TTR Weekly’s Mekong Odyssey Ride for Life raised Bt90,000 for the Prostheses Foundation of HRH the Princess Mother. We wish to thank friends and readers who so generously supported this charity ride.

TTR Weekly editor, Don Ross and Peter Brierley present the final cheque –- donations from the Mekong Odyssey ride last November -- to Ass. Professor Therdchai Jivacate, secretary general of the Prostheses Foundation of HRH the Princess Mother, at the foundation’s office in Chiang Mai, earlier today. The charity ride raised Bt90,000 for the foundation.

Don Ross and Peter Brierley visited the foundation at its Chiang Mai headquarters, earlier today, 18 January, to hand over a Cashier’s Cheque for Bt74,850 to the foundation secretary general, Ass Professor Therdchai Jivacate.

A Cashier’s Cheque for Bt15,150 was presented to the foundation last December, as an initial donation.
Overall the ride raised Bt90,000.The foundation has provided 24,000 free prostheses to people who lost limbs through accidents or disease since it was formed in 1992.  For more information see www.prosthesesfoundation.or.th.

All the ride and supporting expenses were covered entirely by the two riders.

For the record, here is the final list of supporters and their donations to acknowledge their generosity for such a worthwhile cause:

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Friends and colleagues in travel helped to raise funds for The Prostheses Foundation of HRH the Princess Mother, based on baht donations multiplied by the km cycled over the entire ride.

All our possession in pannier bags

Chiang Rai resident, Peter Brierley, who handled all the photography on the ride, joined TTR Weekly’s editor, Don Ross, who chronicled the ride’s progress with daily reports at www ttrweekly.com.

They set out on a route from Chiang Rai that took them to Nan, Dansai, Loei to connect with the Mekong River at Chiang Khan. The target was to reach the final destination, Ubon Ratchathani in 18 days with two rest days on the way, averaging 100 km a day.

A chilly Isan morning, but busy with the camera

They also had the notion that the cycle route, following the Mekong River trail through Isan, was  off-the-beaten track. The Mekong River is not acknowledged as one of the world’s classic cycling tour routes, but they discovered, despite its obscurity, Dutch tourists regularly pedal its length from Nong Khai to Ubon during the cool season months, November to February.

Staying connected via an air card

While a key objective was to raise support for the foundation, the other was to track the tourism potential of the Mekong River as it wends a path between Thailand and Laos. The ride also confirmed just how safe and secure Thailand is for visitors, even those who are travelling with just a bike and a set of pannier bags crammed with clothes, cash, passports and valuables including cameras and a laptop computer.

Then there was reaffirmation that this vast region, known as Isan, that borders the Mekong River for most of its journey through Thailand, has a well deserved reputation for hospitality and friendliness to all visitors.

Transport on our rest day in Nakhon Phanom

Yet, they also concluded that the region’s tourism assets and the role of the Mekong River are vastly understated. It should be a star attraction for visitors to Thailand, on par with the country’s beach resorts and islands, but very few of the picturesque towns on its banks feature in mainstream tourism.

In retrospect, they challenged the travel agency notion that distances between tourist attractions are too far apart for tourists to enjoy a meaningful tour.

“We cycled 100 km a day at an average of 20 kmph and there was no shortage of natural and cultural attractions for us to explore from dawn to dusk,” they concluded.

A day in the Nakhon Phanom branch office

“The Mekong River trail through Thailand should be a classic discovery route for cyclists, motor cyclists and even tourists who opt for self-drive car rental. The trick is to slow down, do fewer kilometres and enjoy side trips off the highway to explore riverside villages and attractions.”

For the cycle tour niche market, serviced by specialised travel companies such as Spiceroads, the Northeast and the Mekong River route should be a top seller. It fits the bill for every touring cyclist in the world, who yearns for quiet rural roads and an opportunity to enjoy the WOW factor at every turn of the journey.

The route took the two seniors through some very steep country in Nan province, to Si Nan and Phu Soi Dao national parks bordering Laos. There were stops at Dansai before journeying on to Phu Rua and Loei. From Chiang Khan, where the Mekong River re-enters Thailand, the route followed the most scenic section of highway that fringes the Mekong River almost all the way to Nong Khai.

Phra That Phanom a religious Icon in Isan

After Nong Khai the road stands back about 2 to 3 km west of the river, but small lanes lead to villages on the riverbanks offering spectacular views of a river over 1 km wide.

There were stops to explore Nakhom Phanom, Mukdahan and finally Khong Chiam, all attractive towns on the river before they headed west to Ubon Ratchahani that stands on the Mun River and is an important southern gateway to neighbouring Laos and towns in the Mekong basin.

At intervals of 30 to 50 km, for the length of this 1,600 km odyssey, they discovered small resorts with restaurants some of them having free internet. In the places where they could not locate an internet café they used an air card slotted into the Sony Laptop to stay in touch and files reports.

Phra That Rueang Rung, the finishing line for our trip

“We were never too far from a resort or a place to stop for a meal. This was civilised, but not exactly credit card touring as very few of the resorts bother with plastic money. The Odyssey confirmed that travel in Thailand is vastly rewarding,” they added.

