Food, food, glorious food!

Kia Ora

Just had our last day in Chiang Mai. It was very food oriented and seemed to be worthy of a post. We headed out to a small restaurant for lunch that gave us the best meal since arriving in the city. It turned out to be the one we were looking for last night but could not find - every time we set out to go somewhere specific or buy something in particular they are highly ellusive but we always stumble upon something great when we have no plan.

For lunch we had our recent staple, a local curry called Kao Soi, which is a red curry soup with egg noodle in it and crispy noodles on top - very tasty. And of course Phad Thai, along with a couple of mangos on sticky rice with coconut milk, an espresso, and a hot ginger tea. All were fantastic, and all for under $6! We were very reluctant to leave as the rest of the menu looked highly tempting but we could hardly move from fullness, so called it a day.

Then to walk off our meal and maybe work up another appetite we headed for the local food market. Starting out in the vege section we put our cooking class into action and identified a few random vegetables, such as fresh kaffir limes (which look like a green brain), galangal, and ear mushrooms. The colours were amazing and it is just a fun place to walk around and to see what people are buying. Of course half of it we have no idea what it is. Then it was onto the meat section, which was a little disturbing, from the whole skinned duck and pigs head covered in flies, to the abominable stink of the dried fish area.

Wish we had some facilities to stock up and cook up a storm but there is only so much you can create when your kitchen is a Leatherman and the deck.

Felt like we had to put something in about today's wicked culinary experiences, and look forward to sharing the recipes with those of you who we identify as having checked our blog sufficiently (this will be an arbitrary and likely inequitable calculation).

Much love and fine dining, D and C

Loy Krathong

Hello again

Finally a break from biking! We have been holed up in Chiang Mai for the past few days doing touristy things with two friends from Wellington, Kurt (or Cursed as our guesthouse owner misunderstood) and Bridget.

The cooking course in Pai was definetely a highlight. We spent a few hours in the morning going over ingredients and making curry pastes which we then cooked up into a three curry lunch. After a nap to recover we were back for dinner which was stir fries and soups. A'roi! Very fun hanging out with our relaxed instructor at his house and grilling him about whatever aspect of Thailand was puzzling us at the time. His alcoholic reporter friend popped in too for a few quiet whisky shots.

Then it was 135km over our final massive hill (just over 2hrs up) towards the plains of Chiang Mai. Another long day but a relief to know it would be several days before we had to get back on the saddle.

The Loy Krathong festival was in full swing when we arrived, which has mostly meant a lot of fireworks - dawn 'till dusk and through to dawn again. The festival is about 4 days to celebrate the end of the rainy season. There are people everywhere, night markets lining the streets, parades, four year olds firing sky rockets around... The main pastime at the festival is releasing fire balloons and floating 'krathongs' down the river. The balloons are paper with a flame under them so they fill with hot air and float off into the sky (in theory - the trees and powerlines have also taken a hammering). There are thousands of them taking off and filling the sky with points of light. Very pretty.

We have been to the zoo, up the hill overlooking town to a temple, to the Sunday 'walking market', eaten a few local dishes which have been very tasty, read a couple of books and generally hung around. Tonight we are off to watch some Thai men kick the shit out of each other at a Muay Thai match, before heading off further north to the Golden Triangle and towards Laos. Six more days of biking in Thailand!

Claud and Damien

Hi from Pai

Hi again

We are in Pai now. Had an extremely low motivation day out of Mae Hong Son, with a massive hill we were not really prepared for. Went up to over 1500m, and motivation dived about the same distance the other way. We ended up at a really cool lodge down a bumpy side road in a Shan village. It was called 'Cave Lodge' as it is next to .... A CAVE!

After a nap we headed down to the exit of the cave to watch what can't have been too far off a million birds (swifts) heading back in for the night. They were spiralling around outside before diving in at pace - very impressive and carried on for about half an hour with the sky constantly filled with birds.

Today we had a sleep in before heading over another 1300m hill to Pai. A decent gradient for once and without the annoying downhills every 500m that have plagued us for the last few days - sapping away half of the height you just painfully struggled up.

