Thailand School Year, Detailed "Schedule" Included :)

Curious about the school schedule in Thailand?

...a Teacher-Training in Lampang.

August 2015

So this past July, I started a lovely cycling trip from the East (where I live) to Northern Thailand, with the destination being Doi Intanon - the highest point in Thailand.  Along the way however, I was going to be able to fund the trip through a week of work doing teacher training in Lampang.  The Thai government had ordered testing to be done of every teacher, English Proficiency Tests, and therefore a lot of extra studying was needing to be done countrywide (in every of the 77 provinces, scores were  at unsatisfactory levels).  I was able to benefit from this however, through being asked to help out in no less than 5 different provinces, and usually many schools in each province!  It gave me the chance to meet many, many new friends, and connect with fellow teachers from several different parts of the country.  Something I loved doing and would love to do again, but this is not something feasible on a normal working schedule...  So!  A great 2-month period of biking, teaching, meeting new friends, biking onwards, and repeating.

Specifically though, something very interesting happened in this location in Lampang, so I want to write it down.  This school had quite an impressive staff of teachers, I would say that the kids studying here are quite lucky compared to other places in Thailand, I would say the majority of teachers here actually cared to do their jobs, cared about the students, cared to further their own skills and work-related abilities... just a great group to work with.

University Students in Nakon Patom

They were all very attentive in each of our sessions together, I was able to learn quite a bit from them as well due to their great command of English, and I was even sad to leave!  Saying that we communicated well in English, I am meaning that of course I could communicate with all other groups too, its just that I would usually end up just switching to Thai by the end, after all the questions they wanted to ask/discuss were just too difficult for their own levels of English.  This Lampang group could handle a much higher level of discussion, and therefore much less pressure to speak correctly, and therefore more opportunity to just communicate freely on whatever the topic may be...  Speaking a language and really using a language can sometimes be very different, and people can have various skill levels in each.

Ok, so this very interesting topic turned out to be School Calendar Years, as differing between countries.  I went to school in Africa, but at a school that used a US curriculum, hired mostly US-born teachers, and so I could just use my own memory of our school year as a way to compare with the Thai school schedule...  England might be slightly different, Europe as well, but I think they all still follow the Late Summer to New Year, New year to Early Summer type school schedule.
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After adding up the days, really taking time to give a good comparison and not generalizing, we together came up with the following:

Thai School Year -
1st Term - May 15-Oct 6 (18 end-of-term workdays off, and 4 holidays during term)
2nd Term - Nov 1-March 22 (38 workdays off, and 7 holidays during)

Total days off out of possible workdays:  69 of 261.

US/International School Calendar Year -
1st Term - August 14-December 22 (11 workdays off, 5 holidays + 2 Teacher in-service days during)
2nd Term - January 7-May 29 (53 possible workdays off, and 7 holidays + 1 PT Conf. day during)

Total days off out of possible workdays:  79 of 261.



So, we can see the long summer break in the US calendar really allows for a long period of time away from school, time to visit family, a big chunk (huge chunk compared to really any other 'normal' job) of time for personal projects and still have a job to come back (time to do a cycling trip, or just be an athlete :) many amateur athletes are teachers during the day!, it definitely correlates well to the weather best for outdoor cycling...))

*Some additional information on life as a teacher in Thailand;
all teachers not working at private schools are called Ka Ratchagan, which means "I work for the crown."  In Thailand the crown and the government are still one and the same, and so in short, all teachers are government employees... this means that they need to sign their names for every day that they do not request off.  At least one teacher is required to be "on duty, on call" every day of the year.  The school will allow a representative (the janitor to sign their name in place of a teacher), but someone has to be responsible for the school grounds 24 hours a day.  Most schools are lenient with this during the long breaks, allowing someone else even to pay another employee to sign their name for another teacher (and hopefully also take over their duties for a time :) )... but they still have duties every day!!  I know that my friends in the US really are free, totally free in their 'free' time over summer.  This also can be used to highlight some interesting differences in culture as well, not just related to school... All Thai employees are really much closer to their respective places of employment, and employers, and this comes with many positive and negative things, reaching out into many aspects of their culture.

....
Back to the teachers now, when they saw this difference of 10 whole days per year, they were immediately reacting with phrases like, "Yes!  See?  Thai teachers work very hard!" and "So life in other countries is quite easy for teachers right?"

I was expecting this, and so I reached into my phone, and pulled out the following list :)  I kept quite close track of each day that I was 'at work,' this year, days where I was required to be at school but not actually doing anything at all.  Usually this meant that the students were off unexpectedly, but many other little reasons came up over the course of a year that caused this Thai school number of 69 days off to go up quite significantly...

*True, I am in the role of foreign teacher, not really subject to all the requirements (and therefore consequences) of a local teacher, but I still follow the same schedule as they, sign my name every day, and still have a responsibility to and for my students...  (I sign my name every day in a book that's all my own, it sits next to the book which the other 42 teachers at my school must sign daily, and I'm not sure that anyone has ever checked my book a single time :) )

Ok. the list :)

This is only for 2nd semester by the way, and 2nd semester is known to be a bit more relaxed than 1st... but not much!!  The same kind of things happen regularly in 1st term as well, I just didn't keep as close a record...

So, shool opened Nov 1, but I should mention that the end of 1st term date was actually moved up from Oct 12 to Oct 6 due to the yearly flooding in the region causing road closures around the school.  For teachers and students alike, woohoo! An entire extra week of vacation!!  But what if a student needed the extra time to turn in late work, or learn a few more hours of test-prep... exactly.

In an unbelievable, frustrating, and finally hilarious-because-I-couldn't-do-anything-but-laugh-situation, the Director ordered the teachers to test all 10 subjects in 1 day, as the fields behind the school (and the teacher housing (my house first :) ) were slowly filling with water from the river behind our school and our town.  The students are meant to have 3 days for these exams, with 1 additional day in case of a student being sick, needing to re-test, etc. and then a day for the teachers to inform the students of their final scores for the semester before closing the school for term break.  So imagine this week turned into a single 6-hour sprint!!  Teachers' tests were literally flying off the printers, on and off of the students desks, the secretaries and school staff literally sprinting from one building to another informing teachers of different and conflicting information... students failing left and right, failing not because they were performing poorly in school, not necessarily anyways, but because some students were given responses such as this...
Student - "Teacher, I have to go to the bathroom!"
Teacher - "Not yet, please finish Math first, then we have Science, then you can go to the bathroom."

Testing an entire semester in 10 minutes... oh man.  How would anyone think that these scores could be useful?  Just quite the memorable day at school...

