Thailand Cyclists Find Temples, Snacks

S R I   L A N N A   N A T I O N A L  P A R K, Thailand, Nov. 4, 2003 -- For too many tourists, a visit to Thailand means tiki bars on the beach blasting Bob Marley, or falling prey to the Bangkok "touts" who dupe visitorsinto buying fake gems or overpriced tailored clothes.

But there's another way to see Thailand that is far moreauthentic while at the same time extremely unlike the typical Thaiexperience: A trip where you bicycle — and snack — your way pastrice paddies and Buddhist temples, through jungles and farmingvillages, up steep mountains and around verdant lakes.

"I feel like someone who has been tricked into doing somethingvery exhausting," joked Dhana Kucivilize, a 33-year-old Thaibusinessman, after the first leg of a three-day 125-mile bicycletrip organized by the Thai Cycling Club.

But with plenty of rest stops and hourly munching thrown in,Dhana — who prefers motorcycles — admitted he would be willing todo it again.

From Snacks to Temple Tours

The club's monthly trips may be one of the best and mostaffordable ways for foreigners to glimpse the Thai way of life — from the locals' incessant snacking habits and laid-back attitudesto peaceful temples and the lush countryside.

"With the TCC, there's always food. We always eat," said BobUsher, a fit 74-year-old Briton who has lived in Thailand off andon since the 1950s and frequently joins the trips.

I joined Usher and about 40 Thai men and women ranging in agefrom 22 to 74 on the trip in Chiang Rai province in northernThailand. Some were avid bikers and regulars on the trips likeUsher, but all had a common goal — to escape to off-the-beaten-pathThailand.

We paid a grand total of $53 for the trip. The price included anovernight 435-mile bus ride from the capital Bangkok to Chiang Rai;a double-decker truck for our bikes; basic accommodations atnational park facilities or campsites for those of us who preferredour tents, and Thai food for dinner every night. For the othermeals, we snacked as we biked, an average of 30 miles a day onpaved roads and dirt paths.

Unlimited Tropical Fruit, 25 Cents

After kicking off the trip with the long bus ride and a quickbreakfast in a small town, we set off into the mountains of SriLanna National Park, biking 6 miles past rice paddies and jungles,then made a rest stop for mangoes and pickled garlic bulbs.

Another 6 miles up and down the foothills of the mountains, thena bowl of noodles. Six miles more through villages and past wavingchildren and rice farmers, we arrived at a longan farm, where weate as much of the sweet tropical fruit as we wanted, for 25 centsa person.

The way the trips are organized — or not — is very Thai, saidUsher, the only Westerner on the trip not counting me, aThai-American.

"We seem to have a flexible program. We're never quite sure howfar we're going to go. We were supposed to do 100 miles, but I'vebooked about 125 miles, so we got a bonus," he said.

But then, as Usher pointed out, "it's not a racing club, it's asort of family deal."

In addition to the food stops, we took breaks to photographwomen working in rice paddies, to chat with children in thevillages, and to take dips in the spring-fed Bua-Tong Waterfall anda manmade lake surrounded by trees.

Of course, swimming was done the Thai way: Men wear shorts, butwomen must be fully clothed — in this case, in T-shirts and bikingpants.

Mingle with the Natives

The trip was also a way to meet an interesting cross-section ofThais. The group included two forty-something businesswomen who hadperfectly coiffed hair and makeup, despite biking all those miles;a hardcore cyclist exuding an air of Buddha-like serenity whoalways had the energy to backtrack down steep hills to push thosehuffing and puffing; and a potbellied 74-year-old who occasionallytook a break from the biking by hopping a ride in the truck thataccompanied us.

Our stops included an ornate Buddhist temple on top of a hill,with a clear view of palm trees, rice paddies and mountains, and aneerie, ramshackle monastery deep in the jungle, where a monk hasbeen living alone for a few decades.

There, after a meal of fresh fish, we hauled our bikes onto aboat and crossed the reservoir created by the Mae Ngad SombooncholDam. And we resumed the trip by biking up yet another mountain.

If You Go…

PRICES: The Thailand Cycling Club organizes free day tripsaround Bangkok as well as modestly priced out-of-town excursionsranging from two to four days, covering a different destinationevery month. A four-day trip costs $53, including bustransportation from Bangkok to the start of the biking journey. TIPS: The trip begins in Bangkok, and the club can recommendlocal stores that rent relatively new mountain bikes for about $9per day. CONTACT: Thailand Cycling Club can be reached in Bangkok at(011) 662-612-4747. For details in English, call Bob Usher at (011)661-555-2901.