Christmas in Thailand

It has been really fun to be back on the bikes. We had a pretty idyllic 800km ride from Bangkok to Lampang. The roads were smooth, flat, quiet and we even had a little tail wind once or twice and that normally NEVER happens. Cycling in Thailand is a real holiday; easy riding; ice coffee from the Seven Eleven at elevenses; noodles everywhere, and finishing the day in a small town with little old ladies selling beer from their little old shops (even the DIY ones) and a night market or restaurant for a dericious dinner.

Ready to ride!

Noodles for lunch

A typical night spot

Our sleeping situations have been pretty luxurious too. We haven't camped yet and have stayed in some posh bungalows and pretty spacious sort of drive in affairs.

This is where the bikes sleep

This is where we sleep..sparse but spacious

Fancy bungalow

Mosquito and cycling heaven

We've seen some very long snakes and I saw an enormous lizard, at least as big as an Alsatian and twice as long. It was practically a dinosaur. I also got stung on the eyebrow by a mean bee as we were riding along and next day I woke up with my eye swollen shut. I looked like I'd been scrapping.

You should have seen the other guy

I accidentally parked my bike in his web

Jules leader of the Ghost Riders

We were aiming for Chang Mai for Christmas but what with the dysentery we were behind schedule. We made it to Lampang, about 90km from Chang Mai and spent Christmas day on the bus to the Chinese embassy where they told us no, you can't come in you Capitalist pigs. We got back on the bus to Lampang to get some more "proof" that we're good honest Capitalist pigs who don't want to live in China and certainly not cycle in it or anything. So we had our Christmas day on boxing day. We found an amazing Korean restaurant which was serving shabu shabu. We each had our own pot of boiling soup and we caught the little dishes of fish and veg which were tootling by on a conveyer belt, and plopped them in to cook. There was also loads of sushi. We paid about six pounds each and had an hour and a quarter to eat as much as we could! There was even an ice cream buffet for afters.. Then we sat quietly for three hours to digest the half of the world's sea life we'd just eaten and watched The Hobbit. It was a very nice Christmas day, if not very traditional. I hope everyone back home had a lovely Christmas.. and Happy New Year!

Jaladdin

Plastic food display in the window of the Japanese restaurant

Real food in the Korean restaurant

Edible Angry Bird going in the pot

One of Julian's sixty bowls of fish and veg

All the Sushi you can eat

Fast food

C'mon, we've only got half an hour left!

Crazy cat

My new cycling outfit, Christmas presents from Jules (not the trousers)