Aventures Bicyclétales ...

country overview, map and followed itinerary, the journal with the best pictures, the highlight, what I liked / didn't like, useful information.
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Thailand overview (as of June 2008)

• Capital city : Bangkok (Khrung Thep).
• Area : ~ 517,000 km2 (= 0.8 x France).
• Population : ~ 65 million inhabitants (= 1 x France).
• Density : 126 inhabitants / km2.

• Language : Thai.
• Religions : Theravadda Buddhism (95%), Muslim (4%) and other (1%).
• Human Development Index (HDI) : 0.784, the 74th country out of 177. What is HDI ?

• Government : Constitutional monarchy.
• King : Bhumibol Adulyadej, RAMA IX  (since June 1946).
• Prime minister : Samak Sundaravej (since January 2008).

• Growth rate in 2006 : 5%.
• Currency : Thai Baht (THB), 1 Euro = ~ 52 THB.
• Main imports : energy, minerals, iron and electronic components.
• Main exports : rice, shrimps, cars (pick-up trucks), electric and electronic products.

Thailand map and followed itinerary



The journal from Thailand with the best pictures 

Sunday morning, at 08.00 AM, they came for the start of my journey : Steph’, Cindy, Sophie, Henri, me (eh yes !!), Jean, Fah, Eak, K.Chumpol, K.Somphob (photographer and as such not on the picture) but also K.Nampeth, her husband and her daughter of just a few months only, Sverre and Neung (not on the picture either).



For the first few meters on RAMA IV, K.Chumpol, Henri and Steph’ escorted me … K.Chumpol stopped 500 meters later, but Henri et Steph’ continued another 65 km all the way to my former working place ! 



We survived the Bangkok urban hell, yes, we did it. Wee took sukhumvit road first and then Bang Na later (above on the right) !! 

When we arrived at my-ex factory, we were all welcomed by my former colleagues : K.Napa, K.Neatchanok, K.Jiranan, K.Poom, K.Putlai, Gérard, K.Chumpol, K.Amronwaree and so many others ...


From there, I gave up highways and enjoyed smaller roads … much more cyclist-friendly. The green bicycle is doing well, despite the weight it has to carry, and I am doing well, despite the several hundred km already covered … in a word, everything is fine. I just need to open my eyes and enjoy …

Rice paddies are on both sides of the road, it looks like a dike actually, a dike going through a sea of rice paddies ... with lots of busy farmers working. The countryside is so lively …

There are lots of animals nearby the road too : water buffaloes (below left), cows, chickens, ducks … but also snakes and even elephants, from which we can observe regularly evidences of their healthy digesting system (below right).



Below : Traditionnal fishermen on a river between Phrai Bueng and Si Rattana.



Weather has been pretty nice with me so far, it’s hot, yes, but I only had the chance once to confirm the waterproofness of my bags …

Usually rain comes around 5.00 PM, and when it comes, it falls hard !




Saturday the 5th of July 2008 : After 6 days and 700 km of riding, I reached Ubon Ratchatani where a dozen of friends joined me for the day : Jim, Steph’, Catherine, Tazneem, Christian, Annie, Patricia, Henri, Jean, Nath and Emma. We cycled all together to Kong Jiam, stopping by Phibun Mongsahan for fried chicken, sticky rice and papaya salad !! This was quite a day … thanks for coming ...



Below is the temple of Kong Jiam, overlooking the city ... 



... and from which we can see the whole valley below : Mekong river is in front, Laos is behind and the Moon river is on the right. Get your imagination working, I forgot to take a picture ...


So now that I got myself as much east of Thailand as it is possible to go, I am heading north slowly towards Mukdahan. Traffic was light so far, now it's getting even lighter : about a car every half an hour, that's about it. Dogs and even some cows sleep right in the middle of the road ...

Scenery is all about rice paddies and forest. The road gently goes up and down ... all the time, again and again, so that at the end of the day, I have climbed more than a 1000m without even reaching an altitude of 300m ...



Coming down a hill ... I let the bike go, forget the brakes, let the weight work ... and I got a nice 68.5 km/h. Now we're talking, this can certainly go much higher, but I need to better improve the balance of my front bags first ...




Below : the entrance gate of one of the so many Buddhist temples on the way.



Weather has been dull for a few days now ... lots of clouds, small persisting rains, lower temperatures (31-32 max) but altogether, that gives some pretty excellent riding conditions !! Hope it will continue this way ...


Below : the magnificent Mékong, coming from China, going to Vietnam …




Another temple … where the Buddha statue contemplates the Mekong's muddy water flowing by.




Wednesday the 9th of July 2008 : I've just arrived in Mukdahan, my last stage in Thailand. I will rest here for a few days before crossing over to Laos. It's time to do some bike maintenance and make sure everything is in order ... it's time also to go for a haircut ... yes, every two weeks, and no, it's not me on the chair ...

Below two pictures taken in Mukdahan : the local police and its Poncherello, busy watching the birds ... and a real magician, who is about to solve a connection problem at this electric post !! He's good.

 


Leaving Thailand behind is not an easy thing ... all the way since Bangkok, it has been non-stop smiley and friendly faces ... but when it's time, it's time, so I take the road leading to the Thai-Lao friendship bridge -going over the Mekong river- in order to continue my trip in Laos ...

Paperwork on the Thai side of the border is going pretty well until I hear "tawaa, pai tchakayan mai dai" ... which means : but you can't cross the bridge by bicycle. Damned, but why ? the answer is laughable at : too dangerous !! Of course, in a country where trucks u-turn on highways, where a third of the moppets ride blind at night and where bus drivers can drive 24h00 straight without a break ... crossing a bridge by bicycle is a terrible threat to road safety, even when the concerned bridge sees less than 10 vehicles an hour. Pfff, better to hear this than be deaf ...

Negotiations won't change a thing ... I have to load my bike at the back of a pick-up truck to cross this bloody friendship bridge !! This is so ridiculous. At this very moment, I feel and fear bicycles still have a very long way to go, especially in developing countries, to catch up with those 4-wheels machines which fumes poison us a little bit more everyday.



So let's see now if Laos  authorities show more consideration for cyclists than Thailand ...



The highlight from Thailand

Without any hesitation, it is all the goodbyes from my friends and work colleagues, all the support and attention they gave me during those very last few days together … and during the first days of my trip. I don’t forget it and won’t forget it, ever.
Obviously, I cannot omit to mention here as well my family and friends in France (or elsewhere) who all sent me support messages …



What I liked / didn't like in Thailand

I liked	I didn't like
people and their countless smiles	pollution and traffic jam in Bangkok
cuisine	corruption
rice paddies and water buffaloes	stray dogs
quietness	karaoke
the Mekong river	being obliged to load my bicycle on a pick-up truck to cross the Thai-Lao friendship bridge in Mukdahan.
small huts next to the road for taking naps

Useful information about Thailand
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