Was up quite early for a Saturday morning to prepare for a bike ride in the countryside.  This customized Spiceroads tour was 45 km starting in Min Buri, a northeast suburb of Khrungthep.  We rode with a couple we’ve recently met, Tam and Markus, and Tam’s younger sister Poun.  Coincidentally, Markus is from San Francisco, too.

Our guide was the same one I had on my last Spiceroads trip, and once again we had a fun adventure.  It was sunny most of the day and clouded up and started raining only once we were in the canal boat on the way home.

Pictures for your enjoyment – I’ll add some video clips soon as we saw a few things that really need movement to be properly conveyed.

Above left: Tam and Poun engaged in a struggle right out of a Greek myth.  Above right: Tam, Markus, Poun and Tawn pose as our bikes are assembled.  Below: The gang is ready to go: Tawn, Chris, Markus, Poun, and Tam

Left: Along the way we stopped and walked about 50m back into the jungle to see a large nest of bats.  They were everywhere and quite active, flying from tree to tree.  I shot some video and will include it in a later post.

Below left: Tawn at a rest stop, a pavillion overlooking the rice paddies.

Below right: Lunch!  We stop for traditional central Thai food at a roadside restaurant.  Dishes include an omlette, deep-fried fish, stir fried prawns, and tom yum goong soup.  Yummy.

Above and below: We arrived at one temple to find a procession of about 100 villagers including a jazz combo that would have been at home at a New Orleans funeral.  The lively procession was leading three young men through the steps to becomming monks.  The young men are wearing so-called “naga” robes, named after the nine-headed serpent that protected Buddha from evil spirits.  They will don the saffron robes in a ceremony tomorrow.  Note the shaved eyebrows.

Above: We met a long-tailed boat take us about 45 minutes back to the mosque from which we originally set out.  Below: Back at the mosque, tired and exhausted, we pose for a few more pictures.  In the final picture, our guide is on the right.