So the last post I asked what you all would like to hear and you gave me some pretty good suggestions. I'll do my best to gather more funny anecdotes, particularly ones involving people we've met or as my mother put it "flora and fauna". Not so sure about the poetry, haikus and limericks...might be overextending my literary range there. Also per Jenelle's request there should be some more videos up later this week...have to find time to upload them since that takes a bit longer than photos. My grandparents sent along a few more specific inquiries which are pretty easy to address and others might find interesting (like, say...Ecuadorian newspaper reporters..).
Planning, schedules and budgets: To be honest, I didn't plan much. I just sort of got to Ireland then my riding partner(s) and I took it one step at a time. I generally try to have a pretty solid plan of action in place for 1-2 days out and a slightly more vague plan for the next month or so at a time. Having this loose structure means that I'm not really "ahead" or "behind" schedule...just sort of floating along.
As of right now the rough plan is to be up in Chiang Mai around the 9th or 10th. Dan's Thai visa expires then so he will be doing a run across the Burmese border to renew it. Then we hope to be into Laos around a week later. We are intending to take a boat down the Mekong to Luang Prabang and then ride on to Vientiane. From there we have to figure out how to get to Cambodia. If things work out correctly I will be able to get to Bangkok around the end of April. Should have enough money to get a flight to the west coast of the US and then meet up with my friend Jon to ride across the US. I may have to find some work once I hit the US shores sicne the flight will eat up the last of my savings. Then again, I've hobo'd the US once and am confident I can do it extremely cheap this time.
Eating, sleeping, communicating: Once again most of this is last minute stuff. Eating enough food is nearly impossible. I could spend all day and all of my daily budget on food and still not get enough calories probably. I haven't gone to a hospital and weighed myself but the few scales I have come across seem to indicate I've dropped about 20 pounds. I will probably lose more by the end of the trip. I have been trying to incorporate some resistance exercises in my daily routine to keep my muscles from being cannibalized.
Sleeping in Europe and the solo stretch of Asia was a very last minute thing. I would generally ride until dark, find a spot for my hammock and just crash out. A few times if I was in an area where camping looked difficult or the weather was threatening I would find a cheap hotel or guesthouse (Albania...parts of Malaysia). Now that I'm with Dan its easier to split the costs of a room for the night so we've been doing that. He also isn't carrying much in the way of camping gear. I plan to return to a more camping-mode style in the US.
Communications with the locals is quite the task but enough pointing and gesturing usually gets the job done. We almost never know what we are ordering at restaurants. I must admit I feel somewhat guilty about my lack of effort to learn much local language. I was pretty discouraged that just as I was learning some basic Malay I crossed into Thailand and had to start all over.
Okay...so factual things aside, tomorrow I'll keep a keen eye out (and memory) for some of the smaller, funny things that happen that I usually just disregard. Hopefully I can bring you all a little more in-depth to what its like to do this day in and day out. Cheers!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Dog Days of ...winter?
"...what makes the experience thrilling is the juxtaposition of the present and the past, Medford dreamed in Mandalay."-- Paul Theroux
I think that sentence is awesome. Mr. Theroux is a travel writer from Medford, MA who has been an expat most of his life. I love his work because he strikes so many common threads of my travel logic. Like he says in this passage, one of the things I find so interesting in my travels is how much more appealing home gets with every passing kilometer. I'll be lounging around on a tropical island in Thailand yet all I can dream about is a frosty night mountain bike ride followed up with some delicious IP3s pizza and a pitcher of Yuengling. The comforting thing is knowing that in all likelyhood IP3s, yuengling and Chapel Hill High trails will all still be there when I return but I may never get the opportunity to waste a day away swimming and lounging on Ko Chang again.
To bring you up to speed, Anders parted ways from Dan and I last Sunday. He headed on to Ko Tao to do his diving certification while we headed to Ko Chang for some island solitude. After a restful day out there Dan and I returned to the mainland and covered some ground to arrive up here in Hua Hin. Dan broke a spoke yesterday (after 1 week...I'm a bit skeptical his bike will make it through 3 more countries) so he was forced to take the bus here to Hua Hin, the closest city with a REAL bike shop. I would have preferred to skip Hua Hin, especially since their claims of having a microbrewery were all lies, but fate dictated otherwise. We will probably be moving on tomorrow at a slow enough pace to allow Anders to catch up. Dan has been a real trooper on the distances and surprised me last Wednesday with a 120km ride. Now we just have to get him to the level of doing 100km day in and day out. All in good time.
