Thailand

Slow and steady.  The easy way uphill

Immigration let me in even with me not knowing where I am staying.  I should have booked a room but now it is too late.  I see my garbage bag on the baggage carousel (three bags into one and I spare no expence).  Then I head to the find the large bag area.  I spot the large baggage area in the opposite direction I was sent to.  My box was being loaded on a cart to move to another place for me to find.  I grab my bike box before they locate it elsewhere. 

Customs does not bother me as I haul 130 pounds of gear out to entry lobby.  Spotting an empty section I start to put the bike together.  I get a couple of people looking over me and my bike as I put the bit back together.  I was surprise one was a lady.  Not use to woman being very interested in my bike as men.  She turned out to want my help putting her bike together.  Her bike was a Chinese version Bike Friday with lots of rust.  So after assembling two bikes I was ready to go. 

With no place to stay I decided to head out as it was 3 AM.  I wish I had slept more on 25 hours of travel to Thailand.  But the 2 year old liked to scream regularly only a few seats away on my last flight.  I assume that the screaming made the parents happy as it was done continually for the seven hour flight.  Quickly as I got on the road I determined that most Thais like to drive on the left.  There was another thing I did not check.  My first attempt to leave the airport was stop by a sign.  Next I spotted a moped and decided that they might know a way out airport that allowed bikes.

Taking a one way road the wrong way lead me to a road that allows bikes.  Realizing I should have loaded the southeast Asia map set on my GPS I just had to guess which road to take.  GPS kept me heading north.  Roads were lighted making it easy to see the road.  The highway I ended up on seems to be popular with the trucks.   The road then just came to a tee. With a little searching and back tracking I found another road north.  There were frequent dogs along the road and a good number came charging and barking at me.  I manage to bluff the dogs even in packs to back off.  Many times, I had speed up, that left them behind quickly.

The road tee again and I spent a good while finding a road north again.  I was now on highway 9 the ring road to Bangkok.  Taking the next exit trying to get over to frontage road I was seeing.  I finally broke down and pain a high fee to use a ATM to get some local currency.  I needed a little food as I had been riding for four hours.  All I found was banana bread and a pineapple tart.  It was enough to keep my stomach from grumbling.  I found the frontage road but it was dirt or very pot hold pavement.  Every now and again the highway would cross a canal with a nice bridge.

I being below would find some rough wood bridge that care was need or my tire would go through the broke or missing boards.  Then there was no available bridge.  Heading along the canal a ways, I come to a bridge.  Taking the bridge I see a road north.  After a mile of homes it dead ends.  The next road I find from the canal ends again after a mile through a village.  This time the road ends with a wall with a ladder on it.  A quick look up on the ladder lets me see that I should not be heading north for a while as I look across rice paddies.

So now I get to ride on highway one which I was trying to avoid but it is my only option north for a while.  You can only enter the highway going one direction.  To go the other way on the highway one must go to a u-turn area which is either over or under the highway.  A bus cranked his external speaker to help me cycle over the highway giving me tunes to ride to.  Also everybody rides on the left side except slow mopeds and bike which ride on the far right against traffic to avoid going around and making U-turns.

 A bit further I take to the next off ramp.  I find another main road going north with less traffic.  While I am photo graphing a interesting building two bicycles past me.  I overtake them and we chat.  One of Thais wants a photo with so he pulls out a his slim camera a iPad with a American flag wrapper on it. Over time the road goes down to two lanes and then starts to wander about.  Then I am in Ayutthaya and just need to find a room.  Using the guide book map I find a place quickly and it is just before noon.  Before going to bed I start to download Southeast Asia maps into the GPS.

I see places advertising hygienic pork, this girl does not want her parts to be part of that

        I wake at 8 and think of dinner, but find it easier to rollover and sleep some more.  The two pieces of banana bread I had during the ride will hold me until morning.  I wake in the morning feeling better after 17 hours of sleep and a bit hungry.

Ayathaya

1/25/2013

78.9 Miles, 6.54 Moving Time, Max Speed 29.4 Miles, Moving Average 11.4 Miles, 

 Stop Time 2:45 Overall Average Speed 8.2 Miles,  (ALL NEW I added temperature gauge) Temp Min 69 F – 90 F Start 3:00 end 11:30, (Accent 2938 feet not correct), Max Altitude 217 feet.

Light clouds then Sunny.

Love & Kisses

Steve