not enuf time!: touring tales

My Surly at Wat Rong Khun

Wat Rong Khun or The White Temple

Wat Rong Khun or The White Temple

Hell

More of Hell

Danger!

Nice cool ice latte at Cafe Amazon at one of our pit stops at PTT petrol station

Should not be too happy as a lot of times the down hills were short with long climbs after that.

Huh?

We had to break journey at Wiang Pa Pao and stayed in one of these.

Sunset in Wiang Pa Pao

Sunset in Wiang Pa Pao

We were the first customers for the evening at this stall.

The stall we had dinner. It was pretty good.

Misty Morn. On our way to Wiang Pa Pao town in the morning.

Wiang Pa Pao main street or more correctly the only street.

Monks collecting alms.

Town folks giving alms.

Yes, another 91km to the finish.

It was nice riding in the cold morning.

One of the Cabbages & Condoms Inn and Restaurant. C&C is set up to promote birth control. You get a condom after dinner instead of mints.

Really?

Creative message

Half way through the ride. I guess you can cook your eggs here. Didn't mention what type of eggs.

Thailand's highest hot spring

Khun Chae National Park. National park = bad climbs.

Nice and undulating. Notice how wide the road shoulders are. We felt very safe riding on such wide road shoulders throughout the tour:)

Finally, Chaing Mai. It was a happy and sad feeling. Happy that we have completed this year's tour and sad because it's the end of the tour.

Nice lanterns. This is part of their Loy Khrathong celebrations.

Hillkoff Coffee. If you need anything coffee in Chiang Mai, Hillkoff is the place.

Bert, another tourer on a four week adventure. He was staying in the same guest house as us.

Out stuff at LCCT. That's all for 2010. Waiting eagerly for the next tour.

Doi Chaang Coffee. Famous coffee especially in northern Thailand.

Didier, a Swiss staying in our guesthouse. On his way to Laos. He decided to dump everything at home and travel the world.

Night Market every Saturday.

Pay and paint him.

Cool dude at the night market

Cricket for frying. Yummy.

Girls from the tribe selling their wares at the night market.

Another mobile ATM.

Beautiful clock tower. The lights changes color at 7pm nightly

Talking heads. Reminds me of the Brithish pop group of the same name.

C&C: Cheap and cute

Real mask. No man made or rubbery stuff.

They still have such eggs here

Ancient gong

Novice monk enjoying his movie. Guess everybody cannot escape from technology.

Smile

Fancy bumper.

Bought quite a lot of our cycling stuff from here.

Child labour or helping the family? The kids were strong and fast. They were clearing huge loads at very fast speeds.

View from the hill #1: Laos across the Mekong river

View from the hill #2: Myanmar further in the background

Lim, don't be shy.

The village folks are playing a game that looks like dominoes.

Just after the having his chicken snatched by the dog.

We took the country roads instead of the highways and were rewarded with beautiful sceneries.

Hardly any cars on the country roads. Ideal for cycling.

Ingredients: syrup, ice and bread. Yes, bread. It kinda make the drink mushy.

She is the mother of the girl who made our drinks. The girl was very proud of her mother and her achievements in marathon. She took us to their house and showed us the medals etc. However, the mother was very shy.

Mother's medals.

The father did not want to be left out. He proudly brought out and showed us his MTB

Spotted a Proton 3S centre in Chiangrai.

It was Saturday and most guest houses very fully booked. We ended up here.

It was a bit old but the rooms were clean and with hot shower. We paid RM10 per night. And you guessed it free wi-fi.

Sunrise over Mekong #1

Sunrise over Mekong #2

Warning: Fiery chilli powder. Do not give this to your kid! This was from the stall we had our breakfast of rice porridge.

Red = Century, White = Duck, Green = ???

Chedi Luang, old temple built in 1291.

Studious Monk

Around Chedi Luang #1

Around Chedi Luang #2

My bike in Chiang Saen

Riverboats from Yunnan.

Really strong guys transporting the boxes to the riverboats. Notice the sticks in theirs hands, they are used for accounting the number of trips they make. They would drop the sticks in a bucket as they make their way down to the boat. The number of sticks in the bucket at the end of the day would be the total trips made.

Not only they are strong but they got to have good balance too.

Full load. There were many of such lorries with full loads waiting to unload.

Enjoy your massage next to the Mekong. RM11

A mobile kitchen.

Long boat for ferrying people along the river and across to Laos.

Food stalls along the promenade.

At the Golden Triangle. Nothing but a tourist spot. Don't expect to see any poppy plants, opium, grass etc. Disappointing.

Guess that's what it is.

Maybe the drugs are still here.

My Surly at the Golden Triangle.

Mae Sai. The northern most town in Thailand. It is at the border of Thailand and Myanmar. It is 35km from Chiang Saen.

Main Street Mae Sai

Bridge to Myanmar. The blue arch in the background is Myanmar. Click to see bigger pic.

Market around the border check point. Tourist trap.

At the northern most of Thailand?

One way to Myanmar

Another way to Myanmar?

Photog: Hold it. Say Cheese.

Hill Woman: I like it.

Lungdry? dry your lungs or dry lungs? It's laundry. OIC.

At a look out point. Traditional and modern thermometers

Two cool dudes in the tea factory

Huh? I no understand.

