Back to Bangkok

Well, we have pretty much finished.

We left Cambodia yesterday and cycled over the border into Thailand. It was the strangest thing; as per my previous post, the town on the Cambodian side of the border is pretty remote and we didn't see any other foreigners. But the minute you cross into Thailand there were hordes of tourists, all there to do visa runs and get extensions to their time in Thailand. The differences between the two countries is stark and immediately apparent. Thailand really is pretty first world, with a highly developed infrastructure, excellent roads, highways and so on. The rutted, pot-holed roads we had cycled on in the morning were a memory but so was the peace and quiet, the small friendly villages and frequent sugar cane juice stops.

The rain started pretty much the minute we got over the border so we flagged down a songthaew (jeep) and got a lift to the nearest big town. On arrival it was still raining so we decided to keep going all the way to Bangkok. We arrived about half eight in the evening, loaded up the bikes and, horror of horrors, started the ride to our hotel.

It was the first time we had ridden in Bangkok, and most certainly the last. My heart was going like the clappers and my palms were a hot sweat. Mike had ripped his rear tyre that afternoon and had done a botch patch up job with a bit of plastic from a tube of face cream. It worked suprisingly well but he had had to partially deflate the tyre and also detatch the rear brake so he swerved rather alarmingly as he cycled. We had to go about 5km along one of the busiest roads in town (Sukhumvit, for those who know) and I really did not enjoy myself. At one point another cyclist (the only one we have seen in Bangkok, and who was lit up like a Christmas tree with endless flashing lights which made our single front/rear light seem a little paltry) flew past taking pictures, then stopped up ahead to take a video as we passed. All great fun but yet another obstacle to be avoided.

It was with great relief that we pulled up at our hotel and were told that there was a room and we didn't have to go any further.

So, that's it. The cycling is pretty much done. We notched up 3,500km which seems quite respectable. We will miss it.