กรุงเทพฯ - สิงคโปร์ กับจักรยานและสองขาของฉัน

[O'Pern]

Bangkok-Singapore by bicycle
 

Report of a 20 day's trip
part 1: Thailand


Introduction
During any cycling tour, I always make a logbook. In the first place I need something to ventilate my impressions (I always travel alone) and then, of course, I like others to read it. That's why I try to make it compact and why I put photographs at the text. In order to make an even more attractive page on the Web, I further reduced text and pictures.
This report is split in 2 parts. When you reach the Malaysian border at the bottom of this page, you'll find a link to another page to take you through Malaysia all the way down to Singapore.
Or, if you want to skip Thailand now, feel free to do so.

23.02 (Thu) Bangkok km. 74
The first 11 kms in Thailand have been done: I am sitting now in the restaurant of the luxurious hotel of the KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) in a northern suburb of Bangkok. This hotel is only for KLM crew and -personnel and only in exceptional cases and only on invitation, other guests are allowed in. Thus: I am such an exception.
This exceptional position I acquired last year, when I was roaming around in this area, desperately looking for a place to sleep. Then luck was with me because I incidentely ran into a fellow countryman, a KLM employee. He saved me from ending up on a bench in the park.
many canals and marshy land near Bangkok. Feb. 24
 

24.02 (Fri) West of Bangkok km. 100
At eight thirty I threw myself into Bangkok traffic. The real start of this cycling tour. I felt exited and I was looking forward to a few weeks of riding on my bike in this tropical part of Asia. I enjoyed the re-encounter with Thailand: the temples, the garbage along the roads, the busy traffic, the sound of the motorcycles, the wonderful flowers, the blue smoke of the exhausts, the beautiful women, the crippled dogs, the tuk-tuk's, the smell of food that is prepared everywhere along the streets: I am exited to be back in Thailand.


24.02 (Fri) Samut Songkhram km 182
Further on during the day I have stopped another 4 times: not to spend the over- amount of time available, but because I needed it. I was very tired when I reached Samut Songkhram at five o'clock. I asked a tuk-tuk (tricycle taxi) to guide me to a hotel. The shower worked alright, the bed looks good and it is not dirty, despite that only cockroach that I killed. I also have a functioning airco. This room costs US$ 6. Today, I spent half that amount for three times a plate of hot food. How can I spend all my money in this country?
everywhere flowers along the road. Feb. 25  

25.02 (Sat) Paktho km 206
When I was sitting along a busy street this morning, struggling my way through a local style breakfast, it once again struck me to see what an important place the motorcycle takes in the daily life of the Thai. You see very decently dressed ladies on very decent shiny little cycles, you see fellows in rags, riding on wrecks, you see whole families on Thailand's means of transport no. 1. One of the Germans whom I ran in to on the market last night, asked me "Do you know why a Thai family never has more than 3 children? "No". "A bigger family does not fit anymore on one motorcycle". When on a large junction the light turns to green, the air fills with crackle, amid a cloud of blue smoke. When the advance guard of motorcycles has spurted away, the droning sound of overloaded trucks and buses follows, surrounded by greasy black smoke. Thailand isn't Thailand anymore without motorized traffic.

The bicycle attracts attention. Cha-am. Feb. 25

25.02 (Sat) Cha-am km 282
Today I arrived in a tourist beach resort. And of what I have seen and heard of Thai beach resorts, I must say that Cha-am is a very nice one. There is a beautiful clean beach. I have chosen a good hotel and I have a very nice room, where I shall not meet cockroaches. There is also a swimming pool, which I want to try this evening. Now I am sitting on a fancy terrace, adjacent to the beach, enjoying the surf, with a large bottle of Singha beer in front of me. I have also spotted an Italian restaurant. I'll save that for later and you can count on it that I shall take a glass of red wine with my dinner. There will be enough time in the forthcoming weeks for a more local type of life style.
 

26.02 (Sun) Cha-am km 282
I'll stay one day in Cha-am. There are 3 reasons for that: 1 (most important): my sun- burns. I am oiling my skin several times a day, but as long as the naked sun keeps shining, it stays painful and especially at night it's no fun. 2: A rest day now might fit well in the program for recovering my good condition. 3: This is a very nice place and it is weekend; it's pleasantly crowded with holidaymakers.

