When averyone had left, it was time for us to call it a night too. Having a room up four flights of stairs wasn't ideal given the fact that I'd been on the move all day and covered about 39 km but up we went for our first night on the road.
Saturday, 6 September; We'd been told that breakfast wasn't served until 8, so we decided to re-pack a few things in the car and find an internet shop to send some articles and photos out for our website and the Chiang Mai Expats Club magazine while we were waiting. Breakfast over, Ros drove me up to the A331 to start walking northwards at around 9. Neither of us had slept well; I was sure that I was going to suffer from cramp during the night but I didn't, and my feet were rather tender. Again, the heat made things rather uncomfortable and therefore the pace was much slower than the day before. I had to keep reminding Ros not to go too far ahead as I was drinking a lot of water and didn't want to be left without any. I've driven along this stretch of road a number of times but never realized how steep some of those climbs are! Having just about got to the entrance to the industrial estates before Bo Win, the heavens opened and as I had nowhere to seek shelter, I got soaked. This was a different kind of rain compared to the light shower the day before and not very pleasant to get caught out in but it certainly cooled me down! A change of shirt later, I set off again but the time spent waiting for the rain to pass over didn't do me any favours as I'd started to stiffen up and I felt worse than I did before. Ros and I decided that she'd put in stops every kilometer just to make sure I was alright and somehow we knocked out another 10 before calling it a day at just after 6pm. We had a look around for an internet cafe so that we could start the blog but there was just a small collection of houses and a small shop that did at least sell beer next door to the petrol station. Our first night on the road was spent at the back of an old Shell service station and we decided that we'd both sleep in the car. On reflection, we should have taken the trouble to put the tent up as there was certainly space there for it but a second night without much sleep for either of us ensued.
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