THE MOTHER OF ALL RIDES (DAY 3 - Part 1)

CHIENGRAI to PHRAO

Today we begin our cycling on our return trip to Chiengmai. There had been discussions between leader Alauddin and several parties in the group to the route to be taken. One option was to cycle back the way we came, i.e. following the bus route. This route would mean overnighting in Wiang Pa Pao, about 92kms away, leaving 100kms for the 2nd day ride.

However, there were others interested in taking an alternative route through Phrao. To go to Phrao, we would branch off just after Wiang Pa Pao and head into a mountain range and would cover about 140kms. The argument was that we should do a longer journey on Day 1 for a shorter and hence relaxed ride on Day 2. There were hopes amongst the proponent of this route that it would be more picturesque. The decision was made to cycle to Phrao.

The morning was cool when we gathered at the Hotel ground, hooking our panniers on the bikes and last minute check to ensure our bikes were ready. A short briefing by Alauddin and we were off at slightly past 0700.

The road was pretty quiet, it being a Saturday and we made good progress on a relatively flat road. Almost everyone was in white and orange coloured Thai cycling jersey, purchased a day earlier in a well-stocked cycling shop. The shopowner and wife was just too pleased to give their best hospitality service ever to a noisy but "buying-appetite" Malaysians. They made a killing that night in sales but we were happy with our purchase of relatively cheaper accesories. So, it was a win-win!

Azmar got a TREK wheel-bag, made in Thailand for RM50. A great bargain and he was happy to display his purchase all the way. That's Azmar (pic below) at the rear with his his wheel-bag securely fastened. Jealous..jealous...




Alia ever the patriot in our group had her trademark flag fluttering from her helmet. Combined with her "roti" horn, she could easily attract some attention.

Having cycled for 2 hrs and 30 mins, the stomachs then refused to allow the legs to pedal! We have reached Mae Suai, 52kms away and our hungry eyes began looking for food. After several stops asking for Halal food, we backtracked a few kms and was rewarded with the Halal sign at a stall in a petrol-kiosk. The "crescent and star" sign came with a great relief. The picture of the steaming bowl came to life. In an instant the smoke looked real. I could smell the mee-curry just looking at the picture. Ah, the power of Visualization!

The cooks were rather amused with the orders from 12 hungry cyclists, using more sign language than spoken words. I noted someone eating Nasi Minyak Ayam half-way through my mee-curry. Don was seated besides me, also sipping his mee-curry. He too noticed the Nasi Minyak Ayam. We exchanged understanding glances at each other and we understood the universal language of an extra order! Ha...ha...a hungry man is a glutton man.

My Polar registered that I had burned 1464 calories. The Mee Curry, Nasi Ayam and the Coke would have easily wiped out all the calories burned! But that's ok. That's the side benefit of cycling. You get to burn calories and in return you get to bury yourself with some spoils at times - e.g. nasi beriani, pralines from Baskin Robbins, etc etc.

I recalled meeting a gentleman on his way to Chiengrai. On his pickup was a MTB. Being a fellow cyclist, he stopped to chat with us. We were asking about the route we would be taking to Phrao. In broken English he was saying something like :"Phrao...tall...tall" gesturing with his hand the mountain we would be facing. "Here...small...small" telling us so far it had been relatively flat. If only we understood him better!

At the halal stall, we also met a "Tiger Wood" wannabee. Well, probably more of a Tiger Prawn or a Plywood, depending whether you are a cook or a carpenter! I thought he was Thai. I was wrong. He was a Japanese and he loved golf. So he toured around to play golf but he too felt the pain of rising petrol price. So, he became an inventor and a color-coordinated golfer too - blue and red.

We spent almost an hour at the kiosk, almost reluctant to leave the halal stall. We may not find another one too soon. We moved on heading towards Wiang Pa Pao. We made good progress and made another stop later at stalls selling grapes. The seedless grapes were planted here itself.

The Vineyard

With gentle rolling hills and scattered shades as we meander through the roads, we made good progress.

We arrived at the wet market in Wiang Pa Pao, a small town. We feasted on coconuts while some went for the canned drinks at the seven 11 next door. Time was 2:43 pm. Chiengmai was 100kms away. We met a MTB cyclist who spoke very fluent English. He was on his MTB and was heading towards the same direction we were heading, but not to our destination at Phrao. He had some colleagues waiting at a small village at the foot of a hill for some off-road adventure.

We continued on for a short while and reached Foe Hai, the junction where we turned right to Phrao. The milestone indicated 44kms to Phrao. Time was closer to 3:30 and on a normal route, we should be in Phrao before the sun sets. We were wrong!