27.02 (Mon) Prachuapkhirikhan km 404
Also this place has a fine beach, but no tourists. There is a seaside promenade, there are beautiful surroundings with rocks that rise high up from the sea, but obviously, nothing is done to attract tourists. I have chosen the best hotel, with the most expensive room (with sea view) and yet, I do not succeed in spending more than US$ 30. Maybe I look like a big spender, but I do not conceal my real nature: I just bought some beers at the grocery's (I won't touch the hotel mini bar), in a moment I will send a fax message from the post office and from the laundry service they will neither earn money from me: I am washing my clothes now, using the waste paper basket.
restaurant along the river. Feb. 27
 

28.02 (Tue) Bang Saphan km 479
I really like to do a big distance after all those short ones and today is a suitable day for that. There are not many places along the road to the south. The first one of reasonable size is at 160 kms, according to the map. But the chance is little that I will find a cockroach-free hotel there. The first decent town is Chumphon, at 190 kms. I haven't decided yet whether I shall take the cockroaches at 160 kms or a good hotel at 190 kms. In any case, I started early (7:15) and I'm riding on a tight schedule. Now, I've done 73 kms. I have to stop before dark (6:30 p.m.), otherwise it is too dangerous. The road is busy and narrow. The landscape is becoming more and more pleasant. There are more hills now and the vegetation is dense and more tropical. To the right, there is a mountain ridge, forming the border with Burma and to the left there is the sea, which I cannot see by the way.

28.02 (Tue) Chumphon km 582
I had over-estimated the distance and after finding a secondary road which was a shortcut to Chumphon, I entered the town via a back-door already at 5:30 p.m. and I counted 178 km for the day.
away from the main road. Mar. 1  

01.03 (Wed) Langsuan km 659
I have planned to arrive in Suratthani on Thursday (I know a good hotel there) and between here and Suratthani there is only one place of decent size: Langsuan. And there I am now. Therefor, I only had to ride 77 kms today and I dedicated only the afternoon for that. But if there is no push for some performance, then cycling is less pleasant and it became a dull ride. Then I arrived in Langsuan and a motorcycle taxi took me to the best hotel in town. And that didn't look bad at all. While walking through the little town, I entered a bookshop and bought a map. The owner spoke English reasonably well and that is rather exceptional in Thailand. He also had a good knowledge of the surroundings and he was able to tell me how I could ride best to Suratthani: keeping paved asphalt roads and yet avoiding the main road for large stretches. That's exactly the information I need. Then I found a good restaurant (where I still am now), where I had a very good dinner and where the servants are very nice (as mostly). Langsuan looks like a success.

02.03 (Thu) Thachana km 705
I made a long night's sleep in Langsuan. The hotel could also offer me a substantial western breakfast and at 8:30 I left the small town with pleasant memories. On the way to Suratthani. There was a lot of traffic on the road and the only advantage of that is that trucks, that pass by at close distance, create a suction that make you go very fast. With an average of 29 km/h I stopped after 45 kms for my first pause. And that is now. I am sitting along the road in the shade (33° C) at a place where they sell drinks. Unfortunately they don't sell (hot) coffee. That's mostly a chance of 50% and especially in the morning at my first stop, I always fancy a nice cup of coffee. The owner of this place is hovering around me: he very much likes to start a talk with me. But I don't want it. I only know the Thai words for water, beer and good morning and that makes a conversation very limited. A conversation with gestures and with the help of my "Thai phrasebook" is very tiring and you must be in the mood for that. Not now. If he would have served me a nice cup of coffee, I might have taken the trouble.

02.03 (Thu) Suratthani km 785
It was a very pleasant journey today. It's 3:30 p.m. and I am sitting in the coffeeshop of the Siam Thani hotel; 12 years ago I was in this same hotel on behalf of my company. Before I will launch myself into the swimming pool, I'll take a coffee and a sandwich.

