Bangkok by Bike and Longboat

Five days in Bangkok provided two further opportunities for us to dig out our cycle shorts and gloves.  As we discovered, cycling in Thailand’s capital is not for the fainthearted, but provides opportunities to experience sides of the city that could never be reached on foot.

Given the popularity of cycling in Holland, perhaps we should not have been surprised to find that both cycle tours were run by Dutch operators.  But it did feel strange – in a country where most signage does not even use the Greek alphabet – to be walking into the offices of Co Van Kessel to begin the first of our two tours!

Though we were certainly not in peak tourist season, the office was already bustling when we arrived for the 7am roll call.  So much so, in fact, that we were split into two groups.  We headed off first, and never saw the other group again (even at lunchtime).  They obviously have more than one route worked out for the same advertised itinerary.

To reach the Co. Van Kessel office, we had taken a 30 minute subway ride followed by a 10 minute walk from our city-centre accommodation, and at no point did we venture back into “modern” (commercial) Bangkok with our bikes.  For the first hour of the tour, we slowly wound our way through the “real” urban Bangkok, where children play, animals run free, and laundry is hung right up to (and often in the middle of!) the roads and paths that we were following!

Though we were told that we were passing through Chinatown, this was very different to the Chinatowns of London and other major cities.  The only real sign that we were in a Chinese community at all was the many temples that we passed.

For this first leg of the tour, the route we took was very winding, and there were many stops to make sure that no-one in our 15-strong group had taken a wrong turn.  At times, we had no choice but to get off and push our bikes, either because of traffic (mostly foot traffic, scooters and carts – car ownership is uncommon in these neighbourhoods), or because the path was just too narrow!

At the edge of Chinatown, we made a stop at the Wat Kalayanamait Buddhist temple.   Inside, there is a 15 metre tall seated Buddha image, made from limestone and gold leaf.

Outside is an enormous tower containing the largest bell in Thailand, once used to summon monks to prayer  but now a tourist attraction… and yes, visitors are welcome to ring the bell using the enormous wooden mallet provided!

A short distance from the temple, we arrived at the first of several piers that we would be using throughout the afternoon.  This part of Bangkok is criss-crossed by numerous rivers and canals, and often the only way across is by ferry.  Fortunately for us, many of these ferries are large enough to take several bikes on board, and provide some much needed shade and rest after a very hot and tiring morning of cycling.

From our watery vantage point, we traveled for forty minutes down the canal, passing through neighbourhoods that appeared to be little more than “slums” to some quite opulent-looking homes, and – inevitably – the occasional temple.  Many of the properties that we passed had gardens hanging over (and in some cases into!) the canal, and of course many also had their own pier or even a private boathouse (as you do).

To enable us to navigate the often narrow canals, our boat was only wide enough for two people to sit side by side.  The motor was attached to the end of a very long pole.  Trailing several metres behind us, this provided an extremely tight turning circle, even when we were moving at full speed.

At the end of our first longboat journey, we made a brief stop to feed some very hungry fish before our own hunger was satisfied courtesy of a tasty Thai buffet lunch served al fresco by the water side.

After lunch, we returned to our bikes to explore the more rural area of Bangkok that we now found ourselves in.  Here, the cycle path was often little more than two foot wide, elevated and with a steep drop down to ditches or paddy fields below.  We found ourselves far too concerned with staying upright to be taking any photographs of this unfortunately, but further opportunities to take photos in this environment were provided (and taken) on our second bike tour – three days later – so more on this later…

Mid-afternoon, we passed a grocery store.  The shop was on the wrong side of a canal, but no problem – our guide shouted out our order, and soon, 16 bottles of water were passed over to us in a basket using an elaborate system of pulleys!

At the end of the afternoon, our bikes were once again loaded onto a longboat ferry, and we made the long journey back towards central Bangkok.  The canal that we were travelling along eventually emptied out into the Chao Phraya river, prompting our guide to begin handing out life jackets.  Apparently, we should have been wearing these on the canals as well, but the police never venture up those winding waterways!

The second of our two cycle tours – just three days later – was a considerably more intimate affair.  The office for Bangkok Biking – whose Colours of Bangkok (Weekend Edition) tour we would be joining – was even more obscurely located than Co. Van Kessel’s.  So much so, in fact, that we had no choice but to arrive by taxi.  Having already had some very bad experiences with Bangkok traffic, we left significantly earlier than Google had recommended, but we shouldn’t have worried – Sunday morning proved to be very much the best time to be on the road, and we arrived with plenty of time to spare.

In stark contrast to Thursday, we turned out to be the only guests on the Colours of Bangkok tour.  So with just our Thai guide, and his young Dutch intern (usually responsible for work on the company website, but invited to join our tour to get some experience with guiding), we set off for a long (and very hot) day of cycling as a group of just four.

Our first destination: a neighbourhood described in the tour itinerary as “one of the many hidden local communities in Bangkok. We might call it a slum, but the local people call it ‘home’.”.  After spending many weeks in so-called ‘developing’ nations recently, this neighbourhood didn’t feel any more like a ‘slum’ than many others we have visited.  However, our guide explained that in years gone by, areas like this were the first victims of flooding when the Chao Phraya river burst its banks, and it is thanks to the tireless efforts of the late king Bhumibol Adulyadej that flood defences now prevent these streets from becoming an open sewer on a regular basis.

