Since
Aug 3rd we are now in Thailand. Much bigger and much
better roads than in Cambodia. And much cleaner.In Pong Nam we had
our first supermarket. A SevenEleven !
Yes,
buying proper food on the road was so difficult the last months, now
such a big comfort. We cycled to Chanthaburi, a small city, which is
well-known for jewelry and gems. We know nothing about this so we did
not buy anything. Our trip lead along the coast, the next city was
Klaeng. In Bang Sare we had a homestay. Rene from Belgium and his
lovely woman were so friendly and we enjoyed the one we had with
them. Next city was Rayon and in Bang Phra we had at Daruma Ecofarm
another homestay. Neil Willmann, a US-American, runs this farm and it
was so amazing to visit his project. We were a little bit in a hurry,
because a friend starts to have a stopover at BKK airport and we
wanted to meet each other there.
We
cycled to the airport and it was great to meet Michael! Only 45
minutes, because his plane was delayed but much fun.
The
next day we arrived in Bangkok. What an amazing city ! A lot of
traffic, but car drivers are so careful and not using their horns.
We met Stephan from Switzerland again. He is an owner of a software company in his country and a globetrotter. We know him from Angkor Wat and he lives in BKK. Yeah, really small world, and we are happy to keep in touch with him. Some days later Sophie, Astrid´s best friend, arrived from Austria,
spending three weeks for holiday.
We
all went by bus to Kanchanaburi, where the famous bridge leads over
the river Kwai. The movie „The River Kwai Bridge“ is quite far
away from the truth, but this bridge was build by prisoners of war by
Japan. An exposition with paintings and letters from the POWs there
tells the stories of them, suffering from bad nutrition, illnesses,
tortures and bad working conditions caused by the Japanes army.
Next
step was visiting the Erawan National Park. Not bad, quite beautiful
waterfalls, but it was very touristic. Astrid and Sophie stayed one
day longer, I was on the way back to BKK.
Some
more sight-seeing in Bangkok, i.e. The Palace....... The snakefarm
at the Red Cross was a big highlight. King Cobra and krait and
pythons... watching a King Cobra being milked, was a great
experience.
As
most of our friends know is, that we support Humedica, a smaller aid
organisation in Germany. Its partner organisation is „Partner´s
Relief and Development“, which supports the people from Myanmar. We
are fundraising for them and wanted to visit this organisation.
An
extra report will follow, but I do not want to deny you some
highlights on the way up to Mae Sot.
When
coming from the River Kwai, Astrid and Sophie already visited
Ayutthaya, the former capital of Thailand,. I went by bicycle to Mae
Sot and the road was quite boring. But this city was on the direct
way and I took the chance to make some sight-seeing. There were many
interesting temples, but unfortunetly destroyed by former wars. The
museum gave an excellent overview about the history, which showed a
big wealth.
Another
stop for me was in Kamphaeng Phaet. Not as touristic as Ayutthaya but
a beautiful historic park. When I cycled through the large area a
group of Thai students stopped me. They were learning English, which
they need for being a tour guide. And they asked me if I could act as
a guinea pig. It was so funny with them ! They were a little bit shy
but they made a good job :-)
Some
statistics:
BKK-Ayutthaya:
95 km, 10.000 km in total
Ayutthaya-
Sing Buri: 73 km
Sing
Buri – Nakhon Sawan: 100 km
Nakhon
Sawan – Kamphaeng Phet: 126 km (new record)
Kamphaeng
Phet – Tak: 70 km
Tak
– Mae Sot: 85 km; one of my toughest and most exhausting rides
(many steep climbs).
All
together, we went by bus back to BKK. One day later, we took the bus
to Trat, then heading to Koh Kood for diving.
Well
, seven days and only raining..... not very amusing.
Sophie
had to fly back to Austria, so we left Koh Kood on Sept 20th.
Back
in BKK we discussed the next steps. We already had our visa extended
until Oct 31st. Astrid wanted to start to learn diving and
we appreciate the Happy Day Guesthouse on Koh Kood very much. Mike
the owner of the guesthouse has a diving school, so we decided to do
it there. Min, his partner, is an perfect cook, so no reason to
hesitate :-).
Astrid
was a little bit ill and had to take antibiotics. Better for her to
take the bus. I went by bicycle again. Well, mainroad and very
boring.
Some
more statistics:
BKK
- Chonburi: 85 km
Chonburi
- Chantaburi:172 km, 8h 50min; new record !! a little bit proud ;-)
Chantaburi
– Trat: 70 km
Trat
- Pier to Koh Kood: 24 km, then two hours by boat
