Wanderlust takes over Kanishka Poddar as he pedals through Thailand with a group of friends

The holiday season was around the corner and my itchy feet again brought me back to Thailand with my bicycle. Only this time I wasn't alone but with a bunch of my favourite cycling buddies from Ranchi. Bikepacking with a group of other cyclists has never been my thing but I was definitely up for this adventure with riders I enjoy riding within my city.

If you had gone through my earlier blog post, the original route for my first bikepacking trip in 2016 was from Hua Hin on the east coast of Thailand to Phuket, an island on the west coast of South Thailand. However I never really went on this route for some or other reason. So when we started planning this year-end bikepacking trip, everyone unanimously selected this route for our expedition and I was excited.

It took me close to 2 months to plan this trip, ensuring minute details like riding is not more than 100 km every day. we have ample rest days in between, we stayed on smaller roads and trails for the majority of the ride and avoid highways as much as possible and also ensured that every day is an entirely new experience in a totally new place. Someone who knows me, also knows how much I love mountains and climbs. Therefore I always had one simple underline principle in mind while planning the route - "Follow the mountains".

We flew into Bangkok with two bikes and went straight to Hua Hin wherein we rented 6 other bikes from Hua Hin Bike Tours Co. They have some of the best bikes to rent at reasonable rates if you plan bikepacking Thailand. Once we were sorted with our bikes and a support vehicle which carried the luggage of my friends, we were all set to start our ride to Prachuap Khiri Khan.

Hua Hin to Prachuap Khiri Khan

On the very first day, we had to cover a distance of 125 km and I was quite sceptical about my own ability to do it. I haven't done a long ride in ages and riding in the group only added more anxiety and performance pressure on me. However, we woke up early and rode 8 km off route to the office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Hua Hin wherein the DIrector officially flagged off our journey. We were thankful to the Tourism Authority of Thailand for arranging the flag-off in Hua Hin and also ensuring that we get to experience #AmazingThailand at its best during our journey.

By 6 AM, we were back on our planned route and immediately moved away from Route 4 which is a National Highway and started cycling on Route 4020 wherein we were either on a dedicated cycling trail or on much smaller roads with almost no traffic. I was surprisingly pleased by the refreshing feel that went through each one of us while riding on these smaller trails, we felt euphoric, confident and full of energy. The rising sun only added more joy to our ride. One of our friends had a speaker on his bike and music from the 80s and 90s started playing. We sang, chatted and kept riding. It felt magical.

Sometime around 8 AM, we had our first encounter with the ocean and the beach and we couldn't stop ourselves. That smell of salty water and nip in the air will be remembered by each one of us forever. Some went to get photographed, while some just stayed there feeling the sea and its music. We also used this moment to have our packed breakfast from the hotel we stayed at in Hua Hin (The Peri Hotel, Hua Hin).

A few moments later we were back on our saddle heading towards Phraya Nakhon Cave and Sam Roi Yot National Park, our two planned detours for the day. We reached the cave around 10:30 AM only to realise that there is no road ahead and we have to go back a few kms and change our route. However, few of us chose to trek all the way to the cave while others stayed on the beach getting photographed and hydrating themselves with fresh juices and fruits. The trek to the cave wasn't easy and it seemed never-ending. It took us close to 3 hours to reach the cave and get back, but believe me, the entire experience was surreal. I have never seen or experienced a place like this ever and every effort by us was worthy of it.

It was past 1 PM, I was completely exhausted due to the trek and the blazing sun only added to my woes, while we still had 60 Km to ride before we reach our destination. We all pushed ourselves back on the saddle and started riding. I was literally dragging myself and perhaps the next couple of hours was the most unpleasant experience for me. Around 3:30 PM, we had covered close to 40 km and stopped at a restaurant for some food and rest. I immediately hydrated myself with some ice-cold water and decided to take a power nap while others ordered food and rested. We stayed here for over an hour and it was a much-needed break to rejuvenate ourselves with fresh energy to ride further. I felt better and stronger as we started the last leg of our ride. We were back on smaller roads and music was on again. The sun was also setting down and we all felt good. We reached Prachuap Khiri Khan around 6 PM only to realise the hotel we booked had released our rooms for some other guests and we had no place to stay.