Anyways, back to the schedule details.

We opened Nov.1 and finished Mar.22, but besides the 7 holidays that we, of course, still had off in light of all the other days off that came to be, can't touch those of course!, here is the full list of what happened day to day...

November (No Bank Holidays)
3) School cancelled for local director's meeting
10,11,12) All morning classes cancelled for all grades to practice sports
13,14) All classes cancelled all day to prepare for Sports Day
17) Sports Day
18,19,20,21) All afternoon classes cancelled because it appeared that many students would be good enough to go on and compete at the provincial level, and all the other students were somehow needed to cheer these students on while they practiced during school hours...
26,27) Whole day practice for athletes, so few students still wanting to study in class that teachers just didn't come, and instead found other ways to entertain themselves during the day...
28) Whole day off while our school grounds were used to host a track meet for another school.  Not related to our school, none of our students involved in the meet.

December (6 Bank Holidays)
4) Whole day off for students to listen to a monk come and bless the new statue that was donated to our school grounds by a local merchant.
5) Father's Day off
9) Whole Day off for students to enjoy a traveling Chinese Traditional Circus, visits each year
10) Constitution Day off
15) 6th Graders begin a new schedule that doesn't include the English portion of the subjects I teach (Math, Science, English), they are studying for their end-of-year placement exam, the single test that decides their high school options and therefore most likely their university options because of the various environments they will then move into...  And they of course know that once they finish this test then nothing they do at school really matters anymore, and therefore after the day that these sessions begin, usually in January but this year they started early, I no longer see any students in any class of Grade 6 except when I catch them skipping class (even on this super relaxed schedule) or on weekends.
26) All-Day Christmas Party
29,30,31) New Years Break *not actually a holiday for more than 2, sometimes 3 days, but the Director I guess just decided to give all his 'over-worked' staff (or himself) a nice long entire week break.  *I was so tired of sitting in school NOT teaching, that I actually went for 2 days of this break to another school even deeper into the countryside and volunteered for the day teaching English, oh yeah and hilariously enough I actually got in trouble for not asking for a leave of absence!  All govt. employees are required to inform their respective places of work in case of absence, whether or not its a work day, and additionally when they offer their services to another institution there has to be a filing of proper paperwork (I guess even for volunteering in one's free time!)...)

January (4 Bank Holidays)
1,2) New Years cont.
5) Thursday off to decorate the school auditorium for...
6) Children's Day, students came to school, but all left with their parents before 10AM
13) Half-Day preparing school for another sports day, the local high school used our facilities for their overflow, again none of our students were involved.
16) Teacher's Day
19) From here on, not only do 6th Graders not study with me, but they are given until the time of their exams special time to study whatever subjects they feel need work.  Independent Study time for 6th graders for 2 weeks...

February (No Bank Holidays)
3,4) Whole Day, English Camp
6) Half Day off, Field Trip
9) Whole Day off, Scout Camp
10) Whole Day off, Field Trip
13) Half-Day, all students meeting with Dentist

March (1 Bank Holiday)
4) Makha Bucha Day, Buddhist Holiday to commemorate The Buddha's most enlightening speech
11,12) Whole Days off for school to be checked 'thoroughly' by admin. from other schools
13) Whole Day off, Teacher fun trip to the beach as reward for passing inspection
22) School ends for students, teachers have 1 additional week to complete student's grades.

SO!

I did not take as much time to explain as the time it just took you to read all that, the Thai teachers would already know what all the additional holidays were for anyways... but they just don't consider them holidays.  In these teachers minds, any day they had to sign in and sign out was a work day, even if they did not a minute of work in between.  They are basically kept on a leash by the schools for which they work, and so they are therefore much more willing to keep things relaxed.  Their occupations really are a much bigger portion of their lives than jobs are in the West, the two are not kept in separate boxes...

Sports Day in Chumpuang!

Many Westerners of course, have the experience of fighting (or accepting) for a balance between work and personal lives, many different types of jobs can easily take up more and more of what might seem like one's "right" to personal freedoms, but in other countries such thoughts of personal freedom might not even occur to people, let alone be difficult things to achieve.  I very much appreciate the chances that I have to be able to step back as it were, even though I am right there involved in whats happening, and try to take some perspective when I have the opportunity.

As for my own life in Thailand, and probably many foreign teachers here, I am placed in a little pre-set niche.  I spent a long time in Chumpuang trying to break out of the things they had ready for me, things being both physical and non-physical.  Physical meaning things like the teachers meeting before I arrived and discussing/preparing where I would live, what I would eat, and what my daily hours would be spent doing, both in school and out!, and then non-physical being all the pre-conceived notions that the Thais have of foreigners - those were the things that I spent a huge deal of time trying to respectfully upset and gracefully break at every chance I got...

In the end of course, no one can be friends with everyone everywhere all the time, but I am sure that I could write a book, happily spend time doing so, about the huge joy I experienced in being able to live in their culture.  I am gone now, almost assuredly moved on from there for good, and so I can only hope that all the little seeds I planted in their minds (mostly kids, but really tons of townspeople as well!  One of my favorite things to do in free time was just stroll through the night market and chat with all the ladies selling vegetables and fruit.  It is all these little things that add together to be, in the end, not little at all, and actually form a huge portion of the memories that I will take away from my three and a half years living there.

To finish this off, I am not really trying to say that one school schedule is easier, one more challenging, one correct, one needing improvement, because there are necessary improvements in pretty much every system that a human could ever create.  I am really just wanting to record my memories of life here as they happen.  Obviously living alone here in the countryside I have quite a few more than the 11 memories that I have blogged about :)  But this was a cool one, I wanted to write about it.  Have a great day!  Take care!

ASEAN Day in Chumpuang, teachers choose a country out of the 10 member nations in the ASEAN Economic Community (All South East Asian countries), and (hopefully) study up and find ways to get students more interested in another culture/country... and then wear the traditional dress of that country one time per year and take twelve thousand photos, call it a day at 11AM, and go have a nice party with all the other teachers for the rest of the day!! :)

Ok, I definitely won't deny enjoying (immensely) all of the lunches these light-hearted teachers invited me for... :)
This was some Som Tam Laos that graced our table at the aforementioned 11AM ASEAN Day early lunch!

Does anyone do "Real Work" these days?

How many people actually do "Real Work" these days?

This is a funny statement to me now, Real Work.  Obviously, it is "Real Work," as judged by whomever happens to be our partner in conversation, or someone we overhear on the bus or... but I guess I think of "Real Work" to be a heartfelt attempt put forth in doing a good job with whatever your job may be.

