Stupid Back Tire...

Glad today is over. Cycled 193 km but the major piss off was my back tire going flat. Didn't notice that my tire deflated due to this tiny little staple in my tire. So I ended up ruining 2 tubes and breaking the air pump we just picked up in Bangkok... what can I say... I do what I can. The valve is now jammed in the air pump. To top it off I also was stupid in buying the wrong tubes! Trevor was not amused. Well they weren't wrong tubes but just more difficult to pump up. I got these Presta valve ones whereas I should have got the Schrader valve ones... hmmmmm... I went with Presta because I recall them being slightly cheaper. You live and you learn...

Anyways due to all this wasted time fixing up my back tire we got into Kabin Buri just before the sun set. Phew. Found a nice place to stay as well... double phew!

Having the bikes tuned up really made a difference. When we weren't fixing my back tire we were cruising at constant speeds of 33 km plus per hour! Trevor was pleased I think... but probably wants to go faster still.

The picture is just me happy after I found that stupid staple in my tire that caused a lot of grief!

Ladyboys to the Rescue!

It was a race to get to Bangkok. We needed to get to the Chinese embassy before 11 am. I have said it once and I'll say it again, biking in and out of big cities is not fun. You have to be on top of your game... like super alert at all times. A lot of stop and go (which is annoying) and getting cut off. I am not one to curse but I have realized myself mouthing off at every vehicle that slows me down. Luckily I don't think the driver's notice.

Anyways, after getting off course a few times we made it to Lumphini Park and from there cruised into the Chinese embassy only to be redirected around the corner. My worst fears were then confirmed when I learned that this new visa policy to get into China is everywhere. Basically you need to show proof of a return air ticket and hotel bookings. How can?!?! Cannot. This was the same deal in Singapore. Soooooooo... as luck would have it a ladyboy led me to his/her office and sorted us with some rushed same day visas!!! Obviously we had to pay a bit more but it was worth it.

Another reason I am not fond of big city biking is the pollution. I seriously think I am taking in too much of this crap. Not good. A lot of these tuk tuks have horrible exhaust pipes and it sucks sitting in traffic breathing it all in.

Also Trevor and I got separated. I guess this was bound to happen sooner or later. I was pretty pissed off but cooled down when we met up again. We are still living in the 1980's so we do not possess these gadgets they call 'mobile' or 'cellular' phones. Apparently one can use these to communicate with one another and so I guess they would have been a convenient thing to have. On the positive side though I learned a few things... one being Trevor can be stupid at times. I went back to the spot where we split up and he kept going to where we were heading being the Grand Palace. I thought maybe he would go that route but then thought how stupid can one be to head there as the Grand Palace is kind of big so even if we were both there it could be difficult to locate one another. We ended up meeting back at the Chinese embassy as we had to be there for 3 pm. And yes we now have ground rules if we split up again.

It was a real pain finding accommodation last night. Bangkok is expensive. Well I guess not so much if you're staying on Khao San Road but we were around Siam Square. We pretty much walked (our bikes were getting tuned up!) around for hours in the humid evening before finding the hostel I stayed at last time I was here. Phew!!! Pretty cheap as well and solid location.

Finally it was super nice to have the day off. Had to since our bikes were being worked on. So sleeping in until 8 am was very sweet. We later walked to Tesco and got some grub. That wasn't our last trip there by the way. I then went to watch a moooovie called Sex and the City. It was good. And yes I did watch the show a few years ago and yes I am straight... hehe.

Picture time...

First one is of a poor helpless dog. I hate seeing this but there are way too many animals in SE Asia that are in bad shape. I guess a reminder to have your pets spayed or neutered to control the pet population.

Second one is me pissed off at the corner in Bangkok where Trevor and I separated. I waited a good hour there and what really sucked was that Trevor had all the Baht and right next to me was this lady serving freshly squeezed orange juice. I could sure smell it but had no money...

Third one is we are in the clear! A huge relief that we now have the Chinese visas!

Last one is me outside the Grand Palace.

Still No Day Off...

So I am starting to think biking in Thailand is worse than Malaysia. It is cooler though but the stupid wind is pissing me off. That and the rain is coming out as well. I think the rain gods remember me from last year in Singapore when I mouthed off at them for drenching me in rain. Well it seems they have now teamed up with the wind which annoys me even more. You have to push that much harder and get half the results. It sucks, plain and simple.

Trevor sometimes pisses me off as well. I think we've been going too hard everyday but he would be absolutely content doing seriously at least 170 km a day if he had his way going at constant speeds of 33 km plus per hour! No thanks. But still we have had some killer days. Anyways, I got pissed and said this sucks, we have to slow it down. I don't get it... he is fine on his bike all the time whereas my behind and everything else downstairs is very uncomfortable. I also think he operates better in the heat. The heat and I do not get along. He is having back tire problems though. So I have to laugh at that!

Another bummer is yesterday was supposed to be our first day off. We had a day of diving set up ready to go but the stupid weather had to rain (those rain gods again). So the visibility of course would be crap. That was cancelled and then we decided to just venture on. But our day started around noon so we ended up biking until around 8 pm! That I also didn't like at all because biking in the dark evening is scary... and stupid. So that is never happening again.

Also our bikes are dying. I think a tune-up is needed. We will definitely get one in Bangkok. Really annoying if it isn't me dying it is my bike. I am fine now as my rashes are gone (pretty sure they were heat rashes) and all my other problems seemed to have disappeared. But now my bike is making noises I don't want to hear. So a tune-up is going down in Bangkok and a day off for sure.

