Blog start: Padang Besar, Malaysia

Blog end: Khanom Beach, Thailand

Days in this blog: Day 34 - 40

Reflections:

Wow, it is time to explore new lands. It's been quite the journey coming through Malaysia by bicycle. I'm sure most of you know by now that this trip, is my first bike touring trip. It hasn't overwhelmed me yet, but my god, it has been challenging. The first couple of weeks in the deadly heat of Singapore and Malaysia made me think, maybe I've made a mistake. I thought, 'how do other bicycle tourers endure the constant pain in the legs and buttocks'. Most days spent in the saddle was me listening to my inner voice, telling me the worst things. Some days I could drown it out with music, others I would autopilot, and for the remaining days I could actually enjoy my surroundings. On the thoughts told me, I would fail on this adventure at the very beginning, that I would have to give up before we even reach Thailand. I knew this trip would be physically challenging, but the mental side really took me by the ball bag and dipped in boiling egg water. As I experienced more uncomfortable situations, it frustrated me at first and even brought me to anger.

Why would I want to go through the longer side road when I'm already in so much pain and need rest.

Why would I want to camp when there's a cheap accommodation nearby.

Why are we pushing through the sandy beach when the road is just there.

Why did we ride up this steep mountain on the hopes there would be a track down the other side.

Why did we go through the thickest section of mud that we almost got stuck in it.

Reflecting on this made me realise something - how much of a bitch I am! I'm surprised Tasha didn't come right out and punch me one in the head. Looking back, I got so frustrated and angry I completely missed the entire point of this trip and basically of life. Lost in anger and frustration, I missed the experience! That anger could have been directed to solution or problem solving. That experience was adventure but in my mindset, it was needless challenge. If I were still a wee lad I would be making delicious mud cake and throwing that brown around! And instead of taking the main path, I got to go through small roads and do side quests! Craziest thing is everything works out in the end. Sure it may have not been the path of least resistance, but we got through.

This is the best! Woohoo!!! Middle fingers are still up for mosquitos though. Now a moment of silence for Tash for having to put up with my shizz for the first section of the trip.

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Day 34: The Border Crossing

So now with Malaysia behind us, we finally arrive into Thailand! Crossing the border at Padang Besar was a quick and easy experience. We just followed the motorbike lane, filled our e-form, and proceeded through immigration. We were given a two month visa on arrival without any hassles or much waiting around. Entering Southern Thailand we instantly felt the difference. Tash could no longer understand the language and the whole rhyme of the place, jumbled our brains into mush; we were so used to Malaysia. We step over an imaginary boundary and the accent of the world changed, remarkable! The most obvious visual change was seeing more Buddhist temples and shrines. In saying that, we were still at the heart of Thailand's Muslim community. It was interesting to see so many Thai Muslim people mixed in with the traditional Thai Buddhist culture. As we cycled up country the Muslim influence slowly dwindled but that wouldn't be for awhile.

We started the day early from Malaysia and reached our destination of Hat Yai by 1pm. We were honestly quite energised to be in a new country that neither of us had visited before. Although Tash tells me she had visited when she was nine, but only to Bangkok for a visa run. The day was hot, but thankfully we passed a ridiculous amount of rubber tree plantation along the way that provides us much needed shade. Also, fun fact via Google search, Thailand is a major global rubber producer - thanks Google! Flying pass the rubber farms and into Hat Yai, we reached our massive motel complex which bunkered up for the night.

Now at this point, we were ready to fill our bellies to maximum capacity. So we cleaned ourselves up, put on our sun caps, and marched out into the streets of Thailand for the first time! First mission, eat, and then withdraw cash money. We also had no SIM card or internet outside of our accommodation, so we implanted the routes into our brains before we left. We searched for a restaurant as no street vendors up until this point took card. On empty stomachs and barely functional brains, we marched towards restaurants that of course, did not take card. Here in Thailand Prompt Pay by QR code is king! But we did not know, and we did not know the means in which to set it up - spoiler alert, we would never find out how either. We explained to the staff at the restaurant, we would be back with cash, because the food looked too damn delicious to not try. We travelled to many different ATMs, a bank, and a random laundromat for free WIFI to transfer funds, only to find out that every ATM charges you a fee of 250 ฿ (AUD 12) for each withdrawal.

Hungry and dying from the heat, we made the long trek back to the restaurant and ordered a bunch of delicious delicacies. This would be our first meal in Thailand I thought to myself, let's make it a good one! The pad kra pao was so spicy, we had to learn the words 'not spicy' (mai oa phed) and 'no chilli' (mai prik) in Thai. I will take this phrase to my grave and live with it for the rest of my life. I will never forget these words as I pretty much use it as a greeting to all restaurant staff. With a fire gut and deep fear of the spicy aftermath of the morning after, we asked for the check so that we could go get something dairy. That's when the shock of the bill hit us even harder then the pad kra pao. In our hunger induced delirium and weak knowledge of the new currency, we spent our daily budget in one meal. Since that faithful day, we have forgiven ourselves and have moved on to much cheaper, affordable meals. And finally continuing this long afternoon we juiced ourselves up on these yogurt drinks and formed a new cycle of addiction to prebiotic Thai drinks. And I don't know what hit Tash when we got back, but she hit the hay at about 3pm and I had to wake her up for dinner otherwise I swear she would have slept all the way until the morning.

