Nothing So Familiar: Nothing special...makes it all that more special

We were once again on our own as we left Krabi and our 'vacation-within-a-vacation' and headed north toward the west coast of Thailand. We had decided that based on the maps that the best riding would be heading west and then turning north along the coastline that boarders the Andaman Sea and eventually Myanmar. Our bet paid off as we were welcomed with pleasant riding consisting of quiet, wide lane roads, super friendly locals in mostly small vllages and towns, new tasty food options, and beautiful rolling terrain. Also we welcomed the return of pleantiful, easy camping along any roadway. We chose between schools grounds, parks, lands around new homes that had not yet been finished, to name a few. No beaches, unfortunately, as this and most of the Thai seaside is developed for the vast tourist market that dominates every inch of available beach. No worries however as we usually had water, toilets and shelter from storms and slept well through this section. It turned out, in fact that we even went further then we thought we might and finshed our tour of southern Thailand in Chumphon, a very popular transit point for most of the 'backpacker' crowd going either north to Bangkok and Chang Mai or south to the islands.

Underestimating what it actually means to be in 'high season' in Thailand we soon discovered that our nice cushy overnight train ride to Bangkok in a 2nd class sleeper car would be spent on a 3rd class bench seat. On the bright side the ticket was quite a bit cheaper...no consolation when a full grown adult male is trying to contort and curl himself up onto a 3 foot long bench seat on a loud, brightly lit train car for 8 hours. No bother, we would just get in early and get a nice sleeper car ticket for the next night heading to Chang Mai--WRONG again! Thi time the tickets were booked 2 days out and we were not going to endure another overnight in the 3rd class bench. After discussing our options we deecided a bus ticket would be the way to go. We secured seats online and then headed out for our one and only day exploring Bangkok. We stowed our luggage for the day and started walking around this massively sprawliing city. We wandered for most of the day eating at local food stalls, people watching in the markets and just taking it easy. Content that we only had only the one day in Bangkok, as we are fairly tired of big cities at this point, we made our way back to collect our luggage. Now came the fun of the day...ever heard of a tuk tuk? Well this picture will help you understand what it means to pack 2 people, 2 folding bikes, and all our bags onto the back of a 3 wheeled scooter! Probably the highlight of Bangkok for us...maybe not so much for the driver that dragged our butts halfway across the city in rush hour traffic.

That fun behind us we found out why the buses in Thailand are the way to travel. These 2-level behemoths are super modern, equipped with all the amenities including wifi, folding seats, tv screens and they even serve food. For those intrepid 'backpackers' looking for the nostaligia and romance of taking the train in Thailand, we totally understand but as cycle tourers of >5 months we can safely say "Screw that"...Take the bus.

We were so much more well rested when we arrived the next morning in Chang Mai. We pedalled a few km around the city to kill some time before arriving at the home of our next warmshowers hosts, Jared and Katie. This little oasis was a wonderful respite and where we would be spending Xmas. We did little while there other than gorge ourselves on what we were told is a traditional Kiwi Xmas feast. In town we met some great folks including a few bike shop owners like Stu and Mong of Mong Cycles and Nu of Triple Cat Cycles. What warm, welcoming and helpful folks. Thank you all for your hospitality and making these two orphan cyclists feel at home this holiday season.