henrik2000
-
Posts
517 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Events
Forums
Downloads
Quizzes
Gallery
Blogs
Everything posted by henrik2000
-
Trat Province, Cycling Day Trips – 60 Pics
henrik2000 replied to henrik2000's topic in Cycling in Thailand
Oh, also to do with the surface. Maybe you've mostly been on paved roads. Dirt roads are full of thorns, some of them extremely tiny but effective, others monstrous (pic above). -
Trat Province, Cycling Day Trips – 60 Pics
henrik2000 replied to henrik2000's topic in Cycling in Thailand
Thanks. If you wanted, you could copy a pic and paste it into a reply box, either by right-clicking or by Ctrl C, Ctrl V, and comment on that one. (I just tried that, it works on my system.) -
Trat Province, Cycling Day Trips – 60 Pics
henrik2000 replied to henrik2000's topic in Cycling in Thailand
"Bike paths"? It was exactly here:
-
Trat Province, Cycling Day Trips – 60 Pics
henrik2000 replied to henrik2000's topic in Cycling in Thailand
Did you get those: (Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tire after off-roading in upcountry Uttaradit.)
-
Trat Province, Cycling Day Trips – 60 Pics
henrik2000 replied to henrik2000's topic in Cycling in Thailand
Schwalbe Marathon Plus - exactly the one i use. I have the Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour - which is made more for offroad. Last winter i cycled 4000 kms in different parts of Thailand, with a lot of forest and fields (i.e. full of thorns), and didn't have 1 single puncture. That's phantastic compared to earlier trips. For the Marathon Plus the manufacturer recommends using a pump with pressure gauge, they say you can't properly check the pressure with your thumb on that tire. I do have a small pump with pressure gauge to attach to the bike - and find it very difficult to get even the minimum of 3 bar into the tire. It's much easier with a big stand pump or compressor. The Schwalbe Marathon Plus (Tour) has a protection level of 7/7 according to manufacturer, but it isn't foldable, if you wanted to bring it into Thailand from the West. Schwalbe also has a tire called Marathon Mondial (?), which is foldable, very small in its paper box and has a protection level of 6/7 (beware, you have to pick the right, more protective, less smooth-running "Mondial" variety). This Mondial gave me exactly 1 puncture on another 4000 kms of country bicycling in Thailand (industrial strength thorns), which is still very good compared to using cheap local tires + tubes (20+ punctures on yet another winter sojourn). I would also recommend Schwalbe AirPlus inner tubes, i believe they have a big advantage over cheaper inner tubes, and they are helpful even if you have low-quality tires. (There maybe other good manufacturers, but Schwalbe is just so well established in my territory.) -- Another good thing if you do have a puncture are Thai people. Workshops are everywhere and usually super-friendly, often insisting on helping me for free (barely managed to give them some oranges). Several times when they saw me pushing a flattened bike, cars and trucks would stop, put my bike inside (including inside family vans) and take me to the next workshop. (I do carry the equipment to fix a puncture, but in Thailand prefer a workshop.) -
Daytrips out of Khung Wiman, Chantha town, Laem Sing in Jan 2025. (Uploaded Pics looked crisp on my machine.)
-
- 2
-
-
Trat Province, Cycling Day Trips – 60 Pics
henrik2000 replied to henrik2000's topic in Cycling in Thailand
I think it is very much a matter of personal preference - for a bike, for certain kinds of roads -, not what's generally best for Thailand. If you go country, my number 1 tips would be unflattable tires, and certainly not the tires that come with cheap bikes. -
Day trips out of Khao Saming near Trat town. (Pics looked crisp on my machine before upload.)
-
Day trips out of Phimai, Chaiyaphum, Det Udom village, Surin.
-
- 3
-
-
-
Thanks, yes, i forgot that option. Even though in January prices might be higher.
-
What i had was 60 days + 30 days tourist visas or visa waivers. I didn't fully listen to this officer, because i already had researched, and rejected, the visa that he wanted to promote. I think it was for 50+ year olds, which applies for me. Maybe "non-O"? I think it required showing bank statements from 3 different months and maybe other stuff that i found inconvenient in my personal case, even if a trip to Immigration in-country may be inconvenient as well. But let's discuss the original topic at hand.
-
I do that.
-
Then you trust the phone agreement more than i do. I've had phone bookings gone wrong, with staff forgetting to put my name into their computer or receiving an online booking 1 second before they could put my name into their computer (and then online booking comes first, i was told) accepting phone bookings beyond capacity out of confusion I'd at least write via Facebook, which is possible with some resorts. When i search their phone numbers from Google Maps in Line, mostly they don't show up there. When a place is "sold out", booking sites will not show their prices. I'd like to know the prices before calling, and often they don't have their own website, and on their Facebook they usually don't show prices.
-
Recently at Bkk airport, the immigration officer in his booth noted the visa extensions stamped into my passport to allow for 3-months-tourist stays in previous winters, and he may have noted a 1-day-overstay-stamp. For 5 minutes he explained another kind of visa that would make 3-months-stays easier for me (in his estimation), while 50 travelers in the queue had to wait. I didn't look very "quality tourist", but he wanted to have me in-country.
