Sunday morning I set out about 6:30 for another bicycle ride, this time solo since none of my other fellow cyclists was available. I traveled the usual route – about 50 km roundtrip (a bit more, actually) from Thong Lo out to Minburi and return.
This time I explored a few new side streets out in the countryside, discovering a way to get “back to nature” more quickly. Sure enough, I was able to arrive at rice paddies and quiet canals a good 5 km earlier than usual.
On the way out to the ride site, I follow alongside the airport expressway. It isn’t the most scenic part of the route but the frontage road has wide shoulders and is smoothly paved. That counts for a lot. Along the way I pass a couple of large mosques. Since Islam forbids the depiction of animals or humans in artwork, mosques are instead decorated with gorgeous geometric patterns and architectural flourishes. This one is fairly basic in design but I still think the lines are so graceful.
Where the expressway intersects with the outer ring road there are many new housing developments, gated suburban communities that wouldn’t seem so out of place in Los Angeles, except for the lotus flowers in a pond outside the gate.
Not long after taking the above picture, I found myself riding through rice fields, down small rural sois with unfriendly dogs, and on a narrow elevated concrete path two meters above a peaceful canal. I dismounted to take this picture, managing to catch my riding shorts on the bicycle seat and pulling a muscle in the process.
Continuing a few kilometers down the road I came across an area where people dump a lot of garbage, particularly the insulation from old refrigerators and other appliances. Judging from the scorching on the ground, it looks like they dispose of this garbage by burning it. What a terrible shame!
This area out in Minburi is a beautiful place to ride. However, since my bicycle rack for the car broke a few weeks back, I’m forced to ride all the way out here. By the time I’ve fit that 50 km in, I haven’t much energy left for exploring! Maybe I need to eat a proper breakfast before I start out. Normally I just have a bowl of soup noodles along the way.
christao408 
Beautiful pics except for the last one. I love cycling, but I haven’t been on a bike since moved to Delhi four years back.
Pretty interesting to see a mixed bag of land uses on the outskirts of Big Mango. The lotus pond outside that housing development is pretty, and that tree reflection shot as well! Are they still building new highways and housing tracts outside BKK?
The houses look like they are from Monterey Park
Glad that the muscle pull didn’t ruin the photo! It seems that kind of thing (garbage dump in the middle of nowhere) is the norm. No one wants a dump next to their pretty house and lotus pond….
Islamic architecture is really, really amazing. I went into a mosque for the first time about two years ago in DC. I was stunned by the inside of the mosque. The geometric tile patterns that are really common in the architecture is really something to behold!
@Dezinerdreams – Time to get back on the bike! =)
@curry69curry – The city continues to expand in a very Southern California kind of way. If you fly into the airport (especially from the northeast) during the day, you can see how individual rice paddies – long, thin strips of property – have been developed into housing tracts while the surrounding properties still grow rice. Unfortunately, no streets (let alone transit) are being added so we get horrid congestion.
@Wangium – Doesn’t it, though? =)
@murisopsis – I was more concerned that I would lose my balance with the muscle cramp and fall into the canal!
@TheCheshireGrins – There is the Museum of Islamic Arts that has opened in Doha. It looks like it would be worth a few hours of exploration. http://www.hays.com/jobs/mia/index.html
Wow, these are some really nice photos! Even the one with the trash (composition, not contents 🙂
I like the 3rd pic.Actually I often go to these suburb area every other week to visit grandparents. But I can’t see any special until I read this entry through your perspective.
I bet the cycling has to be done b4 noon?
@agmhkg – I enjoy riding in the morning because it is cooler but when you’re outside the city, the temperature is cooler throughout the day. It is amazing how much heat the concrete and pavement absorb. The countryside is quite cool in comparison.
@sgtowns – Thank you. I’ll have to take you out there next time we ride.
@blue_beau – The nice thing about sharing with each other is that we get to see the world through new perspectives.
You surely must have had a good meal after that ride! Beautiful pics (except of course the dump, ha ha). 🙂
I love the picture of the mosque. I am currently trying to build a mosque here in Quincy and have brought a lot of different pictures from home to show to the contractor here.I will show hime this picture also. Chris the lotus pond is so breathtakingly beautiful. I saw one just like that in Madras and showed my nephew. That also had only white blooms. I wish I could get some white blooms in my pond in the back yard. Mine are mainly mauve, yellow and pink.
I am glad you didn’t injure yourself; the musckle cramp could be treacherous if its bad enough, especially if you have to peddle 25 to 30km home. Great pictures as always.
Riding a bicycle for 50 km is a great deed. How long does it take you to do this. That is a lot of exercise. Good for health.