Getting off the boat in Satun, and wondering if wikipedia’s information about the visa-free requirements are correct (they were, but we got a doubt from contradictory websites the day before)
The next day as we set out north, we noticed that the main roads didn’t seem as busy as in Malaysia and had ample shoulders. Road infrastructure just seems to be getting better and better in each country since New-Zealand! The cloud coverage also provided excellent protection from the sun’s rays, so we were no longer desperately seeking shelter whenever we stopped. However, we still needed to be wary of what the clouds were holding, because we had a few small showers during our lunch break in La Ngu. Whoever sits in the front seat of the bike also gets the mission to detect black nasty clouds on the horizon and plan a coffee break whenever the cloud will be over us! And thus, later that afternoon, we reached a small coffee shop in a village just in time to avoid a heavy monsoon downpour. Our evening was spent searching for food in the markets of Thung Wa (it was the last day of the end of Ramadan celebrations) and hiding from scattered showers. Southern Thailand being predominantly Muslim, the food is fairly similar to the Malay cuisine, and we finally managed to get dishes we could not try on the other side of the border due to Ramadan.
Cassie, mastering the art of piloting a 220kg bicycle!
A monitor! We’ve seen these guys squashed and alive on the road
Hiding from a downpour, one more coffee!
Waiting in line to get PadThai (noodles) – some guy had doubt that Cassie would ever be served and made her cut the line.
Breakfast the next morning – tthey put all sorts of dishes on the table, and we were supposed to only take a few. The waiter of the the restaurant got amazed that we had eaten everything they served us 15min later! Food monsters…
The next day, Cédric and I cycled towards Trung. It wasn’t long after we departed Thung Wa that we were caught in a downpour and sought refuge at a police station on the side of the road. As the rain eased, we continued our journey down the provincial roads through palm plantations and stopped for lunch at a small town along the way. We ended our day’s journey in downtown Trung, just as another shower was forming (you might see a theme here in the monsoon season, but the monsoon was not as inconvenient as it may sound – as long as you find a roof to hide half an hour!). Our evening was spent wandering the city in search of some temples and food. In Thailand, evening markets exist in virtually every town and city – and it’s an excellent option to try some of the local fare. The markets sell a variety of things: meat skewers, rice dishes, noodle dishes, sweets, crepe, fruits, drinks… the list goes on. All so cheap that we do not ever try some currency conversions. For 1€/$ you get a full meal, for 2€/$ it’s a feast, for 3€/$ you get drinks included and possibly enough for the next breakfast!
In case of doubt (we often have no idea what we are eating) or little willingness to go crazy with new dishes (some like it hot in Thailand…), there’s always the easy solution of fried rice.
Looooots of Buddhist temples!
A fountain in Trung. Apparently dugongs exist in Thailand too- at least in concrete.
After a night of rain showers, our morning departure was sunny and warm. We continued cycling near the coast and saw the unique karst landscapes of Thailand starting to emerge. We stopped for lunch at a roadside stall just in time to avoid another short downpour. Continuing north, we left our quiet roads and joined the Highway 4 for the last stretch up to Khlong Thom for the evening.
The Buddhist architecture here is different from Malaysia (still Buddhist, but more like Cambodia or Myanmar type of Buddhism – vs. Chinese Buddism in Malaysia). Note that we have no idea of whatever philosophical meaning is behind!
Karst mountains
Amazing road quality, little traffic and almost flat – Thailand is almost too easy for cycling!
Soup and a beer for dinner in Khlong Thom
The next morning, the weather looked spectacularly good for the first hour of cycling, but heavy clouds quickly came in from the west coast. Unlike other days, where Cédric and I were able to find a small stand on the side of the road, we didn’t find shelter for the heaviest part of the rain, and because the day was short and we would spend a few days off of the bike, we just pushed through. We continued cycling into Krabi as the rain lightened and were nearly dry when we reached the hotel. In the afternoon, Cédric and I rented a scooter to see some highlights around Krabi, like the Tiger Temple. There, the weather caught up with us again on top of the mountain and we only had a few short minutes to admire the interior landscapes before the next shower rolled in and blocked our view. When we reached the bottom of the temple, the weather cleared and we explored the “Wonderland” where monks reside in small houses underneath the cliffs. Our evening in Krabi ended with us exploring the night market with yet under another heavy downpour and Cédric walking calf deep in the cities puddles.
