12 April Bangkok
The bus pulled in at Bangkok’s Southern Bus Terminal at about
1:30 a.m.—10 hours after leaving Ranong—and I easily found a taxi for the longish
ride to the Banglamphu area. For years I had been staying at the New Merry V Guesthouse,
but it had closed last month in a sale to new owners, who have yet to reopen it.
So I went to the more basic old Merry V Guesthouse a few blocks away. The main reason
for coming here is that’s where Bessie Too the Bicycle has been waiting for me the
past three months. She has spent the entire winter cooped up in a cardboard box!
Luckily a woman at the guesthouse was on duty and checked me to a single room with
air-conditioning and private bathroom on the 4th floor. Cost was 400 baht ($12.84)/night,
about as low as it gets for such a room in Bangkok. It was OK and even had a large
window of the alley below, though I missed having a desk. I washed up and crashed.
The bed felt odd in that did not go up and down with the waves!
The
Merry V Guesthouse has a restaurant downstairs and served up a good cheese and mushroom
omelet with a mango shake. I still felt tired from the intensive diving—I had done
all 21 dives of the Myanmar trip—and took it easy, catching up on e-mails, Facebook,
and the news. Also I retrieved Bessie Too the Bicycle and a box full of panniers
and other gear not needed for the backpacking trips; the past three months of storage
came to 1700 baht ($55).
Songkran—Thailand’s biggest annual holiday—began
today. As it takes place in the hottest time of year, revelers enjoy lots of water
splashing, though the use of ice water, chosen by many people, seems over the top.
Serious participants carry big squirt guns that resemble assault rifles and send
out long-range streams of water. Many shops had closed for upwards of a week for
the holiday, but hotels, guesthouses, and most restaurants remained open. I think
all the museums and art galleries were closed, but I had so much to do and so little
time that it was just as well I didn’t go sightseeing. I will do the sights when
I come back to Bangkok in October. For dinner I took refuge in the Indian restaurant
Chilli Chill and had a tasty and filling vegetarian thali; from my table I could
gaze down Khao San Road, one of the hot spots for water fights, though it seem subdued
compared to previous years; perhaps the action will pick up tomorrow.
13 April Bangkok
On another hot and sunny day, I headed over to Siam Riverside
hotel for a leisurely breakfast buffet. I sorted photos of the Myanmar dive trip
and posted a bunch of them on Facebook. The water fights began again in the afternoon,
cooling and entertaining both Thais and foreigners, but I stayed safe indoors. There’s
a Muay Thai (Thai boxing) stadium in the lane below my room, and I could hear rhythmic
grunts as fighters practiced on a punching bag or each other.
14 April
Bangkok
I took it easy and worked on photo and writing projects. In the evening
I braved the water fights to head over to the vegetarian restaurant May Kaidee’s
for their Saturday buffet, but alas it was closed for Songkran. There are several
vegetarian restaurants in the neighborhood, however, and one was still open, where
I ordered a red curry. After a long wait a green curry appeared and I made do with
that; it was good.
15 April Bangkok
Buddhist events often take place
in Bangkok—one of the things I like about the city—and today the English monk Phra
Pandit told entertaining and inspiring stories that used water as a metaphor, with
water typically representing consciousness. He has been organizing programs on aspects
of Buddhism for English speakers for many years. You can find what’s coming up at
www.littlebang.org/
Afterward
I wandered into the big shopping center Terminal 21, where groups of musicians and
dancers gave traditional performances of northern Thailand. In the afternoon I visited
long-time friend Chainat at his 7th-floor home for a chat. He likes to cook and
fixed a tasty omelet with duck eggs along with greens, rice, and a mango. We first
met in 1983 when he was a monk at Suan Mokkh in southern Thailand. He had trained
as a pharmacist, then worked in public health and as a lecturer before retiring.
He and his wife, a teacher, have since raised a son who recently got married. Back
at the guest house I sat down and ordered a bunch of cycling, photo, and camping
supplies, mainly through eBay, and had them sent to my sister’s place in San Francisco.
16 April Bangkok
Some mid-day clouds, but otherwise the usual hot and sunny weather.
Songkran ended yesterday, and a big crew of workers with brooms and a water truck
scrubbed the street in front of my guesthouse. I started off with the big breakfast
buffet at Siam Riverside, which I wish I could do every day, but that would be too
many calories! Today’s big event was a visit to the dentist for a check-up. He’s
a periodontist and I’ve been going to him for many years. I also worked on cleaning
gear in preparation for the big job of packing tomorrow. Then I had time to finish
posting photos and text of the Myanmar diving trip on Facebook.
17
April Bangkok
Luckily I was in the guest house when heavy rain began falling
in late morning, breaking the hot and sunny streak of my week here. Lots to do on
my last full day in Bangkok! The hardest part of traveling is the packing—especially
with a bicycle—and that’s what I did today, but the job was made easier because
the bicycle was already disassembled. In sorting through gear I tossed out a pile
of worn bicycle parts, helmet, and tent. That still left a lot to fit into the panniers.
May Kaidee’s had reopened today, and I had my favorite—Penang curry with brown rice.
Then I finished packing and set my alarm to 4 a.m.
18 April San Francisco,
California, U.S.A.
Taxis on the little lane in front of my guest house tend to
be few and expensive, so I pulled out the phone to see if the Grab taxi app would
work here; it did, and a taxi soon arrived. Early birds beat the Bangkok traffic
jams, and I had a quick ride out to Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok’s main airport. The sun
had just risen when I arrived, then I was second in line while waiting for the Korean
Air check-in to open. The airline is very generous with baggage to the U.S.A., allowing
two pieces, each up to 23kg (50 pounds), and one of those can be a boxed bicycle
at no extra charge. Connections to San Francisco are better than in past years,
so no more eight-hour layovers. I first took off into the hazy skies on KE 660,
a 5:45-hour flight to Seoul/Incheon on an Airbus A330-300. The two hours between
planes gave a comfortable amount of time for the long hike between terminals in
the huge and glittering Incheon airport. After sunset and with a thin crescent moon
hanging in the sky, I took off on KE 25 for the roughly 10-hour journey to San Francisco.
This was my first flight aboard a Boeing 787-900 ‘Dreamliner.’ By crossing the International
Dateline the plane arrived at SFO well before it had taken off! The most noticeable
difference with this aircraft is the larger-than-normal windows and the lack of
window shades. Controls let one darken or lighten the windows electronically, but
most of the time cabin crew would override those controls so the windows would be
‘open’ for takeoff and landing, then ‘closed’ during the morning so people could
rest. Clouds parted for good views of the northern California coast and again over
the Marin Headlands, downtown San Francisco, and the South Bay, where the plane
turned north for the landing approach. A lot of planes had arrived at the international
terminal, including a giant double-deck A380 of Emirates, so long lines formed at
the immigration counters. Here one first goes to a kiosk for a passport scan, to
answer questions, have a photo taken, then get a receipt. Afterward I reunited with
Bessie Too the Bicycle and my rear panniers at baggage claim, then zipped through
customs and headed outside, where my sweet sister picked me up! I have ten days
with her in San Francisco before I head by train to Grand Junction, Colorado, for
the next big bicycle ride. That trip takes in spectacular canyon country and mountains
on a route between Grand Junction and Flagstaff, Arizona. You are welcome to follow
along at www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/Southwest2018
Back to beginning of Southeast Asia Backpacking Jan.-April 2018