Our tour guide Colin (western name, but strong Thai accent) met us in the lobby of our hotel a few minutes after 9am. Having no idea what to expect (or if I would survive our bike tour…I rarely bike at all even at home), he let us know we were the only 2 on the tour. For a city where large tour groups prevail, the thought of having the individual attention of our guide was a welcome and unexpected surprise. His shop was a few streets north of our hotel, and he navigated us through the back alleys, about a sweaty 10 minute walk. Not only was I concerned about the chaotic traffic in Bangkok being difficult to handle on a bike, it was only shortly after 9am and I was already down a few litres of fluid.
Our tour guide Colin (western name, but strong Thai accent) met us in the lobby of our hotel a few minutes after 9am. Having no idea what to expect (or if I would survive our bike tour…I rarely bike at all even at home), he let us know we were the only 2 on the tour. For a city where large tour groups prevail, the thought of having the individual attention of our guide was a welcome and unexpected surprise. His shop was a few streets north of our hotel, and he navigated us through the back alleys, about a sweaty 10 minute walk. Not only was I concerned about the chaotic traffic in Bangkok being difficult to handle on a bike, it was only shortly after 9am and I was already down a few litres of fluid.
We found this tour through Urban Adventures. Debating whether or not we wanted to tour South East Asia on our own or with a tour company, we spoke with a representative from Intrepid Adventures at the annual Outdoor Adventure Show held in Toronto. She suggested we try Urban Adventures in a few of the cities we planned on visiting, as we could get an organized tour on a daily basis. We first tried out Urban Adventures in our hometown Toronto, with the Beer Makes History Better tour and loved it. So we booked Bangkok by Bike, and crossed our fingers it would be just as entertaining.
Colin brought out 2 decent mountain bikes, 2 helmets and 2 bottles of water. He told us most of our route would be flat (hurray!) and on side streets with less traffic. A few times we were going to cross over major roads, which we would walk the bikes across, but other than that…easy as mangoes and sticky rice. The bikes had disc brakes, which helped the bike to stop suddenly – good for bike control I guess, but I was hoping my reflexes would be quick enough to react in time if I needed, but not too quick that these super sensitive brakes might put me over the front handlebars.
We started off heading towards the river, and stopped a few minutes later at a park overlooking the Chao Phraya River. We got off our bikes, leaving them on the walkway and headed towards the water front. A brief history lesson of the park and some of the surrounding area, we hopped back on our bikes, riding along the bike lanes that followed the river.
Bangkok is a much more bike friendly city than Toronto. Bike paths are very common, and you can ride as easily on sidewalks as you can on the roadways without pedestrians or drivers batting an eye (or honking their horn). At roadway intersections, or even driveways, the sidewalks all slope down, making it easy to transition between other roads and sidewalks.
Sidewalk Bike Lane, Bangkok
We rode past the Grand Palace and around one of Bangkok’s many universities, eventually arriving back along the river to one of the many boat docks. We jumped on one of the boats, and made our way across the river to the mostly residential side of Bangkok. Making our way through the markets were the locals shopped (much cheaper prices, although not an english sign anywhere), and past countless houses, apartments and shops. Although the poverty was overwhelming, not once did I feel unsafe or unwelcome. We stopped at Wat Arun, one of the few tourist sites on this side of the river. Seriously breathtaking, and not just because of the biking, the humidity, or the steep climb to the top of the temple. Wat Arun is one of my new favourite sites in Bangkok.
View from the top of Wat Arun, Bangkok
We made good time on our tour, mostly because of the size of our group but also because Colin said we rode well for tourists. (Similar I’m guessing to being described as “pretty fly for a white guy”, but I will take the compliment with a small amount of pride). So, our guide added a few extra stops to our tour, including a few beautiful temples with hardly any tourists, but impressive statues of Buddha inside. Many of the local Thai’s were inside praying and meditating and I felt priviledged to be witnessing true aspects of everyday Thai life, rather than the numerous tourist traps surrounded by crowds. We got a sense of true intimacy when Colin took us to his own temple, where every Sunday he comes to take lessons in meditation.
Having our fortune translated by Colin
The roads and alleyways on the bike tour path were challenging – sharp turns, alleys barely wider than the bikes themselves, and constant obstacles (also called pedestrians), kept the ride from never being boring. Riding back across one of the bridges, I felt more confident and familiar with a side of Bangkok I don’t think enough tourists see. After about 4 hours, we found ourselves back at our starting point. Despite all of my senses being in overdrive for most of the morning, I felt a peace. It may have been a peace brought on by dehydration and exhaustion, but a peace nonetheless, that made me thankful I braved by fears and signed up to explore the exotic and beautiful city of Bangkok by bicycle.