Throughout the trip very few of the resorts were pre booked. The hotel bill rarely exceeded Bt500 for air-conditioned rooms, with hot and cold water, TV and mini bar. Internet was always free. If it wasn’t free they checked in somewhere else.

Conclusion: “Travel in Thailand is not complicated. You just smile and as long as you are patient you discover true hospitality and encouragement. We are a couple of old codgers, with 126 years between us, but we were treated with respect.

Peter celebrates, almost in Si Sa Ket, near the 1,600 km mark

“It was summed up by a village policeman who greeted us with the thumbs-up sign. Yiam, Yiam, (great , great) he called out as we passed by. That said it all. We felt great.”

All the reports covering the full 18-day tour are posted on the website under Mekong Odyssey with photographs and a map of the route.

The southern Isan railway line runs amost parallel with the road from Ubon Rachathani. Both rail and road are as straight as an arrow, the makings of a pretty monotonous journey for a couple of cyclists used to the meandering route the Mekong River follows from Chiang Khan to Khong Chiam.

Ubon Rachathani has all the features of a busy metropolis with morning rush-hour traffic; students piled high on motor cycles dashing off to college and a profusion of pick-up trucks. After more than two weeks of rural cycling we are glad to leave its crowded streets for the wide open highway heading west.

Again we marvel at the variety of resorts that have taken root on the outskirts of town. Who stays in these picturesque chalets? Knowing the going rate is between Bt300 to Bt500 a night, we wonder how these ventures turn a profit. They probably won’t, but they enhance the value of the land adjacent to the highway and are probably a status symbol if you already have a fleet of pick-ups and Mercedes parked in the garden.

The four-lane divided highway has a generous shoulder for motor cyclists and bikes allowing us to ride comfortably side-by-side, while the passing tour buses and trucks add a drag factor on top of the prevailing wind at our backs to spur us along at a heady 30 kmph.

We roll past the right-hand turning to a famous monastery, 15 km from town, but this is too important for us to miss so we back-track and very cautiously cross the busy highway. The province’s famous Bung Wai Forest Monastery, established in 1975, is the highlight of today’s ride rounding off our 18-days tour on a serious note. We might even discover why we set out on this trip in the first place.

It certainly reminds visitors of some very important principles that should govern our life and travels, often forgotten in the rush to be successful.

Wat Nanachart is one of 300 forest temples in the country inspired by the revered Abbot Chah who resided in Ubon Ratchathani, until his death in 1992. He was progressive enough to see the need to establish a monastery for expatriates using the English language, while adhering to the strictest of rules adopted by forest monks.

The monastery stands on 375 rai of donated land and has 20 foreign and two Thai monks in residence. The current abbot is a German national, but a long-time resident of Thailand.

Surrounded by rice fields the monastery grounds are a thick forest of bamboo and tall trees, an oasis of calm for those prepared to take their vows.

It is not technically a meditation centre for lay people, but it is possible to stay here and learn from the monks by participating in the same lifestyle that they have adopted.

There no exceptions in the daily routine so spending time here is not a matter to consider lightly, or on the spur of the moment.

Forest monks have no contact with money in any form. They have no savings accounts, or funds set aside to buy food stuff, not even a bar of soap.

Only a limited amount of food stocks are allowed on the premises. Essentially, they survive entirely on accepting alms from surrounding villages.

Once the daily meal at 1130 is over, they seek refuge in the surrounding forest  sitting in tiny wooden shelters where they meditate until sunset.

On the driveway to the wooden buildings, signs ask visitors not to take photographs. Apart from an occasional car arriving there is hardly a sound, just the whispers of conversation and the sound of the birds.

The former abbot and forest monk, who  resides for most of the year  in the forests of Khao Yai, explains to us the procedure for those who want to stay at the monastery.

It falls into the category of religious tourism, but that does not mean conditions are easy. Those interested must apply in writing to the abbot at least a month in advance explaining their objectives and presenting details of their Buddhist lifestyle. They should have some knowledge of Buddhism and have practiced the religion in a serious manner for the stay to be meaningful.

We talk to a New Zealander who practices Buddhism at a temple in Wellington. He qualifies as a genuine religious tourist, who has visited Thailand on many occasions. Shunning the usual tourist traps, he travelled to Ubon Rachathani to spend two weeks at the monastery.

He described an uncompromising lifestyle that started with him placing his cash in a plastic bag and being shown a safe in the temple office. The monks stood at a distance and pointed to the safe and he deposited his worldly wealth there for the duration of his stay.

We tend to stereotype travellers to Thailand with some justification. Based on the thousands westerners that prop up bars, drinks litres of beer and seek cheap sex in Sukhumvit Road’s bar land, we assume this is the sum total of tourism in Thailand.

But it is not entirely accurate. There are travellers who value Thailand for other features.

