Bangkok. Arriving back in Thailand after 2 ½ months in America was made easy by wonderful people who lived in Bangkok, working for the American Embassy. We were spoiled by over-the-top southern hospitality.
We brought with us a new bike frame Co-Motion made for us, since Bici I was not repairable, plus numerous new parts. We had stored much of our bike with Bill and Judi, so we took the old and new to the Pro Bike shop and the head mechanic set about building Bici II. There were a few surprises: no cable stops on the head tube and no cable hanger for the drag brake. This prevents us from using the cable splicers to disassemble the bike. Disappointing, but not disabling. We bought a new Arai Drum brake because the old one made so much noise we thought it was because it was wearing unevenly. However, after a week on the road, our bike grinds and groans with zeal. Our travels will never be silent again!
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After a short while we were all comfortable pedaling along. The heat is about 90 degrees in the shade, but a stiff breeze keeps us somewhat cool and it isn’t humid. Before we left Bangkok, Judee had two pre-cancerous tumors removed by laser surgery. These wounds need to be dressed and kept out of the sun for one month. Since these are on the top of exposed thighs, band aids are applied each day. The Bangkok hospitals and medical care are top notch and inexpensive. If something should happen to us while in Asia, we would return here for treatment.
December 2, 2007
Back on the road to work our way out of downtown Bangkok. A bright sunny Sunday morning and off into the 8am traffic. Bici II feels good and steady under his heavy load: we both have gained weight over our holiday in California and Hawaii. The traffic is rather light compared to week days, but still takes some getting used to after being off the bike for months. Again pedaling on the left side takes a little adjustment and concentration. Down Ram IV to Sukhumvit (highway 3) south to the coast and the countryside. Bangkok is a city of 9 million people and sprawls all over a flat river delta area. It takes about 23km to get out of the sprawl. Truck, bus and motor bike fumes are hard to breathe so it is nice to hit the sort of open road. The smells change to miles of drying fish next to the road – Ugh! It would be ok if suppose if I liked fish. The sun is hot as the afternoon progresses.
We pass 75km and are beginning to cramp in our inner thighs are we ride. .We stop often to stretch our muscles and hydrate; finally stopping for drinks and snacks. Later we roll into the large city of ChonBuri to find a hotel. Of course, all the signs are in Thai so seeing hotel signs is not an easy task. According to our map, we cruise by the first two on the road not seeing them at all. We start stopping to ask for directions and are directed up the road on the left about 500m and through the stop light. OK…local traffic is heavy…out of the corner of my eye I spy the hotel sign pointing down an entrance alley on the left and we zoom in. We inspect two rooms and choose the more expensive $1,000Baht (about $30US) with cable TV, pool, and restaurant. We are in heaven! Sixth floor and overlooking the pool and out over the city to the coast for good views of the sunset. We both decide no pool, shower and rest after our 90km ride. Guess what, the leg cramps set in with a vengeance for me and even threw in some stomach muscle cramps or two.
Showered and rested, we retire to the restaurant for dinner of Tom Kari Ka (spicy chicken soup with lemon grass and coconut milk) with an appetizer of deep fried
pork strips dipped in hot sauces. Hot and spicy - we are back in Thailand!
12-3-07
Blue skies and a buffet breakfast set a good tone for this morning’s start in to the congested city traffic on down highway 3 toward our destination of the vacation play ground and sex capital of Thailand: Pattaya. The road had a good berm, so the heavy Monday morning traffic was bearable, just fumy. No drying fish this day! We hugged the coast and for most of the 32 miles, we rode a linear city, both sides of the road were stripped. We could get glimpse of the Gulf of Thailand over the roof tops.
Around 12:30 we approached the first hotel we had chosen from our guide book: The Riviera. Set back off the main road nestled between high rises, condos and hotels was this oasis of greenery. We chose a small bungalow just across from the pool, bar area. Our chief’s salad lunch next to the pool was followed by cool dips and light naps at pool side. Late afternoon showers lead to the exploration of our area. We were very surprised that we had landed in the German capital of Thailand. The restaurants were German, menus in German, so we had schnitzel, potato salad and sliced pork in onions and gravy. Very satisfied, we waddled away into the night.
12-4
A day off the bike is planned to relieve our bottoms, hands and feet and to hydrate to aid in leg cramp reduction. The morning is cool and clear and we wander down to and along the beach front. Seaside slings are set side-by-side under a canopy of umbrellas sporting bodies of all proportions and ethnicities. Hordes of tourists are escorted from buses to boats to roar off to an off-shore island or to take part in the para-sailing “merry-go-round” visible from everywhere along the promenade. Lovely Thai women guide their foreign born dates and boyfriends through the shops, restaurants, and sights of Pattaya. Bars line the streets, quiet until about 4pm and then become lively until early morning.
Our accommodation is set far off the main drag in a quiet garden setting of coi, pool and lovely outdoor seating areas with restaurant and bar. No need to venture out for much after checking out the city’s action.
