Cycing in Thailand

Vientiane, Laos to Bangkok, Thailand by bike

Vientiane to Thai border town Nong Khai

We had our Thai visas sorted and were all ready to go. We packed everything up, waved goodbye to Vientiane and pedaled the 12 short miles to the 'Friendship Bridge' Lao-Thai border crossing. We took it in turns to wait in the queue and get our passports stamped. All went smoothly though and soon enough we were on the bikes cycling over the Mekong river which we had followed for so long in Laos. This time we'd remembered to check which side of the road we had to cycle on; we were back on the left.

Post Author Hattie

Nong Khai is a pleasant border town with several guesthouses and restaurants. We found ourselves a friendly guesthouse near the river. We had decided to stay in Nong Khai for two nights to allow ourselves time to 'adjust' to the new country. It was peculiar, we were literally just on the opposite bank of the river and Laos was so close, but the heat in Thailand seemed to be different. It seemed..... HOTTER. 

On our 'rest day' we cycled out to Salakaewkoo, a rather surreal but immensely interesting sculpture park. The park, designed by Luang Poo Boun Leua Sourirat and built by his devotees, contains more than 100 sculptures of mythological Buddhist and Hindu creatures. The rather surreal nature of the whole thing may be explained by the fact that Luang Poo fell down a hole whilst he was a child... and met an acetic who taught him about the underworld, apparently! The sculptures were beautiful and intriguing and I think the searing heat may have added to the surreal nature of it all.  

In the evening we had our first 'real' Thai curry at a floating restaurant on the Mekong. As we ate our delicious curries we watched the sun setting over Laos. How poignant as our Laos adventure was over and our Thai one just about to start.

Udon Thani

We had an early start and set off heading south-west along Route 2 after a heavy thunderstorm that lasted much of the night. Christina wasn't feeling great when we woke up at 5am. I knew this meant I was in for some speedy cycling. I've noticed that she usually over compensates with her cycling when feeling ill. Luckily the roads were flat, smooth and fast, and so I didn't have too much trouble keeping up. As expected the roads were a lot busier than in Laos; water buffalo and carts were replaced by swish looking SUVs, and speedy lorries. The road did however have a wide shoulder which meant we had plenty of room.

The scenery also lacked a little compared to the delights of Laos, however we did come across a giant km marker post on this ride which we both found really rather exciting (this says it all really). The thing was huge, and declared 'The Land of the Smiling' on it. Km marker posts have been an integral part of the navigation on our trip, meaning it was certainly worthy of a photo.

After our speedy cycle we arrived early and in style as Christina took a slow motion tumble off of her bike in the car park whilst still 'clipped in'. The hotel we found was on the 'farang' (Westerner in Thai) strip, surrounded by rather seedy looking bars. The hotel itself however, The Top Mansion, was great value, friendly, modern and clean. Whilst Christina rested in the room with a migraine I went to get supplies for the evening and following day. Despite being surrounded by 'farang' I was still somewhat of a rare breed being female and under 40. 

Khon Kaen

We had a long day ahead so we set off early (again) and had a fast start to the day. However, it wasn't long before the hills starting rolling in. Combined with the intensifying heat and our heavy loads (some heavier than others admittedly) I was beginning to flag.

Our first puncture of the trip was quite a welcome relief to take a break in the shade. Christina repaired the puncture quickly and easily (it was a slow puncture but we were kindly lent a bucket of water from a local builder) and the thick tyres came off effortlessly compared to her road bike. We were waved off by the friendly builders and got back to the grueling hills.    

By 60 miles I was really running out of energy, the sun was high in the sky and the mercury was tipping 40 degrees by this point. We took another break to refuel with cold sugary drinks and some very melted chocolate.

We trundled along the next 10 miles and with less than 5 miles left there was one last climb into the city. At this point, as if in protest my rack and panniers threw themselves to the road, acting as an instant brake. Christina turned back not long after to see me also protesting in a similar fashion. We wheeled the bikes to the side of the road and Christina got to work on repairing the damage. I'd lost two screws (the bike not me) and Christina took great pleasure in reminding me I should regularly check the screws on the rack as no doubt the first screw was lost earlier on the road and the second would have been lost under the strain of my uneven load from the broken pannier.

