Big up the Land of Smiles :). A tropical smack down. Jungle is (definitely) massive! Scootering and hiking through teak forests of the North, amidst equatorial wind mills of coconut and banana tree groves.  Sniffing tarmac, pushing bikes over mountains to meet vast, flat farming plains; playgrounds of giant monitor lizards.  Spin-class the ass off, hot stuff in the saddle. Golden-orb sunrise delights a perfect payoff. Bar the sometimes risky Thai tummy fall-out, street markets and food sent directly from the cycling gluten-free gods! It’s delicious, on every level, to be back in Thailand.

Drama met us off the train for our final weekend in Madrid. Thinking it was the last stop, bikes and half our bags (holding passports and valuables) were popped on the platform.  Returning for the last of our gear, train doors closed and we started to roll.  Pulling the alarm (and wailing like banshee) didn’t help, half in a tunnel we couldn’t open the doors.  Gooped, gagged and bewildered, bidding farewell to our precious cargo/lives, surreal and tummy-tumbling.  One stop forward and three metro stops back, calmed down, stoic to the outcome.  Luckily, everything was whipped off the platform and waiting in the guard room.  Hallelujah to the legends of Spanish Rail! Madrid, then our setting for a fabulous European farewell with Brians whānau (family).  The city stretching her seams for Constitution Day; Bustling Christmas markets, scrumptious meals, walks through spell-binding galleries and autumnal parks. A reminder, life constantly deals both lucky and low hands, being part of an Irish family = maximum craic 🙂

A goodbye then a gorgeous bonjour to Ellie (BFF) for a sweet-ass Chiang Mai Christmas. Three kids, three scooters, jungle walks, city ambles, daily trips to Siri Wattanna Market for ‘baggies’ (freshly made curries, stir fries, stuffed omelettes flipped into small carry out bags), deep fried bananas and iced Thai Tea lattes.  Picnic fuel to chill by city reservoirs, mince around mountain botanical gardens and wander jungle paths on waterfall walks. #chosenfamilytimeperfection

Donkey kicked off 2025 with a solo Mae Hong Son loop petrol-scootie-power roadie.  A circuit we did 10 years ago on bikes.  Pootling through mountains, reminiscing on our younger-selves. Towns grown, vibes changed, roads improved = the omnipresent progress of Thailand.  I dove into a 3-day silent retreat at Pa Pae Meditation Centre (yup, silent!).  My living experience is full of mental gymnastics, cognitive spiralisation a dish always served hot! A chance to log off, let go of the past, future and present, reconnecting back to the here and now = Om Shanti-tastic!  Humbling to see how calm and still the mind becomes with 5-6 hours of meditation a day.  Something available to all of us if we’re so inclined and/or need #collectiveconsciouness #thanksjung. Refreshed, reset and reunited the road and wheels beckoned.

Finding flow above the peddles.  Perfect Thailand roads, a happy new year gift. Gliding past rolling jungle. White Buddha and stupa, tiny snow-capped peaks on sparkling green hills. Wat (temples) with golden Buddha and ornate multicoloured buildings in even the smallest town. Zipping through villages adorned with wedding cake like flowers of franginpani trees and mango trees with their beautiful teardrop earring fruit. Crunching over giant Teak leaves, monster prawn crackers covering the roads.

Our first night on route delivered a synchronistic farang encounter; Pearce Dunne, a retired sound engineer from Dublin greeted us at the local mini-mart/cafe. Mad for a chat, it turned out Pearce had worked with our family friends brother in the music biz.  Who informed us of his notorious industry nickname, Fierce Dinn, which we dropped over coffee the next morning. A small synchronistic world! #ontherightpath

Time to hit the hills the following day.  We knew from our last trip they come steep (not very cycle tourer friendly) in this part of the world. The journey through Doi Khun Tan National park would be our only undalting encounter. Reliably, we were nose to tarmac. Steep, but empty, the ups and downs still a glorious challenge through these quiet hills.  Bamboo groves like plumes of ostrich feathers, shading our effort.

