The Land of Smiles

The saying that goes something like: ‘you don’t know how much you miss something until it’s gone’ certainly held true when we crossed into Cambodia.  After a few hours of cycling in the country we realized how bad we wanted back into Thailand.  No 7-11’s or Tesco’s in Cambodia, just little shops here and there.  And the selection was rather weak.  Oddly enough we did see more foreign cyclists in Cambodia versus Thailand.  That I didn’t quite understand as the roads and conveniences of Thailand are so much better.  Anyway, after two nights in Cambodia we were back into Thailand.

Not much excitement though since everything is going great.  Thailand is called the land of smiles and we can certainly attest that.  To emphasize the non-excitement factor I will explain a typical day in Thailand for you.  We start the day by going to a 7-11, then listen to tunes or podcasts while cycling at fast speeds on flat roads, then stop again at a 7-11, then cycle more, then stop at a Tesco and pick up reduced priced items, then cycle some more, then stop at a 7-11, then cycle, then stop at a town and find a place to stay.  In the evening we go out and grab some fruit or chocolate shakes and down some street food.  That pretty much sums it up. 

We are now in Wiang Sa which means we most likely have a few days left in Thailand.  You may think the good times will end for us but that shouldn’t be so.  Oh no.  I am confident that Malaysia will let the good times roll.

We cycled into Bangkok late in the afternoon and went straight to this bike shop Trevor had marked.  On the spot Trevor got a new Surly fork to replace his bent one and his bottom bracket replaced.  I had my cassette replaced.  All of this was done in an hour or so.  They get top marks for service that is for sure.

We took a day off in Bangkok to run some errands like shipping things back home.  Trevor sent back a lot of stuff so he was quite happy about lightening his load.  Later in the day we met up with Tomas for lunch.  He is a former work colleague of Trevor’s who now lives in Bangkok.  Quite nice of him to treat the both of us to lunch.  Thanks Tomas!    

A Thai statue.

Let’s play Where’s Waldo.  Except this time let’s replace Waldo with Trevor in the Cambodian town of Sisophon.  You may begin. 

To give some purpose of our detour to Cambodia in addition to refreshing our Thai stamps, we decided to cycle to Battambang and check out the bamboo train.  Got there and after a quick look decided a ride on it wouldn’t be all that great.  It is pretty much a tourist trap with foreigners taking rides.  I’ll pass. 

Apparently the area from Battambang to Pailin was very heavily land mined from the Khmer Rouge.  As such, we didn’t go off the beaten path and stuck to the main road all the way through. 

Shortly after getting through Bangkok for a second time we saw a few monitor lizards on the side of the road rummaging through a pile of trash.

We try to take side roads as much as we can as they are obviously more peaceful and there is less traffic.  One side road we took led us to this park where we saw quite a few monkeys and some scenic limestone cliffs.

It has been awhile since we have had the opportunity to jump in the water.  The last time we were next to a Sea was in Turkey!  So taking a dip in the Gulf of Thailand was pretty refreshing.     

Here is a rare picture for two reasons.  One: we are both in the shot.  And two which is even rarer: Trevor is not looking down at his GPS.  Wow.    

If you ever are interested in doing some cycle touring and don’t know where to go, I suggest Thailand as the conveniences are well, so convenient.  And when you enter that 7-11 for a drink or two, tell them Kevin sent you.  Chances are I probably have been.