At this point a guy pulled up on his moped to check we were alright. He was insistent on helping, and before we knew it he was taking screws out of his own moped to help fix the rack. We were very grateful and all set to conquer the last hill into town (which on reflection was a very gentle incline) when the heavens opened. We spent 20 minutes under shelter with the storm bringing rain and flying debris in at us from all angles. Almost as suddenly as it started, it ended and we got back on the road, which dried within about 10 minutes despite the heavy downpour.  

The city was big and soulless, the hotel old and musty. We spent the next night at a much nicer hotel, Pimai Gardens. We treated ourselves to a continental lunch of French bread and Camambert in the beautiful secluded gardens, which no doubt inspired our master plan of flying to Paris rather than England and cycling from there.     

Ban Phai

We had less hills but the scenery was much of the same the following day, and the ride a lot less eventful. We arrived early in Ban Phai, which was a pleasant little town, before the thunderstorms rolled in again. We had all but lost track of the days, but when it came to finding some dinner it became evident that it was Sunday. Everything was closed by 4.30pm. After asking at our hotel and various street vendors, we ended up seeking the only vegetarian option for dinner at KFC of all places! We ordered the only vegetarian options, chips and mashed potatoes. Alas they had no mash so three large portions of fries it was.

Phon

Another short cycle day, with more sweltering heat and busy flat roads. I wasn't feeling great, and Christina knew what that meant - it would be a slow cycle day, but as we didn't have many miles to cover it wasn't too much of a problem. We turned off Route 2 and got directions to the only guesthouse in town.

We arrived to find a lime green dilapidated building. I tentatively viewed one of the more expensive air con rooms, and quickly decided we'd be needing the VIP suite, which was also lacking the credentials to call itself VIP. No windows, thin 'walls', bucket of water to flush the toilet, and dusty uncomfortable beds.  

Pai Mai - 1000mi into our Asia cycling

27 miles into the days ride and we reached 1,000 miles. Of course we stopped to take a photo of the momentous occasion. The photo op didn't go to plan however. The combination of self timer, posing on a slope, bikes falling over and wind blowing our make shift 1000 mile placards meant three rather ridiculous but entertaining photos. Then the camera battery ran out.

Further along the road Christina got her second puncture. Presumably her back wheel's way of complaining about its new extra load. We pulled over at the entrance to some offices that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Soon Christina was half way in to the repair and before we knew it we were surround by eager to help men on their way to work. This time Christina was so quick on the job that the repair was practically complete before they had a chance to chip in. So instead they brought us two very welcome ice cold bottles of coke.  

About 10 miles before arriving in Pai Mai we stopped for breakfast at a roadside cafe. We were greeted by what looked to be a crazy drunk man still up from the night before and an apologetic and friendly owner.

We've met quite a few people along our journey and had various responses to our distance covered by bike. In their relaxed Thai manner, most people are not as impressed as I think they should be! Christina, being a bit more modest and used to impressive distances, indulges me with letting me 'brag' about how far we've come.

After the usual questions about our journey I told the crazy guy how far we've come. He went mad, almost as if he had been set on fire. He exploded with excitement and amazement and had to confirm his ears hadn't betrayed him in asking us several times if we were for real. Now that's the reaction I've been looking for.

We were then bought two delicious servings of rice with fried veg and extra meat. We explained that we are vegetarian and the owner who even knew the English word 'vegetarian' was so apologetic for the mistake, when really it was our Thai that let us down. She hurried back to make us some meals without the meat and didn't charge us for the trouble.

When we settled the bill we had a nice chat. Her English was brilliant despite being in a rather remote area of the country (English is well spoken in the tourist destinations) and she made a point to warn us to be careful as we headed off, and she held the crazy man back who was practically foaming at the mouth by this point.

After a further 10 miles we arrived at Pai Mai, where there are some Angkor style ruins. We rolled the bikes into a nice guesthouse and then spent the afternoon photographing the ruins. Monks roamed the grounds, one of whom approached us with his i-phone asking for a photo. We obliged in exchange for one of him and his friends. A good swap, and maybe some good karma.

Korat

A fast cycle day to Korat (our fastest yet), a big busy city. We soon found ourselves after hotel check-in stumbling across what described itself as 'The ONLY Mexican Restaurant in town'. The word 'only' rather than 'best' should have stood as forewarning enough. However, after three months in Asia surviving on rice, vegetables and egg, the thought of cheese and guacamole had us hooked. How naive of us. Never again.

