Category: Thailand

  • Songkran

    It’s stifling. A hot humid heat that makes the air feel heavy. Sweat isn’t dripping from me so much as it is pooling on me, sticking to my skin and failing to cool me down. I consider using some of the water in my water bottle to cool my head, but that water is precious.…

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    A group of people, dressed in colourful floral shirts, are joyfully engaging in the water-splashing festivities outdoors. The central figure, a man in a blue Hawaiian-style shirt, raises his hands in excitement while his face is partially covered in white powder, a traditional Songkran practice. Surrounding him, others laugh and play, some holding water bottles and hoses. The lush greenery and wet clothing indicate the playful and refreshing spirit of the event.
  • Farewell to Thailand

    51 km, 3 hr, max temp 43 Is there any better way to spend your last evening in Thailand than having a great Thai massage, followed by a great Thai meal, all for under $25 CAD? Our ride back to Chiang Saen was uneventful, although we definitely were feeling the muscles we abused in the…

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  • Big climbs to the Royal Villa at Doi Tung

    73 km, 6h 10 min, max temp 43 Our plan for the day was to leave most of our baggage at the Yeeson hotel, and do a loop ride up to Doi Tung – the “Flag Mountain” with its famous twin chedis. Apparently one of Buddha’s collarbones is interred in one of the chedis, so…

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  • Along the Myanmar Border

    53 km, 2h 20 min, max temp 43 (hot!) Since we don’t catch the boat to China until Wednesday, we decided to check out the “golden triangle” (where Thailand, Burma, and Laos meet). The masochists in us are thinking of riding up to Doi Tung which according to our map lies at 1512 m and…

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  • Booking a boat to China

    79 km, 4h 30 min, max temp 43 We rode to Chiang Saen through the warmest part of the day. As we rode, we really noticed the added pollution caused by burning in the fields and hills – fields are often burned in preparation of planting. There are some hills between Chiang Rai and Chiang…

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  • Hill tribes, a very white wat, and bugs

    38 km 2 h 15 min Since there were a couple of things we wanted to do in Chiang Rai, we decided to stay an extra night here. We visited the Hill Tribe Museum and rode out to the famous White Wat (Wat Rong Khun). We first visited the Hill Tribe Museum, which has an…

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  • A long-tail boat ride

    35 km, 2 hr. Since we did not need to be in Tha Ton before noon, and Fang to Tha Ton was only 25 km, we decided to go find someplace for breakfast. While walking down the main street of town, we came across an alley way that led to the morning wet market. Lots…

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  • Up, up, up and away

    59 km, 4h 30 min Today’s ride included the hardest hills we have climbed so far. There was over 7 km of uphill, with 3 km involving grades above 15%. We spent much of the 3 km steep part pushing our bikes up the hill. Several pickup trucks passed us, but none stopped to offer…

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