At the heart of the “slum”, we passed a kindergarten whose construction was proposed and funded by King Adulyadej and now receives financial assistance from Cycle Bangkok.  Usually, tour parties are able to take a look inside and introduce themselves to some of the local children, but this being Sunday, the kindergarten was closed.

Further along, we made a brief stop at another Chinese temple.  This one was considerably smaller and less “golden” than others we have encountered, but shared many of the same trappings.

After navigating several roads that I’d certainly not have wanted to be cycling on in heavy traffic, we passed the offices of Bangkok’s Water & Sewage board.  Certainly not a noteworthy landmark, except that it served as yet another reminder of just how much King Adulyadej – who died four months ago – was adored by his people.  As we have witnessed everywhere that we’ve travelled in Thailand, black and white ribbons are being displayed outside all government buildings for 12 months as a mark of respect for the late King, with billboard-sized pictures of him carrying messages of thanks a not uncommon site.  The pictures we’ve all seen of crowds uncontrollably wailing at the news of a fallen leader (most notably in Korea) might be looked upon quite cynically, but everything we have seen and been told about King Adulyadej suggests that he really is “people’s favourite”, and his successor has a lot to live up to.

At the end of the road, we reached yet another of the Chao Phraya river’s many ramshackle piers!  Whilst the longboats we’d taken during the Co. Van Kessel tour were quite attractive, our transport across the river on this occasion would prove to be rather more primitive!

Across the river, we found ourselves in the considerably more rural community of Prapadaeng – the so-called “Green Lung” of Bangkok.  Here, we cycled through Bang Krachao park, a popular weekend destination for locals out with a picnic, or on bikes of their own.  In the middle of the park is a small lake where we once again found ourselves feeding hordes of ravenous fish.

Taking one of the more obscure exits from the park, we once again found ourselves navigating narrow raised pathways on our bikes, with steep drops on either side down to swampy ditches and paddy fields!

Having successfully navigated that maze without so much as a wheel (or foot!) in the ditch (and thank goodness our guide had made this trip a few hundred times before – it would have been so easy to have got lost in there!), we arrived at something that resembled civilisation.  At the side of a busy road, we met two rickshaws (known locally as samlors), and spent the next 45 minutes touring local villages under the steam of two very willing Thai gentlemen.  The fact they were considerably older (and rather more rotund!) than us left us feeling a little guilty, but of course, this was nothing that a generous tip could not assuage!

Providing our samlor riders with a well-deserved break, we paused for a brief visit to one of Bangkok’s many “floating markets”, so called because a few of the stalls are perched precariously on boats moored on the canal.  This particular market seemed to be more geared towards tourists than locals, and there were certainly plenty of tourists around on a Sunday, including the inevitable Chinese coach parties!  Our guide bought “street food” snacks, providing a much needed early afternoon sugar rush, and had it not been for the fact we had a full afternoon of cycling ahead of us, this would have been a perfect place to buy gifts for friends and family back home.

Returning to our samlors, we concluded the neighbourhood tour, finishing up back where we’d left out bikes: in an underground lock-up below a restaurant.  Time for lunch!  Having become quite used to elaborate buffet lunches on tours in this part of the world, we felt a little cheated by the simple rice and chicken dish we were served with, but this was probably just what we needed with a long afternoon of cycling still ahead of us!

The highlight of the afternoon was a visit to an abandoned temple.  Though the building was fully intact, and still very beautiful in a subdued / mystical kind of a way, the bare wood and peeling paintwork were stark contrast to the new temple that has been built next door.

Though a building like this would have been considered a health and safety risk in many other countries, and sealed off to protect the public from the horrors of a stubbed toe, a makeshift bridge provided access to the temple over the surrounding moat.  Inside, we found many idols and other decorations that we have become accustomed to seeing in Buddist temples throughout SE Asia… though, of course, everything was showing signs of decay.

On three walls, elaborate painted murals, now peeling away, tell various stories from Buddist teachings.  Our guide became storyteller for a few minutes, although his English was hard to follow and I can’t claim to have left the temple any more of an expert in Buddism as I was when I entered!

At the rear of the temple stands a giant drum.  In a working temple, our guide explained, there would also be a gong.  Traditionally, in Buddhism, the gong is sounded first then the drum is hit in the morning; and in the evening, the drum is hit first and then the gong is sounded.  In both cases, this is used to gather people together for meal times or prayer.

After crossing back over the river, we retraced our steps towards the Cycle Bangkok office.  Just around the corner, we made a final stop at a Muay Thai “gym”.  On any other day of the week, this ring is used almost around the clock by local fighters, but on a Sunday was sadly deserted.

By the time we arrived back at the office, we were certainly ready for a long and well deserved rest, and were glad to be returning to our apartment by taxi rather than battling with public transport.  Both of the two days we spent cycling in Bangkok were amongst the hottest that we’ve experienced since leaving London nearly three months ago.  It was very much worth all that sweating though – as we have found in other big cities around the world, cycles once again proved to offer the best balance between covering a large area (and range of experiences) whilst feeling “in touch” with the people and the places we encountered.  We’d take this over a coach tour any day!

A video of our second day cycling in Bangkok can be found here.