Has to be a 5 Wows morning !!! Sarah and I had an incredible bicycle tour around Bangkok, and it was so amazing. Down little alleyways, through the traffic, near-misses with tuk tuks and motorcycles, and poor Sarah had an "off" and speared her leg on the sharp edge of a laneside bench !! Luckily she was abe to keep going, but is very sore now we are home. But it was great, and we saw things and places that you would not normally ever see in Bangkok - Can strongly recommend it for anyone visiting Bangkok in the future.
After a delicious breakfast (thanks again, Wannee !) Sarah and I left the house at 7.45 am, caught a motorcycle taxi down Soi 24 to the BTS station, where we jumped on the Skytrain. 6 stations later, change lines, then get off at National Stadium, where we jumped in a taxi and hope we would get to the hotel on time for the start of the tour - Won Nee Won Suk ("Today is Friday" - So lots of traffic !!. Made it with 5 minutes to spare, and Noi our guide then led us on a 5 minute walk to the bike hire place, and after a quick bike sizing and saddle raising, and a description of handsgnals Noi would use, we were off !! Only 4 of us and Noi - The other two were a friendly young Russian couple from Siberia, who currently live and work in China.
Straight off down a narrow alley, and the Russian guy narly fell off on the first corner ! Could be an interesting morning !!
First alley way was a wet market, with a lady chopping fresh fish - Right beside us, and Sarah got spattered on her legs !! Then out beside the river and a great bike path along side the busy Chao Phraya, with river ferries and noisy long tail boats whizzing by, and kicking up a big plume of water from their propellors. Even saw one today with a big turbo fitted on top of the engine !!
First rest stop was after about half an hour at Lampoo, and the Phra Sumen fort, one of 14 forts built to defend Bangkok in 1783. After that it was along to our first bridge over the river where we had to wheel our bikes up the staircase - Fortunately they had a ramp up the middle of the stairs. A quick stop at the top to catch our breath and take a few pics before we headed off across the bridge, and dropped down to a temple and some old stupas - Will try to find out the name later.
Then it was off again, over a little bridge over a canal where an old house with a tin roof had a satellite dish sticking out the top, and a bath tub hanging outside the window on the wall !! This area flooded badly last year, despite locks in place to try to prevent the river flowing back into the canal system during high tides and flood times.
The lanes we were on got narrower and narrower, with drop offs down into pretty smelly water on either side - Certanly need to concentrate when riding or it could be nasty.
A lot of the time in the alleyways you are riding between houses or shops and restaurants, and you are almost able to touch the tables or windows on either side - So no "wobble room" available ! But the most noticeabl and enjoyabel part was that virtually everyone smiles, and says Sawadeeka (good morning) as you ride past - So VERY friendly, and a pleasure to be here - It really is the "Land of Smiles". Hard to concentrate on the riding while also trying to remember the Thai greeting while simultaneously trying to take photos with one hand ! When a little boy stuck out his hand for a high five, I was one hand short - But still managed it somehow !!
Lots of pretty mangy dogs lying around, but did see one quite cute fluffy one under a cycle trolley as I rode past !
Then it was over another bridge over the river, on the crowded road, and past the hospital where the current King Rama 9 is ill in hospital. Some of the alleyways after that were so narrow that we had to get off our bikes and walk through - If our guide Noi had not led us down them, I would never even have known there was a navigable through way there. It reminded me a lot of the early days in Dubai when we used to ride through the old and narrow spice and clothing souks, and was just so enjoyable. Lots of evocative aromas and smells - Some more pleasant than others !!
Next stop was at the Wat Arun Rajwararam - The Temple of Dawn.
This Buddhist temple was son named because the first light of the morning relects off the surfac of the temple with pearly irridescence. Although the temple has existed here since the 17th century, the prang (spires) were only built in the early 19th century during the reign of King Rama 2. It was in the grounds of the Royal Palace at that time, before the palace was later moved across to the other side of the river. After a delicious cool coconut drink, we climbed up the VERY steep staircase on the side of the tower, which gae us a great view up the river - But was not too good for thighs that were already a bit sore from peddling around the town !!
From there we rode out to the riverside pathway again, and passed chillies drying in the sun, and some wonderful old wooden houses. Just before we left the pathway to cross the river, Sarah, who was riding right in front of me, suddenly went down - hard. She hadn't seen a cable on the path, and tried to cross it with her wheel at too shallow an angle which just flipped her front wheel out from under her and she crashed down onto a bench that was beside the path. The trouble was, they had very sharp metal edges, and I could see her fall on this, and thought it hit her in her side. When it seemed her side ws OK, relaxed a little, but 5 minutes later she realised her thigh was sore - And bleeding ! No tear in her pants, but a hole in her thigh !! She was sore, but was able to continue, although she was very stiff and sore by the time we got to the end.
After that it was back over the main river again, from where we came down into the Flower Markets. (Pat Klong Talad) From there it was north to another buddhist temple called the Wat Ratchanadda where we had a rest. This temple is best known for the Loha Prasat, a multi-tiered structure that has 37 spires signifying the 37 virtues towards enlightenment. From there we went to a massive roundabout (Democracy Roundabout) with crazy traffic (Woooo!!!) and then back into the alley ways eventually taking us back to our starting point.
Just over 3 hours in total, and thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish, and certainly saw a side and sights of Bangkok than most people never see ! Well tired by the end, and will sleep well tonight, but happy tired. Just hope poor Sarah's leg isn't too black and blue tomorrow !
We caught a taxi to the nearest BTS station, quick train ride to Soi 24 and then a motorbik taxi back to the appartment at Le Raffine. A wonderful day.
All the photos are here
https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/0010BangkokBikeRide?authkey=Gv1sRgCOGAnK_emtvMEA#
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