I have a new job, I am working at a university, and I have been getting a bit down lately.  I really miss my students back in Chumpuang, they are now finishing Elementary school (the class I have taught since 2nd grade, now in 6th grade), and I am a bit sad to not be able to spend these days with them.  We talk on LINE (a free chat mobile app), and I go and visit, but its not really the same...

Anyways, sitting in my new office, a room shared with 9 other individuals, I can't help but think;  hey!  No one really ever works more than half a day, and even that half is full of distractions.  Its like there is no time for full dedicated work.  The part of the day where people finish pretty much all they will get done for the day, seems to be from about 9:30AM-11:00AM, still has many opportunities for slacking off.  I don't think that it is unique to Thailand anymore either, as I now inquire specifically of my foreign friend's experiences in their respective countries.

I have a pretty much uniform account now of standards being lowered worldwide, these reports which form my opinion coming mainy from discussions while on travels, while abroad talking with other people whom are also traveling, talking with foreign nationals both in their own homelands and abroad... I am quite a talker, and I love meeting new people, while traveling and while at home, and I do not like to just sit and chat.  I always try to talk about issues relevant across cultures (yes obviously these are things that I find to be relevant, this is of course my opinion), and form opinions both on my own and with the help of those whom I connect.  Or don't connect :)  and can then also use those non-connections in forming my ideas as well.*

I see that things are much more alike than statistics want us to believe.  The countries that people like to think of as the Top of the Heap* in pretty much every (positive) measurable category, are, in the opinion of the people from those respective countries, not all that great.  Not all that better than the country in which we had/have these various discussions...

*(Top of the Heap being Scandinavia's 5 countries and then Switzerland makes 6)

When the subject of "Real Work" arises, it seems to be a uniform blanket of disappointment with how things are going at home, education-wise, opportunity wise, pretty much any aspect of life.  It also might seem that people are quite pessimistic, but then again, pessimism might be the 'norm' now, and therefore these people would then be a good example of 'normal people' from whom we can gain the information that it would be hard to gather ourselves (unless you, someone who doesn't trust any statistics in books you read, choose instead to go to all these countries you're interested in, and form opinions for yourselves...)  then just take my word for it, after I am taking their word for it - and the word is this -

The Whole World is much more lazy than the one which we read (past) about in books, the world of our Grandparents.  Obviously it is not completely true, but I think there is a serious need for each of us to honestly analyze our lives, our jobs, and do something about it!  Make yourself proud of the ways in which you spend each day of your life!  Its your life!  Its a gift!  Each day really is a gift, do you think that all the people who died this morning all over the world expected to die this morning?

Work hard, and then enjoy the well-deserved time off.  Reject a world that tells us the line "Im so busy!" is a good thing to say!

Anyways, as I sat here trying not to get down, trying to find useful ways to spend my time while still chained to this chair, still wading through all the noise of people taking turns distracting each other from what really are quite small and just 'busy' tasks to begin with, most tasks of which would not even be necessary if all people everywhere in the world decided once and for all to just treat each other with respect, and work their own jobs honestly and happily... I am thinking.  And starting to write a blog article about it.  Tasks such as an entire job position being needed to decorate rooms to receive "VIPs" in conference rooms, making sure said VIPs are fed with different and special food worthy of their visit, and that they are all watered and coffee-ed throughout all-day completely unnecessary meetings...  What job is this really?  Would the VIPs still come if they knew they would receive no special treatment?  What if no one knew what 'special' treatment was from the beginning though?  What if everyone was equally respected from the get-go, and didnt have these selfish egos to deal with at the root of all things, ambition, greed, the quest for power...

I am going quite over, quite out of proportion now, but... but I am quite annoyed at the status quo today...  If an evaluation report was written, crazier still - there would be no fault found!  This system is insane!  There are also, so many jobs that require FAR less of their employees than this!

As I am sitting here thinking such things, the 5 minutes it would take to do the task I have today found me roving over a few websites looking at various teaching schedule diagrams... and I found this!!  It was an example of essays used in English Exit Exams, and it is pure truth!  Genius!  Read this!  I might re-read it, this guy hit the nail on the head, but also reminds me to stay optimistic with any opportunity that I do have... no matter how meaningless the actual "appointed tasks" seem to be, there are so many silver linings to having a useless minion job.

Have a better day, a fun day for anyone sitting in an office, after you read this!

http://www.ccdmd.qc.ca/media/ss_rel_texts_Booklet_StupidJobs.pdf

I can finish the day starting a new list of ideas of things to do, completely unrelated to work, but things which would be perfect to do in the giant amounts of free time I have while sitting at this desk waiting for the occasional nothing to happen.

(Just so you know,while sitting here I am not playing tetris, or even worse, browsing the profiles of people that I BARELY know (but still feel that I can judge them by the pictures they post) on facebook.  So far my time has been spent practicing Thai (reading and writing), looking at maps and trying to memorize the locations and routes to potentially cool stuff to visit on bike rides before and after work, writing emails to old friends, something that I had no time to do at my previous job, and reading historical wikipedia articles one after another, and NEVER reading about any "news" whatsoever, unless it is a report of something that someone actually did themselves... i.e a science experiment (preferably not one funded by a pharmaceutical company :).)

Ok, have a great day everyone!



*If you are wondering what non-connections means, haha, I am referring to the Power of Silent Information.  This is also probably a confusing term :)  Silent Information refers to all the cases that have been ignored due to NOTHING happening, or a LACK of results.  They still however, should be counted and accounted for when forming what we THINK to be Conclusions on this or that aspect of life.  Although it sounds funny, negative activity is still a result!  "Nothing Happened" is still a useful result for someone such as a scientist (if they realize it), they might have learned what NOT to do the next time and/or help others to save the time...
Quick example for normal people, non-scientists; One man performs a somewhat brave act and saves his ship from sinking in a strong, yet survivable storm, and upon returning home is hailed as a hero!  Ninety-two other men on ninety-two other ships performed gigantic acts of true heroism, nearly saving thousands of souls, but were simply unlucky enough to have faced storms large enough to sink all ships, killing everyone on board.  We only hear about the acts performed by 1/93 cases, but countless numbers of documentaries, news recaps, and special interviews starring this one man form the material with which a million old-times sit on their porches and discuss how Mr. One man is a model for all humanity... these old timers might then even influence their respective societies forming tall tales based on this man who is now a timeless hero, those societies forming entire ideas and traditions based on what is really just completely wrong information...   Be wary of Silent Information.  All of the cases that you DON'T hear about, and never will, still hold TONS of useful life information if we only used our minds, remained skeptical, and really tried to understand statistics!