Climbing the 1237 steps to the top of the Tiger Temple, and comparing with other people it looks like the last six months of cycling as made us super-fit.
Panoramic picture
We got ”just a little bit” of rain on the way up
Making our way down
The hermit in the jungle… able to stay months with the exact same outfit.
Cassie’s “I think monkeys are vectors of disease” face
When water reaches your ankle in the street, not sure the umbrella is of any use anymore.
Despite rain, the market goes on!
The monsoon weather had finally cleared for the time being, so Cédric and I decided to spend the next two days enjoying the dry weather. We spend the first day scootering around and exploring the beaches near Ao Nang.
Views from the riverfront in Krabi
Ao Nong beach
Ao Nang beach just for ourself! Slightly different from the ”high-season” (winter in the northern hemisphere) when it’s packed
The white temple in Krabi
Goodies from a different night market
The second day, we took a snorkeling tour to the Koh Hong islands off the shores of Ao Nang. Because it was the low season, our group had a few beaches to itself and enjoy the scenery and warm waters.
Excited to snorkel! (no worries, it’s not rabies from the monkeys…)
A small step for man a giant leap for mankind.
Everyone waiting for their boat trip – and this is the low season. We cannot imagine how Krabi must be when all the hotels are full… One room per hotel booked, one couple per room – it’s a bit exagerated but now multiply by 50 rooms per hotel sold out during the high-season (the winter in the northern hemisphere).
Life-jackets are mandatory even for snorkeling… apnea is called dip your nose in the water! There’s a certain recurrence of capsizing tourist boats in Thailand. Plus the fact that lots of Asian tourists do not know how to swim, there are lots of accidents every year (although the shore is often only a few hundred meters away and the water like a bathtub).
Views from Koh Hong
Two beaches to choose from
Cassie got stung by a little snot-like jellyfish while snorkeling. She was trying to remain 10m away from them while Cedric was playing 50cm away with the GoPro – guess who got stung? (no worries, those are not too venimous!)
A third and different night market in Krabi – the weekend market
Thailand feels for sure like a much more touristy destination with better hotels and infrastructure, however it feels like a lot of people avoid the months of June and July. The monsoon rains are strong and it is better to hide from them, but the rain is almost like the temperature of a shower, and it rarely lasts more than 30min every few hours (at worst). Given that there is on average a shop/cafe/restaurant every 500m, the showers just trigger our next stop location. On the other hand, we get to enjoy beaches and other sites just for ourselves, and compared with the high season, hotel prices are often discounted up to 80% (particularly in usually very touristy destinations – it felt like there were more hotels than guests in Krabi!). Needless to say, at maximum 10/15€ for a spotless 3* hotel for two people with sometimes even swimming pool and breakfast, we haven’t (and probably won’t) use the tent around here!
]]>A short post, “only” 2 months after our last trip but here are the pictures of our summer bike tour around Slovenia. 6 days cycling with 400km and 6200mD+, 2 days hiking the Triglav and a day of sightseeing in Ljubljana:
1/ Cycling : Villach to Bovec
2/ Cycling : Bovec to Idrija
3/ Cycling : Idrija to Ljubljana
4/ Rest day : Ljubljana
5/ Cycling : Ljubljana to Bohinjske jezero (Bohinj lake)
6/ Hiking : Triglav
7/ Hiking : Triglav
8/ Cycling : Bohinjske jezero to Kranjska Gora
9/ Cycling : Kranjska Gora to Villach
This time around, things are a bit different: our group increased to 7 people, Cédric and I have our maiden voyage with the tandem and bike trailer (a lenth now of 3.5 meters /11 ft – longer than Cédric’s smart car), and we’re starting out with rainy, cold weather and a train to our starting destination.
The plan is to train to Villach, Austria (although the train made it 2km outside of Augsburg so far due to technical problems) and bike around the Triglav mountain in Slovenia. Tomorrow, we will see how fit our group is by biking up to a mountain pass, fully loaded, at 1700m before biking down the Soca valley. We’ll bike to Ljubljana and then round out the trip by summiting the Triglav (on foot) at the end of our trip.
With no more data roaming fees in Europe, I should be able to write an update or two to during the trip.
