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Published: September 5th 2022
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Ambassador coffee shop
Monday lunchtime setup to catch up on typing of yesterdays adventure Hard to believe that I was looking forward to a rest day so early in the trip, but even one day of training here and I was pretty sore in my shoulders and calfs. Very heavy rainstorm last last night. The rain was beating on the window and woke me up. It did stop about sunrise and made for a very nice cool morning, if you can believe that. After breakfast. I did a little walking around some of the side streets where I hadn’t been before. Nothing exciting, just more shops and people setting up for selling for the day. My Chinatown bike tour started at 1:30 and still had some time to kill. Decided to go to the gym and see if that had changed also. Once again, the weights and rooms there were shuffled around, and amazingly they have added a couple of actual new (21st century) weight machines. The 70’s machines they had must have finally given up.
Headed out for the bike tour a bit early because it appears to be a bit far, and in a different location than I’ve been before. I should have taken a taxi, but none were around, so I
Motorbike ride
Don’t worry, this was at a stoplight. Wish I had video, wasn’t sure we would make it between some of the moving and stopped cars. hired a motorbike. Should have known that was a bad more when I showed him the directions that were provided in Thai, and he still had to ask others how to get there. Just another adventure. We stopped about 4 times when we were “close” to ask directions, and in the end I was dropped off at the MRT station that was very close. He never did find the correct drop point. Turns out we passed the Hostel starting point to get to the MRT station. I arrived early and there was only one other person for the tour - she was from Ft. Meyers FL. It was a very interesting trip, as it was mainly through Chinatown and the back alleys there. The guide made a point of taking pictures and emailing. I’ve included a few. We stopped at 2 temples in Chinatown. One was financed by the owner of Redbull, and I believe is called the Chow Sue Kong Shrine. This one is to bring good health, and many of the royal family have visited. We made an offering here for continued good health. along the way the guide pointed out revered trees that had prayer shawls wrapped
Chinatown alleys
Typical of the ride, except this one has much more room to move around them. The ride was like others taken. The bike path is basically a sidewalk that runs behind, along and sometimes through the local living areas. Motorbikes, people, dogs, other bikes, and the random low, steel crossbar across the path make the ride something you pay attention to. The next major stop was at Wat Kalnayanamit, which is where the largest seated golden Buddha is found. The Buddha is over 5 stories tall. At that site was a large bell that we were told we should ring 3 times for good fortune, safe travels, and prosperity. The next stop was at Wat Prayoon where we fed the turtles. Another stop, it seems is on every tour, is the flower market. It’s an amazing place that works 24/7. I bought a flower tribute to take to the gym spirit house on Monday.
Deciding against another motor bike, I ventured into the MRT, or Mass Rail Transit. It’s similar to the BTS Skytrain, but it’s really just a subway system and it services different areas. Of course the tickets and turnstiles work differently, so I looked like the typical lost tourist trying to get to the train. The transfer is only
Sunny day ride
This was the start of the ride, and with the sun out, it got very hot any time not moving one station from the hotel, maybe a 10 minute walk so it worked out really well. After my 3rd shower of the day, had dinner just outside the hotel because I was getting tired, and was back in the room by 7:30. Of course Fantasy football draft was only 4.5 hours away and I was either going to sleep through it or not be able to sleep after. Luckily, neither of those happened and I slept well the entire night, which is strange this early in the trip. Hope that trend continues!
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