**And, I recommend the following books, hilarious, genius, and startling, written by Nassim Taleb - The Black Swan, and Fooled By Randomness.

Monks and Facebook. Buses in Thailand - Aug 2015.

On a bus from Kon Kaen to Lom Sak.  I pay a surcharge of 200 baht for my bike (my own ticket cost 135), and I lift it up through the emergency door in the back of the 2nd class bus.  Very convenient door!  My bike has appreciated it many times (as opposed to having the wheels taken off and it shoved amongst other luggage under the bus).  The bus attendant hoists my bike up and starts figuring out how best to arrange a bicycle on a bus seat, I walk around, run really, for the sake of my bike, I climb the stairs into the bus and hurry down the aisle to make sure my bike isn't being mistreated... but this time I find two young monks, quiet but very alert, observing the proceedings.

August 18, 2015 - Conversing with Novice Monks - Lom Sak, Petchabun, Thailand.

Monks of course, observe most things quietly, but young novices may have donned their orange robes as recently as the day before, so one can never know what will happen with anyone but the elderly monks... :)  To be totally honest, any monk in Thailand may do the most unexpected things, but Ill just stick to this story.  One of them looked to be about 16, the other maybe 13.  The younger one is smiling, and looking at me quite a bit, so I smile back.  I am still not quite sure if it's polite (as a Thai) to initiate conversation with a monk/novice monk, but I, a non-Thai, have spoken with plenty of monks before... I leave it with just a smile for now, strap my bike to the seat in front of me, and sit in the corner.

The right back corner seat (if you're facing forward) has been broken in every bus I have ever been on, and I would guess that I have this seat on about half of every trip I have ever taken in Thailand.  It has turned from a complete bane of a good trip into something quite humorous.  People are similar most wherever you go, as is life, but wow if things like this in Thailand aren't the EXACT SAME wherever you go.  Thai culture loves conformity, and aside from humor,  they love when things stick to expectation... but man sometimes it's too much, just hilarious the certain regularities that come out -

Which brings me to the cute part of this story.  Language-wise, a huge "problem," admitted by Thais about Thais, is that they are very meek.  Too afraid to make a mistake, they would rather remain silent than speak out and have someone either correct them, or laugh.  A huge part of language learning obviously needs trial and error, and so the Thais will always be slower to learn such things...  But anyways, there are many nice things, and cute stories, that come from this shyness as well.

About 1 hour into the ride, so far, so good (so bumpy), because I had my headphones on, I was able to witness much more than I would have had they suspected I could hear them.  The younger of the two was holding his phone to his ear, not the receiver for phone calls but the speaker end at the bottom, and he was obviously straining to hear - and of course I was immediately curious as to what he was listening to.  I always think it funny to see monks with cell phones anyways, let alone smart phones, and from this point one can only guess the kinds of apps a monk would find useful...  Keep that thought for later though, because I just happened to catch a glimpse of the screen as he played this short clip over and over; the words written were, "see you again."

It would have been cute to wait for him to say it to me, keep doing my own thing for the remaining 2 hours, but I had to break the ice.  I didn't want "see you again" to be the only words exchanged, obviously he didn't speak English very well, and it wouldn't even be a true statement with which he would leave me! (I don't think I will join his forest monastery any time soon :) aside from this, I guess I could happen to share a bus with these two again someday?)

So, I just started right into it in Thai, "hi, where you goin?, where's your home, why are you in a bus?...".
Of course they were startled, but they both definitely wanted to talk.  They were actually full of questions, and awesomely they were not the usual 3 questions that form the intro (or entirety) of 98% of every bus conversation I have had in the past 5 years.**

I do not know all the rules that monks live by, but I guess that not speaking loudly is among them (I think there are 227?  Novice monks only have to abide by the main 8 (and c, but they should of course be learning the other 219 soon enough...).  Though we were somewhat alone in the back of the bus, the older novice, sitting on the far side of the younger from me, would ask the younger monk to pass on all of his questions to me.  I would get to hear were question twice, obviously I'm only 18 inches away, but this just made the situation even better.  I didn't say anything.

It's always polite, in every country but even more so in Thailand, to let older people speak and act first, but when the older novice finished his questions about life in the USA, the younger novice went to town.  I guess he spends his time reading, or at least intensely daydreaming, about doomsday events, he was not going to miss his chance to get the opinion of a foreigner while he had the chance.  Out of the 50 or so questions he must have rattled off, I'll try to remember some variety...
They ranged from a simple, "why does the weather change over a year?," to other things he should have learned in school like, "is the Earth in a galaxy?", and finally to the more sensational, "is it true that a comet is coming soon to end our world?  When the sun explodes, what will humans do?  Do you believe that the whole earth will be destroyed in a massive chain reaction of global earthquakes?"

I did my best to answer.  I hope he saw this :)

After such discussions, the destination came much more quickly.  Oh, by the way, to add more to the scene, as we were talking the bus was climbing into the Nam Nao district of Petchabun.  Beautiful views of green, thickly forested hills going by.  Some very steep hills, and so as we were sitting at the back of the bus, we were bumping shoulders and swaying around the entire time we were talking.  I even had to stop talking a few times to not get too dizzy... The younger novice was intent though, and totally cool, talking just as fast, yet thoughtfully, as he could, not upset by the bus' movements at all :)

Out the window, this is an example of a scene on the way from Nam Nao to Lom Sak.  Petchabun is beautiful.

The older of the two didn't talk much more, but he was listening the whole time.  His questions all had to do with what it would take to become a professional footballer.  In case you're confused, yes he would definitely have to leave the monk-hood to become an athlete.  Among many others rules (really just guidelines in Thailand though), monks aren't allowed to run.
I did the best I could to explain quickly about college and pro sports, because the younger novice obviously had more questions waiting.  Nearing the end though, the older boy did give me a final gem with..."Teacher Joel may I have your Facebook please?"  Yes, it has officially invaded every level of every society.  Monks and Facebook.  Did Zuckerberg imagine that when he created his first site?  And yes I did add him as a friend, I am curious to see if they can, like most of my students here, type in English far, far better than they can speak.

So.
Finally the time came, I got down at Lom Sak bus station, and Nong Ton (the younger monk) asked, "Teacher Joel, will we ever see each other again?"

