Backpacking Addiction!

Downhill to Sunflower field

2014-04-26T00:32:00.005+07:00

Muak Lek by bicycle : Downhill

Pewwww!!! Extreme wind dashed my face, separated to the left and right of my nose, and passed through my cheeks and two ears. My heart beated fast. The speed went up to 60 km/hr in my endomondo app if the GPS was in good condition. Actually I though of getting faster but curved road with trucks and no helmet made it too furious to dare.

Sunflower blooming, famous for this time in this region

Finally we arrived at a sunflower field(there are many farms along the road). December is the time for sunflower blooming in Singburi and Lopburi. Many people come to visit this region at this time. Some farms collect entrance fee for walking inside. In front of farm are shops that sell products from sunflowers like seeds, honey, or the plants itself.
>>> More information about sunflower field by TOURISM AUTHORITY OF THAILAND

Red bike with yellow sunflowers

We went for ice-cream and took bottles of juice to drink along the way. When we walked back to our bikes, a man from Viharn Daeng cycling club asked us to take photo. He seemed surprise to meet another cyclist gang. We had a short talk and then got to leave as the sun's going down.

Dream team

Looking for a better London Tube maps?

2013-10-31T12:42:00.001+07:00

London Layout: Alternative maps for London Transport

Are you looking for a better London transport maps? If yes, you're congenial with Peter Saxton, a developer of app and leaflet for London underground maps project. As a frequent user of London's transport system he noticed that the map could be better than existing one so he started learning softwares and everything to create printed map in different sizes. Recently, he has created an interactive map and ran the Kickstarter campaign for his new plan to move those maps into digital. The new plan includes

- App for Android and iPhone
- Pocket leaflet

Go to support him and get reward gifts in return for example, the app, leaflet, and A1 poster map. Another special gift is adding your own business or home party on the local station's information!

Check this out! >>> London Layout on KICKSTARTER
Official website >>> London Layout

London Layout's Tube Network Map

Red bikes on Road no.2089

2013-05-27T16:36:00.000+07:00

Muak Lek by bicycle : Tree Tunnel

Rapid train arrived on time. We hopped off the train, got our bikes down, and looked around to get acquainted to Muak Lek town downhill. From now is the real beginning...

Arrived in Muak Lek

We observed the town and made a pause at 7-11 shop to get some food, drinks, and chill air from air-conditioner. In this shop you can find travel maps of road system in Thailand on book racks. There's a trick I've noticed many times when I traveled, just opened to the most crumpled page and you'll find a map of the place you are. To double check, I asked cashier the way to Pasak Dam and also a place for lunch where locals go. We're suggested to go for "ก๋วยเตี๋ยวเรือผักไห่", Pak Hai Boat Noodle.

Another style of Boat Noodle or Nam Tok, originated in Central Thailand

Road no.2089 to Pasak Dam might be a piece of cake for bikers but it's a tough project for us who've never done something like this before, this is the first time. The slope is zero at beginning, nothing special, but it begins to climb up and up and up. With the tiredness plus sunny day, we came out like this.

Almost faint in sunny day

After almost 10 kms in the sun, we stopped at the top of the hill. Along both sides of road are covered with trees that provided shade for us. Some cars also stopped by and took photos of this area, "Tree Tunnel". We took about 20 mins to recharge power, tried not to drink water too much to save it until we found a shop. Ahead of us seemed to be a comfortably downhill way.

In the middle of Tree Tunnel

Inside Thai Train

2013-05-14T00:05:00.000+07:00

Muak Lek by bicycle : In the train, on the track

Atmosphere of second-class fan bogies

Our bikes were separated from their owners. They're parked in parcel bogie at the head of the train and we walked to find our seats which later found at the last bogie. Blue seats are big and long enough to lay comfortably. There are luggage racks above the seats both sides. I think in such case we don't actually need fans because we can enjoy natural ventilation. You can lean out the train's windows to take fresh air but just beware tree branches too.

Take fresh breeze air along the way when train began to run through forest

After a while, the scene of countryside villages changed in to bushes. Train went up small hills into forest. There are many cement factories located in the forest. This area is called Saraburi where the biggest amount of cement are produced and distributed throughout Thailand. Besides enjoying forest atmosphere along the way we could enjoy spending little money. We tried local food and dessert that vendors brought on the train. Ice, a friend, got a hammock with negotiable price, 20 Baht only!

