Passing the Time

Day 165
Chiang Mai

It’s our last day in Chiang Mai. We intended to get out before breakfast to see a few temples we’ve missed. Unfortunately, it was raining so we returned to the breakfast buffet routine we’ve been following for the last few mornings. By the time we sipped our last drops of tea, the sun was out and we were on our way.
The first stop was Wat Phra Singh, a very highly regarded temple in Chiang Mai. Upon arrival, we skirted around the back and did our best to avoid the lurking tuk-tuk drivers. Typically, there is more than one building at a temple so we worked our way from back to front. The wat has been in existence since 1345 and contains the Lion Buddha (Phra Singh), the most revered Buddha figure in the city. I particularly enjoyed the wonderfully restored Vihara (temple) Laai Kham. It was a very good example of the Lanna style architecture with its red gild lacquer technique. The murals inside the temple were in various stages of restoration and were fascinating. I really felt like I had gone back in time when I stepped through the entryway.
We made a quick loop back to the hotel room and then set off again to find a shopping mall. We needed some supplies for Laos and we didn’t want to spend the afternoon watching the BBC channel. I’ve come to enjoy watching the daily life of Thai people as much as exploring their historical buildings. The mall was a perfect place to go people watching.
After consulting our trusty map, we spotted a large shopping complex behind the hospital. Little did we know that Starbucks was just the tip of the American retail iceberg. Pizza Hut, KFC, Dunkin’ Donuts, GNC Nutrition Center, and much more were all housed in the multi-story building. It was actually a perfect place to be on a hot afternoon. We did our shopping quickly and then wandered around. We noticed a movie theatre and decided to give it a look. We found out that the movies were in English with Thai subtitles. There was no urgent need to be anywhere special so we bought a couple of tickets, purchased our sodas and popcorn, and found our assigned seats. Yes, that’s right, assigned seats. Also interesting was the national anthem played before the movie started. We all stood and paid our respects to the king.
It was great to have a little break from the world outside. I find this particularly ironic since one of my goals for this trip was seek out different cultures. I guess it must be human nature to need a break from whatever you’re doing at the time. I can see why there are so many foreign nationals here – you have all of the western conveniences of home immersed in an exciting eastern culture.
Oh, I forgot to mention the movie. It was called Atonement and it was fantastic.
Cheerio,
LK

Over Cooked

Day 164
Chiang Mai to Baan Thai
Time: 7 hours
Distance: Across town
Avg Speed: slow and low

Chris is the guest blogger today. Leslie is taking today off.
Leslie and I made the big split today. We hadn’t really spent time apart in 5 months and she was a little too excited to get rid of me this morning. I had a day of cooking at the Baan Thai cooking school planned and she had a day of laundry, internet, and bicycles. I think I had the better end of that deal.
I was picked up this morning for our class. It was an international scene with a couple of Germans, a couple of Americans, a Swiss, a Chinese and a British student. Our teacher, Kim, was a little Thai gal who new her way around a wok and spices. We started out talking about the staple of the Thai diet…rice. There two main types of rice eaten here, jasmine and sticky rice. Jasmine rice is the rice that Americans are used to seeing and eating. Sticky rice is a rice that is cooked differently and ends up being as it sounds, sticky. We then got our little shopping baskets and went to the market. There we talked about noodles, tofu, rice, fruit and vegetables. There are a handful of different noodles eaten in the Thai diet: egg noodles, rice noodle and a noodle called glass noodles made from mug bean flour. We spent a lot of time on the different vegetables here. There are three different gingers here as well as three different eggplants and three different basils. It was eye opening. After the market portion of our class we went back and started cooking our menu. The class went all day and we would prepare each dish from the raw ingredients all the way to the cooking and dishing of the food. The food was amazing, the group got along well and the teacher was great. I am still floating on a cloud from all the good food we ate.
Here is the menu that we cooked today, in the order we prepared it.
Stir Fried Prawn with Curry Powder(kung phat pong ka ree)
Spring Rolls (pho pea thod)
Papaya Salad (som tam)
Yellow Curry Paste (namphrik gaeng phet)
Chiang Mai Noodle with Chicken (kao soy)
Deep Fried Banana (gluay thod)
After we would prepare each dish we would eat it, comparing and tasting each others, taking notes and enjoying each morsel and spice. The day ended with the deep fried banana, which was sliced banana coated in coconut, flour and sugar served over ice cream. It was a delicious day and was a real treat spending time in a Thai persons home learning how to cook their dishes.
Yum yum
CK

Rippin' It Up - Olde Skool

Day: 163
Chiang Mai to Suthep National Park to Chiang Mai
Time: 2 hours
Distance: 25 km
Avg Speed: 12.5 kph
Terrain: Downhill singletrack