TO CHIENGMAI WITH LOVE - Day 2

CHIENGRAI is the gateway to the Golden Triangle. The GT conjures my thought of the notorious drug trade of yesteryears. And drugs continue to be a world's menace. The Golden Triangle got its name from the 3 bordering countries of Thailand, Laos and Burma, seperated by the mighty Mekong River that has its source in the heart of China. It is "golden" because of the lucrative drug trade.

This would be my second trip to the GT. Back in 1997, I made this journey with my brother and 3 friends from KL to the Golden Triangle by road. It took us 5 days, riding an average of 600kms a day. It was on two wheels too, but motorised with powerful engines.

So when our cycling group decided that Day 2 is a touristy day for us, it was a "down memory lane" for me. I recalled visiting the Karen long-neck tribe, which was on our visit list. I recalled too arriving at the Golden Triangle, riding from Chiengmai almost soaking wet from a hail-storm towards the end of our final destination. Then, 5 of us gave each other a high 5, a proud moment for achieving our longest journey ever on a motorbike.

Our itinerary for today would include the famed RAI MAE FAH LUANG which is the art and cultural park. It's a sprawling complex housing the Princess Mother's Palace up in the cool mountain air and offering an expanse of mountain view into Burma and also a valley of flowers below the Palace. This too was our first destination for the day.

The journey took us on a nice winding road uphill. As cyclists, we admired the nice winding road inching upwards to the site. As a cyclist, one tends not to take the slopes for granted too. As we disembarked from the van, we immediately felt the coolness and the freshness of the mountain air. Ah, what a feeling! The peace of the place was also not disturbed by peddlars cajoling you to buy handicrafts as one would expect at tourist spots. A little bit like Cameron Highlands, but certainly with much lesser traffic.

An entrance fee of Baht 120 got us to visit 3 places. The first was the Princess Mother's Palace. Made entirely of timber, it was too small to be called a palace, but certainly big enough for the Princess Mother. The Thai monarch is highly revered, and so was the Princess Mother.

To enter, one had to be decently attired. Short pants were out. The guard provided us with loose blue pants to wear. Very comfortable. I wished I could just wear it unreturned! Notice our cool "pyjama" pants?

The walk was pleasant and the road was heavily landscaped.








The shades from the tall trees offer additional comfort to the already cool and fresh air as we made our way to the palace ground. I can't help but notice a cute watering station, not that I was thirsty.




And there was order everywhere. Everything was neatly arranged. Even fertilizer sprayers were in the correct military precision.






At the palace entrance, a lady politey told us we need to remove our shoes to enter the palace. No photos allowed too inside the palace. So we need to capture everything in our memory. A guide showed us around. The bedroom, the study and several other rooms were off-limit. Hence some of us peeped through the glass doors. The palace was made mainly of timber. I could not however believed what the guide told us that the timber was taken entirely from old wooden ships and that no trees were cut for the Palace.







Exiting from the Palace, I had to pose with these 2 soldiers who I presumed were ceremonial guards of the Palace. Notice my cool "pyjama"?





Next we moved into the Garden. There was an aboritorium where plants were cultivated. There were beautiful landscaped water features .......

and beautiful subject.........

taken by an equally enthusiastic photographer......

I was moving around with Rahim and Alia and we had this same professional photographer to take our shot....smile Alia and Rahim

There were other picture-perfect gardens, manicured with love and tender care

and finally there was this picture-perfect subject too.......ho....ho....

Our next destination was FOOD. We arrived Mae Sai town which bordered Burma and had our fill of Halal food in a Muslim restaurant. It was just after Friday prayers and there were many Muslims coming out from the mosque. Of course I would be "jamakking" my prayers. Rain came suddenly.

The next destination was the Golden Triangle. The name itself had made this small town famous and Thai Tourist Authority knew how to capitalise on its name. It had grown much more since the last time I visited 11 years ago.






I did not recall seeing any "elephant" then. If there was, I wouldn't have dared being under its belly!

But we did stop for a quick visit of a 100-year old Wat (temple)

and had to make sure we follow the right direction to enter its gate




Our final destination was a visit to a Karen Long Neck village. At the entrance, we were told that the entrance fee would be Baht 500 (RM50), a rather steep price to see people with long neck. The lady in charge knew through our own shrug of our neck that we were not interested to enter for such a steep price. It was quickly reduced down to Baht 200 and several of us decided it was worth it, after having come a long way from Malaysia.

I chose not to as I had seen them before. And I had our own Karen long neck, which was a very willing subject.






On a parting note of our tour, I must give praise to the creativity of the Thais at recycling. Paying 2 bhat for the toilet facilities, I was wondering what the 2 sewing machines were doing in a toilet.

