Bicycle 60 - Charity Bicycle trip to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Thai King's ascension to the throne
To mark the 60th Anniversary Celebration of His Majesty the King's Accession to the Throne, the Grand China Princess, Bangkok hotel and the Co Van Kessel Tours will organize a charity of bicycle tour, Bicycle 60. It encompasses 60 kilometers and visiting 60 temples, to take place on Saturday, June 10, 2006.
For details of the trip, refer to the URL below :
http://www.covankessel.com/60%20Tempels%20Engels.html
I woke up very early (at 5am) so that I can reach the starting point, Royal Princess Srinakarin, at the designated time of 6.30am. As I'm not familiar with the hotel which is near Seacon Square, I set off early at 5.15am and reached the starting point at 5.45am. I was the first to arrive. The cab fare plus toll from Ascott Sathorn to Royal Princess Srinakarin is around THB200. Apart from a few Thais staff from the organising company,a Japanese tourist and myself, all the rest of the participants are farangs (ang-mohs). There are about 4 children on the trip too - 3 boys & 1 girls. They survived the 60km ride along with the adults.
After a detail briefing on the significance of the trip and the golden rules where all cyclists are to follow, we went to the hotel carpark to choose our bike. I chose a blue mountain bike which is of the right height for me. It turned out that the bike is quite reliable. The only thing is that it's not as light as I wish it could be. At the end of the trip, my arms are more tired then my legs bcos we have to carry our own bike to climb stairs, cross over bridges, load & unload from the long-tail boats. There were in fact 4 long-tail boat rides.
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Padang, West Sumatra (29 Jan - 1 Feb 06)
I joined the 4D/3N package tour organised by X-Trekkers Adventure to Padang, West Sumatra (Indonesia) from 29 Jan - 1 Feb 06. The 2-way air-ticket by Tiger Air costs $180.46 while the land tour is another $360.
For more info. on the land tour, pls refer to this URL.
On the trip, we swam in and cycled round Maninjau Lake, did a 4 hr trek in Harau to reach a waterfall for a swim, visited the Harua Canyon viewpoint, visited the local markets, tasted the local durians, saw a lot of baffaloes along the way.
The place is very scenic. A lot of paddi fields, surrounded by mountains. The company (6 of us in total) from the group was great. The food is so-so only (the kitchen in all the resorts we stayed in were very slow. they take at least an 1 hr to cook up a few dishes).
The Homestay Echo resort in Harau (our second day accomodation) is very clean and beautiful. The local trekking guide employed by the resort is very good. We enjoyed the trekking very much. For info. on the Echo Harau resort, pls visit this URL http://www.geocities.com/habibneven/index13.html.
To access the photo album, click here. Padang, Indonesia
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Koh Kood Island
I visited Koh Kood Island in Thailand from 16-18 Dec 2005 with K.Jarunee, K.San & Siew Huey. We signed up for a 3D2N package with Bai Kood Shamala Resort. For more info. on the resort, pls visit their URL at http://www.kokood.com/kokood/Bai%2DKood%2DShambala/.
Koh Kood Island - picture taken from the resort
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About Loei
Loei - Land of a Sea of Mountains , the Coolest in Siam.
Loei is at the northernmost point of the northeastern region, along the phetchaboon mountain range. It is about 400 meters above sea level. It has a total area of around 11,424 sq. kilometers or about 7.14 million rai. Loei has a unique geography when compared to other provinces in the regoin. It is full of winding mountains that nearly enclose the province on all sides. The city itself is shaped like a lotus pan and it is cool almost the year round. Loei has planty of natural tourist destinations, agro – tourism
places and cultural attractions that reflect its distinctive local identity.
To find out more about Loei, you can visit the URL below :
http://www.kingdom-of-thailand.com/loei.htm
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Loei (Northeast Thailand) trip 10-12 Dec 05
I juz completed my 3D2N trip to Loei in the Northeast of Thailand from 10-12 Dec 05. It's about 7 to 8 hrs drive from BKK. Very far away.
[To find out more about Loei, visit these URL : http://www.amari.com/tta/desguide_loei.asp
http://www.thai-tour.com/eng/loei/introduction.html]
For the trip, we stayed 2 nites with a family who moved from BKK to Loei to get away from city life in BKK. They used to work in BKK but dislike the traffice jam, the air pollution. They chose Loei to migrate bcos of the cool temperature in the North. As I understand, they rented the house that comes with quite a big piece of land for them to plant vegetables and corns for 1,000THB a month. Not joking nah....1,000THB (about S$40). Hm....can consider retiring there you know if you want to lead a simple life. They home in the "village" has modern facilities like washing machine, water heater, computer and there's government provided electricity and water. But apart from the modern gadgets, their life is very simple and so is their home. Hm...i didn't know that a typical Thai kitchen is a sit-down type where you sit down or squat to do your frying. It's quite interesting to me. Take a look below.