We succumbed to the self imposed longing of singletrack and booked a tour with a local company. We had wanted to do a longer ride far away from town, but the tour operator talked us into doing a ride closer in the national park. The ride is called the Hunters Escape Route and follows foot paths made by the local H'Mong hill tribe. They have graduated to trucks so the foot paths are generally unused. The ride is rated expert with 20% off road and 80% singletrack. I was a little hesitant at doing an expert ride, but being that tour operator is 6’5” and lent me his bike along with body armor I figured what could go wrong. Leslie and I were the only clients on the trip and with our guide, Jay, we ran from top to bottom in a pretty good time. The bikes were full suspension downhill rigs with 6” front and rear travel. Mine had been put through the ringer since the operator weighs 270# (he is American not Thai) and had been riding it for a couple of years. The front shock needed new seals and the rebound was gone, so I figured if I did anything too gnarly to it I could just pass it off as his folly. Luckily I only had a little spill at the beginning and Leslie just took off like a rocket. She rode sweep the first half of the ride and when I dismounted to walk a section she rode past me on up to the guide. That is where I lost the privilege of second place and was relegated to sweep. Leslie kept up with the Jay the rest of the way down and at a rest stop he told her that she was the best female rider he had ever guided. The smile is still on her face. The riding was some of the most technical either of has had ever done, but with bikes that are made for downhill only you can pretty much ride over anything. At the bottom of the trail there were a section of jumps that I rode around and when I got to Leslie she remarked that she had jumped them all and had almost lost it on the last one. Did I pick the right girl or what? We ended up riding back through the city jumping curbs and dodging trucks. Jay took us to eat at a little restaurant that served up some great noodles and cold cokes. We grabbed some empty bike boxes at the shop and headed back to the hotel for some a/c and showers. We love to ride our bikes, but when given the chance we really love to really ride them.
Long live long rides
CK

Rabies Shot #3

Day 162
Chiang Mai

Day 21 in the rabies vaccine routine – time for the last shot. We visited Chiang Mai Ram Hospital for this one. The injection itself was rather uneventful – it was the whole experience that made it memorable.
The hospital was fairly close so we decided to ride our bicycles there. As usual, I led the way and Chris rode sweep. We had to venture a short distance beyond the old city to our destination. The new and the old part of Chiang Mai are separated by a canal and an ancient fortress wall. Seven hundred years ago, the two landmarks provided security against Burmese invasions. Today, Burma is now Myanmar, and the canal and wall just add to the chaos of constant traffic.
After spotting the information desk, I asked if it was possible to get the rabies vaccination at the hospital. The girl helping me got a puzzled look on her face and said “babies waxination? You must register with hospital first”. Oh boy, I thought, she probably thinks I’m wacko if I need a “babies” vaccination. Luckily, Chris has been studying the phrase book and was able to ask for a travel clinic. We still had to register, but he got the ball rolling a lot faster than I did.
Our next stop was Internal Medicine. We checked in, got a number and waited. Ten minutes later we were called back to be weighed, have our blood pressure checked, and temperature taken. I began to think that our morning could turn into a whole day. In a previous life I might have freaked out at this point and started asking a lot of questions. I didn’t really understand what vital signs had to do with a rabies vaccination. Instead, I just decided to go with it. One major cultural taboo here is “losing face”. I decided not to push it. Besides, I thought it would be good to know what my pulse was and how much I weigh.
After Internal Medicine we waited about five minutes for the doctor. He looked at our vaccination cards, reviewed something in a book and wrote his orders. Next, we walked to the ER and waited. As we completed each activity, someone escorted us to the next station. Talk about efficient – it really helps to have that 3:1 ratio I mentioned in the Thai culture blog. Plus, I almost forgot to mention, we were issued our own identification cards for the hospital. Those are definitely going in the scrapbook.
Finally, we received our shots and were whisked off to the cashier. We had the longest wait here and with each moment that passed I hoped that I wouldn’t fall over when we saw the bill. They called our number and told us the damage – 929 baht. I just smiled and paid in cash – the equivalent of $30. No wonder we saw so many farang in the hospital, it’s cheap as chips.
We’re now ready for all of those dogs, monkeys, bats and lions that want to sink their teeth into us. Just kidding, we’ll still be avoiding all of that. At least we’ve bought ourselves some time if something goes haywire.
Oh – just wanted to share. If we had received all of these shots in the US we would have paid close to $1,000. Makes you wonder…
LK

Day 161: Chiang Mai and Surrounds

Time: Most of the morning
Distance: Two Thirds of Old City
Avg Speed: Walking
Terrain: City street