TO CHIENGMAI WITH LOVE - Day 1 Part 2

The flight to Chiengmai was under 3 hours. Being the only flight arriving at the new Chiengmai airport, immigration clearance was pretty fast, so was the bag clearance.


The main task at hand was to transport all the luggages to a vehicle big enough to carry 12 bicycles packed in a bag. Back home, we would need two 1-ton lorry for the job and a mini van to carry the passengers. In Thailand, there will always be options.

The police at the airport suggested the passenger pick-up van. Though designed to carry passengers, there's always room at the top. The police even helped to call for two vans. The hospitality we get from the police was just the beginning. Little did we know the Police would be playing another major role later!

So 12 bike bags were loaded onto the van, a few securely secured on the roof. One van was for the passengers and in no time we were heading into the city and to the Arcade bus station.

At the bus station, it was another 3 hours wait for the bus to Chiengrai.

The journey was uneventful. We have used the VIP bus and with 3 passengers to a row, we settled in very fast for the 3 hours ride. A steward was on hand to welcome the passengers. We dont know what he was saying but when later he handed everyone a pack of crackers and mineral water, we really don't need to understand what he was saying.

I was setting up my Polar watch to check the altitude as the bus meanders up and down towards Chiengrai. Alauddin, as the tour leader had a map in hand, checking the towns as we passed them and looking for accomodation, planning for our return journey 2 days later. The road was scenic, with the expected ups and downs as one would expect on the roads in the mountain. We passed by a small town with a hot-spring. There were also certain stretches of the road under repair. Don who was seated besides me was concerned. With the rain, the road under repair was muddy, hence slippery. On a mountain-bike with knobby tires, it would not be a problem. Don is using his converted road bike with slim tires for this trip. I can understand his concern. I would too if I used a similar bike.

I have to mention here the cleanliness of the toilet on the bus. For that matter, Malaysian public toilets would be soundly beaten if there was ever a competition between Thailand and Malaysia. It's something the Malaysian public can learn from our Thai counterpart.

Arriving at Chiengrai, the next task was to find accomodation. With help from the a passenger pickup van, we headed for the White House hotel. A room for 400 baht (RM40) twin-sharing was a bargain. It was also operated by a Muslim, so food was not a problem. I settled in fast.

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I must mention about a Garfield who was friendly with us. He reminds me of our own pet back home, PEDRO. So Pedro look-alike, here's your photo.

TO CHIENGMAI WITH LOVE - Day 1 Part 1

THURSDAY 15TH MAY 08

SAWADEEKAP!

Air Asia was near full. 1 dozen of us added to the number of passengers. At 5.30 am I met 3 of my Phuket ride buddies on the bus at KL Sentral enroute to LCCT - YB Boh, GPS KC and wife Siew Ping.

YB BOH isn't from any political party. Once he removed his helmet, he will have his Western name that I coined for him, you know that famous actor who acted in the King and I! Well YB Boh, you can also call me YB Ramli and I'm also not from any political party either. And I chose to wear a bandana under my helmet too!

GPS KC is of-course the sleveeless cyclist in Phuket, the techno guy who could assure everyone we won't get lost on our cycling route with his satelite tracking. This time around, his techno info would be telling us how crazy we 12 cyclists were on this trip. More of this later.



Where GPS KC goes, you can rest assure Mrs GPS aka SIEW PING would be there. No, I don't believe it was to "track" KC's whereabouts. She, like KC is madly in love (with KC of-course) and also with cycling!

So there we were, on the bus, with the bulk of other passengers, still in wonderland. In the words of DON, it was 3 hours of everything. 3 hours of sleep so that he won't miss the plane, 3 hours of flight-time to Chiengmai, 3 hours of wait for the bus to take us from Chiengmai to Chiengrai, and another 3 hours by bus to Chiengrai. So Don, good things come in threes! If you are not sure whether it is the stalagtite or the stalagamite that hangs from the cave's roof, Don can sure tell you. Don loves nature, and loves caves too. But he is no hermit.

LCCT was as usual hectic, even in such early hours. How else can Air Asia maximise their planes and crews for multi-flights in a day if they don't start early. My nephew flies this red plane too. In one day, he can "tapau" Nasi Dagang in Kota Bharu to have it for late lunch in Surabaya!



Tour leader is ALAUDDIN, in his youthful mid-60s. No thanks to him, he, together with YB Boh had raised the average age of this cycling group to above 55. But he cycles at par with his younger colleague....err.... like me .....


Just like GPS KC and Siew Peng, where Alauddin goes, WENDY will be there. No, she won't ride on tandem. She can beat the men on the ups but slows down on the downs to give face, to cyclist like me. Sorry Wendy, can't seem to find a close-up of yor photo.

