July 2009
77 posts
Mae Hong Son to Mae Sariang (160 Km / 2 days)
[ Tommy typing ]
I took it pretty mellow on the last few days in the mountains. The bike is still not 100% after the accident outside of Pai. My front wheel is out of true, although I did my best to true it on the fork using an 8-inch adjustable wrench (guess who forgot to pack a spoke wrench). The headset is also not staying in adjustment and I have had to pull over a couple of times in the...
Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son (I have no idea what...
[ Tommy typing ]
I started out of Chiang Mai for what would be my most strenuous day of riding in the hot morning. The road to Pai was 140Km with two heinous mountain ranges and a huge valley in between. I knew it would be a hard day so I tried to keep a good pace on the flats outside of the city, while conserving muscle power for the climbs ahead. In the distance I could see the looming...
Days 27-28 Phitsanulok to the ruins of Sukhothai...
[ Tommy typing ]
While I thouroughly enjoyed the hustle of Bangkok, after five days in the chaos I was definitely ready to head North for some fresh mountain air. I set off from my guesthouse in Phitsanulok for the ancient ruins of Sukhothai, the one time-capital of the Siam Kingdom from the mid-1200s until 1438 when the city was consumed by the Ayuttthaya empire, the same force which eventually...
Day 26 ( I think) Train to Phitsanulok
[ Tommy typing ]
I bungeed my bike in the back of a tuk-tuk this morning and we traversed the congested Bangkok streets to Hua Lumphong Train Station, the main train terminal in town. After checking the bike with the cargo office, I could not resist hopping in a taxi for a little bit of last minute sightseening. The first taxi I grabbed quoted me a price of 200 baht (too much). I asked him to...
Bangkok, a part of you is still with me
Wait — I mean, it’s like there’s a little bit of you within me.
Nope, still sounding sentimental. Hmm.
I mean, there’s literally like some tiny Thai microbe inside me, in my intestines, right now at this moment.
There it is!
Days 21-25 (what day is it?) Around Bangkok
[ Tommy typing ]
Dear Friends and Family, Thank you all for your concern about my making it to Bangkok on time. Like Sally posted we made it ok, and despite a little lack of sleep the International Conference was a great success. I met mushroom and fungus nerds from all over the world, a fungal crop pathologist from Iran, a medical mycologist from Guangzhou, Cordyceps experts from Thailand and...
Day 22: Gringo, gaijen, ice mutant...farang...
[ Sally typing ]
I think this trip has caused a bit of an identity crisis in me. I find myself muttering under my breath, “stupid farang so rude!” Oh wait, I’m farang! Dangit! I’ve seen so many westerners being rude, condescending, and presumptious on this trip that I often feel embarrassed and apologetic about my own status as a westerner.
This is strictly an internal...
Day 21: The largest aquarium in South East Asia!
[ Sally typing ]
I had spent the day wandering Siam Square and the surrounding area which is I guess a shopper’s paradise. I hate shopping, but I needed proper clothes to visit the temples here (covered shoulders, closed-toe shoes — and I refuse to wear my cycling gear into the temple) so I set out to find some cheap duds that will suit my needs.
After procuring a temple-appropriate...
Day 21: We're in Bangkok!
[ Sally typing ]
Upon entering our Bangkok hotel room, we throw down our things, look at each other and simultaneously exclaim, “we made it!”
You didn’t think we would, but we did. We made it back to Bangkok. This means that my portion of the bike touring is over. Once Tommy finishes his conference, he’ll resume touring up North in the Chiang Mai area. But for me,...
Do I look like I want gems?
Thai dude: where you from?
Sally: San Francisco
Thai dude: ahh..San Francisco...
Sally: United States
Thai dude: ohh..United States.
Sally: yeah
Thai dude: Michael Jackson. Very sad.
Sally: yeah, very sad.
Thai dude: my cousin have gem store, you want go?
Waiting nervously for a midnight bus to Bangkok...
[Tommy]
We’ve just got done screwed, the night train I was planning on catching to Bangkok to arrive on time for my research conference tomorrow morning has been sold out this being a couple days after Buddhist lent, a major holliday in Thailand with lots of people travelling. Sally and I are currently waiting for a midnight bus to Bangkok as we kill some time blogging and checking email at...
Day 20: Ban Krut aka What Does it Take?
[ Sally typing ]
People often ask me, “Sally, what does it take to do a bike tour like this?” I love this question because it offers me the opportunity to talk about how great I am, and how lame they are.
Actually, no one has ever asked me this question, but if they did, I would probably tell them that flexibility is the most important attribute a touring cyclist can have. Not...
Summary Catch-Up Post
This was originally a private post for Tommy and I to refer to as we did catch-up blog posts, but we decided to just publish it. Some of it is so truncated it might not make sense at all, but hopefully we can do full blown posts about these days later on.
Day 12 - Arrived in Koh Tao by boat, first day of Scuba class, first diving at Japanese Garden. Checked into Save Bungalows during lunch break....