With no real reason to beat the heat we slept in this morning. We were still some of the first people to brekkie though. I think that cities in Thailand tend to get started late in the evening and end early in the morning. We, being the fuddy duddys that we are, like to get back to our room early and be in bed at a reasonable hour.
We decided to go and check out a wat near our hotel this morning. You would think that after visiting a wat or two in every town we stay in or pass through we would get ‘templed out’; but with major differences in layout and architecture they remain interesting. The wat ended with us sneaking out a back exit to avoid Mr. Noi, and his touting. He was real keen on us taking a ride with him to several other wats and stopping by to ‘look’ (aka ‘shop’) at a couple of local manufacturer’s wares. After taking a trip along those same lines in Bangkok, we were not real interested in that dance again. We walked and dodged traffic across town to a book shop to get a Laos Lonely Planet Guide. We found the guide and managed to trade a couple of books we had for it. We thought we got a smoking deal on the book having only paid 210 baht for it. When we got back to the hotel and checked it out in detail we noticed that all the pages looked like Xerox copies. After even closer inspection we noticed that it was the 2005 guide copied and wrapped up in the 2007 cover. It will still work great for us, but I guess this is another case of buyer beware. I am glad that I didn’t get the Rolex watch I had my eye on. The afternoon took a turn towards the interesting when we found Miguel’s, a Mexican restaurant owned by an expat from San Diego. I had some great fish tacos, while Leslie enjoyed the bean burrito. We could be dancing with the devil by eating Mexican food in Thailand, but it sure does taste good!
Tomorrow we have rabies, wats and maybe a repeat visit to the Mexican food restaurant for their giant nachos.
CK

The Old City

Day 160
Kuntan-Lanna Residence to Chiang Mai
Time: 3:01:00
Distance: 55.09 km
Avg Speed: 18.1 kph
Terrain: Tree Lined Highway

We arrived today in Chiang Mai after eight days of traveling. I got pretty excited when we made the turn onto the Iron Bridge and headed towards the old city. I got really excited when I realized we were going the wrong way on a one way street. We even have a good map and I still got it wrong. Just because I make them doesn’t mean I can read them.

The ride was fairly easy today. Good thing because we didn’t have a satisfying dinner or good sleep last night. Our dinner was a small serving of rice and half of a grilled sausage each. We had to depend on a Chang Beer for the rest of our calories. Our only choice for food was a nearby roadside market. Let’s just say it wasn’t what we’ve become accustomed to in the evenings. In fact, we’re pretty glad we weren’t shopping after dark. It looked to be a truck stop for the big rigs and let me tell you, they rolled through all night long.
After a small breakfast we got on the road about 7:30. By 8:30 we were consuming mass quantities of gas station food (again) in Lamphun. We had ridden into town to find the old highway to Chiang Mai instead of taking the busy interstate. The route turned out to be very interesting and quite scenic. Soon after the food break we came across a beautiful temple right in town. They say that the wats (temples) in this region are the most stunning in Thailand. The architecture is quite unique and we’re looking forward to wandering through a few more. We then pointed our bikes north and found the road lined with magnificent trees wrapped in orange sashes. They are like nothing we’ve seen yet and provided us with some nice shade and a good frame of mind. Even the aggressive golden retrievers couldn’t shake our happy attitudes.
We’ve found a home for the next few days in a quiet part of the old city. We have everything we need: a new and exciting place to explore, a room, free breakfast, and a café with free wireless just across the street. So far the strawberry shakes and almond cookies are quite tasty.
The adventures with food continue…
LK

Rolling with the Beasts

Day 159
Lampang to Kuntan Lanna Residence
Time: 2:54
Distance: 45.8 km
Avg Speed: 15.6 kph
Terrain: Hilly
Location: 18˚ 27’ 32.7” N, 99˚ 10’ 48.9” E

