|
The story of how I saved money, quit my job, sold my possessions,
and set off to endlessly travel by bike around the world.
My Plan
My 3 Books
I write, self publish and sell
books about bicycle touring
(see
all 3 book)
HOME
Where am I?
Videos
Picture
Gallery
Journals
Travel Plan
Finances
Shopping
Equipment
My
Books
About
Me
Media/Press Room
Contact
Photo Use Info
Subscribe to Newsletter
Read Sample
Continue My Travels
Places I have been
(How can I
afford this?)
India and Neighbors
May 2010 to present
Alaska
/ Canada / USA
May 2008 to April 2010
New Zealand
Sept 2007 to May 2008
Australia
Sept 2006 to Sept 2007
SE Asia / China
Nov 2004 to Sept 2006
South
America
June 2003 to June 2004
AZ, Mexico, and
Central America
March 2002 to April 2003
How I started
The 5 years before I left
Sign up for my RoadNews Newsletter
Written on the road as I travel around the world on my bicycle
*Help
Support this Web Site and Continue My Travels.
Equipment Pages Index
Introduction
How Much to Bring and Weight
Some
Advice About Advice
A Note to Perspective Sponsors and Gear Suppliers
(See
more about Sponsorship)
START
HERE for Touring Bikes and Commuting Bicycles
Custom Touring Bicycles and Bike Upgrade Buyers Guide
Bicycle Touring Frames
The
Steel Repair Myth.
Steel
and Aluminum Derailleur Hanger Repair.
Bicycle Touring Wheels
Phil Wood: The Best Bicycle Hubs
Panniers / Bike Bags
Cargo Trailers Vs Panniers
Tires for Bike Tours..
Bicycle Touring Saddles.
Women's Specific Bike Touring Saddles
Brooks Leather Touring Bicycle Saddle Care and Conditioning
Bike Computer
Touring Handlebars, Bar Ends, Adjustable Stems, and Padded Grips.
Kickstands
Sealed Cartridge Headsets
How to prevent flat tires
Bike Route Trails and Maps
Camping
Buying Camping Equipment
Tent and Ground
Cloth
Sleeping
Bag
Sleeping
Pad
Camp Stove
Pots and Pans
Water
Filter
First
Aide Kits
Solar Power for Camp
Clothing
Bike Touring Shorts
Electrical
Short-wave
Radio
Computer
Internet
mp3
Bicycle touring lights
Books
Packing list
Pictures of Equipment Failures
Shopping
| |
 Cindie's
Northeast Thailand Blog and Daily Journal.
Travel Writing, Travelogue
Nong Khai, Thailand to
Bangkok,
Thailand
(January 23 - March 12, 2006)
|
|
|
| Jan 23 - 26 |
Nong Khai, Thailand. We had a nice room in Nong
Khai and stayed a couple of days to acclimate to Thailand. Thailand is
easy to get use to, the food is excellent, the people are friendly and
the streets are clean. The only thing I had to keep telling myself
was to look left or is that right? before I crossed the street. I did some shopping
at a British supermarket. I was dazzled by all the things I
could buy and stocked up on a few things like sunscreen. Real
sunscreen. The sunscreen we bought in China was fake and did not
do the job so I had to threw it out. We also met up with Roger a
British man we met in Dali. He was taking an intensive 2 week Yoga
course in town. I think that would be a nice class to take. We
also met up with the Australian women we met in Laos and Andy as well.
Nong Khai is the nicest border town I have ever been through. |
|
| 27 |
Nong Khai - Sang Khom. We are riding with Andy
again. We have been playing leap frog since Vang Vieng. We
saw elephants today! They were working elephants, two were grown
and one had a baby with her. Eagle Eye Andy saw them on the side of the
road. We had to pull over and watch them for a while. Since the road
was flat and recently paved in places it was good riding. Tim took the
front and pulled us along at a quick pace. We rotated through and
each pulled some, I pulled the least, I could not keep the pace that
Andy and Tim could. We arrived in Sang Khom a bit before dark and
went to the Bouy Guesthouse on the west side of town. We had a
bungalow for 160 B ($4) and shared toilet and shower. The bungalow
was right on the river with a nice view. We met a Dutch family
traveling by bicycle, the entire family. Mom (Trace) was fully
loaded with four panniers, Dad (Rob) had two pannier and Sam who is 4
years old. Sam rode his own bike that is connected to Dad's bike.