We met a Norwegian couple in Ubon Rachathani who were visiting temples and sightseeing in between two diving tours out of Phuket. There were Dutch cyclists, who we never actually saw, but they were certainly touring the Mekong River basin. In Dan Sai we met a Swiss businessman who was travelling north having hired a car to follow the Mekong River.

The monastery’s abbot chatted to us asking us how far we had cycled and wished us a safe journey home. On two of the stout tall trees in the courtyard, the observations of the monastery’s founder had been posted for all to read. I broke the rule and photographed them before hopping on my bike and heading for the gate.

On the outskirts of Si Sa Ket we stopped at an Amazon Cafe for a hot “cappa” and a short break to go online to check the TTR Weekly daily.

By now we had forgiven Amazon for its surly coffee lady who refused us entry on a rainy morning in Phon Phisai, a couple of weeks earlier.

In fact, the coffee makers were so delightful we followed up with an iced Mocca and pineapple pies, while I tapped away on my Sony Laptop reviewing the saga over the PB Air suspension.

I thought it was quite amazing that I could enjoy a very fast WiFi connection courtesy of Amazon Café. What a delightful office location, I thought. I should do this more often.

The coffee girls even gave us accurate directions to Phra That Reuang Rung, one of Si Sa Ket’s most revered temples and the place we decided was a fitting spot to finish our ride.

Phra That Reuang Rung is located on the outskirts of the town on a small country lane in the midst of rice fields and surrounded by small villages.

As we cycled to its colourful frontage, our GPS showed 1,612 km- cycled distance over 18 days since we left Chiang Rai.

We had just enough time to take the stock photograph shaking hands under the shadow of this famous temple located in the heartland of Isan.

Then we set off for Si Sa Ket railway station to board a train for Nakhon Ratchashima for an overnight stay and then a car transfer to Bangkok.

At Si Sa Ket station we bought two second class passenger tickets priced at Bt320 for the 1750 train  that would arrive in Nakhon Ratchashima at 2220.

The State Railway of Thailand is quite cycle friendly when you know the routine. The passenger ticket must be bought first and then the next hurdle is to deposit the cycles with the goods department.

Here the station master explained that if we wanted five-star service with porters loading and unloading the cycles then the fee was Bt360. The do-it-yourself way, which requires a sprint to the front of the train to load and then unload the cycles, costs Bt200.

We splurge on this one and the station master sticks pink labels on the saddles. It’s goodbye to the bikes for the next four hours.

Glue bottle back on the desk, the station master smiles and opens a small tin box containing six amulets. Two of them depict the famous Isan monk, Luang Por Khoon Parisuttho, who resides in a Nakhon Ratchashima temple.

“This will help you on your journeys,” he tells us, as he presents us with the amulets.

I didn’t want to say that our journey was over except for the train ride.

On my return to the office I showed the amulet to one of the editorial team noting I was surprised that the station master was so generous with an amulet that is considered valuable and auspicious.

“Considering the state of the railways, perhaps it was to ensure the train got you safely to your destination,” was the pertinent observation.

That was when I recognised I was back in Bangkok; down to earth with a thump. The realities of the travel trade in Thailand; no romance just the plain fact that some things could work better.

Our Mekong Odyssey was over, yet it taught me afresh just how enthralling travel in Thailand can be if you slow  to a snail’s pace and enjoy the experience. From time-to-time I recall the station master’s expression of genuine hospitality, noting it was a common thread of our experience throughout our Mekong Odyssey.

Tale of the Tape: Today’s distance 101 km; average speed 22.7 kph; Cumulative distance 1,612.88 km.

Our ride was for charity to support the Prosthesis Foundation of HRH the Princess Mother. You can still pledge support based on the total kms we rode during the Mekong Odyssey, or offer a flat donation, which is ever is convenient.

Email details to the Mekong Odyssey 09 email mekongodyssey09@ttreport.com attention Don and Peter.

Tale of the Tape Ride Statistics

Mekong Odyssey 09: How to support

No punctures, no accidents and only minor technical snags with our Cannondale touring bikes.

We filed reports daily from each destination uploaded to the TTR Weekly server, using a Sony Laptop carried in a pannier bag. In villages and towns we connected via WiFI, ADSL or by using an air-card in the laptop. With just a few exceptions roads were surfaced and in good condition, ideal for cycle and motor cycle touring.

Here are the statistics on our original target, actual distances covered and even the calories we consumed during 16 days of cycling with just two rest days.

The trick is to choose a resort that is near a market if the objective is to roll out of town shortly after day break. Usually, the day starts with a strong sweet coffee and a plate of local donuts that you dunk in condensed milk or coffee. It might not be listed in a health and fitness guide, but the alternatives are even less appetising. One is the local porridge known as “Joke” served with an egg floating in a mass of watery rice with minced pork and slivers of liver.

Then there is the staple Khao Tom (boiled rice) with a salty egg and tiny dried fish that your sprinkle as a topping. It’s piping hot and with a few drops of Nam Pla (fish sauce) makes for a nourishing start to the day.

