Vehicles and Animals...

Shell garage

After a good nights sleep I left the hotel Suk somboon, Songkhla at about 7.30 and decided not to backtrack to go over the bridge to Ko Yo, instead I went north to take the small ferry as a short cut.

On the ferry from Songkhla

Beware - Gloucester cattle!

Here I met a Thai biker who had done 50k before I'd got up. He was on his way home so he rode with me the 8k back to his home before saying goodbye as I headed on up the 408 and after the shell garage there were many signs warning cows about.

One that lost...

      

Noodle stall on 408

Are you from Texas, boy?

Off again and passed up through Sathingpra district, a semi rural area with people keeping cattle by their houses and cockerels in woven baskets for  the sport of fighting. Stopping off for a drink a bloke was proud to get his            cock out and show it to me.

Look at my cock!

I stopped off at this Wat for a snooze when it got too hot. In the shade of the grounds....nice and peaceful here.


                                                                                       

Just one girl in the gym!

The main road was getting hot so I decided to hang a right and head about 2km to the beach for a dip in the sea. The  main road runs parallel all the way up the coast here.


I stopped off at the municipal gym!

     

 

Nice Thai place for 450 baht

Refreshed I kept on the back roads for a while along the coast past untidy fishing dwellers before joining back up with the main 408 and then stumbled across a nice place to stay for 450 dobbers. 74km done today.


Previous blog post title inspired by...Less Than Jake : HARD - 3 points
Sorta train related and with the line "I'm the lucky one, I'm getting out of here" will wake u up if you ever did manage to get some sleep.

Don't fall asleep on the subway...

I was awake at first light as I didn't sleep much thru the night due to the shake, rattle and roll of the bumpy train but from my window I was pleasantly surprised to see mainly thick green jungle interspersed with small houses and small fields with cattle roaming free and streams meandering along. Occasionally a road comes in to view and it's traffic free and flat. Everywhere is green. Muddy paddy fields and planted palms are now frequent and rubber trees line up in parallel for easy harvesting of the sap.The residents are living at the very edges of the jungle in wooden houses and clearing bits at a time to grow produce. The hawkers start to come round with their wares to provide breakfast for the stirring travellers, mainly Thais. I've had my brown custard and it was sweet and tasty. Soon be at Hat Yai.
Noodle soup and then biked 30 clicks to Songkhla by the sea.

Passing thru to Hat Yai

A big fella on the roadside

Previous blog post title inspired by...Eels. - MED : 2 points
Gravely voice in a great little song - "I know I can walk along the tracks, it may take a little longer but I know how to find my way back...."

Railroad Man...

Leaving Bangkok on the train from Hualamphong station on the 15.10 to Hat Yai about 50km from the Malaysian border gives me time to blog, especially when it didn't leave til after 4 but hey, who's in a rush? My bike got its own ticket and got passed thru the window of a carriage towards the rear, no doubt to be secured again by a small length of string with the rest of the cargo while I found a/c carriage number 2 seat 6 across from John, a fellow scribbler and a retired teacher originally from California but cycled up from Singapore through Malaysia back in the 70's and fell in love with Asia.....have I heard this one before?
As we rattle out of the suburbs leaving the skyscrapers and elevated expressways behind I am pleased to be leaving the madness as I find it overwhelming. Bangkok sprawls out with ever expanding building work extending the city with housing that ranges from the affluent mansion to roofing sheets and fabric under the newly constructed rail link for the less well off. Palm trees and jungle scrub make the place look greener than it actually is until it gets a little more rural and paddy fields become common. The train is stopping at every large built up area and as it starts to become dark the street stalls start to light up as they crack on with the nightly task of making tea for everyone. Sellers clamber on at each stop with baskets of various foods which I took advantage of but now I need to stop as I've bought enough 'baggin' to last me a week, I have a tray of rice,chicken and a cold fried egg, a tray of a grapefruit looking type fruit and a tray of brown custard wi nuts on the top....now I don't need pick anything off the buffet car menu so that will annoy the fella who I promised I would choose something later on to...

I had a shower for 20 baht at the station and now I can sit comfy in my seat that has just turned into a bed by a man in a uniform and wonder if you can get H5N9 from a cold fried egg?
Ok. I need to get this out of my system....literally!...Having a pooh on a moving train is quite an experience due to a few uncontrollable factors....you still here?....I realise now that is probably also best to go early because after about 5 hours into the journey most folk have been a few times so you need to start by cleaning up after all the dirty gets! Then, when you get as settled as you can in a lurching about style while trying to hold on you realise that there is no tank underneath so it's going to plop down a gaping hole onto the tracks...because of this gaping hole there is what I can only describe as a vortex of wind that blows back up and not only rattles yer cobblers but complicates the whole process of what should be straightforward gravitational pull....Sir Prof. Brian Cox.MBE could probably explain in a little more detail but that's the best I can do....it was awkward OK, let's move on, I'm over it now...don't say I don't cover ALL aspects of solo travel in my blogs.

