Feb. 24 - Feb. 28, Ayutthaya: Off and about the bike - Cycling in Thailand North to South

February 24, 2010 to February 28, 2010

Feb. 24 - Feb. 28, Ayutthaya: Off and about the bike

The cycle touring part of our trip has come to an end. We do have a few more bike-related experiences worth telling and also, so as not to leave my readers dangling in a small town in central Thailand, I will describe briefly our remaining stops before we fly back to Munich.

Our next stop will be Ayutthaya. At the bus station there is some confusion as to which bus we can take. We are all for taking the one leaving immediately, the station master wants us to take the bus leaving over an hour later. Of course we know nothing of the logisics of public transportation here and we don't see any reason why we can't just get on the next bus.

A little impatience on our part is not helpful, however. In Thailand to lose your cool is to loose face. The ticket seller grabs the tickets we bought and throws our money back at us across the counter. I am stunned and think: Oh my god, no more bus tickets for us now. Fortunately, another employee comes to our rescue, sells us tickets and put us on the bus which is about to leave. We are on a nice big, double-decker air-con bus which purrs along the highway to - no, not Ayutthaya but someplace on the highway. Aha, maybe they wanted to put us on a bus that really goes to Ayutthaya?

The bus lets us out on the highway and Janos assembles the bikes.

We are still quite far out and on the wrong side of the highway which is eight lanes plus four lanes of frontage roads. A few tuk-tuk drivers are hanging around to pick up passengers when they get off the long-distance buses here and we ask the way into town. They advise us strongly not to try to cross the highway but rather take the overpass. We are not too enthusiastic about the stairs. The resourceful drivers come up with the perfect solution - they will carry the bikes for us for 100 Baht each. That's only 2 Euros and I would have been willing to shell out a lot more for this service, believe me.

It's a hot ride in busy traffic into town. Drenched in sweat, we take the first hotel we find. It's also the first hotel in Thailand that made me feel like I was in China. It has that no-nonsense, socialist look about it, although the staff is friendly enough.

Our first day in Ayutthaya - this is when Janos discovers the broken spoke. No problem, have chain whip, have spokes. Don't need chain whip, the spoke is on the left. Okay, just have to remove the brake disc. For that we need a tiny American screwdriver with a star tip, but we have a tiny metric screwdriver with an x tip. The hunt is on. We get to know all the bike shops in town but none has a star screwdriver.

Ayutthaya is about 75 km from Bangkok. The solution is obvious, the following day we take the rear wheel with us on the bus into Bangkok and go to the very well-stocked bike store Probike and the problem is solved.

The well-known Probike in Bangkok: well-stocked and quick service

The positive side to the broken spoke and the consequent outing is that Janos is also able to find a replacement for his damaged lens in Bangkok. Repairs would have cost more and the same lens in Germany would have been double the price.

The days pass quickly. It's still very hot and we don't last long at the temples.

It's hotter than ever and we, too, are dog tired.

A boat ride on the river is refreshing.

We take a boat ride on the river around Ayutthaya.

One of our stops is at a popular temple where people are busy making offerings.

Our boat trip takes us to these fairytale-like temple ruins, beautiful in the evening sun.

You can accumulate merit for the next life by putting small squares of gold leaf on the Buddha figure.

We also visit the Klong Sabua floating market and folk dance.

We take a tuk-tuk from our hotel to the floating market.

This floating market is not a floating market in the traditional sense. Actually it's food and entertainment and our first thought was: Oh no, tourist trap. But not so. It's a popular place for Thais (we see no other foreigners) to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, some come from Bangkok just for the market. Many, many stalls selling all sorts of traditional food freshly prepared are located around a group of ponds. In or on the water traditional dance performances take place. The stage is a network of bamboo-based platforms that sit just a few centimeters below the water's surface.

Food galore and crowds at the floating market

The dance theater, based on traditional folk tales, is performed on a bamboo stage concealed below the water's surface.

One of the performers - isn't she lovely!

After the first two nights we decide to move from our somber hotel to a lovely guesthouse, Promtong Mansion, that we discovered on our rides through town. It is bran new, well run, the rooms spacious, tasteful, free wifi - nothing left to be desired. It offers four-star service for a backpackers price. Jeeda, who runs the place, speaks perfect English and is extremely competent and helpful.

Well organized and efficient, Jeeda couldn't have been more helpful.

When we feel we have exhausted Ayutthaya's charms, we move on to Kanchanaburi, known for the Bridge on the River Kwai, our last stop before returning to Bangkok and then home.

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