THAILAND PAGE 1 - JUNE 2008
Dedicated to a wonderful Mother Jean Noble 31/5/1929 - 20/8/2007 - may we never take our mothers for granted. - Goodbye Mum
THAILAND
PAGE
1 - JUNE 2008
The
picture above, is King Bhumibol Adulyadej. He commands a great deal
of respect around the world. I have read a lot about this man's life
and would dearly love to meet him in person, just to talk. He is
universally loved by the Thai people.
Thailand is the home of my
beautiful wife Sumalee. Our families are close to each other, my
daughter Pamela has called her only daughter Jade “Lee”
after My wife Lee.
Having travelled to most of the 76 provinces, I
am still fascinated by the enduring culture and peaceful “Buddhist”
belief system that prevails throughout most of Thailand.
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Prices in Aussie Dollars |
Sunday
June 22nd 2008
Thai/Malay
Border to Hat Yai
Approx.
58.71k's
Average
Speed
14.63kph
Cycling
time
4Hr(s)
01Min. Max
speed.
42kph
Max
temp we recorded
36°C
Terrain:
Gently
Undulating Road
Conditions:
Very
Good. Overnight
Accommodation:
$6.50
We
cycled our first full day in Lee's home country... Sadly she is only
allowed to stay here 29 more days... Whilst I have 90 days.. - insane
– but who am I to argue. We leave the land of Islam for the
land of Buddha and one equally valid belief system to another equally
valid belief system... The architecture changes from ARAB/Malay to
ASIAN and those beautifully adorned Mosque's to equally beautiful
Temples...... This HUGE sitting Buddha is on the main road
between the border and Hat Yai. Hat Yai also contains one of the
worlds largest Buddha's...
The
road from the border to Hat Yai (There are many spellings).. is
“transitional” between Malay and Thai.. Our very nice
host last night, lives 2km from Malaysia but has never been there....
One can still get “Kopi” (Malay Coffee) and “Cafae
Rawn” Thai style coffee in the same restaurant.
We stopped at one of Mal's old favourites the “Cathay Guesthouse”, incredibly a guy still working there after we first met 15yrs ago - we still recognised each other (Less than 15yrs since I was here last)..
At
just $6.50 per night it is fantastic value.. The rooms are big enough
for our bikes and it has large bed + ensuit bathroom, no air con, but
a big ceiling fan does a great job... Lots to do so I will close
now.... Catchya Later....
Monday
June 23rd
2008
Hat
Yai – rest and repair day
Approx.
k's
Average
Speed
kph
Cycling
time
Hr(s)
Min. Max
speed.
kph
Max
temp we recorded
°C
Terrain:
Road
Conditions:
.
Overnight
Accommodation:
$6.50
I
got my part from “Schlumpf” and dully fitted it to the
bike – a two minute job and 1 hour job finding the tools in all
my gear :-) Thank you Schlumpf, for sending it for free..
A lot more work was done on the bikes, headset's tightened, lube, plus other odds & sods.... We also went to the Thai immigration to get the FULL story on why Lee can no longer use her passport... It is a long story and boring to those of you that are not involved... Suffice to say that after about 5 hours of “bureaucratic free for all”, and MUCH upset and tears, we got an extension to Lee's visa. This was entirely due to her Thai ethnicity.. Those who do NOT possess Thai ethnicity CANNOT extend a thirty day visa.
Before we went to immigration we dropped off our laundry for a “good” wash.... It was packed and ready as we walked back from the immigration centre :-) Today has been a LONG one despite not cycling, The work on the bikes and all the bureaucratic wrangling has taken its toll both physically and mentally. The cyclone that recently hit the Philippine's has become a rain bearing depression over here – it is very heavy “drenching” rain... We are saddened by the loss of life in the Philippine's. We are not planning to cycle tomorrow, as we plan to sort ALL our gear and post on, that which is not used in this country. Catchya Later....
Tuesday
June 24th
2008
Hat
Yai – rest and repair day
Approx.
k's
Average
Speed
kph
Cycling
time
Hr(s)
Min. Max
speed.
kph
Max
temp we recorded
°C
Terrain:
Road
Conditions:
.
Overnight
Accommodation:
$6.50
Massive
sort out of our gear and off to the post office to send it on... A
HUGE 22 kilograms of gear between us.. All our camping gear, most of
our “kitchen”, Clothing etc.... All good gear but not
used in Thailand this time of year.... It cost about $20.00 for the
box, postage and packaging, good value... We will see if it affects
our travel speeds/distances. Catchya Later...
