cycling bangkok to phuket

[doc]

Maestro, you kill me sometimes. Yes, her teeth are perfect, my house is off the hizzle (whatever the f... that is), and, if you haven't done so yet, go see the latest Batman movie. Just awesome.

[master splinter]

[liutangsanzang]

Hi Doc. SO the problem came from the toilets? Isn t it a bit of strange karma for a shaolin buddhist practicionner? Maybe a sign u should try some vegetarian non violent diet? Or just a coincidence? What do u think?

[doc]

I think the toilet feed pipe broke.

And, I was a very evil man in a previous life.

[master splinter]

how previous? are we talking as previous life as in born again christian previous life? or reincarnation...lol

hmm, gotta love feng shui. if you pick apart a mans soul through interpreting through his toilet feedpipes...your goood.

[onesp1ng]

do you have to learn thai to do basic things in thailand like buy shit, get hotels, etc.... or is it not necessary?

see, i'm not in the mood to start working on another language, but i could, i suppose...if it's absolutely necessary....

thanks..

btw, doc, as you know i posted the pic of my route. is there anywhere that you'd recommend i check out on the way down to phuket?

[Firbolg]

buy shit

You get the shits for free..

I never had any problems with language there, english seems common enough.

[onesp1ng]

cool, thanks...

[onesp1ng]

talk to you all in a couple weeks.... i've got a long road ahead of me...

one

[Asger]

That is quite an adventure you're embarking on. I would prefer to do it in winter though... it must be 35 degrees or more now... and humid.
Good luck!
Btw, if you ever want to hike across the mountains of Taiwan count me in!

[onesp1ng]

hey asger...it's nice to hear from you and i hope you're doing well. i may take you up on that hiking trip!!

well, it has been quite the adventure so far. and you're right, it's very, very hot. i'm burnt from head to toe..and paying the price for it. i think i have to be a bit careful from here on out.

anyhow, i think i'd either need to wake up at 5 in the morning every day, or extend my trip by another week, to get down to phuket. the heat is killing my time... and there's still many things i want to see on the way....so i'm trying not to rush it. i may just go to ranong and bike down the west coast a little, but not all the way to phuket. it's just too hot.

i'm in hua yin now...but i cheated a bit on day three by taking a bus to cha am. day two i did 66 k to samut songkhram, but i got lost so many time and it was all stop and go. i have no idea how far i really went that day.

btw...if you're biking through a country...you should be able to speak the language at a basic level.. the biking i've done before was in countries where i could always speak the language. lets just say...i'm getting a crash course in thai.... it necessary here if you're alone and need directions!!

actually, i think i may have seed doc in hua yin yesterday, but there are just so many bald headed foreigners walking around it's hard to be sure... lol...

one

[doc]

Ain't that many guys that really truly look like me.

Just a lot of "doc kind of look a likes..." LOL

[onesp1ng]

the more bikers i meet here, the more i'm coming to terms with reality. it's not really worth it to bike all the way down through the country in thailand, as i'm learning. 4, the route i'm taking, doesn't over look the coast untill you reach ranong. except for a few spot areas, it's basically all highway biking, which is silly if you haven't been here before and want to do some sightseeing. really, what's the point of spending all that time on a bike if you can't even check out the scenery?

in taiwan you can basically go around the whole island on the highway that overlooks the coast. i kind thought this highway overlooked the coast, too. i think i'm going to start biking, taking a train, and busing it from here on out. i'm getting about 35k in everyday just biking around to check out the various sights as it is anyhow. next time i come, well, i'll know better. i'll do ranong to phuket, etc..

cha am was really nice. hua yin wasn't really my cup of tea (very weternized). prachuap is just beautiful.

btw, an evil gang of about 20 monkeys stole my breakfast this morning. little guys scratched me all up....as i ran away trying to keep what i could. learned a valuable lesson: when monkeys attack, run....but give them your food first!! lol.........

[doc]

The scenery in Ranong is beautiful. And, on the way down from there, it's very nice. But don't expect a lot of coastal views. You would have been better off just flying to Phuket and riding around down there and Krabi.

Ranong is an interesting place. It's on the border with Burma. I've been told that there are child prostitute havens there, which the locals seem to get into. It's kind of a bizarre place; be careful in that town. On the way south, the scenery is spectacular, but then starts to tone down until you get to the Khao Lak area. Now, there's a national park north of Khao Lak (I can't remember the name of it) which is just spectacular (38 kilometer lake with limestone hongs in it, a bungalow hotel with bungalows floating on the wate). I'll try to get the name for it.

[liutangsanzang]

I told u One, Sun Wu Kong story is true: monkeys are evil and have to turn vegetarians to learn some good.