On our way back from the rather disappointing Mexican we stopped off at an internet cafe to buy our tickets to Paris, for our final leg of the cycling home. We had researched Air India before hand (knowing that there was probably a reason the tickets were £100 cheaper than their competitors) but had found nothing more than a few ticked off flyers complaining on forums of uncomfortable seats and bad food. Sod it we thought. If we can do 3 days on hard seats in China we can certainly cope with Air India if it saves us some money. We were pleased with our purchase, and excited to be heading to France.

Two hours later back at the hotel 'oohhh whats this?... Cancelled flights, pilots on strike, billions of dollars of debt'. Oh, Air India have made the headlines.

Pak Chong

Spurred on by our quick time the previous day, we stormed the first 20 miles of the day, averaging 16 mph. In the heat and with a load it was pretty good going for me. Following any average speed with 'in the heat and with a load' was becoming a common catchphrase of mine.

After the first leg of the days ride we hit the first hills in what seemed like ages. After our first steep incline we were greeted with a sign that read 'Mountain Creek Resort'. This was our first clue that heading towards Kao Yai National Park was going to be fairly hilly.

I must be becoming a 'proper' cycle tourer now as I wasn't dreading the hills ahead, instead appreciating the view out over a lake towards the National Park, with the demon drops and killer climbs further along the road almost phasing into the background.

The following day we took a 'rest day' in Pak Chong in order to visit Kao Yai National Park. Christina woke for an early breakfast whilst I enjoyed the lie-in. We'd planned on spending the whole day at the National Park. However, confusion over the songthaew times, and our leisurely start, meant that once we got there we realised we had just over an hour to explore before we had to start making our way back.

Not the full day we were hoping for but the park was stunning. Hitching a lift through the park to the main information centre, we sat in the back of the pick up truck with the wind blowing in our hair as we effortlessly glided up and down steep mountain roads. This was quite a contrast to the pedal power that we'd become accustomed to. We thoroughly enjoyed the ride but didn't get to spend too much time walking in the pristine forests. A lesson learnt for next time (the last songthaew back is at 3pm, not 6pm as the Lonely Planet Guide suggests). 

Saraburi

Back on the bikes we had another fast day on the road. We could feel ourselves getting closer to the capital and with Bangkok now on the roadsigns we really were getting close. The second half of the ride saw us facing a strong headwind, but we were eager to get to our destination.

We found a decent bike shop in Saraburi where the owner spoke good English. We thought it was worth checking for panniers, which to our surprise they had, but none large enough for long distance touring.   

Despite this being a sizable town we had trouble finding some vegetarian food for dinner again. We settled for some bread and processed cheese from 7 eleven; delicious.

Ayuthaya

We were keen to get to Ayuthatya on our penultimate day of cycling in Asia, where I knew we'd find a good guesthouse and some good food. We were battling against the headwind again today but still arrived by mid-morning. We checked in to PU's guesthouse, got a delicious green curry, and spent the afternoon exploring the ruins at Ayuthaya.

We weren't allowed our bikes in the room at PU's (we've become very attached to them), and were slightly insulted when we were reassured that they'd be fine outside in the garden, as they already had some better and more expensive bikes in there already.

I found it quite funny that she thought she'd know a decent bike when she saw one (she didn't look like the cycling type), but when we conceded and took our bikes through they did in fact look ugly compared to the beautiful tourers already there. We left them outside in the end, safe in the knowledge that any self respecting bike thief would probably ignore (our now very tatty looking) bikes.

Bangkok

Our final day of cycling was something akin to being in a computer game. The roads were congested and we were surrounded by Bangkok's urban sprawl almost as soon as we left Ayuthaya. Cars were thundering along the highways as though they were in a chase scene, everything was in fast forward. It was terrifying.

Roads upon roads would appear and merge onto motorways above, beneath, and by the side of us, leaving us suddenly in the middle of a sea of cars, lorries, buses and motorbikes. 

We finally reached a 'Welcome to Bangkok' sign (queue photo op) and then took the exit soon after to the train station. We had decided to get the train through central Bangkok after reading the many tales of cyclists trying to get through the centre of the city. Seeing as we'd made it to the outskirts (and had a photo to prove it) that was good enough for us.

We jumped on the train at Don Muang (after negotiating the many steps of the bridge that took us across the motorway) and rode the tracks to Hualamphong (Bangkok's central station). Knowing that we had cycled all the way from Hanoi to Bangkok reliant on nothing except our own steam was an amazing feeling. What an incredible journey it had been; 1,225 miles through three countries. 