Next up on the agenda is Kanchanaburi (the Bridge over the River Kwai) and then on to Ayuttahaya for some temple viewing. We hope to be up in Chang Mai around the 8th or 9th of March so Dan can do a visa run to Burma and get 15 more days. Then its on to Laos!
Or so I hope. I think I can stretch the budget and stay in Asia until mid-April or beginning of May but then getting across the US should be a real interesting episode!
I feel like I am supposed to keep more vivid descriptions on the blog, mainly for my own sake and future reference. Something tells me that you guys don't really care about how excruciating riding on the brink of heat stroke is for 6 hours a day. Something also tells me that I won't forget that, whether I write it down or not. This is the problem I encounter with my writing...both here and in my personal journal. I have no mechanism for sorting the material. I can't tell the rubbish from the interesting tidbits (mainly because most of it seems to become rather mundane if I do it enough!). Perhaps you, my faithful readers, can tell me what you'd like to hear about. What questions do you have? What kind of stories would you like me to make up...err....recount? Please give me some direction here. Once again I find myself drifting aimlessly...
Yours in befuddlement, Bobo
I think that sentence is awesome. Mr. Theroux is a travel writer from Medford, MA who has been an expat most of his life. I love his work because he strikes so many common threads of my travel logic. Like he says in this passage, one of the things I find so interesting in my travels is how much more appealing home gets with every passing kilometer. I'll be lounging around on a tropical island in Thailand yet all I can dream about is a frosty night mountain bike ride followed up with some delicious IP3s pizza and a pitcher of Yuengling. The comforting thing is knowing that in all likelyhood IP3s, yuengling and Chapel Hill High trails will all still be there when I return but I may never get the opportunity to waste a day away swimming and lounging on Ko Chang again.
To bring you up to speed, Anders parted ways from Dan and I last Sunday. He headed on to Ko Tao to do his diving certification while we headed to Ko Chang for some island solitude. After a restful day out there Dan and I returned to the mainland and covered some ground to arrive up here in Hua Hin. Dan broke a spoke yesterday (after 1 week...I'm a bit skeptical his bike will make it through 3 more countries) so he was forced to take the bus here to Hua Hin, the closest city with a REAL bike shop. I would have preferred to skip Hua Hin, especially since their claims of having a microbrewery were all lies, but fate dictated otherwise. We will probably be moving on tomorrow at a slow enough pace to allow Anders to catch up. Dan has been a real trooper on the distances and surprised me last Wednesday with a 120km ride. Now we just have to get him to the level of doing 100km day in and day out. All in good time.
Next up on the agenda is Kanchanaburi (the Bridge over the River Kwai) and then on to Ayuttahaya for some temple viewing. We hope to be up in Chang Mai around the 8th or 9th of March so Dan can do a visa run to Burma and get 15 more days. Then its on to Laos!
Or so I hope. I think I can stretch the budget and stay in Asia until mid-April or beginning of May but then getting across the US should be a real interesting episode!
I feel like I am supposed to keep more vivid descriptions on the blog, mainly for my own sake and future reference. Something tells me that you guys don't really care about how excruciating riding on the brink of heat stroke is for 6 hours a day. Something also tells me that I won't forget that, whether I write it down or not. This is the problem I encounter with my writing...both here and in my personal journal. I have no mechanism for sorting the material. I can't tell the rubbish from the interesting tidbits (mainly because most of it seems to become rather mundane if I do it enough!). Perhaps you, my faithful readers, can tell me what you'd like to hear about. What questions do you have? What kind of stories would you like me to make up...err....recount? Please give me some direction here. Once again I find myself drifting aimlessly...
Yours in befuddlement, Bobo
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Chang and Ko Chang
My sincere apologies for the distinct lack of updates since (pretty much) arriving into Thailand. The first 4 days I was concerning myself with not becoming involved in any terrorism. The next week or so my main focus was the gastorintestinal terrorism that I was battling and for the last 4 or 5 days I've been busy terrorising people with my new partner in crime, Anders. Yesterday was the first day riding with Mr. Dan Riegler who will be my associate for Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Even though he had only arrived at midnight before and must have had terrible jet lag he seems to be tackling everything with an encouraging and infectious enthusiasm (not that I've been lacking enthusiasm; how can you not be enthusiastic when your biggest challenge of the day is whether to opt for a Chang or a Singha and which beach to do so on).
