Phu Langka - worth the extreme effort!

Chiang Klang to Phu Langka, 70 km.
Wow, glad we have 4500km behind us as this was one big day. A couple of km's to get the legs going then a 13 km hill, windy scenic route, only good for goats and four wheel vehicles,  over a mountain then wound around the top, through what looked to be quite a poor village before dropping into Song Khwae about 25 km into the day. Stopped for lunch alongside the army. The army photographer spoke English and told us they were delivering blankets and clothing to some schools as it had been an unusually cold winter and some people had died from hypothermia. Some of the houses are just made of bamboo and very basic without heating.
We were heading to Phu Langka, an area where lots of Thai tourists come to see the fog settle over a valley. Quite a phenomenan here!! But quite a remote area, just the one place to stay. The hills were huge, low gear for a lot of the way.One of those days where you keep checking to make sure you are in the lowest gear - and you always are!  Beautiful scenery, layers of hills, we had had enough by 3 pm but on and on it went. Finally dropped down into a village where we sculled a couple of cold drinks as we had run out of water.  Then a final 8 km to the top of the next hill, that was so tough... and our place to stay. So averaged 10 km per hour riding. Left at 8am and arrived at 5 pm. Can't recall stopping for 2 hours but I guess those stops at the top of each hill gasping for air do add up. Just got there in time to shower and enjoy a beer and chippies watching the sunset. Then  dinner and bed. We had to use our own inflatable mattresses on top of the bed as the mattress felt like a table... We have found that a lot lately, the beds looks good but there is no padding in the mattress at all.
Up about 5 am to wait for the sunrise over the same valley now shrouded in fog and covering the village completely.  It was one of those memorable occasions, a special sight.  The extreme effort of the day before forgotten as we sipped coffee wrapped up in as many clothes as we could find!
Bowls of hot rice soup later we headed off for a cruisy 50 km ride  mostly downhill and flat to Chiang Kham.