Tea Plantation. Tea is the primary commodity grown in Mae Salong.

Mommy's tea. I want.

Don't try this at home.

Sometimes you just have to do it.

We stayed here in Chiang Saen. RM30.00 per room. Sweet.

Front view of Honey hotel. You guessed it, free wi-fi.

Sunrise at Mae Salong from the balcony of our rooms.

The oldest guesthouse in Mae Salong. Cost only RM5 for basic accommodation to RM30 from a bungalow. Super cheap.

Delicious Yunnan sausages

Hill tribe vegetable seller

UN #1. At the "UN" meeting place. The international community will gather here every morning. Noel, the bearded man, is from Ireland and is a volunteer starting up a project to help the Akha hill people.

UN #2. UN assembly in the morning.

Temple #1. Beautiful temple up the hill.

View from the temple on top of the hill

Beautiful stained glass in the temple.

Old Barber Shop. The barber (not in pic) here is 90yo and can been seen in the market every morning.

Every guesthouse offer wi-fi and most of the time free.

Horse for rent.

Another view of the town

Local Granny Smith. It has a very crispy texture and is sweet. Very good. We had a lot of them during the whole trip. average cost is about RM3 per kg.

These stalls line the main road through the town. They sell local oolong tea and souvenirs to the passing tourists.

Spotted this vege seller outside the shop while having our lunch. The vegetables were super fresh from the farm.

My butt is itchy.

Only muslim restaurant we saw in town. They are mostly chinese muslim.

Mean Machine.

Bamboo Tissue?

Chef Wan visited the restaurant while filming. The owner showed us the pictures once we told her we were from Malaysia.

This is the school. Class in session in the evening.

Karaoke joint cum restaurant.

Coin operated Karaoke machine. 30 sen a pop.

Martyn and Aiste. Fellow cyclists from Lithuania. We were planning with them the next day's ride.

Guest house owner and his kids.

Spotted Proton's ad in the Thai newspaper while having our breakfast before departing for Mae Salong

Buddha's Feet.

Dragon's Light

Novice monks before classes #1

Novice monks before classes #2. Maybe it's exam day.

At the market in Fang.

Local cigarettes

Didn't know Chevvy makes bicycles.

Lim and me with the boss of the bike shop after purchasing Fang jerseys..

6Mbps broadband in a small town in Thailand? Yes, it is. TM, please wake up. We're are far behind.

KC chatting with the store keeper while having a break.

Mobile ATM. I saw quite a number of them. They sure trust the bank employees a lot. Imagine driving away with all the $$. Even our security guards do that. Should be easier with mobile ATMs.

View of Kok river through Tharton. Tharton is a small town but seem to attract the tourists who wants to travel to Chiang Rai by boat.

The boats waiting for passengers.

The hills going up to Mae Salong was bad. This is one of them.

Another bad hill

The long and winding road. They never seem to end.

This boy was preparing to go to school. Met him and his father while having a break half way through the hills.

The boy's father preparing tea for us. He is from Yunnan and came over to Thailand 10 - 15 years ago. Very friendly chap. Offered us banana too.

The cat eyeing our Him Heang biscuits from Penang.

With a police guard at the foot hill of Mae Salong. One of their duties is to make sure the hill people do not go down to the towns without any permits. These hill tribes are mainly from the neighbouring countries and are considered as refugees.

We arrived late at the foot hill. There is no way we can make it up before sunset even though it was only 14km up. But it is 14km of huge hills. Decide to take a lift up.

On the way up to Mae Salong. Winding and steep.

Our guest house in Mae Salong. Cheap, nice rooms and very fast internet access, 6 Mbps. Couldn't believe it, such speed up in the hills. Hey TM, what Unifi? Can't even get it in whole of Klang valley. Something the wrong!

Reward: Hot plate dinner in a cold night, up in the hills after a hard day's ride. Good life.

Local mulberry wine. It was a bit sweet.

Children of the hill tribes going to school. They stay near the town during the weekdays and return home on the weekends.

Lim having a chat to the owner of the guest house. She was going to drop her sweet daughter to school.

This is the front of the Tory Guesthouse. We are all packed and ready go.

Humongous cat fish outside the caves

Inside the Chiang Dao Caves. We explored the lighted section of the caves.

Having lunch near Fang, our destination for the day

Our guest house in Fang. Sorry, don't know its name as the whole sign board was in Thai language. Wi-Fi is also free here.

Loaded and ready to go.

Filling our stomach first. Here's KC and Lim carbo loading

The tires need filling up too.

Glutinous rice (Pulut) = Power

Mr & Mrs Tandem from Netherlands. Currently on their fourth tour. The lady walks with the aid of a walking stick. And imagine its her fourth tour, mighty respect to her.

Artisan monk

Now, where are we? Lost?

Junction Bar. This is where the action is. Its a bar, karaoke joint and a eatery.

Bar activities (the real stuff) in Junction bar at 3.00pm in the afternoon! Sure hot stuff (not us, them)! We were only having noodles. Honest.

Ah, finally in Chaing Dao. OJ after a hard day's ride. Satisfying.

Stayed at the Tory Guesthouse. Strange name. Must be a real supporter of the Conservatives! Wi-Fi is free. amazing for the small amount of money we pay.

Golden Triangle Loop