Jeanne is 10 and has her own bike and Mara is 7 and has her own bike.
Truly an amazing family. The guesthouse is comfortable and the
food they serve is fantastic. The price of an entree ranged from
30 - 60 B (0.75 - 1.50)
The ride - we followed the road along the river out of town. It
was a bit tricky to find, we rode back to the border crossing and
instead of going right to the border check we went straight and took a
quick right. We followed this road about 1/2 of a kilometer and
then took a left onto the road that followed the river. We
connected with Hwy 211 at Ban Phon Sa. This road cut out about 20
km on the day. It was also a pleasant ride. The road was
flat for about the first 70 km and then hilly until Sang Khom. |
87 km |
| 28 |
Sang Khom - Ban Pac Chom. I started having
sneezing fits first thing in the morning. The Dutch family started out
before us, we had a nice leisurely morning. We caught up to the
Dutch family chatted for a while and rode on to a small village and had
lunch. They rode by while we were eating. The whole town
stopped what they were doing and watched the family pedal past their
front door. They were greeted with enthusiastic hellos.
Later on we caught up with them again and rode into Ban Pac Chom
together. We had our own pack of 8 cyclists. We arrived at
Pac Chom Guesthouse on the west side of town and filled the place up.
We had a bungalow with our own bathroom and cold shower for 200 B ($5).
We were right on the river again and had fantastic views. Dinner
was again reasonably priced with entrees between 20 - 50 B ($0.50 -
1.25). By dinner time I had developed a soar throat and felt run
down. I went to bed early. The ride - along the Mekong, nice
scenery all the way. Relatively flat, small short hills. We could
have ridden farther but if you have the time it is a nice place to take
it slow. |
45 km |
| 29 |
Pac Chom - Chiang Khan. I could have stayed in bed
today but I wanted to get to a bigger city. I had developed a cold
overnight and was feeling miserable. Lucky for me the ride was
flat and scenic. The least bit of a hill taxed me more than it
should have so we rode to town without stopping for lunch. The
Chiang Khan guesthouse was booked so the owner asked us to come back and
she would know if she had any rooms. We had lunch down the street
but it was overpriced and bland. We found a good restaurant at the
corner of Soi 6 and highway 201. The prices were half the other
restaurant and the food tastier. Today happens to be the start of
Chinese New Year and everything is closed. I am very glad I am not
in China or Vietnam where everything comes to a stand still for a week.
We looked at a room in most of the guesthouses in town. We came
back to Chiang Khan Guesthouse and she was indeed full. The Dutch
family had come in while were were gone. We then went to Sam's
Guesthouse next door and got a nice clean room with a balcony
overlooking the Mekong for 300 B ($7.50) I now have a full blown cold. No riding for me for a couple of days.
The ride - mostly flat with a few minor hills. |
42 km |
| Jan 30 - Feb 1 |
Chiang Khan. In the morning the Dutch family came
over with a pitcher of fresh squeezed orange juice and cut fruit.
Mmmh that hit the spot. Andy and the Dutch family took the day off
and all planned to leave tomorrow. We would be staying, I am too
sick to ride at the moment. An older Dutch couple on a bike Friday
tandem showed up today and we all went out to eat together. I wish
we were leaving with them. The next day everyone left. We
will miss riding with Andy but we plan to meet up with him in Bangkok.
One more day of rest and it became apparent I would need more time to
recover. The local women were very comforting and invited me for
tea. Our room overlooked the Mekong and it was very pleasant and
cool. We are located next to a Wat and every morning we are woke
to the gong of sunrise. On this particular night we were woken by
Monks chanting, it was so rhythmic I quickly went back to sleep. |
|
| Feb 2 |
Chiang Khan - Ban Pac Huay. The landscape is dry
tropical forest, a lot of the trees are loosing there large leaves and
cactus plants are common. The locals are very friendly. We
stopped for lunch in Ban Pac Huay for a noodle soup, the locals are
always amazed that Tim will eat two of them. The ride - we took Hwy
2195 west along the Mekong. The ride was rolling and the scenery
pleasant. We road 50 km and came to a Police box, at the Police box we
turned left towards Ban Pack Huay, it was a bit confusing because I
thought that we would turn right, but there are more roads the what are
on our map. It is 2 km to town and an additional 3 km to Sighad.