The sit-down kitchen that i talked about
With me on the trip was K.Napaporn and K.Jom (her lady friend). You can see a picture of the 3 of us on the Phu Rua Peak (in the Phu Rua National Park).
Here's the 3 of us on the trip (left to right : myself, K.Napaporn and her friend Jom). We climbed 1 km from the point we parked our car to get to the peak. The climb is not too difficult.
Throughout the trip, there's only 1 driver, poor K.Jom had to drive so many hours non-stop under the hot sun. I'm the fortunate one - backseat passenger. So spacious behind and not so hot compared to the front seats.
Activities we do
- Visted Phu Rua National Park
- Wisited a winery - Chateau de Loei - definitely worth the trip; very big and beautiful (http://www.chateaudeloei.com/)
- Kaeng Khut Khu
Kaeng Khut Khu is formed with a large rock obstructing a curve of the Mekong River causing strong currents. During the rainy season, Kaeng Khut Khu is concealed under water, but during summer time in February-May, the rock and its surrounding sandy beaches spectacularly reveal themselves. Visitors can leisurely walk on some parts of it.
Fish abound around this place, similar to Kaeng Fa and Kaeng Chan in Amphoe Pak Chom.
About K.Jom
K.Jom recently bought a piece of land in the platation. Thus, she makes a trip every quarter from BKK to Loei to take a look at her platation.
K.Jom is a very capable single-lady. She's now working in a German Logistic company. She speaks fluent English (acquired from her 10 yrs of work with the German MNC, working under a British boss) and is currently pursuing her 2nd bachelor degree in Accounting (on part-time basis). She stays in a private landed estate alone. Very exclusive. And she owns a brand new Mazda. wah...seh...and not to forget a proud owner of a platation. She also has a very interesting love story to go with it. Due to privacy reason, I shall not disclose too much in this posting.
Most spectacular memories of the trip...
The most spectacular part about this trip is to have the good fortune to witness the migration of the bats from a cave in Loei to Laos. This spectucular view can be seen daily at about Thailand time 5pm. The bats are very small but numerous in numbers. It's very amazing. I captured part of it in an AVI. I will figure out how i can get it uploaded later. Meanwhile, u take a look at the pixs first.
Bats migrating from the cave to Laos ......
Long journey for the bats to fly to Laos.....
Numerous bats in the migration path.....spectucular....amazing....
Nah, here's the link to view the trip's pixs.
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Hua Hin / Cha-Am [29 - 30 Oct 05]
Date of travel : 29 - 30 Oct 05
Travelling partners :
Issara, Kwanjitt, Ngamjitt, Vilaiporn, P'Tong (Vilaiporn's husband), Arunee, Dr Pichet, Seng Hong, Clement Choy, Goh Seng Huat, Kathleen Ho, Hui miang, Siew Huey
Key activities :
1. Visits to
- Maruekhathaiyawan Palace The summer seaside palace, often referred to as "the palace of love and hope is located midway between Cha-am and Hua Hin. It was built in 1923 under the royal command of King Rama VI using golden teakwood from the demolished Hat Chao Samran Palace. An Italian architect designed the palace with a dazzling composition of verandahs and latticework in regal proportions.
- Hua-Hin Night - Market
- Khao Takiap Vantage Point There is a temple call Wat Khao Takiap situated on top of the hill. Nearby is Khao Takiap Beach. The giant golden Buddha Statue standing against the cliff has become a landmark of Khao Takiap.
Wat Khao Takiap
Giant golder buddha statue - landmark of Khao Takiap
2. Flowery crab eating session
3. Banana boat, jet skiing and swimming at Khao Takiap beach
Additional pixs.
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Petchabun
I visited Petchabun ("Switzerland of Thailand") with K.Jarunee (K.Lee+), K.San (K.Lee+ boyfriend), K.Tze (K.Lee+'s sister), K.Lee+ 's dad and Siew Huey (my SG colleague) from 3-5 Dec 05.
K.San drove a 6 seater Toyota MPV for the trip.
Here's some pictures taken on the trip.
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