Our time in Bangkok

Bangkok, or in particular Khao San Road and its infamous backpacker scene, was somewhat of a culture shock. We had become accustomed to the typical Thai towns and few Westerners, and suddenly it felt like we could have been in a city anywhere in the world being surrounded by tourists and backpackers.

We spent the next few days catching up with friends. We caught up with Robbie for his final lunch in Asia before he was heading over to Australia. We also had a great evening out with Nan and Kit, who I'd not seen in eight years. We were treated to some of Nan's delicious Thai food in their new home, followed by some live music back at Khao San Road, with some amazing break dancers who also joined in the performance.

Bangkok Night Bike Tour

With all this time (about 48 hours) away from the bikes we were intrigued to find out about the Bangkok Night Bike Tour we had seen advertised. The tour was great, it was as though we had our own private tour guide being the only two on that evening's tour. We visited two temples (Wat Arun and Wat Pho), which were enchanting at night, and the flower market, which was a throng of colours, sights and smells.

Cycling through the neighbourhood backstreets was a real insight into real Bangkok life, although in hindsight we would have used our own bikes, the ones we were given could have done with a brakes service. Our guide certainly knew his bikes though, and was very attentive and checked that we were OK throughout the ride, whilst filling us in on local history as we cycled through the city.  

Off to the beach - Koh Tao

It was now time for our well deserved 'beach holiday'. We took the overnight train to Chumporn, followed by a songthaew, and finally the boat out to Koh Tao. After all this public transport we missed our bikes already, but cheered up pretty quickly as soon as the beautiful island came into sight on the horizon.

The following ten days were spent getting into a very relaxed daily routine. Christina busied herself with runs along the beach, sand sculptures, painting and reading. Whilst I became engrossed in several books, stared out across the beautiful sea and did lots and lots of nothing. We adjusted pretty well to this lifestyle and the friendly welcome from the locals.

We did of course sample a lot of the island's restaurants, but had our firm favourites which we returned to every lunch time (In touch and Flower Restaurant). Having vowed never to eat Mexican in Thailand again we succumbed to the pull of 'happy hour' enchiladas - which of course were terrible. 

Koh Tao Beaches 

The beach was beautiful and great for paddling or sitting in the shallows with a book, but not so good for swimming, as Christina found out when she emerged from the water with two blue stings in her foot, presumably from one of the many sea urchins that live around the rocks.

There were an array of activities on offer; glass bottom boats, diving, snorkeling and kayaking. Although due to the low tide the glass bottom boat was out of the question as it would damage the coral and diving was a little out of our price range (£200 for an open water course).

The water was crystal clear and the fish were beautiful, you could easily see them swimming around the coral beneath you if you stood still enough, even without snorkeling equipment. Although, it was somewhat sad to see the heartbreaking amount of rubbish that washed in every night with the high tide.

Christina spent many a morning tidying up the secluded bay at our bungalows (I was 'stratagising' this from my sleep of course). The rubbish was anything from beer bottles and carrier bags, to building debris; a sad effect of the un-managed developing tourist trade and a lack of local education and infrastructure. Although there are a number of initiatives to improve things including a weekly beach clean organised by 'Save Koh Tao'.


Our ten days on Koh Tao were extremely relaxing, and yet another incredible insight into Asian living at its most laid back. Unfortunately our trip is fast drawing to a close, but we're getting increasingly excited about seeing family and friends, not to mention our last minute detour to France en route.

Saying goodbye to Bangkok

We are now in Bangkok again and sorting out the final bits and pieces in preparation for our return. It's been great to see Nan and Kit again, as well as Nan's family at the family home in Nonthaburi.


Our flight Monday will be taking us to Deli for what was supposed to be our one hour transfer - but thanks to Air India's rescheduling - is now a grueling thirteen and a half hour layover, before the nine hour flight to Paris... If only we could have cycled all the way back.

Our cycle route in France, where we'll be joined by my parents, will take us through from Paris to Dreux, on to Bernay, and finally Caen. It will be really nice to be on French roads, where cyclists aren't at the bottom of the road users hierarchy, the roads are quieter, and the countryside villages are quaint.

After three beautiful cycling days, we will arrive by boat to our home city of Portsmouth. It will be lovely to be able to cycle right up to the front door of my parents house, and we couldn't think of a better way to get home.