However, we managed to find another hotel, checked in, had a shower, rested a bit, had food, discussed today's ride and decided to make certain changes, and called it a day to start again early tomorrow morning.

Prachuap Khiri Khan to Bang Saphan

We woke up early to the noise of gushing wind only to realise that there was a heavy storm brewing up in the region. The wind speed was something I had never experienced before and in plain simple words, it felt scary. We chose to get ready and leave before the storm gets worsened. We were back on our saddle by 5:20 AM and started riding through the smaller trails to our next destination Bang Saphan, approximately 105 kms away. We didn't take any detours but stayed on smaller trails and avoided highways for the majority of the journey.

It was still dark when we had our first encounter with the dogs of Thailand. We were cycling through the farms when a dozen of dogs started chasing us, they were furious and loud. It was scary. We slowed down till the dogs moved away and then decided to ride slowly till the sun rises. Every farm would have 5-6 dogs to guard their farm and they would instantly charge up on every passerby. We eventually had this encounter with dogs for the next couple of days which was always a scary moment for all of us.

However, the sun was up and we were riding through one of my favourite stretches with coconut plantations on both sides of the road, lots of strong tailwinds to push us through and a cloudy sky which kept the blazing sun at bay. The storm actually works in our favour with good weather and tailwinds. If you look through the road map of southern Thailand you will notice a train line which moves parallel to the coast and we basically rode all through on both sides of the railway track. Every time we would ride on the left side of the track, we would have the coast on our left and the coconut plantation on our right, and if we were on the right side of the track, we would ride through smaller villages and farmlands.

We stopped for breakfast near one of the farms where we had boiled eggs, bananas and croissants. The lady working on the farm also gave us some salt for the eggs. It was such a beautiful happy moment for all of us, we sat on the ground, cherishing our breakfast, in the middle of nowhere. The music of the sea and coastal breeze only added more joy to the moment. Post breakfast we rode for another 35-40 km to reach Bang Krood where we had our lunch on the beach and later rode on a highway for a bit to reach our destination.

The ride felt great today and we were happy to be at our destination by 1 PM. We took shower, rested a bit, got a Thai massage done to relax our muscles, bonded a lot over stories and conversation, and slept early to start early the next day. The place where we stayed (Apple Bungalows) was recommended by another cyclist and we were equally delighted with our experience. We also met a french couple who have been cycling through Thailand for several years and stay in this very place every year. The vegetarians in the group also had their moment as they had a feast of banana pancakes and rotis.

Bang Saphan to Chumphon

Following the routine, we woke up early, started the ride at around 5 AM, and stayed slow till sunrise to avoid dogs. Our destination for the day - Thung Wua Laen Beach, Chumphon was approximately 100 km away from where we started and the route today took us through rubber and palm plantation which was a sheer delight to see. We stayed away from the ocean today for most of our ride and were welcomed by plenty of wavy roads. You would go steep up, come down, go steep up again, come down and repeat.

It definitely wasn't an easy ride but the terrains, views and plantation kept us mesmerized. We stopped around 11 AM at a roadside village cafe for breakfast and were quite happy today as besides bananas, croissants, eggs and salt, we also had fresh-cut tomatoes and onion with freshly brewed coffee for breakfast. The ride ahead was through a designated scenic route with a blue ocean on one side and national parks and temples on the other. We were enjoying the ride but the climbs and the blazing sun had started draining us down.

We were just 15 km away from our destination when we stopped at Wat Thung Laem Yang, a beautiful temple with one of the biggest sleeping buddha statues I had ever seen. I am not sure if we stopped here for the temple or because we were tired, but it was definitely a much-needed break. The temple was indeed gorgeous and the huge sleeping buddha with Khao Dinsor (mountain) on the backdrop was mesmerizing.