-
Hello all, thanks for interesting input. Well i am always wary of phone bookings, and i've been let down before (even if more phone bookings went well). Interesting that some (not all) don't accept reservations more than six months ahead.
-
Hello, i try to book a mid-range bungalow (below 1800/night) about 30 kms north-west of Kanchanaburi town for Jan 25-31 or so, in towns like Ban Tha Pong, Sai Yok or Wang Pho, on the way to Erawan and Hellfire Pass, roughly between rivers Kwae Noi and Kwae Yai. There are a lot of bungalow resorts. Looking at many booking sites including meta booking sites, many resorts are "sold out" (see the markers with the red dots inside below), "sold out" now for next Jan 25, 2026. I wonder: Do you know if they are really sold out? Or do they only open up for booking later? Or maybe websites like booking.com show resorts as "sold out", even if they have no connection with the resort? (To direct customers to resorts they can offer.) The few places that actually do offer rooms on booking sites mostly don't offer free cancellation – if you book five nights now for next January, the money is gone. NOT IMPORTANT REMARKS: So much "sold out" and so little with free cancellation is very unusal for me, but I mostly book in less popular areas (and have no experience with Phuket or so). I had cases where places were actually not sold out, but presented as "sold out" on booking.com or Agoda, booking.com showed even places as "sold out" that didn't work with booking.com at all. I tried a number of other booking sites as well, also rather local sites like thai-tour or choowap. I had places shown as "sold out" on booking.com for early next year, but they were available on Expedia. I understand that booking without free cancellation is good for the hotel and that some consider it as more fair. Aware that the area in question is expensive and many resorts are above my budget of 1800 per night – still there are many within budget and fine for me. I do speak enough Thai and could phone around, but I prefer online booking, even if the agency charges 20%. Here I don't ask for specific recommendations regarding location, property, time of travel or vacation preparation.
-
Hi all, thanks for new input. Ao Samet Dang would be a tad lonely for me as a place to stay and a base to cycle (this is totally personal, YMMV), but i the restaurant looks very tempting. I'd call them before heading there. I'll go next December, not in May or other hot + wet months.
-
Thanks for those recommendations. The 2 recommendations on top look ok. Khrua Samet Dang looks interesting.
-
Thanks. Sorry i did not look properly. I've been cycling around those two places you recommend first. But even the Laem Singh place is on the far side of the bridge. Housefulonthebeach would be the area i am after, but i worry it's beyond my budget and i have a hard time seeing prices or pictures of rooms or if the whole place is only rented out to one big party (checked website and Google Maps).
-
Now i explicitly asked for recommendations NOT in Kung Wiman, and then the only replies are about Kung Wiman...
-
I have been to the places mentioned above before, and to others, and would still go to Laem Singh or Chao Lao, it's a personal preference.
-
Hello, i (living in the west) look for a simple holiday house or holiday apartment in the Chanthaburi beach settlements of - Laem Singh (1st choice) - Chao Lao (2nd choice) NOT Khung Wiman I searched the net for a long time and didn't find anything below 2500 THB/day – too much. You could also PM me your advice. I would like: - about 11 days from Dec 1st and/or Jan 25th for 1 person + car - some privacy, private parking, quiet (no tourist treks past my windows) - no need beach front, but within 1,5 kms of beach - pleasant terrace, garden or balcony (aware of mosquito threat) - not hemmed in by ugliness or noise - decent western bathroom incl hot shower NOT ESSENTIAL: kitchen, aircon, on-site food, housekeeping I happily do speak some Thai, but can't read or write. I could make an arrangement just by phone with a private landlord, but worry about reliability. I understand you travel differently and better. I have been to the places mentioned above before, and to others, and would still like things as described above. Thanks!
-
Hi all, thanks for your comments! That's interesting, because booking.com (a Priceline brand) does not ask the passport number when booking a Thai flight on my route, i tried it (just before the Payment threshold).
-
Hello, here's me trouble: February 2025 – already NOW want to book cheap one-way flight EU – BKK on Thaiairways.com for next November September 2025 – my passport expires, and i'd like a new passport only in September November 2025 – the flight takes off When booking online, Thaiairways.com asks your passport number and passport expiry date. You can't leave these fields empty. But you can fill in a bogus passport number and a bogus expiry date and click through till payment, I tried that. So could I make my online booking with bogus passport number and bogus passport expiry date? (NB, this NOT about visa application and NOT about online check-in. On those occasions I would present the correct info from the new passport of course. Also I don't need a visa beforehand.) Notes: It is not totally unlikely to have a changed passport number after booking online. One may have lost one's passport and replaced it. Getting a THAI flight on booking.com, they don't ask for your passport number and it is 2% cheaper. BUT I hear it's better to book straight with THAI in case of complications (my western home airport has a lot of strikes, and I want to book sports luggage on top of the regular luggage, doable only after having a confirmed booking).
