Bamboo Odyssey » Thailand | Bamboo Odyssey

Tak to Mae Sot

Jules — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 08:56:50 +0000

Standing by the side of the road we polished off 10 bananas between us and contemplated our options. It was still 30 degrees and the sun was a fiery red ball , the tarmac was shining rose pink and a tangle of telephone lines golden like the vines encasing the landscape of jagged mountains, palms and a monastery all close by. It would be dark in 40 minutes and we were sore and out on a limb. We could hitch, ask to sleep at the monastery, camp without our tent, or continue riding another 18km, possibly in the dark in unknown terrain amidst signs of road works. The bananas giving us the encouragement of monkeys we decided to ride….and the hills, the climbs of the past 70 kilometres…. the steep ascents, they disappeared. Instead a beautiful, cooling descent towards the setting sun, weaving and twisting, just the right pace to avoid the pot holes and arriving in Mae Sot and our booked hotel just as the light went out. Plink!

Traveling by bicycle

Jules — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 11:20:05 +0000

Have you ever been painfully attracted to someone…..but don’t particularly like them…..blissfully enthralled by their company.? That feeling for me, i can liken to the feeling of hill climbs when on my bicycle. But in between the lust there is the whole journey,….euphoria. A feeling so strong it can be like marriage, like being with someone You can not be without. I am in love…..not with Thailand which is beautiful, desirable, full of passion….. colour, taste, touch and smell….a country and people that can fulfil many persons dreams. Thailand is indeed wonderful.
But I am in love….. in love with riding my bicycle…..Travelling by bicycle. It is a difficult relationship….but in contrast….so easy. A country changes as you pedal with your own steam, while you don’t always have the time to see the “must” see tourist sights. The bleak and unmajestic becomes alive, blowing through your hair (when I am fast enough) blowing through your hair ( if the headwind is horrible enough) , muscles, joints, skin, mind, tingling with effort. And the people you meet….they all appreciate the effort. And You….you appreciate the effort so that everything is new, the unseen, forgotten or just ignored is in full bloom, vibrant and alive. One moment in the middle of undocumented nowhere becomes more impressive, more magical than any “wonder of the world”.
Sometimes I listen to music to help with the climbs….or take me from my monotonous mind…..so that when I pass a bar, cafe, blazing stereo from a car…. Or more likely rickshaw…when I hear a particular tune I am taken back in time. Once apron a time to the dance floor, a euphoric moment with friends, loving, happy memories…but now these memories are intertwined, I am taken back to a mountain pass in Turkey…..a desert plain in Kazakstan….I am taken back to a different, more lonely, individual but equally euphoric moment, a moment i will forever treasure of traveling on my bicycle.
I am still not particularly good at climbing, dreading the climb until I love it. I am not particularly good at riding long distances, just many, many short distances…..but what I am good at….I am good at….loving what I do….Yes, travelling by bicycle.

We are in Thailand

Jules — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 11:26:44 +0000

So we are in Thailand. On a cycling adventure there are no rules….we have almost come to accept there are no rules…setting off from London it was so very easy to say there are no rules. We would ride while we are happy……and when we don’t ride? Our rules are in our head, our achievements, our dreams.
So we are in Thailand after a giant flying leap from sub zero Almaty, extended hop into Hong Kong, and then landing on the runway in Chiang Mai in very warm northern Thailand.
It was strange not using our legs to traverse such a large distance and with us not being in the saddle for 24 days. In that time we continued to eat like touring cyclists, put on weight, nursed our bruised ego, missed our bicycles, enjoyed not being on the bicycles, applied for visas, I went into China overnight…..by myself, and Li researched our future options…..and of course….we ate some more and drank like everyone should over Christmas holidays…..Or one should on extended bike tours. Oh….and we disassembled our bikes, put them in bike boxes, assembled them….did not ride them….disposed of the boxes….went in search of new boxes…..disassembled and boxed the bikes…..and assembled them again.
So what are our rules? Our goals, our dreams….our next destination, transportation? ….we have a very loose plan….we will attempt to travel in the saddle, we are riding to Sydney, SE Australia. From Chiang Mai we rode North.
We acclimatised in Chiang Mai for 4 nights…..the rise in temperature far easier than expected. I guess high 40’s in Turkey was not that long ago when constantly on the move and my body craved this climate above the minus 16 of Kazakhstan. Hong Kong tempered our bodies us at 14-25 degrees and thus 18-35 in Thailand is perfect.
Acclimatising to the Western tourists was somewhat more difficult……They are everywhere. We have not been around Western people in large numbers in many months and unaccustomed to the tourist trail. The excitement, vibe, buzz and party atmosphere is not overly unwelcome in small doses…..but the sleaze, searching for sex, hunters and hunted?…..but no rules and if I chose….western food which on previous travels would leave me personally appalled…..but coming up to 10 months on the road. (Taz, thanks for the vegimite!)
Finally in the saddle the initial 20km were a diddle. Both of us having fattened up over Christmas (thank you Helen and Lawrence in HK), this was promising. Then the climbs began. How much condition have we actually lost? But the landscape…… Tropical, vines, thick jungle, mosaic of hill upon hill, small unvisited villages and hopeful road stalls, this riding was a pleasure. The tourists whizzed by, day trips that would take us 3 days. They do not stop….we stop….frequently.
3 days to Chiangrai, new friends, fellow cycle tourists, with no rules, reminding us there are no rules ….but to live day to day…..Happy! Now we go south…..south west, Myanmar……North…..Northern Myanmar….at some stage…..Sydney…..Australia.