The good thing about having ambitious friends is that you often get dragged along on trips you wouldn’t ordinarily take on your own. This was the case last week, when my good friend Scott arranged a bike/train/boat weekend out of the city and into Amphawa, a few hours southwest of Bangkok and a hundred years behind. While I do like staying in Bangkok for the sheer, joyous laziness of it all, it’s great to get out and remind myself that there’s more to Thailand than bad traffic, tourist traps and concrete love.

The trip was actually a bit of work and a bit of play – Scott is co-founder of the epic adventure travel outfit Smiling Albino, and he’s in the middle of putting the final touches on the Bangkok 1910 trip, which will see participants taking a route steeped in Thailand’s cultural, political and industrial developments of the time. Part of the reason for going down was so that Scott could meet a few people and get a better feel for the areas the trip would cover from the back of our bikes.

I also brought along my cheapest model trusty GPS tracker, which allows me to load our routes into Google Earth and is a really cool way to see where you went and how badly you got lost. As you can see from the picture below, we got the train in Bangkok and headed southwest for a few hours before we arrived.

Bangkok in the top right, Amphawa in the bottom left.

Bangkok in the top right, Amphawa in the bottom left.

Bangkok in the top right, Amphawa in the bottom left. The train ride was kind of neat, except we were the subject of the dreaded Thailand two-tier pricing – Thais ride for free, foreigners have to pay 10 baht. Our bikes, however, were 20 baht. Moral of this story: my bike is more valuable than I am, which jives with what I was told as a child (Kidding, love ya Ma!)

Me, Erica, John and one of the train staff. Famous Thai smile not included.

Me, Erica, John and one of the train staff. Famous Thai smile not included.

Once we arrived in the province of Samut Songkhram, we piled our bikes onto a boat and headed upriver where we’d begin the actual bike riding. It was a hot day but luckily we were riding along routes that offered a fair amount of shade. We rolled along roads, over rubber plantations, through temple grounds and across rickety bridges. Below is a zoomed-in view of our route:

The double-backs and U-turns were on purpose... yeah, that's the ticket, we weren't lost...

The double-backs and U-turns were on purpose… yeah, that’s the ticket, we weren’t lost…

It was a great ride, and we managed to get our bikes onto some rarely-used pathways that weren’t on any map – and I only manged to slip off the pathway into shin-deep mud once! Too bad it was full of crabs and critters that seemed really interested in my legs. Ugh.

Believe it or not, the wall of a temple that was completely overgrown with trees. This is located on the spot where General Taksin trained his troops for war and the battles that would eventually lead to a united Siamese Kingdom.

Believe it or not, the wall of a temple that was completely overgrown with trees. This is located on the spot where General Taksin trained his troops for war and the battles that would eventually lead to a united Siamese Kingdom.

Later that night we hit the famous Amphawa Floating Market, which was a very funky and laid back mix of bars, restaurants, shops and boats. It’s 99% Thais down there, which means no annoying tuk-tuk touts trying to rip you off and no lame high-pitched squawks of “Hellomasssagesir” when you walk by a store. It was really refreshing and a great way to see a side of Thailand you rarely seen in Bangkok. It sounds cheesy, but it’s so easy to get comfortable here and assume that Bangkok IS Thailand.

Most restaurants and shops at Amphawa Floating Market have this undefined retro coolness about them - dark wood, bright lights, funky decorations.

Most restaurants and shops at Amphawa Floating Market have this undefined retro coolness about them – dark wood, bright lights, funky decorations.

The next day was a bit slower paced – another short bike ride, some food, a bit o’ shopping and back to Bangkok. There’s another trip on the horizon when we have more time. Hopefully with a better camera, more time to explore, and less crab-infested shin-deep mud.

Some more pictures below.

A cool house on the way upriver and/or a frighteningly deserted haunted house that has seen the deaths of many curious teenagers looking for a place to make out.

A cool house on the way upriver and/or a frighteningly deserted haunted house that has seen the deaths of many curious teenagers looking for a place to make out.

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The view from our boat.

On our way...

On our way…

Me riding toward the camera. Despite the apparent scowl of rage, I'm having quite a good time.

Me riding toward the camera. Despite the apparent scowl of rage, I’m having quite a good time.

One of those Thai things that seems simple on the surface but has layers of subtext. Located next to the tree-covered temple in the pic above. Notice the light-skinned Thais attacking the dark-skinned invader. Also note his hairy chest, belly and legs, a decidedly non-Thai trait.

One of those Thai things that seems simple on the surface but has layers of subtext. Located next to the tree-covered temple in the pic above. Notice the light-skinned Thais attacking the dark-skinned invader. Also note his hairy chest, belly and legs, a decidedly non-Thai trait.