Morning train from Chiang Rak

2013-05-06T10:30:00.000+07:00

Muak Lek by bicycle : (and train)

Cycling trend has become famous in Thammasat University since October 2012. Bike lanes have been extended to cover major areas and 3 bike rental kiosks were set up along the main travel routes in Rangsit campus.

My friends and I have been discussing buying bicycles and use them to travel on weekend. We came up with another idea not to buy the bikes but rent them from university for only 5 THB a day. Actually we are not allowed to rent bikes overnight but we decided to pay 100 THB fine for each bike instead. From my calculation, 110 THB for 2 days is worth a lot.

Train to Muak Lek would depart at 7.57 am on the next day so we negotiated with lady at kiosk to take bikes in that evening for free. Then we rode to Chiang Rak railway station to pick up tickets and back to pack rucksacks for next 2 days.

Thai railways' one way ticket to Muaklek cost 85 Baht

Woke up in the morning and gathered in front of Chiang Rak gate to buy "Gai Wow", the most delicious breakfast for healthy man who wake up early in the morning or else overnighter. After that we quickly headed to train station.

We arrived 5 mins before train schedule. The train was delayed like usual so we had some times to take photos. Our bike group was mentioned in the typical Thai railway's retro announcement to hurry up taking bikes to the platform. The train was coming... Poon Poon!!!

Opening Ceremony

WSK Noodle Soup Chiang Mai (วังสิงห์คำก๋วยเตี๋ยวเป็ดตุ๋น เชียงใหม่)

2012-11-01T16:01:00.001+07:00

Homey WSK Noodle Soup Cafe

After cycling in a hot sunny day, Brass and I stopped for a lunch at WSK Noodle Soup. It's located near the corner of Nakorn Ping Bridge, right next to Rim Ping Condominium. What make this place be our first pit stop is because it's our friend's cafe, Joe's. We're warmly welcomed by his family. Smell of homemade stewed duck and soup kicked my nose and my stomach growled loud.

I ordered a bowl of rice noodle soup with stewed duck and ice lemon tea for drink. There are many kinds of cold drink normally served in this style of noodle cafe for example lemon tea, milk tea, pink milk, etc. Waiting not so long, noodle bowls were served in front of us.

typical drinks served in retro coffee jars

In Thailand, we normally order first bowl and follow by second one with changing some ingredient. You can mix and match 3-4 types of noodle (just like pasta) with meat or poultry. To follow that way of eating, I chose egg noodle with roasted duck without soup. This cafe sells not only noodle but also duck without noodle. Almost every part of duck can be cooked including wings, feet, legs, entrails, etc.

"Mee Kao Ped Toon" or very small rice noodle with stewed duck

It was still too hot to ride out at 2pm so we sat and chill until around 3pm when the sun became less intense. We decided to move to our next pit stop, second hand bike shops near weekend flea market behind The Prince Royal's College.

Joe and Brass, ready to depart

How to go? >> Located on Charoen Rat Rd. You can walk across Nakorn Ping Bridge to east side of city. At the end of the bridge, turn left and walk along the road for 50 meters. For those who walk from Wat Gate area can easily go straight along the road up north and walk across intersection. The cafe is located on the left next to Rim Ping Condominium. Parking area is also available in the opposite side of cafe.

When? >> Everyday from Monday to Sunday, 8am - 6pm

Try ordering in Thai! >> Try mixing these words together to create your own dish, start with types of noodle, with or without soup, and types of meat/poultry respectively.
"Bamee" = egg noodle
"Mee Kao" = very small string rice noodle
"Sen Lek" = small string rice noodle
"Sen Yai" = big string rice noodle

follow by
"Nam" = water (with soup)
"Haeng" = dry (without soup)

then
"Ped Toon/Ped Yang" = stewed duck/roasted duck
"Gai" = chicken
* "Nuea" = beef
* "Moo" = pork
* Unfortunately, this cafe sells only poultry so you cannot order Nuea or Moo

Visit WSK Noodle Soup on >>> FACEBOOK

Vilnius supermarket

2012-10-24T22:13:00.002+07:00

Short Baltic Trip: Evening walk, Hāles Turgus

Hāles Turgus (Market Hall)

After I arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania, I took a bus to Hotel CONTI. It was already 8 o'clock but not dark yet so I did a short sightseeing. Everything were closed and the city was very quiet. There was a big hall on the other side of street but it's already closed (found later that it's a market hall). Under the hall was a small local grocery store and still opened.