Upping the average age to 55 is RAHIM. Rahim is a mountain-lover with the "yee-ha" scream whenever he sees the bukit. As I puffed and sweared at the gradient, this lanky mountain-lover will yell out this donkey sound, much to my heart's annoyance. He's a dualthlete and now polishing his swimming to become a triathlete.



The check-in counter was crowded. The bike bags were oggling for space with the trolleys at the counter. We had our trusty ALIA up front at the counter, sorting out the tickets and the weighing in. She's the one with the loud "Bengali jual roti" horn and a proud Malaysian flag flattering in her helmet, whenever she rides off the Malaysian shores. Such patriotism.



There's another cyclist I have never met but have spoken to on several occassions. I bumped into him in the surau for Subuh prayers wearing the group's Pharmaton orange-colored T-Shirt. And since I was in my Khaki traveller's shirt, he never knew who I was! AZMAR, like me, love our butts. So we both have this old-fashion BROOKS saddle to cushion our butt.

He bought his but I was presented mine by my daughter. I suspect Azmar loves his Brooks saddle more than his butt. His saddle is permanently protected with the ladies shower cap, even while riding! With his long flowing hair, the shower cap doubles up for his bath. In my case, I used the shower cap as intended, when it showers --- to cover the saddle. I find it of no use when I shower!

Azmar, together with several others helped to "lower" the average age of the group. One of them would be this Iron Lady, who never hailed from the Iron Curtain. CAROLINE, a triathlete is the baby of this entourage, except that when it comes to cycling and climbing, she is no baby.

Completing the group is yours truly. Here posing with this "Thai police". Long after we are gone, this Thai Police will remain at his post, not moving an inch, nor eat or drink.

MY NEW CYCLING BUDDIES

The month of MAY will be a very meaningful cycling month. During the early part of May, I played host to 4 cycling enthusiasts from DUBIC Adventure from Sumatra. They were on a short cycling trip to explore Kuala Lumpur suburbs and I brought them to Putrajaya and also explore part of the old Gombak road.

And I had just come back from a short cycling trip in Chiengmai from 15th - 21st May. Story to follow.

It is also this month that two golfing buddies chose to take up cycling. One was motivated to shed kilograms to be healthier for his goal to be single (I mean in golf). He is Mahmood and I am amazed at his commitment and enthusiasm. He hails from the land of keropok lekor and therefore his "ang" sound is very loud!

As he said: "Lo ni, makang pun doh kughang. Rokok pung doh tok isap sebatang. Teh taghek sudah dilarang. Dalang duo minggu, doh hilang 4 kilograng! Anok kawe yang bernama Hassang, Pun dah terror nok kejar pun dah dok dang!"

MAHMOOD

HASSAN

Living in Bukit Jelutong, considered a cycling haven with its wide open space and friendly neighborhood, his enthusiasm was infectious. Apart from his son, his wife Nona has also taken up cycling. Congratulation Mood and family. His recruit has grown to include his neighbors, including one Tan Sri. So, it was on this usual Saturday that we got together to cycle around.


At the same, I was very happy when another golfing buddy, Wan Yahya also decided to take up cycling. He had his wife's support and they bought 2 bikes and was soon equpping their car with the bike racks to take them around with their bikes.

WAN YAHYA & WIFE

On Day 1 of having the bike, Wan didn't waste any time and started to ride. Like duck to water, the couple is now enjoying the benefits of cycling. I had these interesting sms's from Wan:

"Ari ni cycle dgn bini. Tak lah rasa sunyi
Tak jauh sangat, jadi rasa bangat
Kejap laju kejap slow, tak mace bila solo
Lalu rumah saing stop hile penat
Langkah kane, dia offer teh hangat
Bini suka tak terkira, esok nok lagi abe
Kita pun suka lah sebab ada ce!"

"Today Romeo & Juliet went on a ride again,
Yesterday 7km today 8km, a gain
The morning breeze help eased the intermittent pain
Uphill downhill then uphill again
The pleasure just found Romeo hopes he can sustain
Life is after all full of pain, gain, fame, sane, shame
And all else we frame"

I'm also glad I managed to dust-off my wife's Specialized bike and took it out from the store. Wifey also decided to join the other ladies to cycle around Bkt Jelutong. She had son Rafeq to escort her part of the way.

RAFEQ & MUNA (WIFEY)

Mahmood's house has a great outdoor area at the rear. Where neighbors socialize, it was also where we gathered after the ride. We had healthy biscuits, grapes and coffee, compliment of Nona, the generous host. Terima kasih daun keladi la. Guess next ride it will be pot luck!