I know, it is long overdue, but I’ve either been too exhausted or too remote to even contemplate interblogging. Here I am in Bangkok, with a bit of catching up to do. After a nightmare of a 16 hour journey from Siem Riep to Ko Chang I found myself poised to celebrate both Thai New Year and my birthday in the beautiful, if commercial, Ko Chang. Initially I felt a bit down on my birthday, being so far from friends and family, but mainly this was down to tiredness after three days of physical exercise and then the aforementioned journey.…
It’s a reasonably steep dirt track. My confidence is up after 25 minutes or so on some rough downhill terrain. My weight is shifted over the rear wheel, as the instructor told me. My pedals are level, as the instructor told me. I’ve managed to limit my speed by starting slowly and using primarily the rear brake, as the instructor told me. There is a deep patch of sand like dusty mud approaching really rather quickly. I seem to remember the instructor saying something about this. Bugger. I’m going too fast. No problem, keep off the front brake and keep…
I mentioned that I loved the food in India. All the cheap curries, tasty samosas and wonderful breakfasts. Well, now in Thailand I’m in Heaven. Thai food, along side Italian, is my favorite. Pad Thai, Green Curries, Spring Rolls, Tom Yam soup… It’s all good. Finally, three days before leaving Thailand I got round to doing a Thai cookery course. There are hundreds to choose from in Chang Mai, but I was so impressed by the professionalism of the Eagle Guesthouse that I signed up for their Chili Club course with little further thought. I was not disappointed. After selecting…
The return journey from Umphang wasn’t so great. The 1219 curves on highway 1090 just lead to travel sickness, but more due to the terrible driver than the curviness of the road. Excluding everybody in India, he was the worst driver I’ve encountered on the trip so far. It wasn’t that he was driving dangerously, just stabbing the brake and releasing it repeatedly instead of doing a single smooth movement. This happened on curves and even in dead straight lines when there was nothing in front. His technique on the throttle was the same. Sitting sideways to the road on…
The following are the top five cars I’d select for driving Highway 1090 between Mae Sot and Umphang: Twin bike engined Mini Lancia Delta Integrale Evo II Ford GT Porsche 911 (996 turbo) TVR Tuscan R Let me explain. I’ve arrived in Umpang after four hours in a Songtheaw (Pickup truck converted into a taxi with two bench seats in the back – see pic below) on the ultra smooth twisty mountain road from Mae Sot. Talking was out due to the wind noise, reading was out due to being thrown around, so there is not much else to do…
We’re now back in Bangkok and have met up with Claire and Mat from team Shanti Shanti on the Rickshaw Run. Today we celebrate Claire’s birthday. Yesterday we celebratedValentines day by going ten pin bowling while drinking six litres of Singha followed by a visit to an Irish pub for Toad in the Hole, Bangers and Mash, Stuffed Yorkshire Puddings and Steak Pie. Who said romance is dead?
One of the things I love about travelling is the amount of like minded people you meet. Striking up a conversation with a complete stranger is never a problem. We met a German couple, Dirk and Sabrina on the bus up here and then spent a pleasant evening with them at the night market. A couple of days later we met and English couple at one of the temples. On top of that we’ve met so many friendly people from all over in the guesthouse while eating, drinking and playing pool. In fact I had loads of practice playing a…
…in England, as I am reliably informed. It hasn’t, however, in Kanchanaburi. It’s about 30 degrees and really rather humid. In fact I’m trying to decide how to cool down next. Go for a swim in the River Kwai or take my third shower of the day. We came to Kanchanaburi with the intention of staying three days. It has now been a week and I would stay for longer if it wasn’t for all the other places I want to see in Thailand. It isn’t that there is so much to do, but rather the place is just so…