Yesterday, Markus, Tam and I went to ProBike – the large bike shop adjacent to Lumpini Park – and went shopping.  Markus and I ended up buying the same type of bike, a TREK 3900, although he bought the 2007 model and I went for one of the remaining 2006 models. 

After purchasing the necessary supplies – pump, bike rack for the car, spare tube, chain lubricant – I spent about 15,000 baht, net a 15% discount.  Pricey, about US$400, but a good investment that should last many years.

To ensure that the bikes didn’t start gathering dust from lack of use, we set out this morning to get our bikes covered with dust from the trail.  A friend of Tam’s had recommended biking in Phra Pradaeng (indicated by the red circle on the map), the so-called “Lungs of Bangkok.”

It is a peninsular bend in the Chao Praya River, directly across from Khlong Toey, where the port of Bangkok resides.  Unlike the rest of the city around it, Phra Pradaeng is still a jungle and is much more typical of provinces further to the west of Bangkok.  There is a large park in the center of it with paved paths, lakes, etc. 

This was a good adventure for Markus and I, as we made the trip without the aid of any Thai-fluent partners.  Fortunately, I’ve discovered that when put to the test, my Thai is good enough to navigate.  Our first challenge was figuring out where to park.  The first thought was to park at the temple, Wat Khlong Toey Nok.  When we pulled in, we found much less of a courtyard than we expected and it wasn’t clear that we could actually park anywhere.  Finally, a monk indicated a spot where would could park: directly in front (and I mean right in front) of a standing Buddha statue about 2.5 meters tall. 

I looked around the wat but none of the chapels were open so there didn’t seem to be anywhere to donate money.  On the next trip I’ll have to search some more so I can contribute to the temple for their hospitality.

The boat pier was just outside the temple wall so we made our way there and took a small ferry across the river for 10 baht each.  Just behind the houses on the other side the river, a wall of coconut palms and other lush trees stood, a green demarkation between the progress of civilization and the tropical jungle.

Some of our time was spent on concrete one-lane roads and the park’s bike paths, but we quickly deviated off these onto the small elevated concrete pathways that have been added above the narrow canals.  Think of these as small alleys, except that none are wide enough for cars.  The picture below (taken from the travel report linked below) shows a typical pathway.  Some had railings on one side; most didn’t.

We passed small houses in the midst of banana and coconut plantations.  Friendly people waved, childred shouted, “hello, hello!”  Dogs barked.  A few very mean-looking ones did a bit more than barked and ran after us for a few feet before falling behind.  I have yet to decide how to best deal with angry street dogs when riding: one school of thought says to ride fast and hopefully tire them out.  The other school of thought says to stop and confront them as they will chicken out and go back.  A third school of thought would be to carry a weapon or some rocks or a slingshot.

We rode about 27 km, taking about two hours.  Because of the bend in the river, every direction we rode we ended up back at the river.  We visited three temples along the way, stopped a street vendor to buy some sweet roti, and then stumbled across something akin to a farmer’s market.  This section of a canal had been rennovated with wide sidewalks and actual vendor stands and it was very busy with many Thais shopping.  But it sold more than just the usual fruits and vegetables.  Instead, it had many desserts, specialty foods, prepared meals, and crafts.  There were no other farang there, but it looked like an event that attracted people from other areas; not just locals.

It was really interesting and we stopped to snack on some sweet dumplings with peanut and palm sugar filling wrapped in a very thin, steamed rice crepe.

We headed back across the river a little before noon and as traffic was light, I was home before 1:00.  All in all, a very successful first ride.

Another person’s travel essay on a bike ride in Phra Pradaeng.