Day 35: Riding through Songkhla

On our second day we cycle out of Hat Yai and into Songkhla to do a little bit of exploring! The history of this place goes way way back and was originally known as Singora, an ancient Malay kingdom before Siamese (Thai) established control of the area. But I suggest you put on your own history hat and monocle, and do a bit of reading into it. It is very interesting as to how many cultures have influenced this place, from Malay, Indian, Persian, and Chinese! The history here is very rich and you can see it in all the architecture and old remnants. Just looking out at Songkhla lake and it's harbour you could see how the city would of been a thriving trading hub with very strong defences. Like King's Landing from Game of Thrones, but less fantasy and dragons, and more grounded in real world stuff and Asians. Yes.

But back to the present day, in old town we discovered what would be my favourite Thai dish going forward into all of Thailand. Nothing has beat it in taste, flavour, and complete satisfaction in every single bite - its name is Khao Soi! With a Western tongue, we would pronounce that like 'Cow Soy'. Now add a bit of that Eastern twang to it and you may come off a little racist or get the name just right - just don't squint your eyes while you're saying it. Anyway we stumbled upon it by chance as we were just looking to refill our water at a filter station. We saw the store right there next to it, and our bellies needing filling too so we thought, why not! The dish itself is a creamy, delectable, yellow curry combined with the most tender braised chicken drumstick that just melts off the bone as soon as it hits your pallete. For added texture in the coconut curry half the noodles are boiled and other half fried for that extra crunch! On the side you have pickled vegetables, onion, and lime slice to add that little bit of tang to that banger meal. The combination of every ingredient in this meal complimentary explosion of taste and flavour! You must try this dish if you come to Thailand.

After a little more exploration we cross the lake via ferry to continue up along the coast. So far we have been lucky with rain, but this day was a little different. As we cross the river a little drizzle began and we took shelter under the cover of a mosque. It was a nice feeling - like being back in Malaysia taking refuge in a warm inviting place. During the afternoon the rain was on and off. On one of the particularly harder down pours, we stopped by a roadside drink store for sweet sugary boostagines! But with the rain having no end in sight we eventually decided to ride out. Before we left the owner of the store, Phet, gave us some mangos to-go from her backyard!

Not long after riding we ran into 2 other cyclists from Switzerland also powering through the rain - Lavinia and Matt! They were the first of not so many cyclists along the path. After a lovely conversation, we went our separate ways, but who knows, maybe in the future we will see each other again in Europe! That is one of my favourite things so far about bike touring, meeting others in this welcoming little community and making connections.

That night we walked out of accommodation from the road into the dark abyss towards the beach to eat. Although it was a little bit sketchy we put our trust in Google maps. In pure darkness with nothing but our phones in hand, we see a shack lit up in the distance and like moths to a flame, we flew towards it attracted and enticed on what it had to offer. Nothing bad happened, we just ate in the dark at this small little beach restaurant. All I know is life would be better without mosquitos at the beach, during dinner.

Day 36: Straight up the Coast!

This is the day that we discovered that heading up the coast of Thailand meant we would be at a constant battle with head wind. It slowed us a bit and it was the first time I had to deal with it. Tash told me it could get much worse so I guess it wasn't too bad. During the day we stopped by a beach restaurant to eat up on some Tom Yummy and Tash also had to do some work on the computer (meetings and all that part-time work stuff).

After stopping for some time, we decided to ride along the highway to make some distance and the side roads were becoming way off track. Along the highway we made a few stops, the first at a little cafe so Tash could widdle her piddle. As she was widdling I ordered us possible the best dessert we've had so far, a salted duck egg croissant! Freshly baked by the cafe owner's mother that same day. As we chatted away, behind the scenes the cafe owner was concocting coconut drinks which she gave to us for free! That's the second gift we've received from a local store! So many treaties!

Thai hospitality is really something else! Later that day we also stopped by a petrol station/rest stop where we met our second cyclist in Thailand, Jerry! He told us he actually met his wife at this same petrol station years ago when he rode from India to Singapore.

After meeting Jerry and his wife (sorry I don't remember your name it's been so long), we continued our ride to Hua Sai where we decided to take a days rest. On the day of arrival we hit up the night market right after showering in our top tier accomodation. So far the accommodation in Thailand has been very similar to Malaysia. We've been staying at what is pretty much a motel where you get a bedroom, bathroom, and if you're lucky AC!