We have two options today. Either we ride southeast to Chong Mek and visit Pakse in Laos, a distance of 73 km or head west for about 90 km and stay in Ubon Ratchathani.

Most touring cyclists head for the border, stop overnight in Pakse and continue south for another week or so to Stung Treng in Cambodia.

We have been on the road now for 16 days so we opt for the excursion to Ubon Ratchathani, which should place us about 80 km short of our ride target of 1,600 km, or 1,000 miles.

The route follows highway 2222 to Phibun Mangsahan where we can, either continue on 2364 north of the Mun River, or cross the town’s river bridge and connect with the main highway 217 for the remaining 50 km to Ubon Ratchathani.

We cross the bridge and take the smooth route to Ubon on a divided highway which has the luxury of a motor cycle and bike lane.

A prevailing Northeast wind pushes us along at a steady 30 kmph over mostly flat terrain; dull and dreary after two weeks following the varied terrain of the Mekong River basin. If  travelling by bus we could have taken a nap, but on a bike, you turn on your Ipod Shuffle and just pedal letting your mind wander through the highlights of the tour and possibly ponder over tomorrow’s final goal. There was just on short diversion to stop and watch craftsman making traditional gongs at small factories on the roadside.

By noon we are looking for Ubon Buri Hotel wondering how it could possibly be just 1 km from town as described in the brochure. It turns out to be 2.5 km away and in an obscure part of commercial Ubon. It is in fact the only attractive building in sight, but isolated with no restaurants or tourist attractions in the vicinity at all.

This was a mistake. We asked the receptionist if the hotel had internet in the rooms. Despite its modern appearance, three-star facilities, tropical gardens and spa, the only spot with WiFi was in the lobby with an hourly surcharge of Bt60. A twin room cost Bt990 with breakfast.

But even the prospect of an American Breakfast was not enough to convince us we should spend a night in this attractive retreat on the outskirts of Ubon.

By now we have a standing rule for the selection of accommodation. They must have free WiFi, or be near an internet café with a fast ADSL line so we could download photographs and they should be in walking district of a market, restaurants and tourist attractions. When in a remote village we parked at a resort as close as possible to the mobile phone transmitter and used the air-card in my Sony laptop to stay in touch.

We moved on cycling to the city, crossing a bridge over the Mun River where we consulted with the undisputed experts on where to stay – the local Sky Lab (samlor) drivers. They had it sussed out in seconds.

“Turn right at the traffic lights, take the next right and try the Sri-Isan Hotel, right next to the river.”

Sri-Isan Hotel fitted the bill perfectly. It stands on a corner with tables and chairs on the side walk, just 200 metres from the river and close to what will be the “Indochina” Market, when it opens later in the year.

Rooms sell for Bt650 and include breakfast. The hotel has WiFi throughout, free of charge, and it worked well enough to download photographs, some quite large files of around 1.5 to 2 MB.

If I had to put this hotel in a category, it would fit Accor’s Ibis brand perfectly. The rooms were clean with a simple, but bright décor and had all the facilities you would find in a modern three-star property –TV, WiFi in the room, stocked mini-bar, air-conditioning and a bathroom with a hot and cold water shower.

It goes to show, Ibis standards flourish in Thailand quite independently, even down to the dimensions, one size up from a shoebox.

But everything worked. Service was impeccable, the place was cycle friendly and genuine Isan hospitality shone through.

Over two weeks, we have stayed in rooms at Bt200 and felt cheated and another destination, a resort chalet at Bt1,600, was a luxury but still didn’t qualify as real value for money. Then there was the Bt350 room in a small resort in Ban Pheang, where we told the owner it was only worth Bt250. He said “fine,” and took our cash. It turned out to be the oldest resort in town with a very tardy reputation.

We didn’t ask anyone for a deal, a free room or offer to write a nice piece in return for a complimentary night. We assessed quite honestly what we were getting for our money. Sri-Isan Hotel came out tops over the entire ride.

Ubon Rachathani came as a shock. I was still harbouring images of a town I visited 10 years ago. The encounter with traffic jams, branded restaurants, shopping malls and crowds jostling in a rush hour was disconcerting.

Of course, the historical temples are still there, the national museum, the park where people exercise, lift weights, jog or snooze on a park bench. It was all there; the provincial city glow survived.

Then, there was the other side of the coin, a city that has embraced all the mega stores, hyper marts and shopping malls you would find in Bangkok. That was a let down.

Ubon Rachathani is a commercial hub for southern Isan and a key gateway for trade to Laos and Vietnam. It is probably a thriving market for agencies promoting outbound travel. You sense there is money to spend, although the houses and building are not lavish and most of the vehicles are practical pick-ups or motor cycles. Yet beneath the veneer, it is still a traditional Isan town with an abundance of fun loving features and the perception that life should be enjoyed preferably in the company of friends, with a bottle of whisky and a few spicy Isan dishes for good measure.

We check our GPS and note we are just 80 km short of our 1,600 target. So in the tradition of Isan folk, we order two more beers, some fried chicken and sticky rice to help us find Si Sa Ket on the map.