We stayed at Sighad Guesthouse, the cost was 300 B ($7.69), I think they
have cheaper bungalows for 250 B ($6.40) We had dinner and
breakfast there as well. To be honest, if you are a big eater, you
may consider bringing more food. |
55 km |
| Feb 3 |
Ban Pac Huay - Dan Si. As we were riding along
the national park we met a huge troop of Scouts, both boys and girls.
They were doing a trek through the area. We arrived in Dan Si in
early afternoon, I was starving and we found a restaurant with an
English menu. While eating we saw a foreign couple walk past.
We were surprised to see any foreigners. Later in the evening we met
them for dinner, they were from Washington state. We had a great
dinner together. The ride - we continued on Hwy 2195 to Pac Man.
At Pac Man we turned south onto Hwy. 2114 to Dan Si. Once we left
the border the terrain flatten out. The road goes along a National
Park, therefore there are not to many towns for lunch. To get to
the guesthouse go to the main intersection in town and turn left, the
first alley on the left leads to the guesthouse. The expensive
room with air con is 500 B ($12.80), the cheaper room with fan is 250 B
($6.40) |
71 km |
| Feb 4 |
Dan Si - Lom Sac. We met Andoni and Alice,
cyclists from Basco and Belgium in Lom Sac. They have been bicycle
touring for 20 months and are heading for China. They plan to tour
western Sichuan, I hope they enjoy the area as much as we did. We
ate at an outdoor restaurant which is very common in Thailand. The
ride - we decided to head south rather than east today. The next
town is Loc Sac. We went south on Hwy 2014. We immediately began
to climb and climbed for 8.8 km, at times the road was very steep, the
top is at 690 m (2260 feet). It was 12 km to hwy 230 where we
turned right and had a nice 20 km or so downhill. We had a head
wind most of the way down. When we arrived on the flats the wind
swirled and eventually we had a tailwind to Lom Sac. We had a room
at Sawang Hotel, at the intersection of Hwy 230 and 21. The room
was overpriced at 450 B ($11.50) for a room with air con and 350 B
($8.97) for a room with a fan. Alice and Andoni found a cheaper
hotel in town. |
68 km |
| Feb 5 |
Lom Sac - Petchabun. Happy Birthday to my brother
Ed and my friend Patty. We saw a couple of elephants
in town today. We stepped out for dinner and as we crossed the
street we saw an elephant parked in front of a 7-11 store. When the
owner came out of the store the elephant knelt down so the rider could climb aboard.
He then rode away, albeit slowly. I can imagine
that this town was full of elephant riders in days gone by. We saw
another elephant a few streets later. The elephant and rider
seemed to be quite comfortable in the city. The ride - we tried to
find a small road 2347 but were continually pointed to hwy 21. So
we rode to Petchabun on hwy 21. Traffic was light because it was
Sunday. We had a nice tailwind and arrived in Petchabun in less
than 2 hours. |
44 km |
| Feb 6 |
Rest day in Petchabun. We had an email from the
Australian Visa office saying that they did not get our financial
documents we sent through the internet. So I went to the internet
cafe and printed the documents and then to the telecom office and faxed
them to Australian, it took less than an hour. Sounds easy but a
task like this could have taken weeks in China. We will know in
two weeks if they have approved our 12 month tourist Visa. |
|
| Feb 7 |
Petchabun - Si Thep. We decided we would do a
long day today so we chose to ride down Hwy 21. There are other
roads leading south that are more scenic. The ride - Hwy 21 for 125 km
then west on 2219 for one kilometer. The ride was flat and the
road a divided highway (dual carriageway). The surface is smooth,
the wind is from the north - northeast. So we had a tailwind for most of
the day. Traffic was light. |
126 km |
| Feb 8 |
Si Thep - Lop Buri. We met a couple of Dutch
cyclist when we arrived in town. It was 4 in the afternoon, it was
hot, and I was confused as to where we were. I saw a foreign
couple walking down the street and asked them where we were. The
showed me and then showed us a hotel down the street. That is how
we found the Taipei Hotel in Lop Buri. The hotel was ok, it was
nice to meet Leon and Els who are on an extended bike touring trip.
They are waiting on new handle bars from Holland to arrive in Bangkok.