For many reasons, I didn't know what to say.  I just smiled, bowed, and made my way down to check on my bike.  I really enjoyed the conversation, while funny at times, they really made me practice using some vocab that I rarely get to try out :)  also, their being monks, or studying to be anyways, they had a much longer attention span than most young people I know.  Young people anywhere! Let alone Thailand... So I quite enjoyed this bus ride.

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And now, 3 weeks later, the larger part of my bike trip done, 1,400km I think so far this trip?, well, I will soon be back to my computer to upload this post.

Here I am writing this, on my iPhone, on a bus, again from Kon Kaen but heading South this time to Korat.
  I'm alone this time, and the back seat I have been given is, once again, broken and sliding around.  At least I wasn't surprised!  Here's a picture to prove it.

Back Seat of any 2nd Class bus in Thailand.  Removable, in one sense, Entertaining in another, Worrisome too, but always there.  The broken back bench seats...

Have a great day!  Leave me some comments below!


**the 3 questions being, "Where you come from?," "What's your name?," and, depending on if it's a man or woman, "Do you have a girlfriend?" (Woman asking), or "Do you like Thailand?" (Man asking)...

At any rate, no matter how intrusive or irritating these may seem at first, thats just how adjusting to a new culture goes.  Also, someone practicing Thai will have these 3 or 4 questions/answers solidly in their vocab whether they like it or not!

Thailand - Take your bike on the Train!

On any international trip, I recommend trying to take as many different types of transportation as possible!  Few things will give you such an immediate and full inter-cultural experience.  In all the places I have been to, train seems to average out to be the cheapest.  Maybe not the fastest way to get around, but it has always been fun - and isn’t that really the most important part?

Lately I have been trying to cycle everywhere I go, but fortunately for me, on longer trips the Thai train system has been extremely convenient!

One reason I take the train, love the train really, for exploring Esaan, is that Esaan has 2 lines!  I have rode between them a few times now.  The main line comes from Bangkok as just one, but separates just before reaching the town of Nakon Ratchasima (Korat).  One line heads North/North-East to Nongkhai, where one can cross the border into Vientiene, Laos, and the other line continues directly East, almost reaching another border with Laos in the province of Ubol Ratchatani.

June 1, 2015 - Taking a Bike on a Train in Thailand.

There are 5 Rail Lines, and so far I have taken my bike on 4 of them.  No problems, always a great time!  I frequent the North Eastern line, but the others have been just as hassle-free.

Free printed train schedules are available from every station on every line, for every station on every other line.  You should research things before-hand if possible, might save yourself the time of waiting for the next train of course, but you can rest easy knowing that you will never be lost.

You can see all the up-to-date schedules HERE:

http://www.thailandbytrain.com/index.html#Thailand_Railway_Map

(Easy to read, all in English, but missing some smaller local stations)

http://www.thairailways.com/time-table.intro.html

(Complete Train Guides for the whole country, some Thai, some English)

There might be some sour operators out there… but I have yet to meet them!!  I have had only the most friendly of train conductors, operators, assistants, always laughing and joking, always helping me with my bike, and always interested to tell me what sights I might be of interest in coming stations.  Always a great time.

Actually there are several stations now where the operators remember me, and they remember where I have been, and try to guess at which station I will be disembarking this time… very cool!  Shows that not many people do this regularly, and therefore you too should try to do it sooner than later!

This is also one of the main ways (when traveling) to open yourself up to the chance of having an unexpected new friend.  Who knows, sometimes the most memorable part of a trip for me has been the totally unforeseen conversation with someone I might not otherwise talk to…  I’m not saying that I immediately share personal information, not the best idea if you are far from home, far from somewhere you know, but I would say that FAR more often than not, people are just people; everyone likes reaching out, or being reached out to, in such a low-pressure situation as this.

My good friends seeing me off in Kon Kaen!

Oh!  On a language note, I can say far and away - my Thai language skills are at their best while talking to someone I’ve never met before!  Its just such a great way to practice, when the other person has no expectations, and even when I do make mistakes theres still no real problem (aside from making any huge cultural blunders… but again!, better to make them with someone you don’t know, and in a time and place that won’t come back to haunt you (unless you just have terrible luck :) )

At every station, there is always at least one restaurant waiting to sell food.  Here, in Krasang, Surin Province, there were 3.  The prices will always be for locals, as its mostly locals using the trains of course, but you need to know what you want to order :) its rare to find a chef in the countryside who can understand much more than "Hi, Hello, How are you?"...

Guaranteed to be cheap though!  So learn a few dishes, try them out, and enjoy!

Buying a ticket:

Look for the Rapid train.  There are several types, Local, Express, Diesel Express, and Special Express.  Some signs/schedules will have only Thai characters, especially at the smaller stations, but keep looking and you should be able to find English somewhere, in abbreviations at the least.  The Rapid trains are the most frequent (and usually have space available, both for you and your bike), and also Rapid trains have one of the lower fares.  I always get a 3rd class seat, which usually allows me to sit right next to my bike, but on longer trips a 2nd class seat is definitely more comfortable.  When riding more than a few stations, the conductors will also allow you to store your bike in the car reserved for motorcycles (or any other non-standard shape cargo).

Thai citizens ride most trains for free, by showing their Thai ID cards either at the ticket office or on the train.  Obviously they will also be given much more leeway when it comes to say, smoking on the train, even standing directly under a no smoking sign, drinking on the train, not sitting in their assigned seat… remember, we are traveling/living in their country, we can’t expect to get the same advantages that come to the locals.  BUT, if you smile, try to speak Thai, and try to just take up your own space and no more, many of these benefits may start to come your way as well :)  Thai people are very easily impressed, and only a few words in Thai can get you an amazingly long way.

Sometimes there is enough space to do this...  Best, easiest, safest,
most convenient... but sometimes not.  Something that is
ALWAYS awesome however is THE PRICE:
This ride here was 9B!! plus 90B for my bike.
$3 USD is a pretty good deal to get out of the rain...

Boarding the train:

I always bring some cheap bungee cords, these can be used to secure the bike in any fashion imaginable, and usually the train conductors will just allow you to take care of your own bike once its on board.  The bike might have to enter through a window at times, if its going into the cargo car with all the motorcycles then be ready for the big step up into the car (sometimes there is no stair and its literally a 1.5 meter jump up into the train after your bike, sometimes tricky :)).  Usually I just maneuver my bike in through the sliding door, with a bit of patience, and maybe a helping hand from another passenger, this is no trouble at all.

Usually you will buy a ticket and then pay for your additional baggage (a bicycle) at the same place.  Sometimes though, the ticket teller will only sell tickets, and tell you to go and pay the 90B for your bicycle while on the train.  Keep the baggage ticket, they will always ask for it, sometimes many times.