Due west on the main railway line to Bangkok we find the black dot on highway 226. We will end the ride there at one of the historical site and then catch the train home.

But before we go to Si Sa Ket to complete 1,600 km, over 18 days, we will make an unusual detour, 15 km beyond Ubon, to visit a Buddhist forest temple where the abbot and monks are all expatriates.

Tale of the Tape: Distance 87.38; average speed 21.2 kph  Cumulative distance 1,511.88.

Our ride is for charity. You can pledge support based on total kms we ride during the Mekong Odyssey, or offer a flat donation.

Email details to the Mekong Odyssey 09 email mekongodyssey09@ttreport.com

Mekong. Odyssey 09: How to support

We are getting closer to our 1,600 km target now and looking forward to wheeling into Khong Chiam, which happens to be the first spot in Thailand to catch the sunrise.

That is far from our thoughts as we contemplate the description written by crazyguyonabike.com and the photos he posted of 2112.

“That was a year ago,” Peter points out. “They might have asphalted it by now.”

The morning temperature was much higher than during the past week with the thermometer already indicating 20 degrees Celsius on the restaurant balcony of Song Khon Resort on tiny Hat Saleung.

A Mekong River trip is definitely a cool season endeavour and preferably from north to south to gain the slight advantage of having the prevailing wind over your shoulder.

About halfway through the ride we designated this lonely stretch of 2112 the worst highway in Thailand, a consistent stretch of pot holes with just a few traces of asphalt. it was easier to navigate on the soft red gravel  verge than face hours of kidney jolting vibrations over pot holes.

There were very few vehicles including motor cycles in sight, but we noticed that the local pastime involved throwing beer bottles asunder creating the additional risk that we would blow our tyres.

We assumed jettisoning bottles on the road was a ritual observed by pick-up truck passengers heading home after a night on the town. But where was the town?

This is a very remote section of road blessed with a few national parks, caves in the nearby limestone karsts and from time-to-time a collection of shacks that resemble a village.

The road has two serious climbs when it pops over a bare rocky stretch of land exposed to sun and wind.

Touring cycles have three chain rings on the front to make it easier to climb with loaded panniers. My smallest ring gave up, wrenching the chain and bringing me to a standstill halfway up the first climb. The steel teeth were ireparably bent out of shape.

The only way up is to go back down, change gears to the centre ring on the front and struggle once more over the same territory. The inclines on this particular heartbreak hill were 11 to 12%.

We were both thankful to see Kong Chiam snuggled in a small valley next to the Mekong River and once we got our breath back, we were once more saying this “is a great route to travel.”

The moonscape pot-holed road dents the reputation of the otherwise efficient Highway Department. The section is a candidate for one of Michelin’s green lines that identify scenic motoring routes, but left so neglected it neither serves the communities who live there, nor the visitors who would travel its length to explore the Mekong River.

Ironically, there are sealed lanes that lead off 2112 to the riverside, national park caves and other attractions all within three to 10 km. They inevitably lead to tiny villages where you can enjoy an astonishingly beautiful vista of the Mekong as its flows south.

Khong Chiam has more than its fair share of resorts, some overlooking the river and others near the main market.

This is Thailand’s most easterly point and a signpost shows you where to stand so you can be the first to catch the sunset on Thai soil.

The Mekong River passes the standard promenade with its exercise machines and jogging routes flowing south for less than 1 km before turning into Laos. From here, it no longer marks the border with Thailand. Travellers have to journey another 35 km on highway 217 to Chong Mek where they can cross the checkpoint to Laos and travel overland another 45 km to Pakse to rejoin the Mekong River.

On the banks of the river, Khong Chiam’s raft restaurants do a brisk business. One of them is called McDang, in English, which made me wonder if this might be a next test case for McDonald’s to take to a court.

McDang’s owner tells us that the town designates three days a week for free cross-border travel just for Thai and Lao traders. They only need a boat to make the 500 metre crossing; no paper work, no IDs required.

“Not many Thais go over there,” the restaurant owner explains. “Mostly they come from Laos to stock up on fresh food produce and they barter with handicrafts, woven stuff and textiles.”

It all appeared to be very progressive with the two communities sharing the river and bartering goods; the oldest method of commerce known to man.

You could say Khong Chiam is a two-street town, but to be fair it squeezes considerable appeal into its territory. It had a roadside bar packed in the evenings with young revellers singing and dancing. One poor fellow shuttled cases of beer from the market to keep the party going.

We dined in a garden restaurant serving spicy “larb moo” sticky rice and fried chicken, but still within ear-shot of I-san’s famous country music emitting from the nearby pub.

We stayed at Baan Phak Mong Khong on the main road almost opposite the market, where an air-conditioned room rents for Bt500 and a room with a fan for Bt250. The resort has an ADSL internet  that costs just Bt20 per hour. This compared with a riverside resort, where a small bungalow cost Bt800 and no internet service.