We rolled out of Lampang early this morning with some sweet bread and juice in our stomachs. I had lucked out yesterday and found an actual supermarket tucked in behind a KFC (that’s right-Kentucky Fried Chicken-‘No your wrong Colonel Sanders’). Leslie had stayed behind on this trip so I was left alone to shop hunched over in low ceiling nightmare. I did score some juice and sweet breads for brekkie. The ride to Lampang took a turn towards the interesting when we stopped 32 km down the road and took a look at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center (TECC). The TECC is an elephant rescue that takes in sick or injured elephants from people who can’t take care of them anymore. I was a little hesitant at first thinking it was going to be like a Grizzly Bear encounter park, but upon entering I was immediately surprised. We parked our bikes and locked our gear up before heading into the park. Our entry fee of 70 Baht included a tram ride up to the show grounds and riding area. We got there in time for the morning bath. Ten elephants with their mahout (handler) came out of the jungle and came by to be petted and fed. Leslie went down and petted some of the younger ones when they came by. All the elephants then went into the water with their mahouts on their backs to be washed, scrubbed, scratched and loved. About half of the mahouts were part of a program that the park puts on for visitors. You can sign up for a 1, 3 or 10 day class to learn how to become a mahout and learn how to take care of the elephants. The students spend all day every day during their schooling with the elephants. The bathing ended up being a splash fest with the elephants coming out on the winning side. Leslie and I thought that was the show, but everyone meandered on over to another area where the elephants were showcased plying their craft. We saw how the various ways a mahout gets on and off an elephant, as well as the different ways an elephant works in the forest moving logs. I thought it would be pretty cheesy, but it turned out to be one of the coolest things I have seen here in Thailand. The student mahouts were even part of the show. They ended the show with more feeding and petting. Leslie fed a kilo of bananas to the big male of the group, JoJo, in a matter of 20 seconds. I had to hurry to catch a photo of her. We got back on the road in the heat of the day only to be greeted by a big nasty climb. We did pass a big rig heading up the hill though; that was a first for us. Yes, he was moving and no he wasn’t belching blue smoke or anything. We found our lodging for the night pretty easily and were jazzed by having our own teak bungalow back in the trees. Tomorrow we are off to Chiang Mai for a couple days of sightseeing, relaxing and eating. Supposedly there is a good Mexican food restaurant there that we are hankering to try out.
Adios
CK

Thai Culture

Thailand is a very bright and exciting country. I have to think that the people and culture have a lot to do with this.
Thai people can be described in many ways. Most of all they are friendly. We’ve been on our bikes for five days now and we wave and say hello to most people we pass. In Bangkok, we stopped and chatted with a few different people. They weren’t shy and usually asked us many different questions. They definitely took notice of Chris and his height – Thais are not big people.
The language thing is definitely difficult at times. In Bangkok a lot of people spoke a little English. Now that we’re out in the smaller towns and cities, we are living and dying by our little phrasebook.
The living standards vary. Bangkok was a huge city and obviously contained the wide spectrum of living conditions. We noticed people living in small rooms in alleyways and we saw huge upmarket apartment buildings. Regardless of the living structure, everything seemed to be kept clean. Every morning you would see all of the trash from the night before being collected and hauled away. Every shop owner would be sweeping their shop or section of the street in the morning before things started hopping.
We don’t know all the in and outs of the family structure. We did find out from a taxi driver that all kids go to school. We really haven’t seen any children hanging around at all. I guess the government funds education here. It appears that Thais don’t have huge families. I would guess that there are 2-3 children per family.
Everywhere we go there is constant motion from sun up to sun down. Everyone seems to have some sort of job. In fact, we’ve noticed that there seems to be about a 3:1 ratio of employees here doing the same job in the US. Even the people begging have some sort of talent. In Bangkok, we passed a few blind people who were being lead around town while they were singing on karaoke machine.
Overall, the people here are very respectful of themselves and others while having a vibrancy and energy that is unmatched.

Horse Carts and Saddle Sores

Day 158
Lampang Rest Day

We’ve spent the day resting in Lampang. It was planned as part of the route but couldn’t have been timed better. Our bums are pretty sore from five days in a row. I think the heat and humidity just adds to the fun. We’ll have to be careful – we’re on the verge of saddle sores. I won’t describe them in detail, but you can get them at any time, even after many miles of riding. Chris did some shopping this morning for some products that we hope will help prevent any further problems.
We ventured out for lunch around noon. We’re sticking to the plan of eating in local restaurants and being adventurous with food. Today we sampled some traditional curry dishes from Northern Thailand. The curry was served in little terra cotta bowls that came from large pots boiling in front of the restaurant. From our stools we were able to watch other dishes prepared with fresh ingredients just inches from the street. Not sure when our luck will end but at least we can say we’ve been eating like the locals.
In addition to the culinary delights, the city of Lampang definitely has some interesting architecture and transportation. It was established in the 7th century as the center of the northern teak industry. Many traders from China, Burma and the West once passed through here. There are many teak buildings still standing and it gives the city a nice window to the past. The other novelty that remains are the horse drawn carriages that still operate. We’ve seen a few interesting vehicles in the places we’ve traveled through, but nothing quite as unique as this. I guess it’s symbolic of the traditional past and the modern future; scooters and horse carts on the same street.
Here’s to washing down your hot curry with iced coffee,
LK

More Podcasts

Check out our website for updated podcasts. Be sure to listen to the bonus track where Chris describes his favorite desserts!
LK

Day 157: Wang Chin to Lampang

Time: 4:34
Distance: 65.8 km
Avg Speed: 14.8 kph
Terrain: Hills
Location: 18˚ 17’ 15.9” N, 99˚ 29’ 46.1” E

