Sawadee from Thailand!
I’m finishing off this blog from our Bangkok ‘home’ – the Karaarom Hotel, which we returned to yesterday after two weeks ‘away’. Matt has set off for Luke’s stag do, so for the first time in literally months, I have two days/nights stretching ahead without him! Quite a strange feeling.
In our ‘normal’ lives this wouldn’t be at all weird as Matt would often be away for work, or at the very least I’d be in Manchester all day, most days. But over the last few months we have grown used to being with each other 24/7. Not always happily I hasten to add, we’re not superhuman. But the niggles and clashes have largely been overshadowed by sharing in the fun, amazement, weirdness, challenge and joy of this adventure – together.
Having said that, it probably goes without saying that I’m very happy to let him enjoy the fun (and challenge) of the stag do without me, and I’m looking forward to dinner and drinks out tonight with two friends, here with their husbands for the wedding.
We arrived back here yesterday morning having travelled by night train from the northern city of Chiang Mai, which we had cycled most of the way to from Bangkok. We’ve had a really brilliant couple of weeks exploring the central part of this friendly, beautiful, very delicious but oh-so hot and humid country.
We ended up setting off a day later than planned from here, due to an unplanned stomach malfunction (we’ll leave it there) and on the day of departure managed to faff around to such an extent that we didn’t set off until about 11am. I for one wasn’t sure about getting back on the bike. Particularly given our time outside since arrival had felt a little uncomfortably hot for walking about town, let alone zooming around on laden bikes.
We had reduced the laden bit somewhat by leaving our camping stuff and some other things (warm jackets, no thank you) at the hotel, as well as the cardboard boxes we had packed the bikes in for the Istanbul-Bangkok flight. The camping equipment was jettisoned as we knew that accommodation would be very very affordable in Thailand, campsites would be limited and sleeping outside in these temperatures (even at night) just wouldn’t be comfortable. We’d also heard that delicious food would be easy and inexpensive to come by, so the stove wasn’t needed either.
After the faffing couldn’t be stretched out any longer we rolled off into the madness of another big city, having last been on our bikes in Istanbul.
I can confirm that Bangkok traffic is every bit as hectic as in Istanbul but with some important differences:
(1) Drivers (and people in general across Thailand) are incredibly friendly and courteous so if we showed where we wanted to be by indicating, or just nudged our way out we have (without fail) been let out/given space
(2) Drivers are used to two wheeled traffic. Not push bikes, but mopeds/motorbikes. This means that cars are used to overtaking slower moving and smaller vehicles…
(3) And there is often a lane which is either officially or unofficially designated for those on two wheels
This meant that all in all, despite feeling like my brain would explode at times from all of the hyper vigilance required, we felt relatively safe as we left the city, and headed north to our first destination – Bang-Pa.
Luckily, the sun didn’t make too much of an appearance this first day so whilst it felt very hot and humid it was ‘manageable’ and aside from the realisation that yes, there are doggos in Thailand too, we were overall feeling like cycling in Thailand is a good thing!
Our first night’s stay was with Daddy – not either of our fathers, but someone else’s Thai Daddy who runs a home stay on the outskirts of Bang-Pa, about 5km from the Royal Palace there. We had a lovely welcome, complete with an excellent recommendation to check out the local market for our dinner – chicken on a stick and the hottest fish curry ever consumed by either of us were brought back to the room – delicious.
The next day we visited the palace itself, after spotting a ginormous monitor lizard as we set off.
The sun was well and truly out at the palace and we started to realise that actually doing anything outside in the middle of the day at this time of year in Thailand is foolish!
We managed to amble about a bit, before getting back on the bikes to head further north to Ayutthaya – a modern city dotted with ruined temples from the time when the kingdom’s capital was located there.
We dropped our bags off at our guesthouse and somehow did another 30km of cycle-exploring, before I decided that I really was too hot now and we sought refuge in the air-con of 7-Eleven for cold drinks and snacks.
I could bring you all up to speed on some Thai history here, but instead I’m going to briefly wax lyrical about 7-Eleven which has effectively been our saviour as cycle tourists here. Why?
(1) Generally speaking there is one to be found fairly frequently, so you know there is always an opportunity to refuel/rehydrate
(2) They really are the epitome of a ‘convenience’ store – everything is for consuming immediately, they will heat things up for you, ice and boiling water is available as required. Sometimes (OK just once in our now vast experience) there is a loo, and somewhere to sit inside to consume the consumables purchased. This is really the motherload as…
(3) …The air-con is fierce. Just standing (or even better, sitting) in a 7 for ten minutes brings your body temperature down sufficiently to go back out into the furnace/hair dryer and continue.