Tomorrow we will head inland from Khong Chiam to Ubon Ratchathani. Our odyssey following the river is over. Now we have to seek out a suitable town on the railway line beyond Ubon, after we pass the 1,600 km or 1,000 miles mark on our journey, which was the distance target we set for ourselves over 18 days.

Tale of the Tape: Today’s distance 84.78 km; average speed 18.8 kph; cumulative distance 1,424.50 km.

Our ride is for charity. You can pledge support based on total kms we ride during the Mekong Odyssey, or offer a flat donation, which is ever is convenient.

Email details to the Mekong Odyssey 09 email mekongodyssey09@ttreport.com attention Don and Peter.

Mekong Odyssey 09: How to support

(Photo credit: Peter Brierley)

But we get side-tracked, and rightly so, by a sign that points us to Phu Pha Thoeb National Park, famous for its strange rock formations carved out by river floods a millennium or more ago. It’s a 3 km diversion into the hills, but it turned into the park bargain of the year.

The lady on duty waved us through when we told her we were senior citizens. I discovered quite recently that at the age of 60, Thais are eligible for free entry at all national parks and apparently the rule can also apply to long-time residents if the gatekeeper is in a sociable mood.

Inside the park, there were other surprises. First the place was tidy with clear signs pointing to villas for rent at Bt500, Bt700 and Bt1,200 depending on their sizes, while the camp site had respectable looking tents for rent at Bt250 to Bt300 a night. You can pitch you own tent on a prime spot close to the rock formations for Bt30. Nearby there are shops and a couple of restaurants.

Perhaps the most endearing feature was the manner the park attendants went about the business of explaining park amenities and the trekking routes that cover a considerable area of the hillside.

Park official, Waree Yanyachantr welcomed us and we exchanged business cards as he explained the park’s highlights and the variety of wild flowers that bloom at the close of the rainy season.

In between chatting to us, he welcomed a group of Thai tourists and a family giving them brochures and maps.

He is also a keen cyclist and a member of a local club that tackles off-road trails on mountain bikes.

“If you need any help on your way through the province, call me or mention you met me at the park,” he told us.

We cycle back to highway 2034. As we resume the ride over the next few hills, Peter outlines his next trip; visits to national parks in the North and I-san on a sturdy off-road motor cycle; tent packed away in aluminium panniers.

Up until now the road has been narrow, but smooth passing through forests and cultivated farmland. The weather is perfect with a cool breeze and a bright blue sky to encourage us on our way.

On the crest of one of the hill stands Don Tan, a village you would miss if you blinked while passing. We notice a small sign advertising traditional Thai coffee and pull in for a cuppa.

Critics claim  Thai coffee is brewed in an old sock. Yet a great deal of care and attention is needed to ensure you can stand a spoon upright in a dollop of condensed milk at the bottom of the glass. I reckon it streaks ahead of Starbucks although two glasses make you a mite giddy.

This is a mom and pop shop and the couple are keen to find out if we are Dutch.

“Two Dutch cyclists passed by yesterday and there was a solo rider the day before,” they explained.

The couple ask us how they should describe their coffee in English.

“Would a sign help”, they ask. “Every day cyclists pass by, but only a few stop for a coffee.”

We suggest a sign displaying a piping hot coffee, placed  some 300 metres before the hill top with an additional diagram of a cycle to emphasis a friendly welcome.

You could say we are in the middle of nowhere; a remote area on a road that was built in the 60s by the US military to help Thailand cope with security during the Vietnam War. But already we have enjoyed chatting with some very friendly folk.

On a lonely stretch of road, we notice a couple of Police officers stopping cars probably for speeding.

One of the officers flags us down. We are not speeding. He smiles and asks us where we are going and when we explain we are cycling from Chiang Rai to Ubon Rachathani, he laughs and gives us the thumbs up sign with an enthusiastic “yiam”. He shook our hands and waved us on. He was still shouting “yiam” as we cycled ever so slowly up the hill.

According to the map we have just 57 km to go to Khemmarat travelling on highways 2034 and later 2242. It looks like a suitable place to overnight after 93 km on undulating roads, but we are having doubts.

They crept in after we checked out the website http://www.crazyguyonabike.com that describes a solo ride on the same route undertaken exactly a year earlier.

He describes the 126 km of rural road from Khemmarat to Khong Chiam, where the Mekong ends its journey in Thailand, as desolate with a couple of heartbreak hills for good measure.

We decide to ride on perhaps cutting another 40 km off tomorrow’s journey. Our Garmin GPS confirms the accuracy of the Dutch cycling guide. There is a resort at the 40 km mark located at a small beach called Hat Salueng.

We take a gamble and ride out of Khemmarat covering the 40 km by late afternoon when our GPS pings a warning that we should take the next left down to the Mekong River. Obediently we follow orders cycling 3 km downhill to Song Khon Resort. We breathe a sigh of relief when we see the resort’s gate and the owner confirms there are a couple of vacant rooms. She has a captive audience, so no surprises that a pretty ordinary room sells for Bt500, packaged  with air conditioning and a hot water heater in the bathroom.