12-5
Today is “Father’s Day”: the King’s 80th birthday. Everyone including us, wear yellow shirts. Not certain how far we will ride today, we are up early. The first stop is a garden recommended by friends: Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden and Resort. Only a short distance south of Pattaya we reach this destination and I ask if there is a room available and the cost. “Yes” - $1100 B and our $800 B entrance fee will be refunded upon departing, making our room $300B! After settling in the nice place, we explore Nong Nooch. What an experience! Never have I ever seen such opulent plantings. Most of the spaces are designed after European style gardens displaying large areas of similar plants laid out in designs and patterns, including bromeliads and orchids. Several skywalks allow visitors to view these spectacularly designed grounds from above as well as wander through them. Being the King’s birthday, there are numerous special attractions, performances, and processions. The gardens offer daily elephant shows and traditional dance performances, both outstanding and a little Disney-esque. After all day wandering, we jumped into the huge pool and sipped a beer sitting in the pool bar seats – Alone! We have this place to ourselves. Live music drew us to the lakeside restaurant that was playing host to a large tour group. Eating with one other couple in the main restaurant, we were able to enjoy the floor show and the 3” - 4’ aerial lanterns, 30 or so , rising into the night sky lofted by the heat of a flame. We retired to our room to watch the live TV broadcast of the beloved King’s birthday celebration: absolutely the most over-the-top hours long spectacle: lights, candles, fireworks, pomp, ceremony, songs, flags, reverence!
12-7
To prepare for a ride like we had today, Art suggested putting a trainer in the front yard, in the summer sun, place a fan turned full blast in front of you, start up the 2-stroke weed whacker for lots of exhaust and peddle for 5 to 6 hours. Yes, today was a bit challenging. But, yesterday we took it fairly easy, stopping early to lounge in the beautiful, uncrowded beach in sling chairs under umbrellas, sipping beer supplied by the concessionaire who worked this little piece of heaven. Thai kids on a school trip played in inner tubes in the sea and collected 100’s of small sand crabs and shells. These lovely beaches are dotted with numerous accommodations: bungalows, hotels and condotels and a huge number of them derelict: never finished or not open anymore. Our Lonely Planet guide book doesn’t mention this area at all, but the Swedes are everywhere here, building homes and vacationing in the warm weather away from the touristy crowds. We rode by an area swerving as a transfer point for a small off shore island, Ko Samet. We saw numerous back packers and the predictable souvenir vendors.
The area was a huge fishing port. The amount of fish caught is staggering. Unlike American tastes, Thai’s eat almost anything from the sea: small and boney isn’t an issue. We are finding food at street stalls: soups, rice, noodles with protein and vegetables. We don’t ask, we just eat and are glad for the sustenance and the kindness of the Thai people. Art loves the 7/11’s found everywhere along the roads. We are able to get Gatorade, ice for our Camelbaks and snacks. It will be interesting what we find in Cambodia. But that is a story for next week.
12-12-07
Sitting in the morning sun on the beachside of the island Kho Chang writing Christmas postcards to our friends and family who are not internet connected, the smells of cooking Thai breakfast wafting past our noses, the sing song of many different languages beating at our ears. How relaxed we are…planning our steps on through Cambodia.
Yesterday we rented a motorbike and tooted up the steep, steep, hilly road along the coast and bright aqua sea dotted with fishing boats through villages and beach resorts to the roads’ end. Here we found a delicious sand beach with sling chairs and few people. Palms shaded our bodies from the very hot tropical sun; native children chased each other at the water’s edge. When it became too hot, we hopped in for a dip, floating in the salty brine at our feet. This beach setting with a restaurant and message shacks were just the perfect kick back place. We ate, baked, got sunburned and then took off toward our hotel. On the way, we passed elephant rides, huge resorts, scenic overlooks and shopping opportunities. Judee has been looking to replace her dress she found in Aussie land with something a little more comfortable. She found an ankle length sheath with slits up the side, tie-dyed green and white – very attractive on her.
As I indicated earlier, the roads have very steep climbs with switch backs, hard even for our motorbike to crest. On the way in to our hotel we came upon a motor bike accident on one of the steepest assents. Boy, are we glad we did not bring Bici!
Dinner on the strip, just a short walk was a pizza garden. We sipped our beer in the warm evening breezes with dogs and cats wandering through. We ordered a large Italian pizza for $370 B for a total bill of $500B (about $17). Scrumptious and rather inexpensive.
Ko Chang
1. taxis
2 & 3. beaches
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Our hotel is not on the beach but has a good pool where we will spend another afternoon before we head back to Trat. It is more expensive it seems in this holiday vacation area. The hotel is $1500B ($50US), no bargaining as it is now high season. Still we are living less expensively than we would be in southern California.
12-13
Thai cooks possess a bit of magic as they select spices, herbs, vegetables and bit of sauce to place into the heavy deep mortar and pound with the foot long pestle to create just the perfect taste to compliment the fish, vegetables or noodles dish we are served. A large bowl filled with spoons for tasting is set on the counter along with the colorful array of condiments. As we head ever closer to Cambodia we hope these culinary alchemists are present there, also.
The road south out of Trat follows the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand and grows less busy and considerably more rural. Mountains loom to our left side: The Cardamoms of Cambodia. Art is again seeing snakes along the road and yesterday on Kho Chang, a monkey. There are more birds, too, as civilization thins.
Our stomachs signal for a lunch stop at about the time we spy a sign for Mai Rood Resort and Bici turns. After a couple kilometers we are wondering where the place is. Then we come to a traditional fishing village at the end of the road when a sign points down cement piers. We’ve come this far, so why not continue? The signs point the way into a garden of Eden. After crossing a bridge within the village, we step onto dry land, bungalows surrounded by orchids with a lovely small pool in the center. More bungalows are set on pilings among the salt water mangroves and a beach stretches in front of the hammocks. A Thai/American, Chin, from Nantucket has created this oasis and maintains American standards here. Dinner, lunch, breakfast and snacks, some complimentary, are on par with anything we have eaten in Thailand. What a delightful experience. Take the time to wander in here if you ever come to southern Thailand.
Fishing village at the entrance to Mai Rood Resort |
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