However, I should note that we have found (and not just in 7-Eleven) the plastic consumption huge in Thailand – everything is in a disposable something, you can’t avoid getting a bag, sometimes in a bag. And as the tap water isn’t drinkable, just staying hydrated has nearly always meant buying plastic bottles. And of course the air-con doesn’t power itself. Definitely some conflicted feelings as we have glugged countless bottles of cold water, gobbled way too many ice creams and stood directly under the air-con for sustained periods over the last fortnight.
In Ayutthaya we decided it was about time we actually made a plan for where we were going/what we were doing with the two weeks available! Having tested ourselves in the heat and realising that the central plain really is (very) flat and therefore might get a bit samey after a few days, we looked into trains and decided to cycle the next day to Lopburi, take a train from there to Phitsanulok before continuing cycling from there with an ultimate destination of Chiang Mai in the North. This felt like a good plan to both of us and meant we didn’t need to be doing crazy daily mileage, giving us time to see things and not completely melt.
Onwards to Lopburi it was and our bed for the night in a proper hostel. Not in a dorm – being 38, not 18, we think counts us out of sharing a bedroom with strangers so we were in a little bungalow out back. It did mean we could make use of the bar though which at one point had a bit of a backpacker vibe going in the afternoon with cold beers and live music.
Lopburi is famous for its monkeys so after putting our temple costumes on (covered knees and shoulders) we headed to their main hangout, the Prang Sam Yot temple. En route there we bumped into a few who were very interested in the remnants of the squid on a stick with hot sauce which we had been munching on, on the way over. So much so that Matt ended up jogging with the offending bag to find a bin whilst they trotted after him! A good warm up then for the hoards of them that greeted us at the temple.
We paid our admission and were both given a stick in return. Slightly alarming! The ticket lady explained that they particularly like stealing glasses, good news for both of us in our prescription sunglasses, gulps. The sticks did the trick though and seemed to act as a deterrent to any overly aggressive business so we roamed the temple, tapping our sticks and falling in love with the numerous baby monkeys clutching onto their mummies.
To recover from all that excitement we were back to the now night market for an absolute smorgasbord of Thai treats. Alas no photos of said feast as we just gobbled it all but we had lots of deep fried nibbly spicey things, rice paper rolls, noodles, rice, the lot. All for an embarrassingly low sum. Delicious!
Onto our train the next day – another adventure beckoned. We’ve caught trains in Asia before, including Thailand, and have had wildly varying experiences so weren’t sure what to expect, particularly given we had the added factor of getting not just ourselves but also our bikes to our destination.
It turns out that once you have sussed out that Thai railways consist of several autonomous fiefdoms, with tickets being separate to cargo, being separate to train guards, being separate to management we were able to get ourselves sorted. Our bikes were booked into the cargo car, separately to us – with the train pulling in and our plan being that Matt would sort getting the bikes on whilst I looked after our bags.
The train pulls up and in good news, we are in the right spot for the cargo car. In bad news, the cargo car (designed for taking big items you would think) only has narrow doors up steep steps (like the other carriages) and small windows. Matt (rightly) guesses that the bikes can fit through one of the doors if done so upright.
After very nearly getting my bike on through the door the cargo people on the train gesture for Matt to back up and for it to come through the window. Which it does, just. Everyone else is on the train by this point and it’s looking a bit ready to leave… I jump on with the bags (at least someone is with my bike if the train starts moving). Now for Matt’s bike which is… quite a bit bigger than mine.
From inside I tell them it won’t fit through the window, Matt does the same from outside. In the end they relent (after suggesting Matt takes the saddle down mid-air during the window attempt) and let him get it on through the door. He does, along with himself. Seconds later the train leaves the platform and we’re off with all four pannier bags, two bikes and two people. PHEW!
We plonk in our seats and slowly melt for the 5.5 hour journey (the train is delayed) – no air con but the fans and air movement from all of the wide open windows and doors is welcome and means we enjoy some scenery en route.
Disembarkation is a bit less stressful as they just let Matt do what he wants to do this time, and arrival in Phitsanulok mid afternoon gives us the chance for a loop of town on the bikes, a temple visit and a dinner at a riverside stall.
The next day we’re back on the bikes proper, with our destination being Sukhothai Historical Park. Another melty 80k later and after cooling down in our guest house room we proceed to do another 16k exploring the park which we absolutely love.
We have it almost completely to ourselves (probably because everyone else realises that exploring temples in the heat of the afternoon is utter madness. We enjoy it though as the temples are all in parkland, with no motorised vehicles making for lots of fun whizzing round on the bikes (minus luggage). The night market also doesn’t hurt where we have another multi course meal overlooking the water, lovely!