Not to worry we have just cut tomorrow’s ride to Khong Chiam to a more respectable 85 km on highway 2112 which turns out to be as crazy as the crazy guy who rode it last year.

Forgetting tomorrow’s challenge we admire a stunning view of the Mekong River, which breaks through a deep crevice of rock and through clusters of sandstone worn smooth into the shape of huge loafs of bread. Hidden from view are pools and channels, the haunt of kayakers and photographers attempting to capture the beauty of these strange looking waterways.

It’s an amazing site at sunset and again confirms that the Mekong River is probably the most understated tourist attraction in the region. It happens to be a magnificent river that can be explored from a variety of largely ignored resorts built along its banks.

Song Khon Resort has nine rooms at present with another 12 under construction. Most of its guests are Thai tourists who travel here to take the Bt800 boat trip through the rocky channels to admire the river’s natural beauty.

But there is another steady business for this isolated spot. No prizes for guessing; the Dutch just keep pedalling through.

“Two Dutch cyclists checked out this morning,” the resort owner tells us. “They headed for Khong Chiam. Sometimes one, sometimes two, but it’s a steady business.”

We never saw the Dutch. They were always a hill top away, although we surmised that the tyre tracks in the dusty red dirt of 2112 was a tell-tale sign of their passage.

Tale of the Tape: Today’s distance 129.6 km; average speed 20.3 kph; cumulative distance 1,339.72 km.

Our ride is for charity. You can pledge support based on total kms we ride during the Mekong Odyssey, or offer a flat donation, which is ever is convenient.

Email details to the Mekong Odyssey 09 email mekongodyssey09@ttreport.com attention Don and Peter.

Mekong Odyssey 09: How to support

Phra That Phanom, possibly the most revered of all Buddhist sites in I-san, survived a serious earthquake during the 1960s that damaged the chedi, but there is no sign of that catastrophe, In mint condition, the golden tipped chedi and temple roofs reflect the morning sun, making it the perfect photo background for throngs of local tourists. Facing the Mekong and Laos, beyond, it is a symbol of I-san’s religious heritage and attracts thousands of visitors daily.

It is particularly significant for people born in the year of the monkey or on a Monday. I am not sure why but if you are a monkey then a visit is going to bestow a blessing. I qualify, so I hope the blessing will give me a breeze at my back and cool weather all the way to Ubon.

You could literally spend hours in the temple courtyard admiring the architecture or mediating in its quiet cloisters.

We have just one hour to spare and we want to check out the village to see if there are any hotels or restaurants in the vicinity. One small hotel had that dated appearance, usually associated with properties built just after World War II with hefty timbers, shutters at the windows and tiny balconies.

While we are fascinated by the heritage of That Phanom and the old world charm of its houses and hotel, we recognise that our daily ride is sustained on the food we order. Again the PTT gasoline station with its 7-Eleven saves the day with its CP hot meals. We microwave them at the store and stick into a meal that sells for Bt32 to Bt40. In the past, the daily cycle ride would have been sustained on noodles and fried rice.

Peter notes as he wheels into a PTT station for an afternoon refuel, “7-Eleven has changed the face of road travel in Thailand.”

We see a few motorcyclists travelling north as we head towards Mukdahan, 54 km from That Phanom, noting whatever transport you choose this is a great country to explore. The road is not as smooth or wide now, but we tuck in closely to the white line and thankfully all drivers are courteous and give us a wide berth.

I-san people are very hospitable and friendly, waving to us as we journey slowly towards Mukdahan. Over the last 20 km the road improves widening out with four lanes and even a lane for motorcycles.

Just 9 km from the town we see the sign for the Thailand Laos Friendship Bridge No 2. At an intersection we turn left on to a highway leading up to a very impressive customs and immigration terminal and beyond the bridge itself.

The question on our minds is: “Can we ride the bikes across?” The lady in the customs kiosk is friendly, but rules are rules and one of them states no cycles allowed on a friendship bridge.

“It’s a motorway,” she tells us with a smile. “You will have to beg a lift in a pick-up or take a bus across.”

There were queues of cars, trucks and tankers waiting to pass customs, while close by travellers disembarked from a bus to pass through immigration.

Contrary to publicity, this is not a one-stop shop where you check-out of one country and check-in the other all in one building. No that would be far too simple a solution. Travellers need the stress of crossing the bridge and repeating the whole process all over again. I have no idea what would happen if the Lao immigration refused  entry. It is quite a long walk back across the bridge.

Mukdahan is a busy little town with an imposing boulevard facing the river. Again I am astounded at the width of the river and the volume of water passing by.

The most important spot is undoubtedly the Indochina Market where you could buy anything short of a second hand coffin. Crowded with tourists it’s the heart of the town’s commerce until the clock strikes 1800, when it disappears as fast as dusk becomes night.

A block away the night market strikes up with the same array of food and deserts as we found in Nakhon Phanom.

We check in the Huanum Hotel right in the centre of town. Rooms cost Bt300. The hotel has free internet in the lobby  and when the owner sees we have cycles, she put us in the ground floor rooms allowing us to roll up to the door and fall off in a heap on the bed. That is cycling friendly.