Thank goodness for piles of fruit. Leslie and I got off early this morning and instead of the usual rolls from the corner store for breakfast we had watermelon and oranges. It was very tasty, but being mostly water we burned through it quickly. We stopped 20 km down the road for a philo dough biscuit and some cookies. The meal was well timed since we had been climbing from Wang Chin and were just getting to the real climbing. We finally topped out at kilometer 30 where a well intending pickup stopped to ask us if we wanted a ride. If we had more climbing ahead of us we would have grabbed it, but since we had a roller coaster downhill ahead of us we decided to keep on trucking. We had about three smaller climbs before finally descending into Lampang. We found our hotel after lucking out and getting close before asking for directions. We were only 6 blocks off, so we are either getting better at sniffing things out, or just lucky. I think we are more lucky than good most of the time. We did the old show up and see what we get served for lunch. We had a yummy noodle soup with pork and fried tofu. It is interesting eating soup with chopsticks and a little spoon, but when in Rome. We chickened out and ate dinner in the hotel, but decided to go out and for a walk afterwards. The doorman pointed the way to the night market where it was happening for the whole town. The town closes down the street that the market is on and everyone is there. The food, the goods, the music and the people are all present. Our experience with crowds in the U.S. is that there is usually a lot of friction between the people. Here the people are all out having a good time, socializing, chatting and just enjoying a cool Saturday night. It was a great way to unwind after a long hot day in the saddle. The greatest part is that my favorite desert was on hand. I am so easy to please.
CK

Elephants and Flat Tires

Day 156
Si Satchanalai to Wang Chin
Time: 5:07:00
Distance: 80.75 km
Avg Speed: 15.7 kph
Terrain: Rolling
Location: 17˚ 53’ 55.4” N, 99˚ 36’ 24.5” E

There are certain things you shouldn’t think about while riding your bike: don’t wreck, no mechanicals and no flat tires. I jinxed myself today by thinking about number three. I was contemplating how nice it was that we had ridden almost 4,000 kilometers with no flats. About 2 hours later I had the first flat tire of our trip at kilometer 71. Luckily, I have kick ass tires (from Schwalble) and I was able to ride all the way to our destination without the tire going completely flat.

Papong was kind enough to have our breakfast early for us. We watched the big orange sun rise as we snacked on fruit, coffee and a little custard cake. After a couple of wai (hands together in front of your face signifying thank you) we were off. We decided to take in a few more ruins before setting off to Wang Chin. The light was really neat this morning and made for some nice pictures. The Si Satchanalai Historical Park is similar to Sukhothai but much more natural and less restored. We had the place to ourselves and enjoyed the peaceful time.
By 8:00 am we were headed to the highway. We both needed a pit stop but found the bathrooms locked. Chris looked around and saw a nice secluded, grassy area. We parked the bikes and Chris hopped the stone fence to do his thing. He chuckled as he walked toward a spot just above the river and said “Hmm, there’s an elephant”. Of course, I thought I didn’t hear him correctly and asked him to repeat himself. He said it again and then pointed in the direction of the large mammal. Sure enough, there was an elephant grazing on the banks of the Yom River. And I thought it was cool that we saw a kangaroo in Australia. There are lots of elephants in Thailand and I hope we’ll be seeing more.
We arrived in Wang Chin after riding for 5 hours. It was long and hot but we both felt strong. We found the hotel right away – it was Chris’ turn to play charades. We’re getting our hotel routine dialed in quickly here. It goes something like this: unload bikes, haul bags in room, blast a/c, shower, find cheap food and wash it down with a coke. Today the first few things were easy but the “find cheap food” wasn’t a slam dunk. You see, Wang Chin is not a town that sees many farangs (foreign tourists). We walked into a typical little street café and knew right away that the phrase book would be absolutely necessary. When that didn’t work we just let the cook make us something. Luckily, it turned out to be fried rice. We did wash it down with a coke and felt satisfied that we didn’t get frustrated and go somewhere else. We’re very thankful that Thai people are so friendly and helpful. After our meal we went searching for water and snacks. We got lots of smiles and laughs as we strolled through town. The water was a little hard to track down but I learned my third Thai word today: nam. The first two were kow pat (fried rice). The fruit was easy to spot but difficult to communicate. We were hoping to get a few oranges but we ended up with a kilo of them and four watermelons. The lady who helped us just kept putting fruit in the bag. All we could do was laugh and smile and give her the 20 baht ($0.60) we owed her. Now were just trying to figure out who’s carrying what tomorrow.
See you,
LK

Vices

Day: 155
Sukhothai to Si Satchanalai
Time: 3:29
Distance: 56.80 km
Avg Speed: 16.2 kph
Terrain: Flat