Cheers!
Cassie and Cédric
A good few days have past since our bike tour came to an end, and it’s hard to believe that we covered so much distance in so little time. In total, we biked over 1120 km (almost 700 miles) in 10 days.
After we spent a night in Gallician, Cédric and I got back on the Rhône bike trail and headed towards the Mediterranean coast. We spent our morning biking down a picturesque trail, where we felt the cool sea breeze push us along the way. Once we got to Aigues-Mortes, the salty sea water was in sight. Like many other villages in France, Aigues-Mortes is a wonderfully preserved citadel with high towers and walls… It lets one easily image what France was like 200 years ago. As we neared the coast, the villages became more touristic and many other bikers accompanied us between the cities. The city La Grande-Motte was a tribute to mid-century architecture and tourism, with many Jetsons-like buildings. After lunch, Cédric and I followed the coast between Sete and Agde, enjoying looking out onto the beach and Mediterranean. Our day ended near Béziers, where we managed to find a nice Spanish dinner before a huge thunderstorm rolled in.
The next day, easily one of our hardest days, Cédric and I spent the day without a bike path and in the rain. After the thunderstorm passed, we had hopes that the weather would turn for the better… But it didn’t. In total, Cédric and I spent a good 4 hours biking in the rain and drizzle this day, only stopping for a warm lunch in Homps. Just as the weather started to clear and clothes began to dry, we reached our hotel in Carcassonne. Our night was spent warming up with Cassoulet (a French bean and sausage stew) and hot showers.
After Carcassonne, only one more day stood before us. The morning was sunny, but significantly cooler than before – it was as if summer was rushed out with the storms. The morning was spent biking on small country roads adjacent to both the highway and Canal-du-Midi, both headed towards Toulouse. Once we reached our halfway point, the beginning of the bike path on the Canal-du-Midi, we knew the end was near. After lunch, we followed the Sycamore-lined canal into the outer parts of Toulouse, where houseboats lined the banks. Upon approaching the downtown area, the bike path became a running, rollerblading, and strolling path too- now our biggest challenge was not running into anyone. Once we arrived at Cédric’s grandparents’ house, we were greeted with cake and juice, a perfect treat for completing our trip.
Cheers,
Cassie and Cédric
The bike tour to Venice went by extraordinary quicky… as Cédric and I were looking over videos and pictures from our trip today, I found hard to believe that the 670 km (415 miles) and crossing the Alps was finished within 7 days.
The first day from Augsburg to Füssen was a ride where everyone realized that this trip is actually taking place. After we finished the first 50km (30mi), the mountains of the Alps appeared and continuously got closer throughout the rest of the day. At this point, the route also became more hilly and challenging.
Day two, from Füssen to Imst, will probably be remembered as our most difficult day. This was the day where we had to climb several hundred kilometers/miles with our bikes on poorly marked routes. As we got closer to the Fernpass, the highest point of the day, the bike route gave way to a steep mountain biking trail, so we had to finish riding on the road with cars.
The third day ended in another mountain pass, the Reschenpass. where we crossed the borders from Austria to Switzerland to Austria to Italy. This day was the beginning of some really enjoyable paved bike paths that took us through small towns and remained mostly in the Inn valley. Only towards the end did we need to take a winding, steep road up to the Italian border.
The next two days were spent riding from Reschen to Levico in the Adige valley. From this day on, we were rewarded for the tough start by an ever-so-slight decent. When the bike paths were straight and unobstructed, we could get our heavy bikes to reach over 30kmh (20 mph). Once we passed the city of Bozen, the villages also became more Italian-looking, with old stuccoed buildings.
The day from Levico to Montebelluna was our last day in the Alps. This was another day of paved bike paths, but this time down the Brenta valley. Once we reached Bassano at the foot of the Italian Alps, we had the feeling that the trip was soon coming to an end- less than 100 km /mi separated us from Venice.
Venice itself was a lovely city, full of tourists, but if you turned down a few side alleys, you could still find yourself alone in a small square. Cédric and I spent two days in Venice after the bike trip to see some of the historic land marks and check our the island of Murano, where the famous Murano glass is produced.
We both had a wonderful trip and are looking forward to hitting the road again next week. but this time from Basel to Toulouse.