 coffe, cake and curious children. Mar. 3

04.03 (Sat) Hua Sai km 998
Today I had planned only a small ride and I counted 70 kms, to Hua Sai. There are no towns in the vicinity (this is a big village) so I already counted on finding very modest accommodation for the night. Near this village, I happened to find a sort of a bungalow complex. Wooden cabins can be rented for US$ 10. It is rather far from the village and I cannot have dinner here, but I am now sitting on the beach under palm leaves. That's something different from my airconditioned room in a good hotel in the city center, like last night.
It is now later in the evening and I just returned in my cabin. The ventilator does its best, but it is still 28° C inside. I had dinner in the village. I supposed that there would be a restaurant close by, so I set off by foot at six thirty. No restaurant. The road runs along the coast to a small hamlet, say Hua Sai-on-sea, 3 kilometers down the road. After half an hour's walk I was there. In the meantime I have looked out for motorcycle-taxis, but no one passed by. You can recognize a motorcycle taxi from the driver: he wears a special shirt with a number. The sun went down and it became dusk. Men with culottes and women with scarfs headed for the mosque. In this part of Thailand Buddha must often make place for Allah. In Hua Sai-on-sea were motorcycles indeed, also drinking establishments, but at the few restaurants where I tried, the answer was "no, no!" and I did not see anybody eating. Too late? It was only 7 o'clock. Well, then I'll take a motorcycle taxi to Hua Sai, a few kilometers in-land. But the motorcycle taxis had disappeared. And there I stood in the dark, hungry, feeling lost and trapped on the junction.  At last a motorcycle taxi came and took me to the village. I made it clear that I wanted to eat something and he dropped me at (probably) the most renowned establishment available. Imagine a sort of barren garage, illuminated by fluorescent light, with a fridge, a T.V. and a number of chairs and tables. Dinner is prepared on the street, in front of the garage. What strikes me most this evening, is that few people take notice of me and nobody starts talking to me. On the road, on the bicycle, there is a continuous "Hello!", "Where are you going?" and other shouting. Now, people leave me alone. I like that and I am enjoying my big bottle of beer while I'm waiting for my rice. I was philosophing why suddenly I am no more the target of all curiosity. The only explanation I could find was that people could not picture me in the right frame. On the bicycle I am a weird foreigner, travelling through Thailand and that people can understand, there are more strangers, doing that. But a stranger, in this establishment, on this time of the day, in this remote village, that is so out of place, that is just impossible. So, undoubtedly, I cannot be a stranger, I will be a Thai with foreign parents, or something like that. The plate of rice was abundant and good. I remained seated for a while, because my big bottle of beer wasn't empty yet. I enjoyed being inconspicuous. To be continuously in the center of attention is annoying. I greet back friendly in villages, I keep on waving, laughing and saying hello. On the standard question "Where are you going?" I do not give an answer anymore, that is too complicated. I say "Far away" or "South" and that mostly satisfies the questioner. Sometimes I think that people laugh at me. It makes me feel ridiculous. I would like to ride more anonymously and I am thinking about planning my next cycling tour in Europe or North America.

05.03 (Sun) Hat Yai km 1128
Now I am again 9-high over the center of a big city, airconditioned, with a T.V. and a good bed. Today I did 130 kms. Last stop in Thailand? Hat Yai is a very dynamic town. It has the atmosphere of a capital city with its sky scrapers and numerous first class hotels and yet, on most maps it is indicated as a village. How is that possible? I don't know, but I noticed this already when I was here twelve years ago, so I was not surprised anymore.
06.03 (Mon) Alor Setar km 1237
With a nice tailwind I left Hat Yai this morning, over a fine wide road. On both sides of the road were many rubber plantations. Exactly at noon I crossed the border and then I was in Malaysia.


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End of Part 1

[O'Pern]

Part 2 Malaysia - Singapore

Report of a 20 day's trip
Part 2: Malaysia

Introduction
During any cycling tour, I always make a logbook. In the first place I need something to ventilate my impressions (I always travel alone) and then, of course, I like others to read it. That's why I try to make it compact and why I put photographs at the text. In order to make an even more attractive page on the Web, I further reduced text and pictures.
This report starts halfway my trip, from the Thai-Malaysian border. If you missed the first part and prefer to start at the beginning, you can switch to the Thailand part first.

 

06.03 (Mon) Alor Setar km 1237
With a nice tailwind I left Hat Yai this morning, over a fine wide road. On both sides of the road were many rubber plantations. Exactly at noon I crossed the border and then I was in Malaysia. I kept the nice wide (4 lane) road until my today's goal: Alor Setar. This afternoon I got my first flat tyre.

07.03 (Tue) Penang km 1397
Penang is an island and it is famous for its nature, its botanic gardens and fine beaches. When I arrived in Butterworth at 3:00 p.m., with 100 kms recorded for today, I took the ferry to Penang in order to see if Penang is really so special. I thought: I'll make a little ride around the island, then I have seen everything. When I see a good hotel on the beach, somewhere on the west coast, then I'll take it. And for two nights, because I had already decided to take a rest-day. That "little round" appeared to be no less then 80 kms and the hotels appeared to be situated on the north coast, that was at 3/4 of the round. So, altogether I made 160 kms today. The east- and south coast of Penang are not nice, but filthy and busy. On the other hand the west- and north coast are beautiful. There was a lot of climbing involved.
 The north coast of Penang. Mar. 7

09.03 (Thu) Road no. 1 km 1440
It is now Thursday morning and I have left Penang again. The rest-day was not a big success. Now I am having coffee, but I have not found the correct formula yet for ordering coffee. Now you can see that Malaysia has been a British colony. The tea-minded English have no knowledge of a nice cup of coffee and they transferred this no-knowledge to the local people. My first coffee, just across the border, was a cup of mourne concentrated milk with little taste of coffee. I learned the word for "black coffee", but then they served me awfully sweet black coffee. Several times I have tried to explain that I wanted black coffee without sugar, but always I got that terrible sweet black coffee again. I need to know how to ask it exactly in Malaysian.
 Along the west coast, the country was very flat. Mar. 10

09.03 (Thu) Pantai Remis km 1574
It was hard to find a hotel today. I thought I would find one in Beruas, but there was nothing at all. The nearest accommodation: 25 kilometers away, in the wrong direction. That was quite a disappointment, because I had already done 150 kms. And it was also too late to go on further away, in the good direction. Now I am in a filthy, noisy room without toilet nor shower in the only "hotel" of Pantai Remis. And the price was much too high.