Right now we are in Hua Hin. If all goes well we should be in Bangkok in two days! Yeah!!! Very pleased. Still concerned over the Chinese visas and if we can get them there. I really hope so. But then that means a few days in Bangkok. I don't really want to stay there a few days. I have seen everything already. The thought of going down to Pattaya has crossed our minds but getting there could pose a problem. We'll see though.

The pictures are as follows:

First one is showing me dirrrrrty. Yes we do get dirrrty. I still wash my clothes though for many reasons and because I know there are people out there (a certain Lovyshia for example... hehe) who would question that!

Second one is me pretending to know what I am doing fixing my bike.

Third one is me on the beach at Thung Wua Laen. That is where we were supposed to go diving. Argh!!! The beach was so remote and no one there. But both Trevor and I aren't the types to lazy around on a secluded beach. I need to be doing stuff.

The fourth one is of me again (surprise surprise) in super relief as we found some bungalow off the side of the highway at night. It was dark and we had no clue where to stay. Luckily some local helped us out. Phew!

And finally the last one was of this crappy waterfall. Actually there is a grandeur one up ahead but after biking 5 km to get there we decided not to go in because it would cost 220 baht between the two of us. That is way too much to view a waterfall. So then we had to bike another 5 km to get back to the main road. I blame Trevor for wanting to go see it. Personally I have seen many waterfalls in Thailand and yes they are nice but I would have passed this time around.

Goodbye Malaysia Hello Thailand!

Nice to have completed another country! Biking in Thailand is more easy. Going much faster. Just came off a record day of 207 km! That is too much but between the last town we stayed at and our current one there really isn't much accommodation. The next 2 days will be tough as well but probably not as hardcore as today.

In other news it seems everyday there is something wrong with me. Trevor is always fine... lucky. But then again I could just be me being paranoid. For example I got some rash now and don't know what it is from. I went to the drug store and the pharmacist gave me some stuff... hopefully it will go away. Kind of itchy as well. But my side no longer is in pain... Sometimes I think I may be falling apart! Still alive though.

In other random news too many dogs like to chase us... not good with rabies rampant. I almost ran over a living snake. Didn't realize it but Trevor told me as he had to swerve out of the way. And in addition to the racing vehicles we have to worry about not hitting us we now have to watch out for each other! Trevor rear ended me by mistake when I abruptly stopped and then fell and scrapped himself. Whoops... my bad there. Finally Trevor had his first flat today and fixed it up quickly. So good to that.

The pictures are me around the Pedang Besar border in Malaysia... nice limestone cliff I think. The other is me in Nakhon Si Thammarat (our current town).

Trouble Out Of KL

Getting out of Kuala Lumpur wasn't pleasant. Right off the bat I was almost hit by a taxi. He swiped my side bag and I had to really put on the brakes. Then later a guy on the back of a motorbike hit me with a foreign object. At first I thought maybe I was stabbed but later realized just badly bruised. Did not like that at all and was shaken up big time. I depise these people who take joy in hurting others...

Then later in the morning I experienced my first flat. Ran over a big nail. Luckily, Trevor and I patched it up and were off biking again within 45 minutes... I guess that is kind of slow to fix a flat but hey we aren't pro's!

The next morning from Bidor I also had a reaction to something as I kept itching all over. That was annoying. Still unsure as to what caused it. It could be a number of things so I have to watch out.

Anyways, currently we are in Butterworth and if all goes well we will be in Thailand in 2 days!

To the Twin Towers

Made it to Kuala Lumpur. I think we have biked too much these past days. On day 2 we rode 135 km and day 3 a whopping 163 km! That is too much. So we are going to try and stick around 100 km per day.

Biking past 12 noon is way too hot. We kept taking break after break and not really going far. As such we are starting around 5:30am now and ending around lunchtime. Hopefully we can stick to the new routine.

It is pretty tough I have to admit... and boring. Just road, road, road, the odd gas station and you guessed it... more road. It is nice though passing through familiar territory. Yesterday morning we strolled through Melaka (where my good friend Su-N hails from!) and took a shot of the famous church there.

A few people have asked where we have biked and what our plan is. For example I met a German guy just at the Petronas Towers and he asked about our trip. He told me he had done some touring in Germany, France and Spain. So it seems a lot of people do big bike trips.

Getting into KL wasn't easy as well. There are too many expressways. We weaved in and out of an expressway as we got lost from the main road. I wonder though if there is a way to enter KL without taking an expressway.

Four days down and over 500 km done... still a long way to go...

Day 1 Complete!

We cycled to Pontian today and rode a total 105 km. So far so good. Only things worth noting are Trevor's pannier fell off after hitting a pothole in Johor Bahru and I was almost hit with a bag of goods tossed from a van! Nothing super exciting but I do not expect much happening day in and day out on the road.

The heat is very unbearable. I still worry about that the most. Today we had nice weather as it poured early morning and the remainder of the day was cloudy.

I am still very sad to leave Singapore. I'll be back though... A big thanks to Amelia for giving us a place to crash at while in Singapore and Samantha for treating us to a traditional Singaporean breakfast before we set out!

It's Gametime

Just got up and am about to leave... the start of the looooooong journey begins now...

Last Days in Singapore

We have bought the bikes and pretty much are ready to go for the 11th of June. Going to go riding around Singapore today to test them out further and make sure everything is like it should be. Still kind of scary to think what lies ahead and how much road we are going to have to cover these next few months. I worry about many things still like the weather (being the hardcore rain in the tropics that will rock our socks off and not to mention the blistering heat) as well as the Chinese visa situation. They have tightened up their rules as to obtaining a visa which has been really annoying. Only way to get one here in Singapore is to show a return air ticket and hotel booking... so cannot. But I am optimistic... whatever comes along we'll deal with.

Last night I had a superb time out with friends at Newton hawker center. I am going to miss nights like that for sure.