Today we have about 30 or 40 more km until we reach the town of Takua Pa...or perhaps its Takuapa...or Taquapa. The signs can't seem to agree. In any case, we will most likely stop there so as not to punish poor Dan too much and then tomorrow we must decide whether to head inland and visit the jungle-clad karsts of Khao Sak national park or head north along the coast to the laid-back (i.e. no electricity) islands of Ko Chang and Ko Phayang.
About two more weeks in Thailand should see us visiting Chumpon before riding up the east coast and then northwards towards Chang Mai before crossing into Laos and then turning back south to work our way (relatively speaking) down the Mekong.
A couple things have me a bit worried about the longevity of the trip at this point. For one thing the time on the road seems to finally be taking tis toll on my gear. The bicycle is mostly holding up really well (knock on wood). Brake hoods are starting to disintegrate but still function and the drivetrain seems to be working well. Plus I still have a whole extra drivetrain! The moths appear to be enjoying the flavor of my wool shirt and riding shorts so I'll soon be riding in tatters, which honestly only befits a man who looks like I do in every other regard. In addition to that one of the clips on my Ortlieb pannier has cracked. I don't really blame the company or their worksmanship as much as I blame Belgian beer and slippery, dark roads (a couple impacts on ANY brand pannier can't be good for its mounting hardware).
Aside from my keeping my fingers crossed that my gear can hold out for another 4 or 5 months of abuse there is the issue of my dental care. I really wanted to get my wisdom teeth removed before coming on the trip but UNC's dental school turned me down (claiming it wasn't a big enough thing for them to bother teaching their students!?) and I didn't quite want to fork over 500 bucks or whatever to my dentist. Now my back left molar is "erupted" (I think thats the term, but I'm no dentist). It has been this way for most the trip but didn't bother me until now. We'll see how that develops.
The last thing I am keeping a careful eye on is the financial situation. Since I still haven't bothered to stop and try to make some money (aside from the Croatian fiasco which was never going to provide income anyways) I am starting to get down to the bottom of the honey pot, so to speak. Here in SE Asia things are cheap enough that I should be able to do Thailand, Laos and Cambodia and still have enough money to fly back to the US. This is also dependent on what old Uncle Sam demands I pay him come April and whether the airline wants to charge for my bicycle this time across. I feel confident that if I can just get back to the US I will be able to make a little side cash and get myself back across. The trick is getting back to the US.
In any case, these are all things that I have little to no control over so I try not to worry about them all that much. Mostly I just focus on where that next cold drink and shady spot on the beach is!
Today we have about 30 or 40 more km until we reach the town of Takua Pa...or perhaps its Takuapa...or Taquapa. The signs can't seem to agree. In any case, we will most likely stop there so as not to punish poor Dan too much and then tomorrow we must decide whether to head inland and visit the jungle-clad karsts of Khao Sak national park or head north along the coast to the laid-back (i.e. no electricity) islands of Ko Chang and Ko Phayang.
About two more weeks in Thailand should see us visiting Chumpon before riding up the east coast and then northwards towards Chang Mai before crossing into Laos and then turning back south to work our way (relatively speaking) down the Mekong.
A couple things have me a bit worried about the longevity of the trip at this point. For one thing the time on the road seems to finally be taking tis toll on my gear. The bicycle is mostly holding up really well (knock on wood). Brake hoods are starting to disintegrate but still function and the drivetrain seems to be working well. Plus I still have a whole extra drivetrain! The moths appear to be enjoying the flavor of my wool shirt and riding shorts so I'll soon be riding in tatters, which honestly only befits a man who looks like I do in every other regard. In addition to that one of the clips on my Ortlieb pannier has cracked. I don't really blame the company or their worksmanship as much as I blame Belgian beer and slippery, dark roads (a couple impacts on ANY brand pannier can't be good for its mounting hardware).