Today, we have travelled 110 km from a town that will be the site of friendship bridge No 3, when it opens in 2012, to a town that has enjoyed the benefits of a bridge for three years already.

Mukdahan is a key junction on a road network called the East-West Corridor. In the minds of developers the corridor will ultimately link towns in Myanmar and Thailand to Laos and Vietnam’s central region and ultimately the ports on the Gulf of Tonkin.

To residents, the bridge just moved the heavy vehicles 9 km north of the town and left the ferries operating as normal. If you are Thai, Lao or even Vietnamese you can cross the border on these ferries that operate from the town centre. All other nationalities are forced to travel north to the bridge and complete immigration and customs formalities. There is even a small resort near the bridge, Indochina Homestay for those in transit.

I suppose that is called a new revenue stream, but for Mukdahan shopkeepers, life goes on with the revenue stream the Mekong has supplied for generations.

Tale of the Tape: Today’s distance 110 km; average speed 23 kph; cumulative distance 1,210.12 km.

Our ride is for charity. You can pledge support based on total kms we ride during the Mekong Odyssey, or offer a flat donation, which is ever is convenient.

Email details to the Mekong Odyssey 09 email mekongodyssey09@ttreport.com attention Don and Peter.

Mekong Odyssey 09: How to support

Mekong Odyssey 09 Trip Map >>

It’s our rest day and we could almost believe we are walking along a seaside promenade as we stroll from the town’s two “tourist class” hotels towards the main pier and Indochina Market. The river is choppy with a strong wind from the east blasting restaurants and houses that face the river.

Nakhon Phanom’s promenade is impressive with tall trees, street lights and four temples that grace the riverfront and are illuminated at night.

Across the river, Laos presents a profile of jagged mountains, mainly limestone karsts that look remarkably like grandpa’s teeth; sharp, out of line and generally in decay. Well that’s what my granddaughter says about my aging grinders.

Nakhon Phanom was named after its mountain view, but it is a craggy outline on the Lao horizon as the town is as flat as the river that flows by.

As we have a day to spare in the town we visit the Tourism Authority of Thailand office, about 800 metres north of the famous clock tower that was donated by the Vietnamese community.

TAT’s marketing services officer, Khun Dao, provides us with a useful illustrated map of the sights in the province and adds a few recommendations.

Have we tried the do-it-yourself city cycling tour, she asks. We explain we have just passed the 1,000 km mark on a cycle journey following the Mekong River.

“Oh, then you might want to take a Sky Lab and see the sights that way,” she advises us.

We agree, at Bt20 per person, the three-wheelers are convenient and easy on our legs, if not our ears.

We ask if there are any festivals due.  Khun Dao explains that we will have to wait until Christmas and head for Sakhon Nakhon, northwest of town when residents celebrate the Christian holiday in style.

Apparently, Nakhon Phanom has one of the largest Christian communities in the land, and the province is not short of a few expatriates who have retired here with their I-san wives.

We noticed as we approached the town, along highway 212, there were palatial homes, some surrounded by rice fields and others in small villages, presenting quite a contrast to the ramshackle dwellings of their neighbours. I wondered if they were family homes built on repatriated foreign exchange sent by I-san sons from  workplaces in Singapore or the Middle East. Or could it be possibly a dowry, when a foreigner weds a lass from I-san?

Whatever, throughout the journey expatriates kept popping up with a family in tow in the smallest towns we visited along the way.

Nakhon Phanom is not the cheapest dining spot in I-san, but we discovered the night market a couple of blocks back from the riverside road going inland from the clock tower.

It was a recommendation of the TAT office and proved to be a highlight of the visit. We strolled along with hundreds of residents picking up sweets and savoury delicacies, snacking as we went.

Overall, Nakhon Phanom is a great town to visit, but fell short of expectations in dining options and when we did finally park ourselves at the Ohio restaurant on the corner of what was supposed to be the town’s trendy night scene, the food was expensive and mediocre.

Unfortunately, we checked in the wrong hotel, too, as the two tourist-class hotels situated on the riverside have very similar names. We ended up in the shabby one and the receptionist wasn’t about to correct our booking mistake.

A room with a view cost Bt700. There was no free internet and the mobile signal was so poor we had to stand outside on the street to talk to anyone.

In retrospect, we discovered a small budget-class hotel right in the centre of town, near most of the restaurants and opposite a cafe with free internet. That would have been a better choice. Having internet was definitely a factor in the value for money equation and Nakhon Phanom’s tourist class hotels should re-package their offer to ensure internet is included in the rate. An internet cafe charged Bt15 per hour. That’s about the cost of a bottle of water that hotels include in the rate.

Our ride is for charity. You can pledge support based on total kms we ride during the Mekong Odyssey, or offer a flat donation, which is ever is convenient.

Email details to the Mekong Odyssey 09 email mekongodyssey09@ttreport.com attention Don and Peter.

Mekong Odyssey 09: How to support

Mekong Odyssey 09 Trip Map >>