I had good intentions of getting out early to Three Whale Rock, seeing the sunrise and all that, but sleep got the better of me.
I have heard there is always a crowd for it and, frankly, if there’s a crowd, I don’t want to be there. I would rather find places and times where there is almost no one around.
I started heading up at about 10 a.m. and there was one truck going up ahead of me.
At first I was annoyed because of the 500 baht fee, but I changed my mind when I realized if I got my own truck, I can take the time I need. If I joined another group, there would be that pressure to rush along. I would have been quite content to ride my bike up, though, and it could have been fun.
I skipped a couple stops on the way back, but caught the big ones. I will do the rest of it next time. My main time was spent at the top at Three Whale Rock. I was told that tours are normally two hours or less. I kind of laughed. They don’t know me.
I figured I would be there for four. As it turned out, I was up for 3.5 hours. I could have been there all day, actually.
I had contemplated hiking up myself, but because I wanted to get back to Udon Thani tonight, I had to compromise.
I started at the Courtyard to Monk. It was interesting. Gave me an idea what was to come. From there, we drove right up to Three Whale Rock.
It was a bumpy trip in the back of the truck, set up with two parallel benches in the back. For the elderly, you may want to travel inside the cab if you can. Not a comfortable ride!
Once up there, I went to the nearby cliff and commenced taking photos. I don’t know what this part is called, but it had great views, and no one around. Perfect!
After a while, I moved on to the three rocks, a short walk from where I was. I went out on the first rock, which is the medium sized one. You can only go on the two big ones, not the baby whale rock. Looking at it, it does not appear to be flat enough on top for anyone to walk safely.
I was so happy to be there! I soaked it all in, and enjoyed the breeze. I also enjoyed the quiet, as there weren’t many people there! Mostly I could hear the wind, the birds, and some insects, including many dragon flies. I could occasionally hear a few faint voices from the valley below.
I took tons of photos, shot a bunch of video, and after I went out on the second rock, got my drone out. I was happy after all my updates and testing that the drone worked flawlessly. A couple times I started to lose contact, but I got up out of the shade and further out on the rock to make contact.
I used my iPhone which performed well for the first while but it quickly overheated and dimmed. This is, as I understand it, a DJI software issue, but the overheating and screen dimming is definitely an Apple issue too. It is partly why I use an Android for my motorcycle navigation. I hadn’t set up the DJI app on my phone because it requires side loading by DJI, and is not in the Google Play store. Sketchy AF! Enough with the tech talk.
The second rock juts out into the valley further than the first, and the views of the other rocks are great. Of course, the views out across the jungle are impressive.
It was nice to be able to check off a bucket list item like this so quickly. I had only found out about it in September or October, and became a bit obsessed!
I got back down to the base at about 1:45 p.m. and it was getting hot! I had a long ride ahead of me, and a good chunk of it was along secondary two-lane roads.
The way to Udon Thani
The roads can be so dangerous in Thailand, especially the ones running through rural areas. I have encountered feisty cattle a number of times, been chased by a couple of soi dogs, had vehicles just pull straight out in front of me from side roads (not stopping, or looking), etc, not to mention the occasionally dangerous road conditions, particularly with road debris, gravel, and more.
While the roads themselves are occasionally dangerous, as my previous adventures have made clear, overall, roads are quite good in Thailand. As much of an annoyance as the roadwork is, they are doing a lot to improve and upgrade them too, making the driving conditions here even better.
I am having more chain issues and had to take it easy on the way back. I had no issues with traffic, aside from the usual ridiculously aggressive drivers here.
It was nice to make it into the hotel before it got dark, and to get out to eat at a reasonable time.
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