A rest day then in Lampang.  A town being revived and rebooted by returning university students.  Evenings on the road, waiting for the air to cool, we head out to local markets.  Every town has these pulsing hearts.  With wheat a rare ingredient here, deep fried goodies including belissimo chicken comes in a coconut milk, rice flour and sesame seed batter, step aside Colonel KFC!  Coealiac coniption, I was hooked like a smack-attack for the first month. Luckily a recent raw encounter, prophylactic projectile vomitting, curbed the enthusiasm.  These markets, a perfect cycle-tourer-setting to carb-load the day away.

Continuing down to the flat, choosing tough single dirt track routes where possible.  Dragging or pushing bikes inside bamboo forests. Huge blonde bone-like ribcages pierced by slices of sunlight.  Days have felt like a dream.  When the route has allowed, stopping off by watering holes like Pha Hob to cool off in the water and shade.

A night on the Ping river in Wang Chin, before heading into Si Satchanalai Historical Park, situated on the banks of the Yom River.  One of the first major trading towns of old Siam.  The ruins, abundant with peaceful Buddha, Wat and stupa, graced by golden fluttering confetti of majestic rain trees.  Fronged giants like Goliath fan coral. Dusting relics with their shimmering rain, caressed from branches by warm Eastern breezes.

Cyling on to the UNESCO heritage site of the old Siam capital, Sukhothai.  Not many tourists make it here. Those that do joined us on two wheels to meander ruins between lakes and moats.  Sunset silhouettes shared with swooping bats, diving kingfisher and wading birds. Waters bathed in golden paths of sunset broken by turtles, cat fish and gliding monitor lizards.  What a world we live in.  What an adventure we’re blessed to have.

In the thick of Thailands flat farming plains now.  Paddy fields a verdant green that hurt your eyes. Maiz and sugar cane swaying in gentle winds.  Smooth roads, even the dirt tracks level, making the bumps, bashes and grind of Morocco feel both improbable and impossible looking back.  Reaching 35 degrees, bikes with kit still pushing 35 kg, knocking out 80-95 km days.  The challenge still on. Churning out distances before things heat up after midday. A rhythmic spin, the mind wanders in and out of your body, freedom on two wheels. 6am starts, hitting the saddle with sunrise.  Wringing out our padded shorts at days end!  #allpartoftheshow

Coming into Uthai Thani the low mountains of the Khao Luang forest park broke ground to our right. Black and white limestone forest covered shards a spectacular visual flag bringing us to a welcome rest day. Unwinding meandering the morning and night markets on the banks of Sakae Krang river adorned with pastel coloured house boats.

Then our last few days on the flat.  Irrigation to support the never-ending farm-land across these Northern plains is fed and managed off a natural vast floodplain. A confluence of bursting rivers in a network of canals and waterways. The sound of clattering tractor engines pumping water in pillow like tubes across the roads. Often feeling like we’re on the only dry slice of land amidst a drenched landscape of inundated paddy fields, net covered fish lakes and duck farms. Watching huge monitor lizards and snakes glide and disappear in the murky waters. This wealth of water means tropical fruit tree’s weigh heavy on banks and between water-logged fields and lakes. Bursting buckets of live fish abound at markets, slippery, waiting for the pots or wok deep fryers. Hunger for everyone here, a forgotten memory.

We’re on a welcome rest day in Ayutthaya.  As we’ve neared Bangkok, traffic’s grown, the ability to escape between canals diminishing.  So it’s a train for our final day into the city tomorrow. A border run to Cambodia to renew our Visa, before a sleeper train South to Surat Thani. From there we’ll tour Southern Thailand and Northern Malaysia. The sea a welcome relief on the horizon from hotter climes. The hot happy sweaty adventures of Donkey and Horse, will blissfully and fortunately continue 🙂

Happy 2025 wherever you are.  Wishing you glorious backyard, home country or far-flung adventures in the year ahead! #divein

Over and out

D&H / B&T