Monthly Archives: February 2014

Day 136

We boogied today and arrived at the destination for the day around noon.

Back on the highway, we enjoyed the extremely smooth shoulder and flat terrain, but that was about it. We have started seeing more fruit for sale and stopped to purchase a little pineapple for 10 Baht and a very large bunch of little bananas for 40. We had the pineapple cut for us and devoured it on the spot. Now that we are in a more rural areas we are seeing less supermarkets and that is just as well, now we have more fruit in our diet.

We found a little row of rooms without air-conditioning nor hot showers but we did have Wi-Fi. We don’t miss the air-conditioning, and the cold showers are welcome after a hot day. If you do get a bungalow, remember to find one in the shade since bungalows have little insulation and the little rooms with low ceilings concentrate the heat. The motel or hotel style rooms are much better, especially if they have a high ceilings and good air flow. We made sure to choose the room in the middle of the row as opposed to a room at one of the ends. Since we rely on open windows, several mosquito-infested nights have taught us to double-check that our screens don’t have any holes or gaps.

We worked diligently and finished updating the blog and uploading photos. I’m sure as you’ve seen we do get behind and after a hot or stressful day typing is not high on my list of priorities so I put it off as long as possible. Cher has much more self-discipline so she shares some of it with me by gentle scolding and spanking. I do enjoy logging our days. Without weekends, work, or any social life everything has a tendency to blur together. We also hope that this will entertain some procrastinating at their desk, let others know we are alive and well.

Day 135

We took Route 4021 to 3253 to 2301, all back roads today.

Everywhere we looked and smelled we witnessed the bounty of the jungle. We saw jack fruits, persimmons, tomatoes, durian, papayas, coconuts, bananas, and pomegranates. We were amazed by the variety of fruit that grows seemingly year round and with very little effort. Much of them appeared to be wild and were mixed in with weeds along the side of the road. When there weren’t fruits there was a wall of dark forest which bordered the road, giving us shade well into the late morning. We ascended and descended small hills, sometimes with small curves in the middle and a light breeze blew when we didn’t move fast enough to make our own. We reached our goal for the day before we even felt that we had begun. In short it was perfect.

Perhaps we hit upon some well-kept secret we shared with another pair of touring cyclists we passed, or maybe we were just lucky. We arrived in Chumphon and at the first place we stopped, we found some nice clean little bungalows, with wi-fi for 350 and called it a day. We could have gone further but sometimes when the day has given so much we find that it is best not to get greedy.

Day 134

Not too much to impress today, and I didn’t have the energy to ponder anything. I attempted to learn some Chinese but soon gave up. My legs were heavy and I was tired. On the other hand Cher was fine and bopping along in front as I trailed behind. When you feel strong, your loads are light, and you imagine every moving part is gliding along with optimal efficiency with each smooth stroke. When you’re beat, you wonder if your bags are too heavy, your tires are low and why am I doing this. It’s the difference in outlook that causes the most stress between us. However, over the long run we are falling in and out of sync but like the moon and the sun, when we do align we are stronger pulling together.

We pulled into a small town around 1:30 and began looking for a room. We found 2 places in town, one room with a fan and a cold shower for 250 and another with a fan and cold shower for 300, neither with wi-fi. We could have had air-conditioning for 400 but decided it was a bit much. It was nice to be in a small non-touristy town and to be literally unplugged. There was only one socket in the room, so we saved our batteries. Our cold showers and a well placed fan actually made the room comfortable enough to take a 2 hour nap. Hopefully we will both get a full nights sleep and be aligned in the morning.

Day 133

Tropical! Travelling as slowly as we do, we aren’t normally too surprised by changes in vegetation or climate but today we were. Somehow in the last day we’ve entered a tropical paradise. Groves of coconut palms, and pineapple plantations cover much of the flat ground before meeting rows of jungle clad hills in the distance.

When we started today, thick dark storm clouds began moving in. Although tempted to stop to put on our rain covers, we kept on moving and we were rewarded with a cooling sprinkle. Although Cher is not a fan of rain, I was overjoyed to have clouds and rain. We’ve had almost nothing but hot sunny days for the last month. That coupled with uninspiring scenery has made it difficult to get motivated at 5:30 in the morning. A change in scenery and weather are great for morale.