10.03 (Fri) Telok Anson km 1678
Today was a less successful day. The countryside was not nice and flat, with boring straight roads with very few villages and I was very tired. I decided to stop in Telok Anson, already after 104 kilometers, because it is the only town in this region. When I saw a big building in the distance with a signboard "Hotel Anson", I thought that would by the turn of tide. But it was false hope: everything that functions in a normal hotel (the elevator, the telephone, the airco, etc.) was out of order.
Jungle in Central Malaysia. Mar. 12
 

11.03 (Sat) Raub km 1884
This morning I left early, in order to reach Raub, if that would not be too demanding. It is the first decent town on the route. After Kuala Kubu Baharu I wanted to stop in the next village for coffee and for filling my water bottles. But, there was no village. The road kept on climbing, the countryside was wonderful (mountains covered with thick tropical rain forest), but I ran out of drinking water. There came no end to the always ascending road. I stopped people, asking for water, but nobody could help me. Somebody offered me to take me in his van, but I decided that the situation was not yet desperate enough for such an emergency action. Moments later I heard the sound of a waterfall and I climbed with my water bottle through the jungle, towards the sound. The water was bright and clear and it tasted marvelously. I took a shower as well. With a refreshed feeling I went on climbing and on the top (800 m) was a hamlet with some eating / drinking stalls. There I treated myself with watermelon and baked bananas. Then: on to Raub. There was no alternative, because apart from the few houses on top of the pass, Raub was the first place after 70 kilometers through the jungle. Today, I recorded 206 kilometers.
(a more comprehensive version of above story can be found in Dutch on a different web page).

12.03 (Sun) Jerantut km 1983
At 3:30 p.m. I stopped at hotel Sri Emas in Jerantut. I did 99 kms and it was an easy job. I had thought that the heavy ride of yesterday would knock me down today, but that was not the case. Also I had expected to ride in mountaineous land, but also that turned out different. My altimeter showed elevations of not less than 80 and not more than 130 meters.  

13.03 (Mon) Kuantan km 2152
The road to Kuantan looks more like a forest track than a through road, but in any case, it is paved. Hardly any people live here and there is hardly any traffic. I could have passed this town on my left and continue straight south along the coast, but I longed for a good hotel in a big town.

14.03 (Tue) Pekan km 2208
Pekan is indicated on the map as reasonably big, but unfortunately, it is nothing. There is no hotel; I am now in a "resthouse" You see those things in former English colonies and they provided shelter to travelling Englishmen. I do believe that in the old days resthouses like this provided adequate, high quality lodging, but since the English have left Malaysia, nothing has been done on maintenance (in any case in this resthouse). The building is made of wood and it is completely rotten. Nothing is functioning well. The landlord gave me a room, but not very enthusiastically, because I had disturbed him in his sleep. Later he produced a deep sigh when I woke him up again for a towel. I searched the whole of Pekan for a place to eat and I found 2 restaurants, apart from the food-market. One restaurant did not have any food, the other one served me a lousy plate. You cannot say "this town left a bad impression on me", because this wasn't a town. This was nothing.
 on the way to Mersing, southern Malaysia, Mar. 15

16.03 (Thu) Mersing km 2363
The ride to Mersing (155 km) went first through a flat countryside with straight roads, sometimes very close along the beach. A little stone, that I noticed too late, made me have my second flat tyre. Just after I crossed the border of the state of Johor, there were more hills and cycling became more pleasant. In Mersing, I found a hotel that actually was of lower standard that I wanted, but I was tired and did not want to look further. I started to feel sick and I could scarcely drag myself outside to buy water, but the rest of the evening I stayed in my room. I threw up and had a terrible night. I decided to stay a day in Mersing to recover, but definitely in a different hotel.

17.03 (Fri) Singapore km 2514
Singapore! The end. I made it. I was welcomed heartily by friends of mine and I am looking forward to spent the weekend in a family atmosphere. The most remarkable event of today was the fact that the last 8 kilometers, in Singapore, were ridden in a pouring rain, the only rain
I got during this trip!



Source - http://user.chollian.net/~boonstra/banksing/thai.htm