Half of the room was full of bottles

I wanted to try local snacks and beer but they didn't accept euros so I could just look around and check the prices. Lithuania is pretty cheap compare to other countries in Baltic states. It has it's own currency called "Litas (LTL)" with the rate of 1 Litas = 0.37 USD. Here are example pictures of liquor and beverage with cheap price.

Cheap and tasty Lithuanian beer in big plastic bottles

Many kinds of blah blah blah water

Helsinki Aerial View

2012-06-05T22:18:00.001+07:00

Short Baltic Trip: Bounce on Finland

Flying to Vilnius

1. There was an announcement for passengers from Bangkok.
2. Since the flight from Bangkok arrived late, I have to run to stamp my passport and then to the gate.
3. The plane headed across Gulf of Finland toward Vilnius.

Two noodle meals a day by Finnair

2012-05-30T00:27:00.002+07:00

Short Baltic trip: The Beginning

Asian noodle

It was a long day flight from Bangkok to Helsinki. I wish it was a night flight so that I can sleep instead of sitting bored. However, a lunch tasted good. Chinese noodle with chicken was served with bread, cheese, and cucumber salad. Wine was free but a can of beer cost 5 euros.

I tried to watch movies from seat screen in front of me which came so close to my face because a man reclined his seat. My eyes were too tired so I just grabbed an earphone and listen to Finnish rock songs!

European noodle

Three hours before landing, flight attendants started walking again. I expected another big meal but when I opened a foil, I got only a small cup of vegetarian pasta! which was about 1/3 of my stomach. This time the taste was so mild. At that time I imagined the food I'll face next 7 days.

Design of condiments, toothpick, and freshener

Finally! Landing at Helsinki

Vienna aerial view

2012-04-30T20:33:00.000+07:00

Morning flight to Berlin

An Austrian Airlines flight to Berlin took off in the morning. Clear sky over the city of Vienna appeared for a short time. After few minutes, thick clouds covered until landing at Berlin Tegel Airport.

CU-TU Traditional Football Match #68

2012-04-18T13:58:00.000+07:00

Thammasat Grandstand and card stunts

It was a hot day but not as much as last year. Chulalongkorn and Thammasat University continued their 68th traditional football match later at the end of February because of major flood. The stadium was crowded with yellow and pink stuffs as always. Unfortunately, Chula beat Thammasat 1-0. Don't let them next year! Go Thammasat!

Yellow-Red for Thammasat and Pink for Chula

Parade after the game

The event also focused on concert, card stunts performance, cheerleaders, parades, and politics-mocking sequence from Thammasat. This year they went for the flood solving scandals.

Thammasat's political mockery : Thaksin and Yingluck

The hot sun finally went down. Everyone got tanned after the match.

Giant 焼肉 (yakiniku) in Bangkok

2012-03-27T01:59:00.000+07:00

Bangkok is a heaven for eating. You'll find many international restaurants throughout city. If you're missing your homeland cuisine, there is at least one restaurant from your country waiting for you for sure. The Japanese are lucky. Japanese food is quite popular in Thailand as you can see from franchise restaurants like "Fuji", "Zen", "Yayoi", "Oishi" etc.

Apart from those famous restaurants, I recommend another one called "Giant yakiniku". It is an all-you-can-eat restaurant with a fix price of 330 Baht per person including drinks and service charge. The beef lovers should try it. There are more than 10 kinds of meat for you to choose along with salad and seaweed.

How to go?

Take BTS skytrain to Chid Lom Station. Walk up north on Chid Lom Road along the Central department store for about 300 meters. You'll see the restaurant on the second floor.

Santi Wana, Chaiprakarn

2012-02-25T14:35:00.001+07:00

Last three weeks, I followed my dad to a construction site in Chaiprakarn, a province in Chiang Mai district. Santi Wana village is located on the mountain near Myanmar border. Accidentally, I found a memorial of KMT at the back of construction site. What I remember from people is that KMT army fled from China to this area. They also helped Thai government to fight with Communist in Northern Thailand during 1950's to 1980's.