Usually the largest space is right next to the
exhaust pipe, last car on the train.  The pipe
is hot though, watch out!  If you park here though,
you can guarantee that no one will fight you
for the spot.

On the Train:

Find a good spot for your bike, relax, and enjoy what is always a lovely view.  Not every window in 3rd class will open properly, but when you do get them down, sometimes the train will run quickly enough that the breeze can get pretty intense!  

I have never had someone attempt to steal anything from me, damage my bike in any way, and I have taken the train many, many times.  The only people who might even look at you the slightest bit crossly may be those if you ignore them while they are trying to sell you food or drinks :) .

As of late-2014, there is no alcohol allowed in passenger cars.

The food and drinks are usually quite diverse, if you wait long enough to pass through several stations, you will see a wide range of things being sold.  Fruit, Water, Soda, Noodles, Rice, Coffee, Tea, Fried Insect, Grilled Chicken, Sticky Rice, and even plenty of local delicacies, will all be sold directly to you - not part of the train line, but as

these are Thai citizens they are allowed to ride for free.  Sometimes these sellers will even be so helpful as to yell out the upcoming stations, usually ahead of the time that the conductors do it themselves :) 

Aside from old men who often are impressed with a foreigner taking a bike on a train (and will sometimes come over to inspect your bike for themselves and shake your hand and smile), all you need to do is be wary for the small chance that someone will jump onto the train from one of the smaller stations, and then jump off again at the next station.  The side doors are usually open at all times, unmonitored, and I could see how this would be the one way that someone could steal something unnoticed.  Hasn’t happened to me, but I did witness a woman's purse taken once…

Disembarking:

The stations are usually announced (not always), but this announcement comes often just minutes before arriving at the station.  Sometimes it isn't until the train has already stopped.  If any articles were removed from your bike, bike bags, it might be impossible to scramble and still not leave anything behind.  Try to keep track with the schedule, be ready a few minutes before-hand, and also remember that not every train stops at every station.  Actually the express train (not actually express as it does stop often to let other, higher priority trains through a single-track pass), is at times hard to follow…

All the stations have a standard look about them.  Some have
larger signs, but they were all built around the same time.  All
the construction and station layouts are similar.

Train comments:

I have taken the express train once, I was in a hurry, and it actually took exactly, to the minute, as long as the slowest train on the schedule.  Another time I took it, faster by several hours.  This is Thailand, not Japan, and there is no way that the train can guarantee any times on its schedule.  Expect trains to be 10-20% later than scheduled, and then if they are on time then you can have a nice surprise :)  I have been on several trains ahead of schedule, and have also been on a few trains that were 4 or more hours behind schedule.  You can find yourself parked on the tracks, completely in the middle of nowhere, not a light to be seen, all the men outside smoking and taking bathroom breaks, for hours at a time…  Good luck, enjoy the cultural experience, and also the money you have saved, and take Thai trains with your bicycle!!  You could ride the whole way of course, that would never be a bad idea! :) but sometimes it rains very hard in Thailand… it also gets dark very early compared to countries in the Northern Hemisphere…

Baan Phai Station, Kon Kaen.

When traveling 3rd class, a small risk, specifically on the Esaan line where the train is more heavily used, is not having a seat.  The 'seats' are benches, with 2 OR 3 people per seat, and the ticket-sales will not stop from way overbooking the train if demand is high.  NOTE*  The Esaan line (NorthEast Thailand), is the most used, but during HOLIDAYS every single train is packed.  I have taken the New Years holiday to travel to Chiang Mai several times, always by train, and have never had a seat :)  I sit on my bag, share floor space with others, if its not your idea of a good time then be wary of taking 3rd class, or even 2nd class, during Holiday times.

Krasang Station, Surin

Bike Trip - Kanjanaburi to Sangklaburi

I will now do trip reviews in 2 separate posts.  I know I write a ton of details, too many to read in a quick 5 minutes…

So I’ll write one with a few quick comments and a lot of pictures, and then a second post with cultural stories, different pictures and then add the route notes.

For those interested, by bicycle/motorbike, the trip is written out in detail here - (www.godmadethedurian.blogspot.com).

Bike Trip: April 3 - 7, 2015.

Kanjanaburi Town --> Amphoe Sai Yok --> Tong Pha Phum --> Amphoe Sangklaburi --> Huay Ma Lai

Climbing and descending these hills in the April-morning sun was almost child-like happiness!

Just before reaching the largest hill, 10km outside of Sanklaburi town, you cross a beautiful causeway bridge.  This checkpoint was full of smiling and friendly soldiers!  They were surprised to see a biker when most of the traffic is motorbike, and they invited me to have a breakfast of Kao Thom with them!  Just in time, it was about 930am - I was hungry and the old guy there was a great chef!

The view from the Soldier's Checkpoint mentioned above.

I recently took the train from Ton Buri station in Bangkok, up to Kanjanaburi, for a lovely 5-days in a little town in the hills of Sangklaburi.  This area is a gem, extremely diverse, due to its being one of the largest points of immigration between Myanmar and Thailand.  I have been here several times previously, but not by bicycle.  The total distance from Kan town to the border is 280km, and aside from one large hill just before reaching the destination, literally 10km before, a novice biker wouldn’t have much trouble (I took 3 days to do it, carrying about 8kg of baggage with me.  Strong bikers could do it in 2 days without too much problem).  And wow the hills of Kan are still just as stunning as I remember!!

I am not trying to reach every province, definitely not wanting to try to just "hit them all!"  I am more interested in seeing what each province has to offer, visiting not only the province but several towns besides the Provincial Capital as well.  I'm not leaving anytime soon though, so if it eventually happens then I guess that would be pretty cool...

BUT just to talk about the beauty of Kanjanaburi, I think I am now at 56 out of the 77 Thai provinces, so I have traveled quite a bit in Thailand - I live in Nakon Ratchasima, but if I have a chance to travel then my top 3 favorites are: Chiang Rai, Nakon Panom, and Kanjanaburi.  My favorites due firstly to diversity within culture and the people I have met, a close second would be the food I have had there :), and then finally the large parks and natural areas still to be found... for its size, Thailand is just packed with sights, both historical and natural beauty.

So what I am saying is, I highly recommend Kanjanaburi.  If you're a tourist, the best thing about Kan is that its only 2 hours from Bangkok by bus, 3 by train (or about 6 by bicycle!)...