This town is pretty crazy. Extremely touristy, with guesthouses, eaterys, and tattoo palours every step of the streets. No tattoos for us, yet. We headed into a funky cafe for the first espresso of the trip which was Thai style over condensed milk. Very cool little place in a wooden house, art on the walls, and would certainly stand out as a place to be even in coffee mad Wellington. Local grown beans no less! We are staying at a place called Charlies House, and Charlie is the district health officer/inspector so for once we are confident in the state of hygiene.

Tomorrow we are doing a Thai cooking class at "Lets wok!". Then on over our last 35km hill towards Chiang Mai where we are meeting friends Kurt and Bridget for a few days of relaxation. This is very much in need!

Ciao for now D & C

The top of Thailand

Hi from Khun Yuam!

There is not much in this wee town but we are resting here for a day to recover our legs from their insult over the last two days. North Thailand is very beautiful - full of national parks, tiny villages, mountains, impressive views, and the like. From Lamphun four days ago we cycled to Doi Inthanon National Park which is halfway to the highest point in Thailand. We hired a tent for a couple of nights and on our day off it rained all day - we can now draw the pattern of the canvas in our sleep.

Following this, we braced ourselves, had a huge breakfast, and rode to the top of Thailand! (This is not a joke, we got to the actual top, there was a sign to prove it and everything). Its 2565m above sea level (and we came from there, remember?), about 40km of uphill, and took about 6 hours of cycling. To put this in perspective for the Wellingtonians, its the same height as 12 and a half Mt Vics. This was all in the mist, so for our efforts there was not a view of anything other than our rain-soaked front tires. We hit our first 1000km on this day as well!

But dont you worry, we made up for the lack of views yesterday when we had our hardest ride yet - 105km of mountain ridges in the scorching sun. We were unable to find anyone else who had ridden the road from Mae Chaem to Khun Yuam but our trusty hotel manager said it would be no problem on a bike. Maybe she thought we had the motorised variety as there were certainly some problems. After a rolling start through some beautiful farm land and forrest we were feeling pretty smug at our choice to take the road less travelled. The first 4km hill was not too bad, then the next one came, and the next one and the next one ad nauseum... They got steeper and steeper as we got further into the mountains, with a massive uphill followed by a minor downhill, and into the next climb. The sun was baking us alive, and one particular hill saw D feeling like vomiting and Claud pushing her bike and trying not to cry - not that I could have, I didnt have any spare liquid in me for things like tears.

Afetr struggling up that one we finally came across a crone selling drinks and negotiated some for ourselves. Feeling a little better, the rest of the way saw us continuing over progressivly smaller hills as we came to this side of the ranges. No idea how many we climbed but the three that had altitude markers were at 900m, 1500m, and 1200m. The last 20km down into this valley were pretty spectacular - the mountains stretched forever into Myanmar, the roads were lined with sunflowers, we had plenty of honks, waves and thumbs-up signs, and we even got to see the sunset as we rolled the last 3km into town. My god, the relief at having arrived. We are having a day off today to rehydrate before heading to Mae Hong Son tomorrow.

There have been some days of contrast along the way. From full rain jacket, pants, shoe covers and thermals at the top of Doi Inthanon, to 35degrees plus and heat rash the next; and 90bht in accommodation in the rainy tent to a 1200 baht resort with a pool and english TV channels.

Another stunning day today, and looking forward to some lesser hills tomorrow. Despite the trauma of yesterday this area is pretty amazing and well worth the effort. Apostrophes and photos to follow, when we find a slightly better computer.

Love C&D

South Northern Thailand

Sawadee

We have made it out of Central Thailand - which gave us a rude exit. We stayed at some dive of a motel in Si Satchanalai which was the only accommodation in this small town. We were in bed at our usual 8.30 but the temple down the road had other ideas about sleep and was pumping out some ungodly worshipping to a drum and bass backing. This was added to with noise competition from the local karaoke bar over the road - the duets were a particular treat with new levels of disharmony that were previously unrealised in music. Not to be out done the local scooter club held an 'up and down the drive way' rally outside out room till 4am. Just to top it off someone tried the door to our room at one stage - probably a whore we think, this place had the look of rental by the hour being norm.

