So, we left Bangkok late one afternoon, when I can't remember, maybe a week ago. We headed out of the city on one of the highways we weren't allowed on but all the police were elsewhere. Once out of Bangkok, things quickly became more rural and we found some small tarmaced roads through the countryside. There are literally millions of small lanes around Thailand, all of them in good condition. You could spend weeks lost on them since they don't appear on any map or GPS.
We were heading to Kanchanaburi and the infamous 'Death Railway Bridge', an arrived shortly after it got dark, partly due to getting lost and partly because we keep setting off too late. The main street was full of Expat bars and hotels. We found somewhere to eat then a room and I went for a walk to take a photo of the bridge by night. I was unaware that for a week or two at the end of November/ early December, they have a big sound light and firework show. I turned up just as it had started and was rather reluctant to pay the 100B entry fee not knowing what was going on since everything was in Thai. I eventually succumbed and was show to a seat. The show was extravagant to say the least. Although I didn't have a clue what was being said, I gathered it told the story of the building of the bridge with lasers, lights and people marching up and down dressed as Japanese soldiers. At the end of the show a train filled with said soldiers rolled over the bridge before the finale - the destruction. There were fireworks, explosions, boats going up and down the river, men running around shooting guns then setting themselves on fire and throwing themselves into the water. It was all very American. I was rather glad to have seen it, but disappointed that after the show they lit the bloody thing up like Blackpool tower. Some of the softer lighting they used during the show would have been so much more appropriate.
The next morning we loaded up the bikes and headed on down to catch a glimpse during the day. I wandered along the rickety tracks on the bridge with other tourists. Suddenly a train whistled and we all had to dive for cover in one of the alcoves on the bridge whilst it came over. There was no railing and a rather long drop. Health and safety nuts would love it.
Back at the bike and random Thai tourists would come up to take a photo of themselves with my tigers. At one point I was caught by a family of 6 who all wanted an individual photo of me with their 6 individual cameras. None of them seemed to care who I was.
Our plan was to set off North to Chiang Mai, since Carlos does not have as much time as me and we were enjoying riding together. Once again we had set off late so were caught out at dusk once again a bit far from our destination of Tak. We decided to head to a nearby campsite in my Gps. 30 minutes later and we were in the middle of a jungle, in the dark, covered in mosquitos. We unanimously decided that it would probably be unwise to camp here and pressed on to a nearby city where we found a cheap room in a very nice wooden hotel. We even got a complimentary welcome pack, including the usual towel, complimentary soap, water, tea, coffee, noodles and .... complimentary condom... maybe we stayed in the wrong type of hotel.
We set off the next day to Chiang Mai, at first cruising on the highway. It's great to be able to travel at a decent speed without the fear of cows, monkeys, rickshaws and lorries hurling themselves at you. Despite what some people say, I find Thai drivers extremely courteous, especially when it comes to motorbikes. We stopped at a couple of petrol stations and 7-11's on the way. The girls who worked there giggled and waved at us. With all the conveniences, Thailand is a bit like America, but more friendly and less obese.
On the way to Chiang Mai we stumbles across Road 106. The previous video should suffice to elaborate. Carlos also created one, it should be over at www.sinewan.com. I'll link it when it appears.
In Chiang Mai we met up with Viviana, who has been stalking Carlos since Rishikesh in India. We went to the night food market, perched atop a rickshaw, not because the rickshaw was full, just because we wanted to. Every type of food imaginable was available at the market whilst a lone girl on a stage danced to some tradional music. Everyone ignored her. Later, kareoke started on the stage. Viviana and I sang New York New York to a not very enthusiastic Thai crowd.
The next day we decided to head off to, what I can only describe as, a Tiger Brothel. Essentially, the more you pay, the younger the tiger that you can pose with. Yes! You actually are able to pet and pose IN THE SAME CAGE as these man eating beasts. Most of us were apprehensive at first. I was, especially since I had spent 3 days in the jungle in India trying to spot a wild beast and knowing that a tiger can never really be tame. They are trained from birth not to 'play' with humans, but playing (gouging with their razor sharp claws) with each other is ok. It's a bit like Jurrasic Park with all the electric fences. At one point whilst we were in the cage, one of the 140kg adult tigers became rather engrossed in a 2 year old blonde boy on the other side of a fence. I've never seen an animals face just scream 'I WANT TO EAT YOU' before!
Although it was a fantastic experience, I'm still not fully convinced that it's right.
The next day Carlos and I went off on a little bike ride to the Phu Ping temple. I giggled because its pronounced Pooping. I enjoyed asking for directions.
We continued onwards since the GPS showed that the road eventually became a dirt track and continued in a small loop. We passed through jungle villages on a very steep track through the mountains. We met up with some mountain bikers who were rather surprised to see a KTM and Honda Varadero up there, let alone that we had brought them from Europe.
The track eventually led to a fantastic lake/reservoir with little huts on either side. Since we had essentially snuck in the back way we didn't have to pay the 20B entrance fee as I found out the next day. We had some food and napped in a hut. Carlos said it would have been extremely romantic if I wasnt there.
The night before my birthday we went out to celebrate. We became a rather mixed group from numerous nationalities and at midnight I had happy birthday sung in English, German, Italian, Thai and, my personal favourite, a personal rendition with a microphone in Finnish, by a guy who kept fishing cans of beer out of his rucksack all night and talking loudly about mushrooms. Most of the time we had no idea what he was saying but it kept us amused.
The next eve was a big biker meet in Chiang Mai so we popped along to have a look. There were mainly millions of Harleys there - the Thais love em. There was live music and lots of drinking. We were invited to sit with a biker group from Southern Thailand who we bumped into on the road the other day. They were fantastic hosts and we had a great time, especially since they were really interested in seeing the Helmet Cam videos from offroading, mainly because I stacked the bike 3 times.
Despite there only being 2 KTM's at the meet, mine and a 590 supermoto, I managed to find a stall that sold KTM T-shirts.
It was a great night. The live bands were apparently very famous. Later in the night a girl came over to our table and posed for pictures with everyone. We asked each other whether she was famous. She replied to us, in perfect English with and Australian accent, that yes, she was pretty famous around here, then stormed off. We still don't know who she was.
We are now in Pai. The first stop around the Mae Hong Son loop. 1000 odd km of perfect tarmac with 1800 odd twists and turns on it. Who ever counted them had nothing better to do. The road is fantastic, possibly better than anything the alps has to offer. Now I need breakfast so Adios!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment