19750 km Kawthoung
Door: Erik en Tjeerd
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Erik en Tjeerd
03 April 2008 | Myanmar, Kawthoung
Yep it's a bit soon for yet another update, but we don't want to miss the opportunity to post from Myanmar! We have been moving in a steady pace from Bangkok. The first day was as expected still fairly busy, but after a couple of hours we made it out of the metropolis, we were on our way to tropical paradise! We did not cover to much ground that first day, because we definitely wanted to make a stop at Damnoen Saduak for the floating market.
In retrospect we have just done it the right way. We arrived late afternoon (almost dark) in Damnoen and headed of for the market early next morning around 7.00. At 7.00 the market was open but the hordes and busloads of tourists from Bangkok (on a daytrip from there) had not yet arrived. We got to see a more or less authentic market with lots of vendors selling their wares on idyllic longboats. The occasional souvenir shop was a bit of a letdown but could not spoil the great atmosphere we encountered at the market. We did not buy much though. It's never nice to carry much on the bicycle, so we settled for some soft drinks and mango with sticky rice.
It was a truly nice experience to see such a market in action, but after a couple of hours we decided it was time to get of our lazy butts again to start to do some cycling. It's been wonderful ever since we left Damnoen. The first day we cycled through the most beautiful mangroves. Trying to slalom our way south. Our map was not showing any roads in this region but a sense of direction can get you far. We just gave it a go and it worked out really well. To be honest we don't really fancy traveling on the big highways and always try to find the "smallest" road available. After the mangroves it's been pretty much beach paradise all the way. Been absolutely marvelous to cycle between limestone peaks and white sand beaches!
On one of the days it was a bit to crazy though, yeah you guessed it, we pushed it a little and managed to do a whooping 192 km in a single day. About 120 of those was planned and "wanted" the other 70 have been made in an attempt to find a "cheaper" place to stay the night. The whole coastline was filled with accommodation, but mostly beach resorts and we just refuse to pay 1600 Baht to spend a night somewhere ;) When we finally did find a place and looked at the mileage, we have to admit we were very tempted to push it a bit more and make the final 35 km to Chumphon, the next major town, to get us over 200. In the end our common sense won the argument though. We had been cycling in the dark the last 30 minutes or so and even though we were fit enough to make the extra 35 k's, it would just not be the smart thing to do! I guess we are getting a bit old and sensible... :)
The next day we finished to Chumphon and continued to Ranong. Not the most fancy town in Thailand but a perfect spot to get our Thai visa renewed. After cycling to the harbor and getting the required Thai exit stamps, we hopped on a boat to Myanmar!
We don't plan to stay here long though. Myanmar is definitely an interesting place to visit. But cycling here is hard. The regime is not exactly "keen" on travelers that have their own transportation and lots of restrictions are imposed on foreigners by the government. All in an attempt to hide "reality" for the outside world.
We are heading back to Thailand, where people have been friendly all the time, the weather has been great and the food fantastic..
mmm, talking about weather, some heavy clouds and thunderstorms here today. We intended to stay at one of the islands here, but considering the weather we will have a look again at the east coast!
Next story will be from Thailand again, we're opting for Koh Tao and some more nice beaches....
Yours, Erik and Tjeerd
http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/aa310/erikopdefiets/34%20Thailand%204%20Ranong/
In retrospect we have just done it the right way. We arrived late afternoon (almost dark) in Damnoen and headed of for the market early next morning around 7.00. At 7.00 the market was open but the hordes and busloads of tourists from Bangkok (on a daytrip from there) had not yet arrived. We got to see a more or less authentic market with lots of vendors selling their wares on idyllic longboats. The occasional souvenir shop was a bit of a letdown but could not spoil the great atmosphere we encountered at the market. We did not buy much though. It's never nice to carry much on the bicycle, so we settled for some soft drinks and mango with sticky rice.
It was a truly nice experience to see such a market in action, but after a couple of hours we decided it was time to get of our lazy butts again to start to do some cycling. It's been wonderful ever since we left Damnoen. The first day we cycled through the most beautiful mangroves. Trying to slalom our way south. Our map was not showing any roads in this region but a sense of direction can get you far. We just gave it a go and it worked out really well. To be honest we don't really fancy traveling on the big highways and always try to find the "smallest" road available. After the mangroves it's been pretty much beach paradise all the way. Been absolutely marvelous to cycle between limestone peaks and white sand beaches!
On one of the days it was a bit to crazy though, yeah you guessed it, we pushed it a little and managed to do a whooping 192 km in a single day. About 120 of those was planned and "wanted" the other 70 have been made in an attempt to find a "cheaper" place to stay the night. The whole coastline was filled with accommodation, but mostly beach resorts and we just refuse to pay 1600 Baht to spend a night somewhere ;) When we finally did find a place and looked at the mileage, we have to admit we were very tempted to push it a bit more and make the final 35 km to Chumphon, the next major town, to get us over 200. In the end our common sense won the argument though. We had been cycling in the dark the last 30 minutes or so and even though we were fit enough to make the extra 35 k's, it would just not be the smart thing to do! I guess we are getting a bit old and sensible... :)
The next day we finished to Chumphon and continued to Ranong. Not the most fancy town in Thailand but a perfect spot to get our Thai visa renewed. After cycling to the harbor and getting the required Thai exit stamps, we hopped on a boat to Myanmar!
We don't plan to stay here long though. Myanmar is definitely an interesting place to visit. But cycling here is hard. The regime is not exactly "keen" on travelers that have their own transportation and lots of restrictions are imposed on foreigners by the government. All in an attempt to hide "reality" for the outside world.
We are heading back to Thailand, where people have been friendly all the time, the weather has been great and the food fantastic..
mmm, talking about weather, some heavy clouds and thunderstorms here today. We intended to stay at one of the islands here, but considering the weather we will have a look again at the east coast!
Next story will be from Thailand again, we're opting for Koh Tao and some more nice beaches....
Yours, Erik and Tjeerd
http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/aa310/erikopdefiets/34%20Thailand%204%20Ranong/
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03 April 2008 - 15:24
Peter S.:
Cheap bastards! Ik heb gekeken naar de wisselkoers van de baht en denk nu dat jullie uit Zeeland afkomstig zijn. Schotland mag ook. 21 landen nu dus al aangedaan. 1 more to go. Of pakken jullie stieken Indonesie nog mee? Groeten, Peter -
03 April 2008 - 15:25
Peter S.:
Cheap bastards! Ik heb gekeken naar de wisselkoers van de baht en denk nu dat jullie uit Zeeland afkomstig zijn. Schotland mag ook. 21 landen nu dus al aangedaan. 1 more to go. Of pakken jullie stieken Indonesie nog mee? Groeten, Peter -
04 April 2008 - 19:01
Gloria & Gerard:
What a surprise that you could enter Miamar after all! We always love to read your stories and view those wonderful photographs.
Last Sunday we visited a presentation of someone who cycled from Llasa to Katmandu in a group of 17. About 1.200 km. In the last day they went down 4.000 m and then had to climb 900 meter. All in all, they cycled 20 km vertically. The youngest one was about your age, the elderst 69 years. But they had a car and a lorry to take all their stuff and five staff to build the tents, cook dinner etc. The whole trip lasted 28 days. -
05 April 2008 - 17:14
Peter K.:
I totally agree with Peter S. story !!!
Some flashbacks are coming up over Schotland as well ;-)
Driving in the dark isn't much of an ideal way of cycling, I think.
Therefore take care and let common sense prevail!
Have a nice time in Thailand again!
Greetings,
Peter -
06 April 2008 - 04:12
Erik:
mmm, still 35 euro's is a lot here. We have been paying between 3-8 euro's a night for the last half a year at least. FYI about 47-48 Baht = 1 euro -
06 April 2008 - 04:21
Erik:
mmm, still 35 euro's is a lot here. We have been paying between 3-8 euro's a night for the last half a year at least. FYI about 47-48 Baht = 1 euro -
07 April 2008 - 19:19
Sabina En Just:
Nog steeds aan het ontdekken. JUllie maken mooie verslagen. We vinden het heel leuk iets over deze verre landen te horen. Veel succes en tot een volgende keer! Vanuit een Amsterdam met 3 graden 21.00 uur maandag 7 april -
08 April 2008 - 11:29
Schuur:
Hi,
Een tijdje jullie verrichtingen niet kunnen volgen helaas door verhuizing. Nog geen internet in nieuwe woning, dus ik ben even op werk aan het bijlezen (ik had Thailand gemist, dus nu ben ik weer op de hoogte). Culinair gezien is het wel interessant wat jullie doen, alles wat beweegt en/of groeit is klaarblijkelijk voedsel. Ik hoop dat jullie straks weer in Nederland kunnen ontwennen en geen honger gaan krijgen als je een eekhoorntje of koolmeesje zien lopen of vliegen :-). Wat gaan jullie straks eten als je weer etrug bent? Leker frikandelletje?
Ik begreep dat Erik al spoedig terugkeert voor bruiloft en Tjeerd nog wat door gaat trappen?
Veel fietsplezier in elk geval! -
14 April 2008 - 08:11
Truus:
Beetje laat, maar toch nog een berichtje van mij. Hele mooie foto van die zonsondergang. Nog steeds leuk om jullie verhalen te lezen en daardoor te weten waar jullie zijn en hoe het gaat. Tjeerd je ouders en broer waren afgelopen zaterdag hier, was erg gezellig om ze weer te zien en andere verhalen van jou te horen. Sterkte met al die stranden en dat heerlijke eten, we weten er alles van.
Groeten
Truus -
14 April 2008 - 12:43
Tjeerd:
Hoi Truus,
Het was zonsopkomst.
Maar het lijkt ook zo op elkaar ;)
Tj
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