Walking down the road a few steps, is Tham Ngob village. There is still an army camp which is modified to be an inn for tourist. In the village you can find typical homemade Yunnan dishes together with Chinese Ulong tea.

Kad Ngua - Chiang Mai Cattle Market

2012-01-27T12:26:00.001+07:00

Last Saturday I drove to San Pa Tong to visit my friend. I caught in a traffic jam, wondered why many cars were around there and found later that there was a bazaar ahead. Of course I must stop by and check it out!

Water buffalo market

Sold or go back home?

Waiting for the passengers...

Kad Ngua (กาดงัว) is the biggest cattle market in Northern Thailand. It's located 25 km. to the south of Chiang Mai. Originally, this place was a trading area for cow and water buffalo merchants in local area and also some from Central Thailand many decades ago. Nowadays you can find clothes, tools, flowers, food, almost everything for your daily life like in Thai phrase "from toothpicks to warships". Also the second-hand motorcycles and bicycles are sold here individually with negotiable price. Many of them are classic type which you cannot find anywhere anymore.

Fighting cock market

Tiny mandarin oranges

Knife shop

Where? >> San Pa Tong, around the 25th km. pillar on Chiang Mai-Hod Rd. (Route 108)
When? >> Saturday only. From 2am (so early!) to 1pm
How? >> Blue bus or Yellow minibus. Both start from Pratu Chiang Mai (Chiang Mai Gate). Price is around 15 Baht and take 45 mins.

Phnom Penh aerial view

2011-12-29T00:55:00.001+07:00

This aerial shot was taken over Phnom Penh city at the time of major flood 2011. You can see water overflowed into some fields. The city is located on the bank where the Tonle Sap river and Mekong river meet each other. Such a lot of water in Cambodia!

Loy Krathong Chiang Mai: How to launch Sae Pao

2011-12-15T00:11:00.000+07:00

Sae Pao is a kind of homemade firework in Northern Thailand. It is easily made of dried coconut leaves and some local chemical powder. This toy is quite popular in Loy Krathong when people hang out in the evening and celebrate the god of river. The price is only 1 Baht each! (about 0.03 US$)

How to play

1. Light the fuse at the head of Sae Pao.

2. Hold the tail and swing until the sparkle lighten

3. Wait a second til you can feel the force then release it!

For the one who's brave enough can also hold the head instead while it's sparkling. It's not an explode type of firework so it won't gonna blow up in your hand, trust me!

Thailand International Balloon Festival 2011 - Night

2011-12-01T21:00:00.000+07:00

<<< Day
The festival continued in the evening. For this year the theme of Balloon festival was "Glow Night". There were music, lighting show, night glow, and free tethered balloon ride for visitors. The first show started at 5pm but I entered the festival quite late around 6.30pm due to traffic jam. Some balloon pilots already brought their balloons down but it's still crowd there.

Thailand International Balloon Festival 2011 - Day

2011-11-28T19:08:00.000+07:00

Luckily for me that I'm still around here in Chiang Mai during cold season this year. The weather here is very nice during this time. Many events and festivals are held almost every week which attract lots of tourists coming to the city. Thailand International Balloon Festival came to Chiang Mai this year. The festival was set up on a football field of The Prince Royal's College. I was looking forward to join this festival since I knew that it will be held there, taking this chance to visit my old school too!

Balloons flew up continuously in the early morning from 6am til 7am.

They flew to the south of Chiang Mai during the day and came back in the evening.

Night >>>

Phayao Lake is waiting

2011-11-24T00:02:00.000+07:00

This is a view of Phayao. The city is located at the Phayao Lake (Kwan Phayao) which you can see in the middle of picture. This lake is an important freshwater source for this valley. 70 years ago before the lake was constructed, its area used to be an old town. In the lake, there is a ruin of Wat Tilok Aram, a 500 year temple and people usually take boats with lighted candle in hands around the ruined temple instead of walking in Buddhist Holidays (Buddhist practice).

Modern spirit house in Pai

2011-11-20T23:23:00.000+07:00

This is a spirit house of "Coffee in Love", a beautiful coffee shop in Pai. It looks like a fairy tail house which is totally different from the traditional style shrine. Hope the spirits enjoy their coffeehouse style home.