Aside from my keeping my fingers crossed that my gear can hold out for another 4 or 5 months of abuse there is the issue of my dental care. I really wanted to get my wisdom teeth removed before coming on the trip but UNC's dental school turned me down (claiming it wasn't a big enough thing for them to bother teaching their students!?) and I didn't quite want to fork over 500 bucks or whatever to my dentist. Now my back left molar is "erupted" (I think thats the term, but I'm no dentist). It has been this way for most the trip but didn't bother me until now. We'll see how that develops.
The last thing I am keeping a careful eye on is the financial situation. Since I still haven't bothered to stop and try to make some money (aside from the Croatian fiasco which was never going to provide income anyways) I am starting to get down to the bottom of the honey pot, so to speak. Here in SE Asia things are cheap enough that I should be able to do Thailand, Laos and Cambodia and still have enough money to fly back to the US. This is also dependent on what old Uncle Sam demands I pay him come April and whether the airline wants to charge for my bicycle this time across. I feel confident that if I can just get back to the US I will be able to make a little side cash and get myself back across. The trick is getting back to the US.
In any case, these are all things that I have little to no control over so I try not to worry about them all that much. Mostly I just focus on where that next cold drink and shady spot on the beach is!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Feeling rather Krabi
HAHAHHAHAHA. Almost as good as the Split pun. Hanging out in Krabi with my new friend Anders. Stomach has settled somewhat and I'm getting excited about meeting up with Dan in two more days. Tomorrow Anders and I are planning on riding the short distance over to Railay and seeing abotu doing some rock climbing.
Spent the last couple days on Ko Bulon Lae. A beautiful little relaxed island just offshore from Pak Bara. I loved it. Slept in the trees on the beach everynight, relaxed listening to reggae and chilling all day long.
Okay, sorry...my brain is just not functioning all that well right now and that translates into no good stories or such for you folks. I'll try again tomorrow night along with some new photos.
PS. Check out Anders blog for an idea of how a trip such as this should be properly documented. One day....when I have money and cameras and such....
Spent the last couple days on Ko Bulon Lae. A beautiful little relaxed island just offshore from Pak Bara. I loved it. Slept in the trees on the beach everynight, relaxed listening to reggae and chilling all day long.
Okay, sorry...my brain is just not functioning all that well right now and that translates into no good stories or such for you folks. I'll try again tomorrow night along with some new photos.
PS. Check out Anders blog for an idea of how a trip such as this should be properly documented. One day....when I have money and cameras and such....
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Island Hobo
Just a quick note so nobody is worried I died from food poisoning. I'm out on Ko Lanta hanging out and enjoying the beach. Tomorrow I will probably get a ferry over to Krabi and then begin riding over to Phuket. Internet is kind of pricey here (relatively speaking) and I want to go grab some breakfast but I'll try to do a more thorough update soon!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Food poisoning or Dengue?
Well, I was warned about the Southeast of Thailand being somewhat "unstable" and therefore unsafe to ride my bicycle through. Spent three days in the area and didn't feel uncomfortable at all. There a many many military all carrying automatic rifles (there is something comical about two guys in military camo, bulletproof vests with automatic rifles...on a scooter). But as they say, everything always seems calm until a bomb goes off. Anyways I have arrived in the "safe" province of Satun but not without incident.
Last night I found a wonderful campsite by a waterfall in the jungle. Got to take a dip in a surprisingly cool jungle stream and wash some clothes. Watching the full moon rise over the jungle was a nice way to spend the evening. The jungle was much quieter than I expected and would have made for a good night's rest except for one thing. I settled into the hammock for some reading about 9 and before long started to feel nauseous. The famaliar feelings of food poisoning had settled in by 10. I was feverish, sore all over, stomach churning. I don't know what happened because I didn't recall eating or drinking anything sketchy. Who knows...maybe my water filter missed something or I had some bad ice or I accidentally ingested some bug repellent...the list goes on and on in my head. I struggled to get in about 40km today and found a good guesthouse. Spent the rest of the afternoon laying in bed trying to keep my stomach in control until about 6 when I felt like it was cool enough that I could tolerate walking to get some food. Things seems to be improving but I still feel pretty wrecked. I just hope the symptoms clear up soon (they are almost the same symptoms as Dengue...but I'm pretty sure I'd know if that was hitting me).
Tomorrow I'm going to see if I can orchestrate boat rides to some islands rather than riding up the coast. It will cost me a bit more but I can see Ko Bulon Lae, Ko Lanta, Krabi and Ko Phi Phi before meeting Dan over in Phuket next week. I hate breaking my budget but I really don't want to miss out on these amazing islands because I was unwilling to be a bit flexible. Just means more peanut butter and ramen in the future...