A few moments later, we started cycling the last stretch of our ride today. We were reenergized after the break at the temple and were able to complete the ride as planned. For the last couple of Kms, we were riding parallel to Thung Wua Laen Beach, with a white sand beach on one side and cute little cafes and restaurants on the other side. The town has a beautiful hippy vibe and I instantly knew that I will come back here to spend some more time in future.

We were staying at Chumphon Cabana Resort and Diving centre, which is at the end of the beach. The place was beautiful with its own private beach and the moment we entered, we had instantly forgotten our tiredness and started clicking thousands of photos with each other, our bikes

and more. I was already in love with the vibe of this place. We rested for the remaining part of the day, hopped some cafes and settled at a cute little Italian cafe (Maliblues Bed & Dinner) for some food and drinks to end our day.

Chumphon to Pak Nam Tako

We had originally planned to have one extra rest day at Chumphon but since we were all extremely fit with no body fatigue whatsoever, we decided to break the next ride of 115 km into two parts. First, we rode from Chumphon to Pak Nam Tako covering approximately 85 km and a day later we covered 75km to reach Baan Trang from Pak Nam Tako. This also helped us to avoid highways on both days.

We were back on the saddle by 5:30 AM the next day and started our journey to our next destination. Since today's ride and the destination were quite spontaneous, I was working on the route and hotel booking at the same time while I was riding. By around 8 AM, I had already booked the place to stay for the night and was now looking for someplace nice to have our breakfast. I found a short detour on the map which led us to someone's private house, which was right on the coast with a tiny house and plenty of coconut trees around. Everyone in the house, from little kids, boys and girls, and grandparents came out to welcome us with open hearts and allowed us to have our breakfast in the sit-out behind their house. We sat there having our staple breakfast, with some pineapple and watermelons as well but went for a surprise when the house owners offered us freshly plucked coconut. They used multiple bamboos to pluck the coconut and cut it out for us to savour some refreshing coconut water.

The sense of peace, calmness and love in this place was infectious. We didn't feel like leaving only but eventually after an hour, we had to push ourselves out to be back on the saddle. We continued for the remaining 35 km and reached our destination by around 1 PM. Our destination was on the coast but we had booked this beautiful homestay (Cottage by the River) next to the river and fell in love instantly with the views and vibe.

The 8th rider of the group joined us from India today for the remaining stretch of our ride and we were delighted to feast on some Indian food and sweets. More than anyone, vegetarians in the group had a good time. We had our lunch at the restaurant on the coast but decided to stay inside and feasted Indian food for dinner.

East to West Coast

470 Km and 4 Days later, we are still going strong and felt comfortable to ride again the next day. From here onwards, we will move away from the east coast towards the western coast and the ride for the next 2 days will take us through some breathtaking views, and national parks with tons of climbs and wavy roads. The route has Namtok Ngao National Park and Tham Nat Dai Park on the right and Laem Son National Park and Khao Sok National Park on the left. It also has several temples lined up on both sides of the road and a little detour will take you to some beautiful waterfalls and adventure activities like rafting and ziplining. As we move towards South Thailand on a bicycle, we will also witness a dramatic change in food, culture and lifestyle due to Malaysian influence the region.

Pak Nam Tako to Ban Trang

We were getting used to starting early and were back on our saddle by 5:30 AM, heading towards Ban Trang, our destination for the day which was only 65 km away. Ban Trang is a tiny village nestled between the East and the West coast of Thailand, surrounded by thick forest and wildlife. I was excited for today because the ride was comparatively easy and our nighttime stay was nestled in the middle of the forest surrounded by sheer wilderness.

We continued riding on the smaller roads for the first 30 Km and then took Route 4006 and stayed on it till our destination. We took a short break after entering Route 4006 and had a hard time cycling for the next 10 km as the road construction work was going on and heavy traffic only made the experience more daunting. Things got better after we crossed the construction area and we continued cycling for an hour or so till we stopped for our breakfast.