Berlin aerial view

2011-11-17T22:02:00.000+07:00

This is the aerial view of Berlin, Germany. The plane was turning left and soon landed at Berlin Tegel Airport. I think this shot was taken while I was flying over somewhere in northeast Berlin. I found later that it's a little bit south of a town called Ahrensfelde. Großer Müggelsee can be observed from this view far away to the southeast near skyline.

10 things to have in your backpack

2011-11-14T22:07:00.001+07:00

Backpacking is one way to travel with your backpack. This means you should take only important things to keep the lowest weight. To be ready for your backpacking trip, you need these 10 basic items in your backpack.

1. Clothes - This can be varied, up to the climate of the place you travel. But basically, you should have 3 pairs of trousers or shorts and 5 t-shirts. They should be easy to wash and dry. Bring at least 3 underwear and wash it daily! In case something exciting happens, you can buy new clothes during the travel.

2. First Aid kit - This is very important. Keep traveling with pains feels like you fail on that trip. Three basic items are paracetamol, plasters, and alcohol for cleaning the wound. Don't forget to bring other medicines if you have a special disease.

3. Towel and hygiene kit - Bring small and thin towel to save backpack's space. Soap, shampoo, toothbrush, and toothpaste shouldn't be forgotten.

4. Flip Flops - Your feet need to breathe. Select the cheap one which you won't hesitate to throw them away.

5. Camera - If your main point is to take photos, bring compact tripod and enough memory cards and batteries, if not, bring less equipment. For me, I prefer a light compact camera because I like to do snapshot. Don't hesitate to take photos. Do it as much as you want and you won't have the feeling like "Oh...I should have taken that shot." after the trip.

6. Guidebook, notebook, and pens - Another great idea is to put those important information from the guidebook to iPod or mobile phone to save your backpack's space. Try closing your guidebook and traveling with your mouth to face new experiences. Don't forget to write the diary everyday. You can share it to your friends and it will be the best guide for yourself when you come back again.

7. Victorinox knife - It is not often to be used but when the unexpected time comes, it is worth to have this item with you. It may protect you from bad guys or help opening a locked bag with the keys inside.

8. Plastic bags, plastic band or rope - Plastic bags is useful when you have to carry wet clothes or have a carsick. The band or rope is multipurpose. I believe you must have a chance to use it.

9. Flashlight - It is quite important if you travel to the remote area or camp outdoor during the trip. Don't forget to bring its batteries as well.

10. Pocket book - A pocket book will reduce the distance of your journey. I use a guide book as a pocket book to kill the time during traveling by planes, buses, and trains.

After you have those 10 items prepared, pack it wisely. If you travel with a baggage, here is a way to pack it.

Cambodia in October: Kampong Som / Sihanoukville

2011-11-12T13:30:00.000+07:00

Finally I arrived the southern beach. Cambodian blue sea is clean and quiet. There were not so many tourists yet but the place is getting famous every year. This can be an alternative choice for those who want to relax at the tropical beach in Southeast Asia.

The kids kept jumping at the pier, swimming back to the beach, and running back to jump again and again. They asked me to take photos each round too!

Cambodia in October: Heading to the south on Highway No.4

2011-11-08T08:00:00.000+07:00

I rode in a car going south to Kampong Som or Sihanoukville. Not so long after riding out of the city along Highway no.4, I saw such a damped accident. In the middle of crowd lied two bodies and scrap parts of motorcycle behind a ten-wheeler truck. Traffic in Cambodia is very terrible. Many motorcycles buzz around without fear. Away from suburbs of Phnom Penh, we passed through toll gates and after that all I saw were beautiful paddy fields and palm trees with mountains background.

"Tob" means room and "Tuek" means water in Khmer so the toilet is called "tob tuek". In Cambodia, the official currency is Cambodian riel but actually US dollars are used universally even in the supermarket. There are many ATM s in the major tourist areas which dispense US$. If you pay something in dollar, you will get riel back for the change with a fix rate of 1$ = 4000 riels.

Cambodia in October: Phnom Penh riverfront at night

2011-11-07T15:00:00.000+07:00

After leaving bags at La Parranda Hotel, I took a ride on a local tuk-tuk to the riverfront. Along the Tonle sap river is a long park with palm trees. Cambodians usually come and relax around here in the evening to enjoy the atmosphere. I took this picture from the terrace of FCC Phnom Penh. A colonial style bar and restaurant was once a gathering place of foreign correspondents during war time. Rooms and free WiFi are also available here!