I was collected by the van at 8am and after picking up a further 2 passengers from a seperate hostel followed by a short break in a back alley while we switched vans, we finally broke free of the city and headed to greener pastures.
One thing I noticed as we escaped Bangkoks clutches is how flat the surrounding areas are. There were no hills to be seen no matter which direction you looked in and I guess that's due to the city being built on swampland.
Another thing I noticed was that whilst we stopped briefly in traffic, our driver opened his door and was sick onto the road beside him. No tip for that guy today, except don't be sick out the side of your door when driving and carrying passengers.
We arrived at the Good Times hotel at 11.30 and were informed that our rooms were not ready yet so we sat and chatted for a little while by the river, had a spot of dinner and waited a little longer for the rooms to become available. I joked that when they had said that our rooms were not ready yet, perhaps they meant not built.
They finally finished building them around 2. This meant we could quickly get changed before our organised bike tour with Tom, our guide for the day and the only guy who was fully lycra'd up for the coming cycle. I suddenly felt less self concious.
Tom led the way, followed by the 2 german girls on the trip, Clara unt Sarah, then me. He wasn't hanging about either and in just a couple of minutes we reached the bridge, left the bikes and climbed up onto the track to walk across it.
There is nothing on the bridge itself to allude to the bridges history, except that in the middle, the part that was destroyed and then rebuilt, uses square rather than curved design along the top. Apart from that, and the number of people walking it by foot, it could just be any other bridge. A large group of Thai school children walked past me whilst I was there and nearly every single one of them said hello as they went past, that was a lot of hello's back but it's a nice memory of this place that I wasn't expecting.
We re-mounted our metal steeds and headed off behind speedy tom towards Wat Tham khao Pun limestone caves, home of 9 small caverns and a giant reclining buddha. As I first saw the mist covered hills towards where we were headed it was clear what a beautiful part of the world this is. What was also clear shortly after was that those caves were not really ideal for anyone of average european height.
Sarah at around 165cms found it mostly easy, for Clara at around 175cms, things were a little more complex but she still did ok. Me at 185 has a headache that still hasn't shifted. Today I learn't how to use the word "Shizer" correctly.
I should have suspected that things weren't going to be easy when Tom opted to wait outside. Still it was mostly downhill and flat on the bikes from now on.
On the way back we stopped briefly at a small war grave cemetary situated at the site of the huts where the prisoners were housed during the construction of the railway. The graves here are of those that died in the hospitals and reading some of the memorial plaques containing inscriptions from those that were closest to those that remain here, you can get a small sense of the pain, but also the bravery of those they left behind.
Tom mounted up, it was time to get back, helmets on heads, stomaches in mouths weaving us through the high street traffic like a man possesed by the god of spandex we arrived safely back at the hotel right before the heavens opened and I made my way to my room and ran a deep, hot bath and soaked off the days.
With aircon blasting out nice cool air, you can just about get away with it here.
We re-mounted our metal steeds and headed off behind speedy tom towards Wat Tham khao Pun limestone caves, home of 9 small caverns and a giant reclining buddha. As I first saw the mist covered hills towards where we were headed it was clear what a beautiful part of the world this is. What was also clear shortly after was that those caves were not really ideal for anyone of average european height.
Sarah at around 165cms found it mostly easy, for Clara at around 175cms, things were a little more complex but she still did ok. Me at 185 has a headache that still hasn't shifted. Today I learn't how to use the word "Shizer" correctly.
I should have suspected that things weren't going to be easy when Tom opted to wait outside. Still it was mostly downhill and flat on the bikes from now on.
On the way back we stopped briefly at a small war grave cemetary situated at the site of the huts where the prisoners were housed during the construction of the railway. The graves here are of those that died in the hospitals and reading some of the memorial plaques containing inscriptions from those that were closest to those that remain here, you can get a small sense of the pain, but also the bravery of those they left behind.
Tom mounted up, it was time to get back, helmets on heads, stomaches in mouths weaving us through the high street traffic like a man possesed by the god of spandex we arrived safely back at the hotel right before the heavens opened and I made my way to my room and ran a deep, hot bath and soaked off the days.
With aircon blasting out nice cool air, you can just about get away with it here.
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