In the mean time they are site seeing. We met them for breakfast
and discussed traveling routes, they are heading north and we are
heading south so we exchanged information. We have been riding in Asia
for 14 months and in the beginning we did not meet any other cyclists.
Since we entered Laos a month and a half ago we have met many many
bicycle tourists and the majority of them are on long term trips. So
either bicycle touring is picking up or we are biking in popular areas.
I think it is a combination of both. The ride - West on 2219 about 50
km, then to 3326 to Ban Mi then 3196 to Lop Buri. |
113 km |
| Feb 9 - 11 |
Lop Buri. |
|
| Feb 12 |
Lop Buri - Ayuthaya. The ride - We asked a women at
the restaurant how to get to Ayuthaya the back way. She started to
draw us a map and then decided to show us the way out of town. We
went so fast that it was hard to remember the directions. She took
us to Hwy 3196. The best way to find it is to follow the road with
the railroad tracks heading south, follow the tracks until the road Ts
into 3196. We followed 3196 and it turned into 346. At Ban
Pang we did not follow 346 to 309 but went straight at the second light.
This took us into farm country. At the first major right we
turned. There is a great little restaurant at the corner.
The the road crossed the major highway A-1 we crossed the highway and
continued south. This is where the road got tricky. We
should have taken the right over the bridge about 3 km south of the
turn. Instead we went straight and rode a couple extra kilometers
back and forth. We back tracked to the bridge, once over the bridge we
took a left and it lead past the elephant karral. You are now on the
Lonely Planet map. The best bet is to keep asking people and follow your
map. Our map is made in Thailand. |
80 km |
| Feb 13 - 15 |
Ayuthaya. We have taken some time off here to
tour the ruins and get started on the many tasks we plan to do in
Bangkok. |
|
| Feb 16 - March 11 |
Ayuthaya - Bangkok. The ride into Bangkok was
busy and hot. The difficult part was navigating through the city.
Riding in the city is not as bad as I remembered. I guess I have
gotten use to traffic. We will be taking some time off the bike to
get Chest X-rays for our Australian Visa. They consider some of
the countries we have been in such as Mexico, Argentina, and China to be
high risk areas for tuberculosis. So we need to get a chest x-ray before
we get our Visa. They have a slick on line system for finding an
approved doctor and we download our form with our information filled
out. The radiologist sends it into Australian immigration.
We should hear from them a couple of weeks after they get our chest
x-rays. We are also getting our teeth cleaned for 1/4 the price of
the US and a full physical. More about that later. We went to
BNH Hospital to get our chest x-ray for the Australian Visa. They
do this procedure often and were set up to move us through quickly.
The cost of the chest x-ray for the Australian Visa was 1250 B ($32).
While we were there we decided to get a general physical. That included
lab work, EKG, chest x-ray, hearing, eye, and dental check up. All
for about $150. I added a mammogram, ultrasound, bone density
test, pap smear and HPV test for an additional $150. The hospital
was extremely modern and clean. All tests were performed in about
4 hours. It would have taken longer and cost more to do in the
USA. I put this information here for those who might consider having a
check up while on holiday in Thailand.
While in Bangkok we socialized more than we usually do. We met
Marc and Karen from Florida. They are on a multi-year around the
world trip. They also quit their jobs, as computer scientists, to
travel abroad. Their web page is
www.perpetualtravel.com, it
includes everything you want to know about traveling backed up by lots
of research and is well organized. We also met up with Alex a Swiss
guy we first met in Luang Phrabang, Laos. He has a very good website as
well, www.easteatswest.com it
is more of a current events and a daily blog. We also had the
pleasure of meeting our friend Rob, who we rode with in Cambodia over a
year ago. He was in Bangkok with his girlfriend for a short time.
Then we met Cosmo, an American cyclist who just arrived from India.
We also had a brief visit with our friends Jenny and Dauwa, a Dutch
couple who are traveling around the world as well. We hope to meet
up with them again, in Malaysia or Indonesia. So Bangkok really is a
cross roads for international travelers.
