Thailand, our 15th country since we left Germany!
In my first post on this trip I wrote about “Frustration on the way“, I felt too old for this shit. Later I reckoned with Romania, with the aggressive drivers and the crazy dogs.
Then came Pothole Iran and at some point I was finally definitely fed up with religion. Then came the Emirates and Oman. Not really bicycle friendly countries. In the latter we were also hit by a car, some bicycle parts damaged, my helmet broken and I was left with a concussion. Then came India and everything finally became colorful again. But, it was unspeakably exhausting. It was all so much stranger than what we had experienced before.
And then we came to South East Asia. Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia. And especially Cambodia had me in its grip again with all its sadness.
And now we are in Thailand, currently in Bangkok and everything feels so easy.
Crossing the border to Thailand
Crossing the border from Cambodia to Thailand was unspeakably easy. The border officials helped us with everything. Then, right after the border a 7-Eleven.
The 7-Eleven is a convenience store in Thailand which we translate as general store. Convenience store would be the more accurate translation. This sounds negative to our ears because we often associate convenience with laziness and simplicity.
For us, maybe that’s what it is. We also use it to cool ourselves down. It feels like you almost need a jacket when entering the store. You can always find a 7-Eleven store anywhere and at any time of day or night.
A few hundred meters further we also got a local SIM card (80GB for 30 days for 6 EUR). The roads are paved and without all the potholes. And not only on the main roads. The drivers respectful. People smile and wave. Not in excess, but it pleases us.
Sticky rice with mango
We eat sticky rice with mango at the roadside and cycle through enchanting green landscapes. We continue towards Bangkok. Everything feels so much lighter. We don’t need a supply of water anymore and we don’t need a supply of food either. Even if everything is still very meaty, again and again they make us very tasty dishes without dead animals (no shrimps, no chicken, no fish, no meat). We are back, smiling all day long.
Of course, the weather is now finally much better. No more temperatures over 40degrees. We will enter the rainy season, but until then we just enjoy the short rain showers.
Cycling on the left side
Oh yes, we master the left-hand traffic easily. We had enough time in India to get used to it. We will stay on the left side until we reach New Zealand. Next comes Malaysia, then Singapore, then Indonesia, Australia and finally New Zealand.
How it goes on then and whether it goes on then we decide there again anew.
Thailand turns out to be a luxury for bicycle travelers: varied landscape, varied food, low travel costs and good infrastructure. On the bike one escapes on often tarred secondary routes from the tourist centers and gains many exciting insights into life on the roadside.
Thailand is an ideal mixture of warm, relaxed inhabitants, western standards, tropical rainforests, steep mountain stages and dreamy beaches. Due to the developed tourist infrastructure, relatively low costs and quite high safety standards, cycling is very relaxed.
In every village you can find cookshops where we can get some dishes for one or two euros. In addition, the ice shakes sold everywhere are very refreshing.
Camping will be possible, at the edge of the fields or in monasteries. However, in addition to scorpions, tarantulas and snakes, tropical ants are also crawling here and may bite through tent walls, we will look for some air-conditioned bungalows as well for 10 to 15 euros for a night, maybe right on the beach.
The warmshower density is increasing again, we plan to use our tent more and we will keep the stages short to enjoy the country. Over 1000km lie ahead of us on our way to Malaysia. We have planned the route and are looking forward and excited to see the country.
Bangkok
Bangkok mixture
Well, what can I say. We have already fallen in love with this city on our various visits before here in Bangkok. This is a very special city. The mixture of buildings and people. All the art you can find, all the feeling of striving towards a future, a future for all people. I get my break level replaced bei Bok Bok Bike and we feel like we are well prepared for the next stages.