When we started from Mae On on February 5th, 18 days ago, we had 1380 km or 857 miles to reach Krabi, but now we are only 407 km / 252 miles away. In just 7 days we will have completed our longest section with only one rest day. Our trikes are running smooth and our legs have adjusted to the daily routine. Now that’s a reason to celebrate, but we’ll wait until we arrive, as multiple beers are not yet within the budget.

Day 132

The rain is gone and the heat is back, although it’s much less intense. Route 4 continues to provide us with a regular sweep of overhanging trees giving us shade well into the afternoon. As we started heading east towards a beach side resort area, the trees became scarce and the heat was intense. We wistfully eyed some fluffy clouds on the western horizon, and although they were picturesque, they did not give us any shade.

We entered the beach area just after noon and were happy to find that it was a mainly local tourist area with very affordable rooms. A room on the beach with air-conditioning and wi-fi cost 490, but since we are watching our budget we found a place for 350 a kilometer away from the beach. We then shared a beer, for purely practical reasons, Cher was thirsty and I was hot.

Day 131

We’re getting started later and later every day which has corresponded to the slow decrease in temperature. We also spent 15 minutes searching for the owner of the hotel so we could return our key and collect our deposit, but she was nowhere to be found. We did find 2 bags of money left out in the open in a gazebo near the entrance. We took out our deposit and left a note. People in Thailand are quite respectful of personal property but we doubt that leaving bags of cash around is a common practice.

After a night of rain, we woke up to a dark mass of clouds and for the first time in a month had a nice cool morning. We cruised at 21 kph for the first hour, making very good time before Cher pointed out that the clouds would let loose. We pulled over under the extended awning of a furniture store to put our rain covers on just as the rain began. It came down suddenly in a powerful rush covering the streets in an inch of water within just a few minutes. Even with rain gear it was too much to set off in. While we waited for the storm to abate, Cher chatted with the store owner, who was also from China. We were invited to rest a bit and she served us green tea and coffee. Cher was finally free to chat in her native tongue and I was happy to have a hot drink and watch the rain. Cher said I was awkwardly quiet, but maybe it was just strange not to hear me talk for an hour.

We thanked our host and continued on in the rain. With the memory of sweltering hot days still fresh in our minds we took off without putting on our rain gear. We pulled over in 10 minutes, goose fleshed and soaked to put on our rain jackets. Our route took us along the coast where we saw a great number of western tourists and high-rise hotels staked out on private beaches. In addition to the expensive high-rise resorts there were also a number of budget bungalows, but since it was early and cool we decided not to stop and make the most of the day.

We missed our turn in the rain and made a short detour before returning to Route 4. In a short while, high rises were replaced by huts and we were out of the tourist area. Highways, which were once a tumbling cascade leaving the cities, settle into a gentle current. That is where we are now, until we come to the next glacial city.

Day 130

We were off the beaten track today. Our circuitous route took us through several fishing villages where we had glimpses of people going about their day, fixing nets, loading bamboo, or dropping their catch off at roadside fish stalls. We did have some stiff briny breezes, but as our path quickly changed direction, we had equal breezes at the head and tail.

As we headed back onto the main highway, storm clouds began to move in, the wind picked up. Although we expected rain at any second it didn’t come, but it did provide some dramatic scenery with leaves blowing into the road and palms trees bowing in the wind.

Getting away from the crowds is always a good thing. There was much less garbage on the roadside. However, I was happy to get back on the main road where we can always find conveniences of civilization. We found a very clean little hotel right next to a Tesco supermarket. Cher suggested we look around for a cheaper place but I was unwilling to leave an easy source of copious calories. Speaking of which, we have noticed that many Thai are quite plump, and we both think it’s the prevalence of grocery stores. You really do get a lot of calories for your baht. Although spending a similar amount at a Local market will leave your belly full, fresh food just doesn’t have the same caloric density of processed food. Which is why we’ve gone as far as to choose hotels because of their proximity to a Tesco.