On a motorbike, this trip all the way to Sangklaburi would be 1 long day, or maybe 2 relaxed days.  By bicycle, I thought that 3 days would be a good bet.  I rode 4 hours each morning, no straining, no soreness, able to enjoy every step of the way, and just relaxed all afternoon and evening.  Motorbikes are easily rented from Kanjanaburi town, if you are there backpacking or even just on a weekend trip from Bangkok, you might be up for this! 

Finish Line!  Lunch at the central Sangklaburi market.  I couldn't wait for my personal favorite power meal... See next photo

Classic Esaan lunch!  For whatever reason, my power meal is Korat-Style Som Tam (medium spice, medium amount of Nam Bla Raa), Plain White Rice (not sticky), and a Basil Omelet!!  I have kept track of my performance after a variety of meals, both Thai and Farang Food... and I have never felt better on an afternoon ride than I do after this amazing combo!  Today I rode a bit further than usual, and the extra calories from an additional bag of rice, and some grilled chicken, were a welcome yet necessary addition!

In the months of April, May, June, July, and August, pretty much any day can see temps of 38C, (100F), anywhere throughout the country of Thailand.  Each day of this trip I saw 35C by lunchtime, so I was intent on finishing my riding each day by 10AM.  A few years ago I met a couple in Laos, 9 months into their trip of cycling from London to Singapore, and they said that they rode 80km a day, taking 4 hours to do it, setting out at 530AM each day.  I have stuck to this schedule for both weekdays and special trips, and its working out well!  At this pace, an average rider will only require one day a week for rest, and while on a long trip, everything is much more enjoyable without the soreness or strain.  In this part of the world specifically, I think dehydration is a real concern if you are regularly trying to ride through the middle part of the day...

There are only a few buses per day from Bangkok for travelers, but even local buses are few and far between in this area.  Locals walk considerable distances, and the nicely paved roads are much easier on the feet, so this scene is quite common :)

So, Western Thailand.  Only 5 provinces but covering a huge area of land - the largest province, Tak, is the least inhabited area of the country.  This place is unique to Thailand, unique to the world!  Each time I visit I am amazed at how many languages are used in the area, and how many different types of food you will pass along the way!  Finally reaching my destination, I had passed people working in the area who used Thai Ner, Esaan, Thai Central dialect, and even true Laos language…  this was only the Thai half of Kan!  Also living in the area are Mon, Karen, Karieng, even some Nepalese refugees, and a few full Burmese (Bamar people)!  An incredibly diverse area, I think only the provinces of Loei (Northern Esaan), and Chiang Rai (Northern Thailand), could compete for such ethnic diversity found in a single area of Thailand.

I had SUCH a great time hanging out with the kids here, seeing what they get up to each day, practicing some Burmese with them and loving how they spoke Thai better than I… one day we had fun learning how to make a few simple bracelet designs.  Within a few hours they had each made about 10 bracelets, and I wish that my own students in Esaan worked half as hard as these kids.  Not only in bracelet making of course, but they all spoke English better than my students, actually spoke Thai as well as plenty of the Laos kids in my class (Burmese is only structurally related to Thai whereas Laos and Thai are quite similar…).  Of course they spoke Mon and/or Burmese as their native language, so with a minimum of 3 languages each, as well as their ability to handle the living situations that refugees are usually forced to handle the world over - these children were, needless to say, Very Impressive.

All of these people were born in Myanmar, but here you can see half of the group (kids that have been in Thailand for awhile) teaching a song, in THAI, to the other half (more recently moved).  While the countries do share a border, their languages only share some rarely used religious terminology.  Everything in daily life is totally different...

Actually the first time coming here in 2009 with Migrationology Mark Wiens, to participate in a trip for another friend Dwight’s project In Search Of Sanuk, we stayed at a place not 100 meters down the road from where I stayed on this trip!  I cannot even BEGIN to relate, to others but even more to myself, the ways in which I have changed in the time between, but wow… Even how much Thailand has changed in just 6 years!  it is always fun to see where you have been, where you’re going, and continue to wait expectantly for the surprises life will throw at us next!

I did ride my bike, had a total blast and had been wanting to do so for awhile now, but I actually came to visit another good friend who has since moved from the city of Nontaburi near Bangkok.  She is now living up into the hills around Sangklaburi, and she came to work with migratory peoples; specifically their status-less children and growing families.  The people in this area are usually just the measure of hard-working, low-paid farmers, trying to gain citizenship in a country that is not too excited to have them, but there are of course many families dealing with the inner-family turmoil that such situations and their resulting mindsets can bring.  In a country with an already ridiculously high divorce-rate, this area seems to be even higher still, leaving simply terrible amounts of one-parent homes or even completely orphaned children in the area.  Without legal status, these kids are taken in by relatives who are already strapped to provide for their own kids, and life just gets really tough for them.

A little bit of history on the area:  Traditionally Mon, an ancient people from Myanmar, a people who have had their lands divided up by the modern Thai-Myanmar border, controlled this area for almost a thousand years.  They are actually one of the first united peoples to ever come into this SouthEast Asian area, many thousands of years ago!  They have their own language, written and spoken, and even after becoming almost totally incorporated into Thailand, people with pure Mon heritage still number more than a million in the world today!  They are mostly split in the area here between South East Myanmar and Western Thailand… and they still have their own wonderful cuisine (pictured below :) ) and many more of their own customs.  Mon were actually the first culture to receive Buddhism when it was brought over from Sri Lanka, and are responsible for the Dvaraviti (Therawat) culture of Central Thailand and Esaan today.

Somewhere between Tong Pha Phum and Sangkla... The morning haze just clearing up.

I did not ever stay long enough to really dig into this culture, but I met a few volunteers working in the area who had been there for years, and they loved it!  They mentioned sub-cultures even within the greater Mon culture, just amazing how much more diverse this country gets as I dig deeper and deeper over my six years here.  And humourously, how much more diverse than its government is willing to admit!  

Thai people usually do not want to talk about such things, but really the tension between Thai and Myanmar should be unnecessary today.  Without the occasional direct conflict over some natural resources in border areas, the two countries do share a common heritage…  But lets talk about something more fun right now, like how they differ in terms of cuisine! :)

Young, Un-ripe Jackfruit at the top left, some grilled pork in a sour sauce below it, a fish curry on the top right, a different type of fish curry on the bottom right, Thai-style fried Mackarel on the bottom, and in the center - an unbelievably flavorful ultra-sour Mon Mango Salad!