On the rest day we managed to do our washing at a laundromat nearby, work on the computer, and call back home to family and friends. We also tried to return to the night market but fortunately it was closed. But, do not despair, we discovered a lovely husband and wife owned halal restaurant across the road.

Day 37: Slow easy ride

Not much happened this day, we took it slow and enjoyed the air-conditioning of our room. We left around lunch time and that's when we discovered Thailand had a crazy BBQ chicken game. Two days in a row couldn't be a coincident. We were almost about to ride pass this little store but the smell brought us right back. We had possibly my favourite meal in all of Thailand, stacking up right next to Khao Soi. The juicy chicken meat was marinated to perfection and combined with the sticky rice, you just can't go wrong.

Now be seated and prepare yourself because a wall of text is coming. No pictures. Use your imagination.

As the day was coming to an end, we rode into a small village looking for a place to camp. We followed Google maps to what was meant to be a camp site but turned out to be abandoned long ago and had majorly overgrown. So we thought let's stay at a temple. We had recently read that if you ask the monks politely it was okay - luckily there was one down the road. When we arrived we were greeted by the temple dogs with insistent barking and general Thai doggy aggression, which would later actually come in handy. Ignoring the dogs, we searched the sizeable temple grounds for anyone. There were multiple buildings spread about but no one around. It was getting dark and we decided if we camped away from the buildings it would be okay, but as were about to set up an old monk came in through the main gate. After some time trying to communicate we learned he was the only monk residing at the temple. He let us rest under the cover of the main prayer area and brought us water and pillows.This is where things take a little turn. I was struggling to fall asleep and Tash had completely shutdown, eyes closed, in REM mode. I was lifelessly laying flat like a vampire, when I heard the barks of the dogs at the far entrance gate. The barks continued to get closer. They are following someone on the grounds like they did with us early in the day, I deduced. I waited, listened, only until I heard footsteps on the gravel near the opposite shelter where we had parked our bikes. I rose up from my false slumber and saw through the mesh shell of the tent, a slender figure of a man headed towards our bikes. "Sawadee-krap" I called out, and he headed over to us rambling something I could not understand. I see he has a plastic water bottle in hand with some sort of light yellow liquid. Hmm, piss, I thought to myself. But no man drinks piss, it must be homemade alcohol. I told him we were trying to sleep over and over until he gave up and came under the same temple shelter as us. He laid on the opposite side and was seemingly sleeping. I stayed alert. At this point Tash is also up, but we continued to try and sleep as he seemed quite harmless. Moments later he goes on to repeatedly say "you..you..", I rise again. I see he talking to us, I lay down, maybe if I ignore him like the temple dogs, but he continues. I think after a bit of frustration he walks up to our tent and repeats "money..you..". At this point we thought maybe this isn't so normal for people to sleep at temples.

Tash goes to wake up the monk sleeping in the building next to us. She goes because whenever I leave the tent at night I am swarmed by mosquitoes - it is my curse. I am a coward. The moquitoes have already won. My threat level assessment also has Tash beating this man in a fight if it comes to it. I bet on it. I am safe behind my wall of mesh. I watch. As Tash stepped out from the temple shelter he looked worried and ran to stand between her and the monk's building. He had me worried for a second. He forced me to expose myself to the giant little blood suckers. To leave my nest. Bravery.  At that point we and by we, I mean Tash, turned on the lights in the shelter and told him to leave. Not a tactic I would of used as light also attracts more mosquitos. The darkness is my friend, but now I was brave. I had to be. It takes him a while but he stands in the dark, smiling for a bit and staring at us from behind a column before he gets the message. We decided to go back to sleep with the lights on, in rounds, but 30 minutes later I heard the dogs again. That time the barking went around the sides of the temple grounds, meaning he was maybe behind us in the dark. Instead of risking something being stolen or disturbing the generous old monk in the night we decided it's probably best if we just left. So at 11pm we packed our tent and bags back into the bikes and headed out. Mosquitos be damned!

Our first night cycle was actually awesome! We cycled 92km in cool night air which was a stark difference from riding in the hot sun during the day. We also discovered that stray dogs love roaming the night in packs and sleeping on the roads! We were barked and chased by many dogs but it makes for quite the exciting ride. We learned to shut them down by screaming back very loudly or cycling directly towards them while flashing our torch lights. I'm sure some Thai locals saw some strange things in the night. We saw the stars so clearly in the night sky. In the early morning while it was still dark we saw some people fishing at bridges, setting up food markets, and coming home drunk from a night out. It's a totally different vibe. We stopped many times during the ride at different 7/11 for pick me up snacks, and by the time morning came around I was about ready to fall asleep riding the bike. Tash had to make random conversation while I answered her in my head. It will probably be the only time on this trip we will ever ride overnight, but it was a fun experience. Doing 92km on no sleep hits different when you lay down in that soft bed too. We decided to stay two days at the accommodation in Khanom Beach to make sure we were fully rested. We don't have many photos from this time because we were on no sleep but there's definitely footage (stay tuned for the film ;).

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