Day 129

We reluctantly got out of our extremely comfortable luxury hotel bed and navigated our way out of Bangkok. Although we heard a lot about the protests, we must have been in the right area at the right time, because we didn’t see one protester. As far as we could see, much of the city was going about its business as usual. Getting across the city was difficult during the morning rush hour, and often required us to cross 3 or 4 lanes of non-stop traffic to access an exit ramp or make a turn. This could have been exceptionally difficult, but as a result of many very considerate Bangkok drivers who stopped traffic and waved us through, we were able to wend our way out of the city with our nerves only mildly frazzled.

One hour later we were free of the city and navigating the highway system, where exit ramps led to overpasses with no shoulders, and the left most lane regularly changed into a u-turn or exit lane. We spent a lot more time on the highway than I was comfortable with, but we made it far enough out of the city and soon we were on salt fields.

During our trip we pass a veritable landfill along the roads. This is especially true around urban areas and even in some rural areas. Much of the trash collects in roadside ditches and streams. We regularly see people fishing or irrigating their fields with this water, which has led us on more than one occasion to avoid eating any local fish. In one of these road side drainage ditches filled with garbage and what smelled like raw sewage, we saw a man taking some small fish out of a net. We were amazed that fish could survive is such sludge and then horrified that they were being consumed. A few kilometers later we saw his roadside stand where he was drying and selling them. We won’t be eating any local fish jerky for sure.

I’m not an environmental activist, but it’s difficult to not be alarmed. We later passed a river with several large-scale shrimp farms, fed by these same ditches. I could continue since these rivers really do go right into the sea, but I’ll stop there for now. It’s an unsettling experience to peddle for 2 months in 4 different countries in feverish heat and to never be able to jump in one river to cool ourselves, never mind filter and drink the water.

Day 128

Waking up at 3:30am was not hard, when all we had to do today was sitting on our asses all day while we were chauffeured to the Thai/Cambodia border.

As we were passing through the narrow back alleys in Sukhumvit at 4am, the after party had just started. What we thought were abandoned vans parked by the curb during the day turned into mobile bars at night. There were enough boozy tourists to keep the street business going after all the bars were closed.

We made it to Korean Town (Sukhumvit Plaza) at 4:30am and the Bangkok Buddy staff took care of all our paper work. We were on the road at exactly 5am as promised. While we were whisked away in a well-appointed van with reclining captain’s chairs, we indulged in podcasts and before we had a chance to doze off, we were dropped off at the border. Again, the staff took care of everything and we didn’t even need to queue for immigration.

While our passports were being processed we enjoyed a complimentary buffet at the border casino, making this trip even more decadent. The physical distance between the Thai/Cambodia immigration counters creates this grey area for gambling, which is otherwise illegal in both countries. As we were quickly herded into the air-conditioned buffet hall, the glimpses of the Cambodian border provided sharp contrast to the cornucopia of plenty in the casino.

We quickly made this buffet breakfast worth the 2200 baht we paid for the visa run, and at 10am we were back to the Thai side. Before 2pm we were back in the heart of Bangkok, with 2 new 30-day visa stamps. Despite the fact that we normally don’t like being mollycoddled, being led by the hand from door to door, this was a great value and was quite relaxing.

Day 127

The lack of wi-fi at our expensive love motel put a strain on our traveling today. Having no specific destination to aim for in Bangkok, we felt like we were cycling into the city blindfolded. Ideally we wanted to stay at a place near the visa run bus which departs at 5am, but we didn’t have the foresight to even note down the area. Luckily, thanks to Thai people’s love for coffee and wi-fi, we found a gas station cafe with the wi-fi password written on the menu, before we reached the heart of the city. With the almighty Google Maps back at our finger tips, we quickly planned our route cutting across Bangkok to reach Sukhumvit.

Riding through Bangkok was probably the most scary cycling experience so far. With no shoulders or bike lane, weaving in and out of the heavy traffic while keeping a sense of direction was overwhelming. Surprisingly the Thai drivers were exceptionally patient and we made it to the destination in one piece.