The next day we were out of there before first light. Into the hills for the first time, and some great scenery. Lush forest with some tiny villages peppered about. This was a hard 6hr day but one of the better ones yet with quiet roads and plenty to look at. Have enjoyed the small towns we have been through, Kamphaeng Phet, (Si Satchanalai - see above), Phrae was really laid back which was a great relief from the hectic pace of the other towns, Lampang, and now we are in Lamphun which is about 30km south of Chiang Mai. We have done a decent amount of riding over the last few days, with plenty of hills and heat. Rashes are on the way out but other ailments are taking over.

On the way today we stopped at an elephant conservation centre for a couple of hours and watched them bathe and put on a bit of a show which included log pushing, painting, and some musical interludes. There were tourists staying for 3 days who were riding the elephants. One American woman asked one of them how old the elephant was. He said 18. "But how do you know?" "Well, someone told me". I was dying to say that you have to chop its trunk off and look for the rings but she was obviously beyond hope.

Now we are off on a wee 600km loop to the west, close to the Myanmar border. It goes through the biggest national park in the country and includes the highest mountains. Should be some cool sights (and potentially some cool temperatures), and many more hills to climb. Wish us luck!

Love C and D

PS we have had a few dog chases including the first uphill one, and the dog buzzer has proved ineffective at best. It does appear to work on a particularly meek dog but any hint of aggression, or even mild aliveness and it is better used as a missile.

Sukhothai

Hi again

We're in Sukhothai, the old Thai capital (another one). Lots to see here so we will stay a couple of days. This will also give the legs a chance to recover before the hills start.

It's still hot - someone said that athletes adjust better to the heat but I am pretty certain this is a lie. Or perhaps we are just not athletic enough - guess we will have to do some more biking.

It was 133km to Kamphaeng Phet where we spent a day looking around some more ruins/temples. Had the place to ourselves which was great. Today we came 85km north through the best scenery we have had so far, and on the quietest roads. Only 100 scooters a minute that means, and only 2 disemboweled dogs. Road kill has been our most rewarding view of Thai wildlife thus far. There has been an assortment of snakes, frogs, lizards, dogs, and birds. Much easier to look at than the swift moving live variety.

Getting a sore arm from waving at all the locals that call out "HELLO". We attract our fair share of attention. Not too many close calls with dogs yet, only a couple of half hearted chasers. Most are too hot or malnourished to care.

There is a pool at the guesthouse where we are staying so that is where we will be if you need anything.

Claud and Damien

The biking has begun!

We've got two days of biking under our belts now - 80km yesterday to Sing Buri and 120km today to Nakhon Sawan. The guide book descibes N.S as "an unwelcome sprawl" but after sweating it out on the main highway with trucks thundering past, I can assure you it was not unwelcome at all.

We're getting into the swing of things, like starting at 5am to beat the heat (didn't help us avoid a good heat rash though from todays 30+ degrees). Yesterday and half of todays ride was pretty rural through the rice paddies, but this morning we hit highway 1. This involved negotiating 10 lanes of traffic - the adrenaline increased our speed.

Have finally found the rumoured cheap hotels - 290bht tonight which is about $10-11 for a pretty decent hotel room with aircon, ensuite, free bottled water... The food is going down pretty well too, with nice meals for 1-3 bucks each. Snacks are bit dubious but todays rice crackers with "flossy pork" hit the spot. Last nights mini octopus with legs dangling was hard to get past the lips but not too bad once in there.

Tomorrow we're off to some place starting with K which is a bit of a change of plan from the place starting with P. Seems like it will be a nicer spot and a shorter ride (another 120km).

Bye for now and thanks for all the comments - keep 'em coming!

PS, Nova the bells have been attached and used sporadically. They're good and loud which is certainly a requirement here

Ayutthuya

We're in Ayutthuya which is about 80km North of Bangkok. We hired a ute to drive us here due to overwhelming Bangkok highways and traffic. Brave, but not that brave.

Got the bikes out today and rode around the town - there are heaps of temples here and plenty of ruins from when the Burmese invaded 500 years ago. The Burmese love bloggers so we'll be watching our backs. We've spent two days here and we're heading north tomorrow to Sing Buri (get your maps out).

It's bloody hot but we're slowly getting used to it. We'll be starting out tomorrow at 0600 hours to try and avoid the worst of the heat.

Ciao for now, hope y'all aren't working too hard xxoo