We rolled out with the morning rush to work and school. We cruised out of town with the usual cadre of office gals on mopeds, mother and children on mopeds, school kids on mopeds, little old ladies with veggies on mopeds, monks hitching rides on mopeds and us on bicycles. You really don’t see a lot of bicycles until later in the day when the older people who tend to ride them come out and start making their rounds. We are always given our room and are told hello or saw wat dee by the passenger.
The road was flat for most of the day today. We have graduated from rice paddies to fields of corn, bananas, tobacco and sugar cane. The sugar cane is used to make Mekong whiskey, which is sold in bottles at a lot of road side stands. I haven’t had the gumption to give that a go yet. The tobacco was still in the fields, but we did see a drying barn with the drying racks all filled up with product getting ready to go to market. I am not sure if it goes abroad or is used locally for cigarettes. The sugar cane harvest is underway and there were trucks packed to the rafters with the canes and we even passed a field that had been recently burned with laborers cutting down and bundling it all. Imagine working in long sleeves and pants, bent over, swinging a sickle, covered in soot and sweating in 95˚F heat…tough stuff if you ask me. They were nice enough to harass us a little and ask if we wanted to come work when we stopped for a picture.
We finally rolled into Si Satchanalai and were on the prowl for the only place in town to stay. Wang Yom Resort was described as ‘having rustic, worn bungalows just outside of the old city’. What the guide book didn’t mention is that Wang Yom Resort looked like the sugar cane field…BURNED. It took us a second to register it, but the little lady across the street selling wares told us she knew a place to stay nearby. I thought that we were in for a wild goose chase, but she took us to a little house down the street that is set up for homestays. We have a two room suite with bathroom, a/c and shower (hot water too…yeah) right down the street from some major ruins. Our host, Papong, was falling over herself getting the room ready for us when we said we would take it. This area was known for its pottery and it was once exported across Asia. Our outer room has a beautiful display of local pottery that has just blown me away. The plates and kettles are simple with intricate paint and glaze on them. They even have a little tea kettle with rooster tail and head on either side of it. I figure my mom would give her middle child for that one.
We will check out more ruins on our way out of town tomorrow before we start heading into the hills.
CK

Rising Happiness

Day 154
Sukhothai to Sukhothai Historical Park
Time: 1:31:00
Distance: 25.39 km
Avg Speed: 16.7 kph
Terrain: Flat

Despite the Singha beer from last night’s dinner and show, we were up early again this morning. We figure we’re going to have to get back to our usual operating hours – early to bed, early to rise. The heat is just too much to take in the afternoons. Our goal for the day was to do some sightseeing at a nearby archaeological site. We had coffee and rolls at the gas station café and then rolled west out of town. Gas station food? Yes, and it was good.
Thirty minutes later we arrived in the old town, the original site of Sukhothai which means “rising happiness”. The town was founded in the middle of the 13th century and saw the emergence of the Thai nation in the 14th century. During its heyday, the military influence stretched as far as Vientiane, Laos. Art, architecture and the Thai alphabet were also developed during this important time. As different rulers aged and new dynasties were created, Sukhothai handed over power and influence to the town of Ayutthaya, just north of Bangkok.
Our visit started out a bit wet. Soon after we bought our tickets, the skies opened up and the rain didn’t stop for two hours. We spent part of the time near one of the Khmer style temples and the rest of the time in the nearby market. We purchased plastic rain ponchos (pink for me and blue for Chris) to avoid being totally soaked. The time passed quickly as we were thoroughly entertained by the comings and goings of various locals and tourists.
Finally the deluge subsided and we made a go of it. The ruins were really fascinating and the surviving temples are beautiful reminders of a golden era in Thailand. It was fun and challenging to try to image what each site may have looked like in the 14th century. What remains today is a mix of brick and plaster buddhas, chedis and stupas. Some sites had all three components while others only had one or two. Since we are new to eastern philosophy and culture we don’t know all of the details about what was present and what may have been missing. I’m sure we’ll acquire a lot of information as we go - stay tuned. We’ll be living it and learning it together.
Khawp khun kha (thank you in Thai),
LK

Two People, Two Bicycles, Two Trains

Day 152
Bangkok to Phitsanulok (by train)
Time: 4:30:00 + 25:00 across Bangkok by bike
Distance: Halfway to Chiang Mai
Avg Speed: Train Speed
Terrain: Flat with rice
Location: 100˚ 15’ 44”, 16˚ 48’ 25”


Where do I start?

