Blogs from Chiang Mai, North-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 22

Geo: 18.8, 98.98Today was the longest day on the bike, around 60 kms I guess. Also the first day that there were no clouds, not that it was really hot but the sun burnt a bit. And seems to be a day of firsts, also passed our first geocache on this trip.Again a day through beautiful nature, smiling people and lots of wats. We saw the tallest standing Buddha of Northern Thailand and cycled closer to the city through a rehabilitation center situated in a nice park. Lunch was very simpel today, fried chicken we bought at a local food stall.Still had to make it back from our last stop at the city boarder to our hotel but it went pretty well. Becoming real Thai we drove a small part against traffic in a one way ... read more

Geo: 18.8, 98.98We made it to our first stop with ease. Were picked up at our hotel, dropped at our starting point and after some last directions we were on our way. The first 15 kms or so went the fastest, not ' cause we got tired after that but 'cause the picture stops became more frequently. Lots of calm streets next to a river, beautifiul green mountains around and from time to time a surprised looking cow.Not only the cows were looking at us but also the local people. Thai don't really cycle nor wear helmets on their motorbikes so you can imagine what a strange sight we were: strange looking bikes with bags and on them someone with a helmet.At 3 kms from our hotel, so after about 40 kms we could visit a ... read more

Geo: 18.8, 98.98Chiang Mae is known for 4 things, tempels, trekking, fashion and... food. Apparently the food of North Thailand is the best. On the pic fried rice with pineapple.We also just had the most unfriendly waitress ever. She didn't say a word to Thierry, people who wanted to sit on a larger table inside weren't allowed to do that, a guy had to sit down while thinking about what to eat and when I couldn't pay with small money she more or less threw the changes on the table.Anyway, today we walked around in the city looking at temples, not only big ones but small as well. Most of the nice, a few a disapointment.If you hear the National Anthem here you have to stand still till it's finished. This happened today when we were ... read more

Geo: 18.8, 98.98Firstly a post Myanmar reflection… It is unfortunate that Overlanders are forced to travel through the country in a tour group. Our trip was for 12 days and all but 3 days were spent racing down the road to the next Hotel.Oh you poor soul I hear you all say, well I suppose being able to take a shower at night and the morning was definitely a good thing considering the normal gap of 3 to 7 days since Tajikistan.However it was somewhat sad to rush by fantastic riverside camp spots which would have been perfect.The 2 Australian motorcyclists we travelled with were fantastic, Luke and Dan. They had been travelling together for 7 months and were good fun.So back to Myanmar, relatively quiet roads reasonable tarmac allowed us to hit some very fast ... read more

Day 3 (or is it 4?) in Thailand. Well, Chiang Mai is a pleasant place, the traffic is dense but relaxed, the food is awesome and there is a good mix of local culture and a backpacker scene that can be a bit heavy but makes it a good place to acclimatize. On my first full day, I was pretty pleased with how easily I could put the bike together and get it out. My first mission was to find a place where an American teaches taichi courses that I am interested in. It wasn't easy to find (even with a GPS that I don't really understand-how am I going to find my way over the next few months?!) and as I was about 50 m away (but didn't know that), I got caught by a ... read more