It is tax season and I have been toiling away. The wireless
internet in the room has helped immensely with getting the job done. Due
to extra time taken to do this we have decided to take a bus a short
distance down the road towards Ranong, the border crossing between
Thailand and Burma (Myanmar). Our Visa runs out soon so we need to
hit the road. |
|
| March 12 |
Bangkok - Hua Hin. A short bus ride to get us
down the road quicker. We need to extend our tourist visa, it is
either $50 US each to extend in Bangkok or $5 US to cross the border and
get a new 30 day Visa. We chose the cheaper route. It has been a
bit of an off season for us these past three weeks so I am ready to
ride. In the mean time we have completely overhauled our bikes at
Probike, they did a professional job on our bikes and they speak fluent English. Probike
237/2 Rajdumri Rd. Lumpini
Patumwan Bangkok
02 2533384
www.probike.co.th
Eric with Commuter Bikes, Santa Barbara, Ca. sent us replacement
parts such as new drive chains, tires, and tubes. Thanks Eric our
bikes look and feel new again. |
|
|
|
|
===== |
|
|
INDEX #3:
SE Asia / China
11-22-04 to 9-15-06
December 16- January 16, 2005
Cambodia and Angkor Wat
Poipet to Tien Bien, Cambodia |
|
Best Place to see Pictures
Cambodia Thumbnail Pictures
|
(January 16 - February 17 , 2005)
Vietnam #1.
Tinh Bien to Cau Ganh, Vietnam |
Tim's Emailed Newsletters
(Join List)
Best Place to see Pictures
South Vietnam Thumbnails
|
|
May 22 - June 27, 2005
Guizhou and Hunan,
China
Congjiang to
Zhangjiajie National Park China |
|
Best Place to see Pictures
Pictures of Guizhou, China.
|
(July 16 - Sept. 3, 2005)
Inner Mongolia and Shanxi, China.
Beijing to Xian, Shaanxi, China |
|
Best Place to see Pictures
Thumbnail pictures from Inner
Mongolia, China.
|
Full size Picture
Pages
-
Beijing to Jining, Inner Mongolia.
-
Grasslands of Jining, to Wuchuan (near) Hohhot
- Hohhot
to Bautou, Inner Mongolia, China
- Wudang
Lamasary
-
Bautou to Yulin, Shanxi, China with Photos from Genghis Khan's Mausoleum.
- Yulin to
Yanan, Shaanxi, China
-
Chairman Mao's Headquarters and Residence in Yanan, China.
- Yanan to
Xian, Shaanxi, China.
-
Terracotta Warriors #1
-
Terracotta Warriors #2. |
|
|
(Sept. 4 - Oct. 29, 2005)
Sichuan, China
Chengdu, to Zongdian, China
|
|
Best Place to see Pictures
Sichuan Thumbnail Photos
|
Full size Picture
Pages
- Giant Panda
Breeding Center #1
- Red Panda
in Chengdu, Sichuan, China #2
-
Chengdu to Kangding.
- Kangding,
Sichuan, located in Southwestern China.
-
Mugecuo Lake near Kangding, Sichuan, China.
- Kangding
to Xinduqiao
-
Xinduqiao to Tibetan Home Stay.
- Tibetan
Home Stay to 4718 meter (15,475 feet)
- to
Litang, Sichuan, China.
-
Litang Lamasary Tibetan Buddhist Monk Monastery
- Litang
to Sumdo, Tibet
- Sumdo to
Xiangcheng
-
Xiangcheng to Derong, Tibet.
- Derong,
Sichuan Province to Tibetan Shangri-La, (Zongdian) |
|
(Oct. 30 - Dec. 24, 2005)
Yunnan, China
Zongdian to Mohan, China
|
|
Best Place to see Pictures
Yunnan thumbnail photos
|
|
(July - Sept. 15, 2006)
Malaysia #3 and Singapore.
Taiping, Malaysia to
Singapore |
|
Best Place to see Pictures
Malaysia #3 and Singapore
|
|
| |
Bicycle Touring
Tips & Advice
(see all Equipment
Pages)
Touring Bicycles
Panniers
Racks
Saddles
Tires
Lights
Tents
Sleeping
Bags
Camping
Mattress
Camp Stove
Water
Filter
Pots and Pans
First
Aide Kits
Solar Power for Camp
Much MORE
Gear Here!
Sponsors (how?)
Cycle Touring Racks: Why chromoly steel is best.
Heavy Duty Travel Tested
Sealed Cartridge Hubs.
Take a look at the strongest hubs built specifically for touring
Blog RSS
Video PodCast
Email Newsletter
|
Laos