With our rest period complete, we got back in the swing of things by riding to the Bangkok train station this morning. Even with the combination of being in a completely foreign country and in a city of 7.5 million, we were pretty excited to get back on the road. For the first time in a week, we read the map correctly and found our way to the train station in about 25 minutes. The ride wasn’t horrifying at all – bicycles are part of the transit system here and we just fit right in. I did my best to look around and soak it in. It was hard to believe I was riding in Bangkok. The air was so thick that you could see it and the city was bustling with all sorts of activities.
The train station was very organized and a nice girl helped us find our platform. We pushed our bikes down to a bench and waited. About 45 minutes later the train rolled in and we queued up like everyone else. There were many farang (slang for foreigners) but we still looked out of place with our bicycles. I started to chat with a fellow who noticed my panniers. He had cycled something like 20,000+ kilometers from Korea to Portugal. Wow. Anyhow, he wondered if we’d be able to take our bikes on the train. We both shrugged and said “we think so”. Turns out we thought wrong.
Soon after our chat with Boston (didn’t catch his name, just his city) we got the shake down from the platform guard. We weren’t allowed to take bikes on the express train. He told us what train we could take and we wheeled our circus back into the station. Chris got a workout for the next half hour as he went from window to desk to window to figure out what we would do. The next train turned out to be third class, not such a problem unless you’re up for nine hours with no a/c. So, the solution was for us to get on the express and our bikes to go on the slow train. In a very organized fashion, we checked in our bikes, received our claim ticket and walked away. Let me tell you, it was a strange feeling…
It’s a funny thing to be separated from your bike. I think it could be difficult to understand if you’ve never toured. This little machine has taken me everywhere and hauled my gear as well. I didn’t have time to dwell too much because we were in such a hurry to make everything happen.
The train ride was rather uneventful and we arrived 40 minutes late in Phitsanulok. We saw Boston again and he wondered about our rigs. We told him the story and he just smiled. In our previous meeting with him he told us how he had lived in Phitsanulok for a few years way back when. We inquired if he knew any good guesthouses and the next thing we knew he was speaking to a taxi driver in fluent Thai. In a matter of minutes we were being driven to the international youth hostel to find some budget accommodation. Boston decided to join us and check the place out. He was our translator as we checked out a few different rooms. We have no idea what he was saying but we ended up with something basic for $10. Not bad for a decent sized room with a bathroom. The only drawback is that there is only half of a toilet seat, but who’s complaining?
Here’s to being back on the road,
LK
ps – the slow train was an hour and a half late, but the bikes did make it.

Hot Time in the City

Day: 151
Bangkok Day 6


We spent the day hanging out and getting things in order for the train ride tomorrow. We spent this morning talking to some family and catching up on emails and computer business.
The panniers are packed the money is stashed and the tires are aired up. Tomorrow we roll.
CK

Reclining Buddha

Day 150
Bangkok



Today we visited the oldest and the largest temple in Bangkok; Wat Pho (pronounced “poe”). Instead of haggling for a taxi or a tuk-tuk, we had a 30 minute walk to the grounds. Once again, we found ourselves walking through another market area. This one, called Wat Mahathat, was selling various amulets. These good luck charms are a traditional part of Thai Buddhism and are worn as protection from evil spirits and bad luck.
From the market we passed the Grand Palace and then followed the long train of tour buses to the entrance of Wat Pho. We paid our 50 baht each (about $1.5) to get in, and then walked the grounds to start. Throughout the courtyard we found several smaller temples, different gardens and some very interesting statues. These granite sculptures were brought from China as ballast on empty sailing vessels. We were really captivated by the different depictions of warriors and philosophers.
Finally, we made our way around to the main temple where the Reclining Buddha is housed. The figure is 46 meters long by 16 meters high and is covered in gold leaf. Dating back to the 16th century, the Reclining Buddha predates the city of Bangkok. Its laid out position symbolizes Buddha’s death and passage into nirvana. The size of the figure was actually quite incredible.
By 11:30 we had trekked back to our ‘hood. We found some lunch and enjoyed watching the various activities going on in the street. It’s all about tourism here. Now we’ve taken refuge for the afternoon while the hot and sultry part of the day passes. In a few hours we’ll venture out to find our favorite noodle cart and observe the evening’s events. I’m going to soak it up because in a couple of days we’ll be back on the road. We’re really looking forward to it.
LK

