They had our sizes and we liked the fact that the gear
had separate layers for rain and wind, to be worn over
our riding gear. They were made of Gore-TEX which is
100% waterproof and when you remove them after
riding in the rain, your riding gear is absolutely dry and
remains comfortable !
It was already late and we suddenly realized that we
were starving, as we hadn't eaten the entire day. So we
went directly to get some food. Partner has been losing
weight like crazy and I am not ! Maybe it is because he is
a vegetarian and there are not many options. I am used
to eating very healthy and have been accustomed to
intense exercising. Now I eat whatever, moves. But we
both clearly know that this is a part of our journey - and
we are doing everything we need to keep ourselves
healthy to be able to continue our journey.
By the end of the day we were exhausted and we went
to find a place to stay. It was almost midnight and we
finally got one of those funny places to stay. I still have so
many questions about the way the place was operating !
But in our case, we just needed a place to sleep and
passing judgement was not any of our concern !
First thing the next morning, we went to the workshop
to make sure our bikes were okay. We were informed
that our bikes would be ready by 12 noon. Around 5 pm,
we got onto our bikes, ready to explore more of
Thailand. we decided to ride somewhere outside of
Bangkok, to avoid the heavy traffic.
We rode to the Floating Market situated about
120 kms from Bangkok. the next day we stopped
historically themed park that honoured 7 past Thai
Kings and learned of their rich history, before we rode to
fisherman's house about 400 kms away. By the time we
reached the turn from the main road toward the fishing
village, it was nearly 10 pm and it was dark night. Thum
had given us his GPS location and we followed that
through narrow roads, jungles and finally there were no
roads. Partner stopped and asked me if I wanted to
continue and follow the GPS or I'd rather wait for Thum
to reach us.
We decided to continue, as there wasn't a single light or
signpost in the middle of those trees. If we turned off our
bikes we would not even be able to see each other. So
we continued riding for another 20 minutes on
undulating pathways and then we finally saw a few
lights shining in the middle of nowhere. Our sense of
smell told us that we were really close to the sea and
once I got off my bike, I felt sand below my feet.
We finally reached the house of the Fisherman, which
was our planned stop for the night. His house was a
wooden construction set atop stilts in the sea. The house
swayed slightly with the moving current ! A lady was
waiting for us. She did not speak any English and neither
did she try to communicate with us. Once we had
settled in, she started cooking and in just 15 minutes she
served us a delicious meal.
For 18 years of my life, I had lived beside the Caspian
Sea, The sound of waves below the fisherman's
house got me really nostalgic about my childhood. I
absolutely loved our stay for the night and fell
asleep to the music of the waves.
The next morning we decide to visit a private island,
before we restarted our ride. We took a boat and
reached a quiet and picturesque island, untouched by
civilization and commercialization. We swam and spent
a couple of hours there. Around noon, we returned to
mainland, took a shower, at lunch and we got onto our
bikes. we rode the same route we had used the previous
night, and we were able to appreciate the beautiful little
roads that we crossed in the pitch darkness. After
another short halt enroute, we were at the border
between Thailand and Malaysia. We were really excited
to enter the 7th country on our trip.
Sadao (Thailand - Malaysia Border). May 15th, 2017,
4:00 pm.
"Ride To Be One" will Be Continued