As we were cruising down the narrow streets in Sukhumvit searching for a cheap hotel, the culture backdrops changes even just one alley away. While western tourists found their comfort in Burger King and Starbucks, we peddled through the thick aroma of shisha in the Soi Arab or the Little Middle East, as we headed towards Korean Town. It was hard to remember we were still in the heart of Thailand.

After finding many hotels for more than 1000 baht per night, we located our budget hotel – PB (i.e. Play Boy) Hotel in a back alley. For 800 Baht, we could have a room furnished with a sex chair, a round bed with heart-shaped pillows, mirrored ceiling and carpeted floor, without a window. However, we went for a boring room without any kinks for 860 Baht. We also considered a hostel but even a dormitory style room would have cost 350 per person.

All of our research for a Bangkok visa run directed us to Jack’s Total Golf Tour, which was supposed to be on the 3rd floor in Sukhumvit Plaza. When we arrived at the location, we could not find Jack. Much puzzled, we decided to check off the other items on our Bangkok to do list first. I found my much craved-for fried chicken, and Chopper his burger at a McDonald’s. We were both amazed at how much it cost, which proved that we really are now a couple of country bumpkins.

We later we found out that Jack, the owner of the Jack Total Golf Tour, allegedly gambled his money away and didn’t pay his employees for 2 months and fled to his home country, South Korea. Upon his disappearance, his employees took over the business and carried on under the name of Bangkok Buddy, providing essentially the same services. After a phone call with the now owner Tanya, our visa run trip was booked and we were ready to go.

Day 126

Not wanting to wander aimlessly in the intense heat at the end of the day, we researched some hotels and found one at a reasonable price of 500 Baht. However, when we arrived we were quoted twice as much. Maybe it’s the high season or maybe it’s because we were English-speaking tourists. We were in the middle of nowhere, on narrow broken concrete path, next to a drainage ditch, so we decided to keep on pedaling.

I had saved a lone hotel on the outskirts of Bangkok on Google Maps as a backup plan. It’s always a bit of a gamble when there is only one hotel on the map in the area. We have often found that it doesn’t exist and we have to keep going. We were fortunate to find a big “resort” at a dusty barren crossroads. For 580 Baht we got our own little love motel room from the future, from an 80’s perspective. Light pink walls, blue trim, green plastic carpet and a mirrored ceiling, no wi-fi, no window. Apparently this was a strategic location and the hotel was filled despite the high price and shoddy construction.

Later that night we were inundated by mosquitoes and we couldn’t find out how they were getting in. There were no widows and the door was closed. As mosquitoes buzzed in my ears and bit my forehead, I lay staring at the ceiling in the dark, when I noticed light coming in around our light fixtures. Basically we were in an interior room, with a single layer ceiling, under a large barn. This also explained why our room was still hot despite our air-conditioner pumping away at 20 °C. Our ceiling was just a 1/4 sheet of particle board. We lit a mosquito coil and managed to get 4 or 5 hours of sleep.

We would need the sleep because tomorrow we would enter Bangkok and we hadn’t planned on where to go, assuming we would have wi-fi due to the proximity to a big city. We needed to catch a 4:30am bus to do a visa run and that was all we knew. Why do we never learn to plan better?

Day 125

Our constant struggle over choosing the most direct route or the scenic continues today. I don’t foresee either of the two winning in the end. Direct routes are along major highways where the roads are smooth, the shoulders generous, and hotels numerous. Sounds perfect except the most direct routes also have the most traffic, foul smells, and garbage. On the other hand the scenic routes can be faster although sometimes longer. A variety of scenery can make the distance feel shorter and urge on your tired legs to see what is around the next bend. However, this can also backfire and the scenic road can be so bumpy or narrow that you miss the scenery dodging pot holes or passing vehicles on narrow roads without shoulder.

Today we made the correct decision and were rewarded with vast green fields of rice in various stages of growth. Green paddies tinged with yellow were being drained in preparation for harvest while new vibrant, almost fluorescent green shoots stood in their pools of water. Each field depending on its development revealed a spectrum of greens only a painter could put a name to.