Previous blog post title inspired by...Paolo Nutini.. - EASY : 1 point
" these streets have too many names for me" a song about being in an unfamiliar place.

These Streets...

Ok, so now I'm awake again....but it's now after 8am and I can see the sun thru the curtains, so much for an early start! A quick bite to eat and I'm packed and off.
Maybe setting off for Bangkok at this time will be less busy, hopefully everyone is in work by now....Maybe not, it would appear that most of the residents have also had a lie in and seem to be in a rush now to get to work....how inconvenient!
Having packed the bike for the first time is always a worry that everything is screwed together and the weight is distributed fairly. Turning left down Lat Krabang road with 20km into the city to do I remember how horrendous the traffic can be and ride nervously, trying to avoid pot holes, mopeds, dogs, people, trucks that all seem to want to end my life early. After a mile or so I sort of relax and get into the groove, you have to cut your own groove here with elbows and knees out making you a bigger target but giving yourself a few more inches of life. I start to think that if I get pinged now it would be a shame, as I pass a sign for a hospital....maybe I will visit it later?
I have memorised the route from maps, as last time I took the train, and now I'm getting braver. With one finger on the brake lever it's just a matter of keeping going, go with the flow and don't be indecisive. If there is a gap, fill it or 3 guys on mopeds and a small van will. As I get closer I start to wonder about the route, I don't need to, just keep going,,,it's getting hotter, more fumes and even more traffic, still I'm now as good as they are....on a push-rod!
At Lumphini Park a wall of tyres and sandbags block the 6 lanes of the main road Rama1V with protesters camped and barriers that let only people and blokes on push bikes thru. Now in the temporary pedestrianised area a massive sound system and screen inform the listeners seated on the road what's happening in the political strife of the city. I stop to wonder but then press on - I need to find Hualamphong railway station. Again, I needn't worry as I get to a massive roundabout and recognise the building in front of me.....how good am I?
It's only 11am and inside I easily buy a ticket for a sleeper train to Hat Yai leaving at 15.10. Time for a coffee. A local bobby admires my bike and whips out his iPhone to show me his bike, then offers to look after it while I go upstairs for a Black Canyon Iced Coffee....

Personal bike security

Hualamphong station, Bangkok

All in a days work..

Previous blog post title inspired by...Feeder.... - MED : 2 points
I remember seeing these Welsh rockers in Llandudno of all places....a good mosh to this song was had by all as I remember.

Insomnia...

This is def NOT going to help...I now have this raucous song as an earworm* and it's 2am, been asleep for about 3 hours and now have just signed up for the 'wide-awake club'...jet- lag is a weird state of flux and now makes me feel like setting off now! I can't yet, it's pitch black out there so I will have to try to return to sleep for another few hours....

* an earworm is a song that gets stuck in your swede and repeats and repeats and repeats!



Previous blog post title inspired by...Editors.... - MED : 2 points
Picked for the the line..."you came on your own, that's how you'll leave!"...I really like this band, pack a load of emotion into songs with thoughtful lyrics...worth a listen!

An end has a start...

Good morning sunshine....wow!
Awake at 6am but hey, who cares? By 8 am it's breakfast time in the open fronted tabled area at the front of the hotel and I'm sat in the shade with a coffee remembering 'this is why I come here'. My bike box was rescued from the hotel storeroom and the next few hours spent putting it all back together in readiness to set off tomorrow if all goes to plan...

Before...

...and after

Previous blog post title inspired by ....Ben Folds - HARD : 3 points
Great piano throughout a wonderfully sad breakup song...enjoy the pain!

Landed...

Morning over Abu Dhabi

Photo taken at first light from about 8000m above the sea on the approach into Abu Dhabi
But then a fog delayed the decent and landed an hour late- then a wait for a truck to tow something off the runway meant that we didn't disembark until nearly 9am. This meant a quick dash to gate 32 and within a few minutes I was sat on my next plane that was supposedly leaving at 09.10....this was never going to happen so the flight was delayed too and didn't leave for nearly 2 hours. Finally I was eating my fish biryani as we flew over India landing only an hour or so overdue at Bangkok. My bike was waiting for me at the oversize baggage and then it didn't take long to locate my lift to the hotel. Within ten minutes I was checked in to the familiar Siam place hotel. I took a walk to the top of the road to use the ATM and had some pork with spicy som tam on the corner. Now it's nearly midnight and it's been a long journey so it's off to sleep........

