Breakaway Destination Guides (International)

What better way to see this fascinating and diverse country, cycling along the back-roads and combining the full range of attractions and experiences. From the bustling arrival in Bangkok to the idyllic beaches of the South, explore the southern peninsular with the chance to stop and fully appreciate this beautiful country.

There are six or seven mountain bike shops in Bangkok out of twenty two nation wide. Leading department store sport sections also sell bikes. Prices can vary, so shop around. Expect to budget around 15,000B for a quality bicycle plus necessary equipment including safety helmet, clothing and gloves. The lighter the bike, the higher the price. A good shop will make sure you get a bicycle that fits your height, and will allow you to take the bike for a ride before you make your decision. First time riders may not realize how necessary a pair of padded cycling shorts are for a long journey. On long outings keep a first aid kit at hand.

Riding on an unbeaten trail can: damage plants along the way, so cyclists should be careful. Take your garbage out and dispose of it properly.

Respect other cyclists and give way to local people.

A pleasant cycling trip is to leave Bangkok amid the early morning mist, and begin your journey at King Rama II park. Early Saturday morning, the park not yet open, adds to the feeling of calm and nostalgia. Visitors are reminded of King Rama II, who was born and grew up there. One feels fresh and excited as you follow the route lined with limitless coconut plantations. A light mist mingled with smoke hovering over roofs under which the first meal of the day is being prepared. It is no ordinary Saturday morning. The cool breeze from the coconut trees, the pleasure of an open, less-travelled road and unhurried two wheeled travel casts a blissful spell.

After eight kilometres, turn left towards Bang Khon Tee Nai temple which lies hidden amid coconut trees. Only the locals use the dirt road, flanked by coconut and banana trees interspersed with farmers wooden houses. One reflects on the joys of cycling after a leisurely lunch by the Mae Klong river.

Your support truck and mobile service centre will catch up near the floating market at Damnoen Saduak. Any one who has been through this area by bus or car may be some what jaded, but from a bicycle the ride becomes a real treat.

It's both soothing and exciting to observe villagers lifestyles at close range. Here humans collect the coconuts, unlike on Samui where villages train monkeys.

Vendors, as usual, float by to sell their souvenirs to tourists. Sellers of fruit and vegetables jam along the canal before their ranks start to thin out around noon. Most tourists by then will have moved on to the rose garden nearby. Leaving your bicycles for a while, board a long tailed boat to cruise along the cool canals and explore waterside communities. A riverside restaurant provides a shady stop for lunch, unexpectedly complemented by ice cream served by a vender from a small boat.

By early afternoon the scene will have switched abruptly to one of sea and mountains. At Sam Roi Yot (Three hundred peeks) National Park in Prachuap Khiri Khan fifty eight kilometres south of Hua Hin, you'll resume cycling. Your goal, the national park office, where you'll camp at Sam Phraya Beach. The park, dotted with odd-shaped lime stone mountains, is enriched with marsh land inhabited by crab eating macaques and goat like antelopes.

At the outer edges are prawn farms. Follow the snaking dirt road through the park area. Leaving an exquisitely decorated temple on the foothills, and crossing the canal, your bound for the prawn farms. A local resident on his motor bike may suggests a different route via a rugged trail to the beach. Here a small stream runs before you into the sea, but knee high depth water is no problem. By this time dusk is coming.

Switching to low gear while riding on the sandy beach, just kilometres of deserted beach lying ahead, while shells and sand creak as the wheels grind over top.

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