Bangkok Bingo

Day: 149
Hotel to Clinic to Embassy to Hotel
Time: ‘til Noon

No it isn’t one of the ‘shows’ that you can see in the city. It is merely the dance that one does in the city day to day. We got our second round of rabies shots today. We grabbed a cab from the hotel to take us over to the clinic. We overpaid for the cab, which is mainly due to me not bargaining over the price. Everything is negotiable here, and I keep forgetting that the price they give is way high. The vaccinations were not negotiable, but it was one of the nicest clinics around. We had our tea, had our shots and paid a grand total of $60 for the office visits and the two shots. We hiked down to the embassy to register our presence in Thailand with the US only to stand in line and find out that we can do that online. It was nice to see the Stars and Stripes flying. Our taxi back was much better, but I still think that we overpaid.
Our dinner hour has become one of our favorite parts of the day. The street takes on the scene straight out of a movie. The street carts start hopping, the live music start flowing and people start coming out of the woodwork. We have naturally found a favorite cart for dinner and desert. We get our pad thai with spring rolls, sit on the steps behind the cart to eat them and people watch. The best site is the cart next to our pad thai gal. This cart has fried insects of all types. I thought I could eat a bug, but after seeing a pile of fried crickets and grubs I changed my mind. The bug gal gets quite a few lookers though and Leslie and I have a good time filling in the dialogue between the lookers and their friends. Leslie likes pineapple for desert, whereas I have found banana pancakes with sweetened condensed milk drizzled on top. It is more of a fried dough with bananas inside of it rather than a pancake like we know. Leave it to me to find desert.
All this entertainment in a 20’ radius, and it is all ours for 105 β ($3 and some change). For the overpricing of the cabs we took it is all resolved at dinner time.
BINGO!!
CK

Commerce on the Water: Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Day: 148
Bangkok


Today we ventured out for the first time beyond Bangkok. Our friend, an enterprising fellow named Bird, drove us to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. We arrived after an hour and a half drive and were waved in by the eager people giving boat tours of the market.
Initially when Chris booked the trip, he thought that the price included the boat tour. We soon came to find that the cost was just for our private taxi. Live and learn and welcome to a new country with a different language.
Anyway, we settled the bill on stepped onto our own private longboat. The vessel was approximately 20 feet long by 3 feet wide. The motor was a straight V8 with an eight foot shafted propeller. The captain steered with one hand and worked the throttle with the other. I’m pretty sure the engine was a bit big for the boat.
Off we went down the canal system. Without knowing what lay ahead, we had no expectations. Not surprisingly we stopped at a few souvenir stands and were implored to buy some goods. I bought a package of postcards and we continued on. Soon we began to see other boats; some similar to ours and others with no engine that were being paddled. The water was definitely getting more crowded. As we turned the next corner our eyes got big like saucers. This was it – the floating market. In the water and on the docks, goods were being sold. From soup to nuts you could watch your food being prepared and buy the bowl you were eating from. At first glance it was total chaos – too many boats and not enough room. Upon further review, you could see that the boat captains did have some organized system. Once you settled into the madness you were captivated by all of the activity. It’s was definitely a tourist oriented market, but you did get some sense of what life was like here years ago.
In actuality, the canal system was very important to central Thais in the days before automobiles. The only transport a family owned was the dugout boat that transported goods and people from point to point. The market we visited today is the most famous survivor of days past. And, if you looked closely, you could catch a glimpse of present day Thai life - a house on stilts and laundry hanging from the line.
LK

Sites and Smells

Day: 147
Bangkok Day 2
Terrain: Big City
Location: Banglamphu District


We spent today laying out a plan for our travels in Southeast Asia. We needed to do this for two reasons. The first was to figure out when and where we would be during certain stages. The second was to figure out how much money we need to carry with us. ATM’s haven’t caught on in Laos and Cambodia like they have here in Thailand and Vietnam. Luckily Laos will trade in their currency, the Kip, as well as the US Dollar and the Thai Baht. We will end up carrying all the money we need as we roll through Laos in a few weeks time. We shall see how that unfolds.
We are watching BBC news right now and they reported a 7.6 magnitude earthquake near Sumatra. The local news hasn’t reported anything yet.
We were requested to report on the sights and smells in Bangkok. The sights are best left to pictures, but if you can imagine the sidewalks in the town you live in with little tarp tents set up and taken down every night that line all the paths you might get an idea. The interesting thing is we are in a city of 6 million people. The little booths are set up in front of store fronts in the buildings. The store fronts range from jewelry to groceries to a five story department store. The booths have all kinds of things from food to prepare at home, food to eat there, sweets, every item of clothing you can imagine and all the trinkets under the stars.
To imagine the smells you need to take all the sights you have imagined and add a scent to them. Cooking oil, fish, sugary syrups, curries, breads, diesel and 2-cycle engines, sewer, sweat, flowers, tea and coffee, new clothes. It is all there and all at once. It sounds crazy, but you get the scents all at once, yet when you are in the vicinity of a particular scent you are ensconced with that smell. All the others just live as background. The booths block out the street smells when you are inside them, and when you are on the street you are blocked from the booth smells. It isn’t overwhelming, but it is intense.
lah gòrn (good bye in thai)
CK