Previous blog post title inspired by ....Opening lyrics of 'jump around' by 'House of Pain' - MED : 2 points
One of the maddest upbeat sounding songs that I've ever had the pleasure of thrutchin about to...

"Pack it up,pack it in, let me begin..."

Happily, everything seems to have calmed down in Bangkok even though there are still protests blockading parts of the city the government have promised not to use force so it's looking a bit calmer. Here, the rain is endless and as I tramped across my muddy field for my departure I am glad I'm leaving this behind for a much warmer climate. Bangkok is in the 30's and the forecast is climbing so the south of the country should be spot on,
Everything here is good to go, 25kg boxed up and now I'm itching to get off,,,,,,

Previous blog post title inspired by ....the Kaiser Chiefs - EASY : only 1 point 
Not the best song in the world but I couldn't resist the tile for the post!

I predict a riot...

So, a few hours ago the current Thai government declared a 60 day emergency around Bangkok as the ongoing political problems escalate to the point where people have been killed in the city....just brill for me who has everything planned and packed with a ticket to fly in to the hotspot on Sunday! 

At this point I'm really not too bothered as the airport is about 30km from the city so as long as I can get there I can hopefully stay out of the trouble areas and my intention of taking a train to the south may have to change as the main train station is very much central.

It's just if the troubles get worse or spread....

The bike is boxed and weighed in with all the kit at 25kg-just 5kg under the limit. Next job will be to find another 7kg of hand luggage....

Previous blog post title inspired by ....Joni Mitchell - EASY : 1 point only!

Urge for Going...

....Winter is closing in...the horrible rainy winter weather is beginning to give me the mental impetus to crack on with the travel plans as I'm starting to get the feeling to get the hell out of here and high tail it off to spend some time in the land of smiles and sunshine. More plans have formed and kit is starting to be dragged out from it's hiding places and examined for worthiness. Awaiting a return email from the hotel to confirm a room and have drawn up a bit of a kit list along with things I need to do in the next 3 weeks. Going to get the gear together and have a weighing session to work out what will make the final cut. Starting to look forward to a temporary end to darkness and short days and ready to tackle the spiciest som tam (papaya salad) and enjoy soaking up some power from the endless sunshine to boost the soul...

Previous blog post title inspired by ....The Spinto Band - HARD : 3 points

Brown Boxes...

Bike trip plans moved along slowly this weekend as I checked out a local bike shop and acquired a large brown cardboard box that a new bike had been delivered in. This will now be recycled to act as my luggage box for my bike on the plane. Need to have a look what spares I need too and weigh some gear. My weight limits are 30kg and an additional 7kg for hand luggage. The bike will take most of it but I need to make sure I am bang on and not over otherwise charges will be added for every kilo over...

Previous blog post title inspired by ....Goldfrapp - HARD : 3 points

Road to somewhere....

The trip is now coming together in my head, the flights are booked and I have booked the time off work. It's wet, wintery weather like today that concentrates the mind for a nice long bike trip. I am still putting the work in down at the gym with about 16km in 30 minute bursts about 3 to 4 times a week - I should get out on my 'actual' bike but I haven't for a while.
So back to the plan.....fly to BKK, landing at tea time in Asia, direct shuttle to a hotel that I've stayed at before at Lat Krabang. Here I will have 2 nights and a full day to put my bike together in the hotel garden. I'm not a great believer in re-visiting places but I know here works and it will give me time to acclimatise to the heat too. From here I need to get to the central train station, having booked an overnight bunk, then it's sleepy time while I'm whisked the 1000km thru the next night to my cycling start point, Hat Yai near to the Malaysian/Thai border. From here I head for the coast and head up the gulf of Thailand, ferry over to Islands Ko Samui, Ko Pha-ngan and little Ko Tao for some diving. Ferry back to the mainland at Chumphon and keep heading north to Hua Hin and eventually back to the airport a month later.......riding in sunshine and eating fab street food along the way..... should be easy!?

Previous blog post title inspired by ....Richard Hawley - HARD : award 3 points
A totally beautiful sad but poignant song from an awesome singer-songwriter....I will forever continue to water flowers in the rain....