We love Thailand, and we love cycling there even more :) It really is the Land Of Smiles™ - you can be assured of friendly people wherever you go, and they'll be falling over each other to help you if you have any problems.
On our grand tour of SE Asia we rode through Thailand twice; once going north from Bangkok to the Laos border at Chiang Khong, and once going east from Aranyaprathet back to Bangkok.
General guide
- Drive on the left.
- Budget around B500 per person/per day for food and accommodation.
- Food and drink stalls are frequent and often have fridges or ice and serve cooked food.
- Almost all roads have a good seal and a hard shoulder wide enough for two cyclists to ride side-by-side. Road signs are good and km markers are regular.
- Off the beaten tourist-track, signs are not transliterated and there is no western food. Guesthouses and restaurants are not signed in English.
- Expect stares and greetings outside tourist areas - wave and smile a lot!
- Several towns have one good bike shop but apart from that, bike supplies are limited.
- Central Thailand is hot hot hot - start pedalling early.
- Train times can be found on the State Railway of Thailand site.
Vocabulary
- hello = sawadee kah (women)/ kap (men) (sa-wah-dee car/ cap)
- please = kaluna (kah-loo-nah)
- thank you = kawp kuhn kah (women)/ kap (men) (corp coon car/ cap)
- bicycle = jakkayan (chak-ah-yarn)
- how much? = tao rai? (tow - rhymes with cow - rye)
- toilet = hawng nam (hong narm)
- vegetarian (eats dairy) = mung sa vilat (mung sa veelat / veerat)
- vegan = ahan j (a han jay)
- vegetable fried rice = khao pad pak (cow pad pack)
- 1,2,3,4,5 = nung (nung), sawng (song), sam (sam), si (see), ha (ha)