Wednesday
June 25th
2008
Hat
Yai – rest and repair day
Approx.
k's
Average
Speed
kph
Cycling
time
Hr(s)
Min. Max
speed.
kph
Max
temp we recorded
°C
Terrain:
Road
Conditions:
.
Overnight
Accommodation:
$6.50
HAPPY
40th
BIRTHDAY
TO MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE LEE
Most of the “hard yakka” (work) done we just need to “chill out” for one day, nothing really planned.
In recent days there has been more loss of life (10+) nearby in clashes between “Separatist People” and “Govt. People”... After all the years this has been going on, it is so very sad that this situation cannot be resolved... It appears to me – some similarities exist with Northern Ireland – it also “appears” that there is a resolution, of sorts, been figured out for Northern Ireland, after thousands lost their lives there and many more thousands were injured... Catchya Later...
Thursday
June 26th
2008
Hat
Yai – Songkhla
Approx.
32.12k's
Average
Speed
14.94kph
Cycling
time
2Hr(s)
9Min. Max
speed.
45kph
Max
temp we recorded
33°C
Terrain:
Undulating
Road
Conditions:
Fair
to good. Overnight
Accommodation:
$12.50
We
started late but knew it was only about 30k's or so to our next
stop... Wanted to take Lee out for a show or some entertainment,
however “terrorism” has defeated Hat Yai, and turned it
from a bustling entertainment centre to a lifeless city of deserted
streets and closed venues.. There is some evidence of a slow return
to some form of normality, but, we are told, it is ever so slow
happening.... We stopped for a break from the heavy rain.... However,
the rain did not stop.....
We
cycle with our “poncho's” on to avoid overheating and
keep a little dry... As we are in the “tropics” it is not
really cold, except when going fast, wet, downhill... I am fortunate
to have bi-lingual signs – does not matter for Lee :-)
Due
to the weather not many pictures today – Catchya Later
Friday
June 27th 2008
Songkhla to Sathing Phra
Approx.
37.79k's
Average Speed
15.04kph Cycling
time 2Hr(s)
31Min. Max speed.
24kph Max
temp we recorded 34°C
Terrain:
Dead Flat Road
Conditions: Good.
Overnight Accommodation:
$9.50
Rode
through Songkhla and looked around the “Amusement Park”,
and surrounding parks. The area has beautiful WIDE Cycle Paths....
We
had “brunch”, (absolutely splendid presentation), in a
small café, followed by the “customary” staff
photo session :-) ....
Our
meals were just $6.50 (Total for the two of us) including coffee and
water... It may sound cheap, but it is not the bargain of even a
couple of years ago.. The global “rice price” and general
higher food prices are affecting the whole world...
We then took a short ferry ride, to the start of our journey north...
We
have crossed the peninsular again and are now back on the east coast.
Will pretty much stay with the east coast, all the way north to
Bangkok. The only diversion being to Chumphon to see Lee's uncle. We
stopped at an internet café along the way, too much “security”
to do anything but read emails – and check a few things... Was
refusing connections to our POP server... Duh!!! We eventually
decided – or the weather decided for us to look at our
accommodation options... Found a nice “hut” with double
bed, ensuite, TV etc.. for just $9.30 per night.. We both MUCH prefer
this type of accommodation with our bikes and will even pay a little
extra if we have a choice....
We
will sit out the Thunderstorm (Currently raging) then go and explore
our surroundings... Catchya Later....
Saturday
June 28th 2008
Sathing Phra to Hua Sai
Approx.
74.29k's
Average Speed
16.41kph Cycling
time 4Hr(s)
32Min. Max speed.
40kph Max
temp we recorded 44°C
Terrain:
Dead Flat Road
Conditions: Very
Good. Overnight Accommodation:
$11.00
Early
start, at the break of dawn.... MANY stops on our journey today! It
is great to talk with people, however, finding a balance between the
time we spend with people and our schedule, is very difficult. As the
day was hot, we stopped in a Temple to find shade, at the time it
looked deserted, but soon filled with people....
The
monks came with fruit and cool water, as a gift and to help us on our
journey... They refused all payment. We are on a secondary road with
a wide shoulder, It is typical of the roads here... So far they have
all been very good....
It
does give you an idea of how many kilometres we face, going north....
Plus, we must cycle over 500k's north east of Bangkok, to reach Lee's
Family. We are booked into Motel style accommodation, the room is big
enough for our bikes, with Air Con. TV, and bathroom, it is good
value at a bit less than $11.00 per night (We
round UP all our figures) Catchya Later.......... On
page two
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