I enjoyed some lovely Mon Fish Curry, made by the family in who’s house I was staying.  The mother made sure that I was stuffed after every meal, crying from the heat of her chili peppers, and ready to relax for a few hours and be back for more!  Our first meal consisted of my favorite vegetable, okra (pictured to the left), some super spicy and salty fish, and finally some awesomely spicy Mon dipping paste tasting very similar to Thailand’s Nam Prik Gapi.  Both Myanmar and Thailand enjoy this shrimp paste, usually eaten as a dip with steamed vegetables, and the Mon prefer it the same way I do in Esaan, eating it with baby jackfruit!  There was also a spicy and intensely sour mango salad that I had never had before, much different than the Thai style mango salad exchanging sour mango for papaya, (Yam Ma Muang)... unbelievably tasty!

Other meals included some dishes that I had known from a previous visit, and a few new ones!  There is always the super spicy Barking Deer Curry, and then the Burmese style Fermented Tea Leaf Salad (Lah Pet Thoke) eaten with rice or one of the many types of Roti breads or Naan from the mini-tandoor, and then some awesome Mon-style roasted Eggplant.

One place where I know to find Roti Ong - the cheap yet wonderful, most filling Thai/Burmese "breakfast food" that I know of...  I remember the first time visiting this market in 2009, Migration Mark and I each had 4 of them, they were an unbelievable 6 Baht each!  Now the price is 15 Baht, but I thought it was still fair for this awesome, fresh-made, oven-cooked snack.  Kind of like an Indian burrito!

After a ride, its common for Thais to have a
"Kai Luak," a nearly raw egg (dipped in boiling
water for 8-10 seconds), seasoned with a dash
of soy sauce and a dash of pepper.  My love for
all snacks that are served paired with coffee has
started me on a mission to see how many different
provincial styles I can find for this simple yet
powerful breakfast supplement.  In Sangklaburi,
they take theirs with milk tea, not coffee.

This young guy was really into testing my bike gear,
he did his best to ride but couldn't quite reach the
pedals.  The helmet made him happy enough though
while we chatted with his parents.

An awesomely spicy version of Lah Pet Thoke that I had for the first time here in Sangklaburi!

I enjoyed my second durian of the year down on the new floating footbridge over the Sangkla lake, a moment of pure delight being able to purchase it at the local market.  I had been a bit disappointed striking out before leaving my town of Chumpuang the previous week, ok honestly I was extremely disappointed haha... I couldn't leave for the summer to visit my family without first enjoying a few pods from a golden pillow!  But luckily, thankfully, the bike race I participated in down in Korat town on my way out provided access to a few larger markets, and we were able to throw down on not one, not two, but 5 small ChaNee Durians!!

Ok so, I had durian once already... but not a Mon Tong!  This is my favorite durian, one of the most common types but still impossible to find in my small town when out of season, and so I gladly and immediately paid a somewhat-high 80 baht per kilo for this spiky and beautiful green monster...  I took it down to the bridge, picked a spot to the side of the huge bamboo floating bridge, and had to laugh while listening to every single Thai and Chinese person who passed note with surprise how fast this lone white dude was going through a 3.5 kilo durian.  I continued to immerse myself in the awesomely creamy fruit, while some small part of my brain hoped in the background that the glorious smell did not make them too jealous!

If you get a chance, you should try to visit the early morning Mon market across the river, across the wooden Mon bridge.  I do mean early, it closes a bit after sunrise.  During previous visits to Sangklaburi, people were still able to walk across the old Mon bridge, foot traffic only!  In 2013 however, this bridge collapsed, and it has since been rebuilt.  Much stronger and wider than before, and then construction is even now finished on another floating bridge next to the high wooden one.  If there is ever an increase in water level I don’t know what will happen to this one, but for now it was ok to walk across.

The amount of tourists on this bridge is a little much, and if you’re wanting a serene picture of this specific area then you will have to go pretty early in the morning.  In my opinion that is the best time anyways though, as the weather in this area can get pretty warm from mid-day onwards!

Mon Skillet-Style Coconut Pancakes!  Cooked over coals, I wonder who else has named them... 3 Baht Each! (10 cents)

Coming up from the town, using the cement bridge, you will quickly reach an intersection with a few policeman hanging around.  Turn left to come down to the Mon Town (you can reach this by foot after crossing the huge wooden bridge), and if you turn right you can make your way an hour further into the hills, eventually reaching the town of Huay Ma Lai.

Riding into the woods on some gravel roads, we eventually came to the washing/showering/water access of a medium sized village.  My friend did some work monitoring the education status of the children here, this little guy is not old enough for school yet so I'm sure he spends most of his day looking like this :) !!  I chose to blur the photo slightly to give him some dignity here, but he was definitely not ashamed, posing proudly as the owner of this great jump-off point into the river!

I rode up from Tong Pa Pum, arrived at about 1030am, and immediately knew that just 1 day was not going to be enough to enjoy this lovely town.  The next day I rode in and around the hills surrounding the town, found a super cool swimming spot with my now-local friend (and her new friends), and then rode about 50km out to another town closer to the border with Myanmar.  For cyclists/motorbike riders I highly recommend taking this additional leg as a day-trip, or only a half-day trip if thats all that time allows… The name of the further town is Huay Malai.  There is even camping here if you would like…  very lovely town, definitely did not want to leave.


Things to come back for:
A day trip to Pi Lok, about 60km from Tong Pha Phum, a place where, on a good day, one can look over the entire peninsula and get a view of the Indian Ocean!  The way there, it was told to me, passes through 399 switchbacks.  Thai people love the number 9, so who knows the true number, but you can know that it is bound to be quite a ride if you are wanting to take your bike!  There is also tent camping available, but you have to reserve first due to both seasonal and spatial limitations.

A multi-day trip leaving Kan town and heading up to Si Sawat, passing the Erawan waterfall along with many others, visiting the giant Sri Nakarin Reservoir, and continuing on to the huge Phu Toei National Park!  Continue on to the province of Supanburi, loop back to Bangkok, or maybe even if you want to come from that direction, maybe taking the train down from Chiang Mai, finding a bus that takes this road, you wouldn't need to even waste time coming all the way down to Kan town first, and then continue on smoothly up to Sangklaburi...  Visit Kan town on the way back!  Yeah that would be a great loop for sure!


And a final photo gem... :)

Bluetooth Hack!  Learning it from a Monk!

Thanks for reading, have a great day!  Please respond, leave a comment below, with some other areas of Thailand just begging to be explored by bicycle!  I know there are thousands upon thousands… :)  I know I am lucky to be working in such a country.  The little that I have given of myself, this country and its people have repaid me a thousand times over with these experiences I have been blessed to have...

-Joel