I hate to open this post on such a down note but oyy, regretful! 365+ days gone and I only managed to squeeze in 2 posts? How can that be? Perhaps because this, like most blogs, is really just a glorified journal. Otherwise to say, the lack of a dedicated audience breeds the lack of commitment on the author's part. Yes, "me" in this instance.
Nonetheless-- to now counterbalance the above with some zealous cheer-- were I to summarize my year/my experiences/my findings/my travels in but a single post, it would have to come down to this: Bike touring has got to be the most radical way to travel (Insert many Exclamations!). I owe a whole bunch of thanks to my pretty radical guy for sharing his adventurous spirit with me and for teaching me so much about bike touring. As we pedaled our way through Thailand this past November (2010), I was fairly convinced that I was the luckiest girl in the world.
After a few days in Bangkok and Chang Rai, we geared up and pedaled our way North to Mae Salong! As we stopped for water breaks and did our best to communicate with some of the local tribes, not one person failed to break into hysterical /congratulatory laughter when they heard of our plan to bike the off-road mountainous trails to Mae Salong.
The trip had its struggles, namely my fear of swooping downhill tracks, but it was so So SO very worth it. I don't know whether all Thai tribes are uniformly that wonderfully warm and welcoming, or perhaps whether they were intrigued by our sense of spirit, but biking through the Lahu, Akha and Karen villages was surely the most heartening experience. Most people offered us water, some engaged us in good conversation, and yet others invited us to their wedding, celebrated over lunch in a beautiful bamboo treehouse!
After we alas made it to Mae Salong and spent a few days recuperating and exploring the tea fields of the region, we then decided to bike some more massive hills on our way farther west to Tha Thon. When my thighs pleaded aloud that they'd had about all they could take, we were able to hop a long tail boat back to Chang Rai before we flew south to Ko Yao Noi, a beautiful Muslim island located in Phang Nga Bay, just between the provinces of Krabi and Phuket.
This half of the trip was a tad more relaxing, but there was still plenty of adventure to be had between the snorkeling trips, cave exploration, rock climbing ventures, and hours upon hours of kayaking. Funny enough, even while I loved every moment of our time in the south, I found myself wishing that I had had a two-wheeler in tow!
For every moment that offered acute levels of the most unparalleled freedom, there was also a consciousness that this was indeed how life was SUPPOSED to be lived...We simply rode. We simple WERE.
Never will I Ever forget how it felt to ride through the beautiful landscapes of Northern Thailand... "Epic!"
