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 Bicycle touring has become one of my great loves. To be able to explore new areas slowly enough to see them, yet fast enough to get somewhere is just great. So, when I heard that a touring company called CycleEvents would run a two week tour through Thailand in December, I just couldn't resist.
After an unbelievably long flight (three consecutive movies only cover one part of one leg of the flight), and a little time to see Bangkok, I met the rest of the group. After being in a place that really feels like it is on the other side of the world, it was a little odd to find that the CRW was well represented. Three of the six people on the tour were CRW members, and the other three were from California.
Chabul in Ayhutha
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The trip started with a bus ride out of Bangkok to the old city of Ayuthaya, about 50 miles to the north. This is a spectacular city, with ruins and parks to visit, and a night market which sells spectacular food for ridiculous prices. Eating at the night market was an experience in itself. All you could do was to pick a stall at random, and point to anything that looked interesting. The result was a couple of giggles, and a great plate of food for 80 cents. The interests of the group were becoming obvious within the first few hours. Searching out the interesting museums and finding the great food were high on list of some people. Others were basically there for the riding It also became clear that we were in a fabulous place. The ruins are spectacular, the people are friendly, and the country is just fascinating.
The next morning, we started our first day of riding, to Nakhon Sawan. This day was billed to be about 100 miles. The roads were a bit busy, but not too bad. The traffic is about as friendly as can be imagined. Within an hour of riding, a motorcycle pulled up and rode alongside me for 15 minutes, while we attempted to communicate. People would honk, wave, or smile all the time. My Boston bicycle training was a hindrance at times. When I hear a car honking, I expect it to be accompanied by a finger, and perhaps a swerve thrown in for good measure. Instead, the honking was followed by big grins, and the interminable questions: "Where you come from?" and "Where you go?". I spent the day absolutely fascinated by the countryside. Rice fields, banana and breadfruit trees are everywhere, the middle of Thailand is completely flat, and rather hot. The leader had wanted to cut the mileage down a bit on the first day, since it was quite hot. After about 90 miles, the van picked us up for the rest of the ride. The van drove us another 30 miles before we made it to our destination. This was our introduction to the 20% Thai mileage fudge factor. Thisfactor seemed to be constant throughout the trip.
Our path
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In addition to the six of us, and the tour leader, there was a Thai driver, who was responsible for driving the van, and who was to help us communicate in Thai. This would have worked well had he spoken any English. Despite that, he was a wonderful person, who started out trying to shepherd of all of his riders. Our group's route planning style was not conducive to van-based tracking, as we discovered that most roads go somewhere useful, as long as you are willing to explore a bit.Our driver soon learned to simply wait for us at the end of the day.
Piglets going for a ride
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Our next day was a ride of 75 miles to Kamphaeng Phet. After one of the usual stops to admire an old temple, a few of us found a little dirt road which seemed to go in the same direction as the main road we had been riding on. One of the weak spots of this trip is a scarcity of road maps. They are almost impossible to find, and hopelessly inadequate. As a result, the tour often ran on fairly large roads, even though there were many smaller roads in the vicinity. This was the first day that several of us intentionally left the planned route to explore a little back road. These roads were even more fascinating, since they would weave through small villages, and leave you feeling much closer to the real country.
On our third evening, we headed out for a Thai massage. This was quite an experience. Despite the fact that we were considerably larger than the average Thai person, a combination of elbows and leverage really works on the muscles. During the times that it wasn?t too painful, it was very relaxing, and the techniques were fascinating. A
Boyscouts
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one hour massage leaves you feeling like a wet rag. After this, we were always on the lookout for another massage. This is also where you notice that you are in a different country; a massage would generally cost us around four dollars.
We had several more days in central Thailand, which was flat, but always full of interesting things to see. This is a Buddhist country, with temples, crematoriums, and monks everywhere. The weather was always hot, right around 90 degrees, with a blazing sun. This is where we entered into one of the malarial parts of Thailand. An interesting side-effect of the anti-malaria drug used in Thailand is that it increases the skin's sensitivity to sunburn. As a result, by the end of each day's ride, I was a study in sweat, red dust, and sun-tan lotion. Truly a glamorous sight.
TV has arrived
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Despite the heat, the riding was actually quite comfortable. Small stalls could be found every few miles. Bottled water is cheap and plentiful, and there were always other interesting things to eat in these places. The larger roads were usually in good condition, with a comfortable shoulder. Short stretches of poor pavement or narrow roads were pretty common. The biggest issue was staying on the correct road. On the other hand, some of the most enjoyable riding was after one of our wrong turns. This would usually lead us to charming little roads, long discussions with a crowd of locals, and the fun of making our own way through the country.
When we left Chiang Mai on our tenth day, we were heading into new territory. This was our longest day, of about 115 miles, advertised as 90 miles, true to the Thai fudge factor. Northern Thailand is hilly, cooler, and
Water Buffalo
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much more remote. The countryside looks like I always imagined jungles would look like. This is a beautiful part of the country, which is wild, remote, and spectacular. The passes are not terribly high, but the climbs were quite long, weaving through towers of rock and jungle foliage. Here we had a quick glimpse of monkeys in the forest. The descent from this day's pass seemed to last for hours. This is the first time I have ever had a downhill which seemed longer than the uphill. It was not terribly steep, but a good road with lots of hairpin turns made it great fun the whole way down.
The whole group on a longboat
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Our second to last day consisted mostly of a boat ride down the Mae Kok river. We fit 7 people and 7 bikes into a single long tail boat, which then rode for several hours down this gentle winding river, through countryside that until very recently had no roads at all.
On our final day, from Chiang Rai to Mai Sai we rode along the Maekhong River, through the Golden Triangle, the border of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar. The golden triangle is no longer off-limits, and is something of a tourist area, but we did see some military vehicles in the area. Mai Sai is the northernmost point of Thailand. It has the look and feel of a frontier town, and clearly owes much of it's existence to trade with Myanmar.
Over the course of the trip, we rode for 9 days, totaling approximately 730 miles. We had a great group of people, who were willingness to explore a rather different country, had many interesting stories from previous trips, and made the whole experience very rich. It was sunny and warm every single day, and I fell in love with this spectacular country.
© 2000 Charles River Wheelmen, Inc. All rights reserved. Revised: Saturday, September 02, 2000 |
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