Our 2020 self-supported bicycle tour began in Chiang Mai and ended in Bangkok. There were no organized tours, no service to transport our gear—just us and our bikes, making it up as we go along! Approximately 1,700km entirely by bicycle. The only plannedaccommodations were the first few nights in Chiang Mai in order to recover from 22 hours of travelling and 12 hour time difference from Toronto. After the first two nights we were free to explore. Six weeks of adventure and an open road ahead. Each day we would choose a route, and a hotel/homestay for the night depending on how we felt. The only real goal was to reach Bangkok in 6 weeks time.
Before leaving Toronto in February there had been news stories about a new coronavirus that could potentially develop into a pandemic. We anticipated such a possibility and hoped that it might just blow over by the time of our scheduled return. Just four days before our flight home, COVID was declared a pandemic. We arrived home to a changed world. Little did we know it would be three more years before we could tour again!
“One Night in Bangkok”
GPS abandonment, the $4 haircut and the $40 omelet, the alleyway discoveries—There’s no place like Bangkok! Our day started with a little shortie bike ride to drop off bikes at Velo Thailand, a hidden gem of a bike shop with a couple of fantastic guys who will clean up our bikes all sparkly then squish... Continue reading→
Thailand 2020—“Three More Nights in Bangkok”
Flame shoes, Public transit Thai-style, Big. Golden. Reclining. Buddha., the Bobae Pier, Life under the Overpass, and Thai massage. Three more days, and there’s no end to discoveries made in Bangkok. It’s a city of wildly varying socio-economic circumstances, and the spectrum of choice is mind-boggling—where to walk, what to eat, what to wear, what... Continue reading→