Onwards we go and yet another set of temples to enjoy. This time we stop at Si Satchanalai partway through our ride and explore on the bikes again. These temples are almost as impressive and feel very much off the beaten track so we again enjoy a full self guided tour, even going up the ‘big hill’ in the park to visit one with what would have been 360 degree views of the whole area, in the town’s heyday.
We stay in what we think is a love hotel (or the Thai version) that night before heading onwards for what we expect to be the start of some climbing, our destination Wang Chin. Indeed we have a few little climbs, more than expected as a river crossing is closed so we take a lengthy but beautiful detour. Unfortunately we both have some tummy distress on the go (again) which makes breaks interesting and on occasion unplanned…!
Our accommodation in Wang Chin is basic and very cheap (as everywhere has been to varying degrees) but this place unfortunately really does need some love… the worst feature being the air conditioning unit which makes the whole bungalow vibrate all night. I don’t sleep a lot as a result and find myself missing the familiarity of the tent, and weather which is cool without needing air conditioning. So basically what we had at the beginning of the trip (and I was complaining then too!!)
The next morning dawns with sleep deprivation and tummy distress making me a little nervous about doing a ‘proper’ climb in the heat, up and over the little mountain range between Wang Chin and Lampang, our destination. In the end, it is fine with a steady meaty gradient and the drenching ourselves in water tactic keeping the heat at bay.
Lampang is fab for a stroll around, yes more temples but also another delicious and embarrassingly affordable meal. Matt gets his haircut in preparation for looking presentable for the stag do/wedding. And after much discussion and consideration the beard is lopped off…
In theory, we have a couple more days cycling to get to our final destination for this stage, Chiang Mai. Somehow though, when working out where to stay for the night in between the two days we are drawing blanks and then I make the crazy suggestion that we just do it in one! At this point, it looks like about a 115k ride with two climbs which both look very manageable.
Matt of course thinks this is a great idea so we book four nights in Chiang Mai, plot out the route (actually works out at 125k once it’s been ‘tidied up’ – hmm) and set off the next morning with a bit of trepidation but excitement to get to Chiang Mai and staying put somewhere for a while.
As it turns out, the trepidation is not misplaced. The ride turns out to be a bit of a challenge, probably one of the hardest rides I’ve ever done, and definitely the longest on this trip.
Things start to get spicy early on as we turn off for the smaller road into the hills which we know leads in and through the Doi Kuhn Tan National Park. Being a quiet road, with lots of farms means lots of dogs roaming about, so things don’t start well when Matt unintentionally wakes up a pack of them as he comes down a little descent. By the time I get there they’re all ready for some ‘fun’ and decide to bark, snarl and chase me for a few hundred metres. I am more than a little frightened, especially without Matt who has the stick and the doggo wherewithal with him!
I go for good old fashioned speed and put my foot down, losing them before catching Matt who looks completely bewildered – but there weren’t any dogs?
Once my heart rate has come back down it’s ready to go straight back up as within the National Park proper we find ourselves at the bottom of the first substantive climb. Except the bottom looks up at a wall of road. Hmmm, quite steep then? I assume it will just be a few hundred metres at this gradient and so after trying to cycle a bit of it, relent and walk. (Matt cycles it, of course) I figure a more sensible gradient will follow, as it normally does…
No can do here, instead we have a few hundred metres at 20-25% followed by nearly the same distance and gradient down, on repeat – around ten times. I don’t think I’m exaggerating saying that these gradients would be a challenge to anyone on just a normal road bike, with no luggage, in sensible temperatures but for us this is a complete melt-fest and despite trying to cycle bits (Matt manages lots more than me) I end up doing a lot of hard pushing.
Eventually we get to the ‘top’ where Matt actually takes my bags off my bike as due to some issues with grip strength from my psoriatic arthritis, my braking capacity is slightly constrained – not normally a big problem, but the steepness means we’re genuinely worried I might not be able to come to a stop!
All is well in the end as we make it up and down successfully, bags are repatriated to where they should be and we find a roadside stall/eatery to have some delicious noodles and rehydrate a bit after leaving our body weight in sweat behind us!
By this time, things are really hotting up as (unfortunately) the sun is out – which is always bad news here (I know, never happy..!) We push on and found ourselves at the bottom of the second climb after some valley riding.
Thankfully this climb is much more sensible and do-able albeit a bit steep in places and searingly hot. Worth it though, as the descent is one of the best yet and we’re treated to views down into the Chiang Mai basin and the hills and mountains beyond. Wow!
