Pathum Thani means city of lotuses, a name said to have been given by King Rama II when the local people presented him with lotus flowers during a visit. The province, just north of Bangkok on the Chao Phraya, was settled by Mon refugees from Burma in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and their culture survives in temples, festivals and food along the river. Wat Chedi Hoi, a temple decorated with millions of ancient fossil shells, is one of the area's curiosities.
Today, the province is a mix of suburbs, industrial estates and rice fields, with the Chao Phraya flowing broad and brown through its heart. The river is lined with temples, houses on stilts and riverside restaurants, and boats still carry goods and passengers. The canals that cross the land were dug in the nineteenth century to irrigate rice fields, and some of them are still used by farmers and fishermen.
The riding here is about navigating traffic and heat. The main roads are busy, with trucks, buses and countless motorcycles, and the heat can be intense. Motorcycles are not allowed on the expressways, so you will be on the main roads. The minor roads along the river are quieter and more scenic, but they can be narrow and rough. In the rainy season, floods can be a problem; the great flood of 2011 left much of the province under water for weeks.
Pathum Thani has plenty of fuel stations, markets and restaurants. A meal at a riverside restaurant, with grilled fish and spicy salads, is a good way to break the journey. The road north towards Mae Hong Son is long, and the mountains are still far away.