New pics are up in the Thailand gallery. Will try to give you folks another update relatively soon but not sure about the internet situation on these islands. Until then, enjoy the snow (if you're joining me from NC)...I'll be thinking of it as I roast on the white sand!
Last night I found a wonderful campsite by a waterfall in the jungle. Got to take a dip in a surprisingly cool jungle stream and wash some clothes. Watching the full moon rise over the jungle was a nice way to spend the evening. The jungle was much quieter than I expected and would have made for a good night's rest except for one thing. I settled into the hammock for some reading about 9 and before long started to feel nauseous. The famaliar feelings of food poisoning had settled in by 10. I was feverish, sore all over, stomach churning. I don't know what happened because I didn't recall eating or drinking anything sketchy. Who knows...maybe my water filter missed something or I had some bad ice or I accidentally ingested some bug repellent...the list goes on and on in my head. I struggled to get in about 40km today and found a good guesthouse. Spent the rest of the afternoon laying in bed trying to keep my stomach in control until about 6 when I felt like it was cool enough that I could tolerate walking to get some food. Things seems to be improving but I still feel pretty wrecked. I just hope the symptoms clear up soon (they are almost the same symptoms as Dengue...but I'm pretty sure I'd know if that was hitting me).
Tomorrow I'm going to see if I can orchestrate boat rides to some islands rather than riding up the coast. It will cost me a bit more but I can see Ko Bulon Lae, Ko Lanta, Krabi and Ko Phi Phi before meeting Dan over in Phuket next week. I hate breaking my budget but I really don't want to miss out on these amazing islands because I was unwilling to be a bit flexible. Just means more peanut butter and ramen in the future...
New pics are up in the Thailand gallery. Will try to give you folks another update relatively soon but not sure about the internet situation on these islands. Until then, enjoy the snow (if you're joining me from NC)...I'll be thinking of it as I roast on the white sand!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Slight delays to departure
Well...I thought I would leave on Monday. Then Sunday evening Khaos (my savior saint of music-providing) introduced me to his friend Louis. Louis was off work on Monday so offered to show me around some of the nearby temples. We were joined by his girlfriend and sister. What a great time we had! Saw 3 different kinds of Buddha (sleeping, sitting, standing) and the Dragon Boat Temple. All very impressive. Along with that we also sampled some different local dishes. On top of all this they invited me out and treated me to an amazing dinner. I think I've been ruined for Asian food forever...nothing stateside can hold a flame to this. Especially enjoyed the fried bees.
Woke up this morning to torrential downpour but felt compelled to make my exit nonetheless. Packed up all my belongings and hit the road in a (relative) lull in the rain. By the time I got a couple hundred meters down the road the onslaught continued and I ducked into my preferred internet hideout, a neat combination of salon and internet cafe run by Betty and Cham. I've been posted up here for the last 2 hours looking for a gap in the rain but it just won't stop. It seems to finally have paused so I must make my decision now. I can ride on and almost certainly catch a dousing or I can wait one more day and see if the odds look any better tomorrow. Rain is in the forecast again but only 40% instead of the guaranteed thunderstorm of today. Its about 30km to the Thai border and another 40 or so beyond that to the town I hoped to be near tonight. That is probably 3 or 4 hours of riding.
Geesh, life is hard when faced with such grandiose decisions...
Woke up this morning to torrential downpour but felt compelled to make my exit nonetheless. Packed up all my belongings and hit the road in a (relative) lull in the rain. By the time I got a couple hundred meters down the road the onslaught continued and I ducked into my preferred internet hideout, a neat combination of salon and internet cafe run by Betty and Cham. I've been posted up here for the last 2 hours looking for a gap in the rain but it just won't stop. It seems to finally have paused so I must make my decision now. I can ride on and almost certainly catch a dousing or I can wait one more day and see if the odds look any better tomorrow. Rain is in the forecast again but only 40% instead of the guaranteed thunderstorm of today. Its about 30km to the Thai border and another 40 or so beyond that to the town I hoped to be near tonight. That is probably 3 or 4 hours of riding.
Geesh, life is hard when faced with such grandiose decisions...
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