All that is left to do is our first 7 Eleven stop of the day to get the body temperates down somewhat and then 20km of formation 30kph riding along a smooth and wide hard shoulder. It is the cycling version of Dante’s Inferno as it is silly hot, but Matt seems to have limitless energy at this point, and I just tuck in and hope I can stay with him!
Our planned route into the city turns out to be on a less good road so we veer off and take a back road way which is great until we hit school pick up and get snarled up amongst busses, parents in SUVs and on mopeds. Melting is now imminent but we manage to find out way out of Dante’s Inferno Part 2 and into the old city and our beautiful hotel. Fern, the wonderful Thai woman who runs it is more than a little taken aback by us when we arrive. Dripping with sweat, red faced with layers of grime – she gives us some cold water and no doubt wonders (like so many others) what the crazy ‘ferang’ (foreigners) think they are up to!
Having felt like we’d never be clean and dry again, showers and some time in the aircon of course brings us back to normal and we were able to enjoy a lovely few days in Chiang Mai, taking the pace down a bit.
Some highlights:
We were both keen to try a Thai massage at some point whilst here. Not knowing of course what a Thai massage is! It turns out we were right to be keen as although it’s not the most relaxing experience, having someone man-(woman)handle all of your limbs and back into submission via a combination of assisted yoga with intense pressure/massage was exactly what our legs in particular needed. Even better, we went to the Chiang Mai Women Correctional Institution Vocational Training Centre for this ‘treat’ which gave us a sense of giving a little back.
The temples in Chiang Mai are impressive and we were able to wander around quite a few. There seems to be a predilection for waxworks of deceased monks in them, which are crazily life like.
We both fancied a cinema outing – something we obviously haven’t done in a long time. We found the nearest cinema and booked ourselves in for the English (with Thai subtitles) showing of Mission Impossible. We can thoroughly recommend, although even we found this amount of popcorn a little intimidating…
And of course, the food has continued to be a highlight. Chiang Mai is home to some more Northern Thai specialities but being a touristed place also has western options. We’ve mixed it up with both of us craving burger on our first night here after the silly 125km day. Utterly delicious, with a Thai twist. Plus, coffee snobbery has definitely arrived in Chiang Mai with lots of posh coffee places all over the city. 75baht is pricey for a coffee (£1.50!) but worth it as this was one of the best we’ve ever drunk (ever ever).
Soon enough it was time to leave – we both felt a pang on departing from our hotel – four nights is enough these days to feel ‘at home’ somewhere as normally whether we’re camping or staying indoors we have moved on daily almost constantly since we set off in April. Knowing that we were heading back to somewhere familiar felt good though. Just a night train to contend with in between.
In good news, the bikes logistics this time were far more straightforward as the train started where we were boarding, and its final destination was Bangkok. Giving us lots of time to get them on and off at both ends. We also enjoyed the ‘restaurant’ car this time – a bit of a crazy experience getting to it past lots of open doors whizzing past pitch black Thai countryside. To be greeted by thumping music to accompany our set meal!
The bad news was that sleep was a bit elusive. We’d had to book onto the less salubrious train available due to needing the cargo car for the bikes. So whilst we were in air-con, the bunks were narrow, the train stopped a lot through the night and it was a pretty bumpy ride!
We were relieved to get here and jumped on the SkyTrain to whizz us and bikes back to our hotel. Where we had a lovely welcome including breakfast. Before hitting the shops again, this time to try and find me something to wear for Friday’s wedding.
Which brings us up to date. On reflection, this two week ‘stage’ has felt very much like a transition time for us – a holiday within the bigger trip with a stag do and wedding in a very cool city to enjoy. Next stop is our meet-up with the Cope gang in Bali for two weeks. Our plan is then to fly to Seoul in South Korea to continue the cycling in the Far East.
Given the reflecting, I think it’s worth mentioning that we know that this all sounds very ‘jet-set’ and not quite the vibe we’ve had so far on this trip. Something that at times has troubled us, particularly the flying, when we are very aware of the climate emergency – especially at the moment with news from Europe, North America and Asia of extreme heat, storms and other climate change related weather phenomena.
The last two weeks have reminded us first hand that more extreme weather is in no way a good thing – and that trying to go about normal life in high temperatures is very challenging, without consuming lots of water (plastic) and making use of air-conditioning (energy intensive and expensive). We’ve been reminded that ‘home’ being a temperate country in the north of Europe is a good thing.
Postscript
Thanks for all of the lovely comments on the last post. I still can’t believe we cycled to Istanbul, it’s something that will stay with us for a long time, and we’re very grateful to have you all on the journey with us 🙂
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