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. 

  

Hanging out at Nu's shop, Triple Cat, in Chang Mai

Our fabulous hosts, Katie and Jared

    

Chowing down on appetizers. I can't tell y the last time I had bread, pesto, and cheese!!

WOOF-WOOF...ing

At Serukam Farm with Fred, Bruce, myself, Auntie, Uncle,

Fiona. Johnny, and Xin

During our time cycling out of Penang we realized that we were struggling with our route after southern Thailand and with our feelings of being at loose ends without a focus.  Fortunately without much effort we truly killed the two birds in Sungia Pentai, Malaysia at Serakum Farm, and it was turned out to be better than we ever could have imagined.  With Georgetown and Penang behind us we were not sure if we would enjoy the rest of Malaysia until we entered Thailand in a few days.  Those worries quickly abated when we arrived in Sungai Pentani and met Xin and her wonderful family.  Initially we planned to stay with Xin for one day, just an overnight, and we planned to pick her brain about future routes as she had toured through Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, and India.  The places at the farm that she lived on were full, so Xin was kind enough to put us up with her parents, Soo and Chow, a 10-minute bike ride from the farm.  That first evening all the volunteers came to Soo and Chow's; Fred, from France, who had been working with Xin to get the farm started for the last nine months, May, also from France, but she had been living in Australia for years, and Johnny and Fiona, a couple from Scotland that had a few years to travel and work.  The next day we went to visit the farm and the hospitality of "Uncle" and the wonderful food prepared by "Auntie" along with the great energy exuded by Xin and the group was plenty to convince us to ask if we could stay and volunteer for a few days.  We found out that her and the family had been already talking and wanted us to stay...so there you have it.  During the day we helped get the farm back on it's feet, clearing fields, painting walls, rebuilding stairs, and just enjoying doing something other than rotating our legs in a circular pattern for 5-6 hours each day.  We also were blessed to be invited to a family party that consisted of food and beer that seem to have no end.  In an attempt to repay our hosts we offered to make homemade pizza before we left.  It was easier than we thought to aquire the ingredients but it should have come at no surporise that stoves are all but non-exitant, as in most of Asia.  No matter, a little ingenuity by our French friend and viola...wood fired grilled pizza, and some of the best crust I have made (toot-toot).

  

Bruce building chicken coop stairs, helping with the farm's mosaic table

  

Making pizza for 25, a lovely evening on the farm with our makeshift pizza oven 

  Leaving was more difficult than we could hav imagined when we first arrived in this out-of-the-way town of strangers, now feeling more like family.  But, alas, we knew we would have to continue at some point so we said a misty eyed farewell, invited everyone to come to the states to visir in the near future, and left feeling full of happiness.

We moved on to Alor Setar and another Warmhowers host.  This time the experience was slightly different to say the least.  Our hot was welcoming but he was not confident with his English and we, obviouly had not mastered even the begin levels of the native language.  He took us to a vegetarian meal and afterward we joined in on a chanting mediation group that he frequents.  This was all pleasant but mostly nonverbal time spent together.  The next morning he toook us to see his city, the temples, mosques and the like and then offered to ride to our next destination with us (only about 40km).  He also told us that he would set it up so that we could stay with a friend of his in the next town of Kangar Perlis.  However upon arrival we discovered,  to our dismay, that he had not notified anyone prior to our arrival and that the family had no room for us to stay.  They did invite us in and allowed us to shower and gave us food and drinks.  With minimal English translation we found out that they also knew our previous nights host only briefly and that he often only spoke when absolutley necessary.  We apologized and ofered to leave and find accomodation but the family would not hear of it.  They told us it was an "honor to host us" and that they were very happy.  They put us up in a local hotel (owned by a friend of theirs) and took us to an amazing seafood restaurant for what may have been the most amazing in a recent series of outstanding meals.  This family truly exemplified that which had come to be a part of Asian culture that we adore; their willingness and pleasure at taking in and treating strangers/travelers as family or better.  How will we ever find the time, money, and space to repay all these fantastic people that have done so much for us on this journey?!

  

With the Oon family, who were so good to us, me in the local mosque in Alor Setar