This was a fun time. The place we stopped for breakfast already knew about us and we were welcomed with open hearts. The Tourism Authority of Thailand, Prachuap Khiri Khan released a news article in the local daily telling local people about our expedition and requesting them to welcome us when they see us en route. We were not aware of it till we reached here. The restaurant allowed us to enter the kitchen and cook our own food. I was quick to make some omelette the way I like, while a few others made fried eggs, fried rice and salads. We were soon full after the happy meal and ready to head out. The owner refused to take money but we pushed our way and gave the money for everything we used and took a heartfelt photo with the entire team at the restaurant.

After saying adieu to everyone at the restaurant, instead of heading towards the destination, we decided to take a detour to a nearby waterfall and head to our destination right from there. We were back on the smaller roads and we felt again on top of the world. The music from the 80s and 90s was on a loop again, and we started singing, talking, making videos of us cycling and just enjoying the stretch of this road all to ourselves. The roads were wavy with some really steep downfall and I was getting sceptical of what if we have to come back the same route. Almost 12 km later, my nightmare was coming true. We were on the bridge with only one way forward which wasn't paved and had an elevation gradient of over 23%. Our hotel from here was approximately 7-8 km away and if we return riding the same wavy stretch, we would ride for approximately 22 km to reach our hotel.

I chose to push my bike up on the unpaved road ahead and everyone soon followed. We kept pushing up and it seemed never-ending. I had my panniers on my bike and it only made things worse for me. I remember there was a point when one of my friends was pushing my bike from behind while I pulled mine from the front. It was a nightmare and an adventure we were not ready for. A few moments later, we reached the point where the waterfall was supposed to be but somehow there was no water around. It was a bummer but our ride was still not over. The road ahead was still not rideable with steep climbs. On top of this, we were sweating like a pig and were running out of water as well. We kept pushing forward and a few hundred meters forward we were on top of the hill with a magical view of the mountains, forest and a temple nestled in the middle of the forest.

Thankfully the road ahead was downhill but we still couldn't ride our bikes as the downhill gradient was equally steep with gravel and muddy sections. We kept pushing for a kilometre maybe and finally reached a tiny place where we managed to hydrate ourselves and refill our bottles. On enquiring about our destination, we had a big relief knowing that we were on the right route and our destination was only 3 km ahead on a paved road. She was kind enough to guide us to our destination on her motorbike and we quietly followed her as we were still trying to sink in the experience of climbs and downhill sections we just pushed our bikes on. We reached our hotel around 2 PM and felt relieved. A quick shower, some meal and rest made us all feel relaxed both physically and mentally.

Baan Trang to Kapoe

We woke up the next day around 4 AM only to witness the sky full of stars. It was the first time in the last few days when the sky was so clear that we were easily able to outline the Milkyway. Our destination for the day, Kapoe was only 65 km away with one section of steep climb and downhill if we stick to the highway. But a bug inside me forced me to take the smaller roads and avoid the highway once again. It was still dark when we started cycling and we could barely see what lies ahead of us. It started with a few small climbs which kept getting bigger and steeper. There were sections with over 15% elevation gradient which seemed never ending due to the darkness ahead while in a few sections, we literally had to get down and push our bike. We covered close to 10 km in darkness and believe me it was one of the most difficult climbs I have ever done, even worse than those in the Indian Himalayas.

By now the sun was already up and we were back on the highway. The climbs continued for the next 25 km on the wavy highway with 5-8% elevation gradients but the forest on both sides of the road, misty weather and almost no traffic kept us moving. The views were so pretty that we continued to make random pitstops to either take photographs or for refreshment all through the climb. However, a couple of hours later we finally managed to reach the top of the climb and sighed with relief as we were done with climbs for the day.

Once we regrouped on the top of the climb, we were ready to ride 10 km further where we planned to have our breakfast. We knew it is either downhill or flat surface ahead but what came before us was totally unexpected. I now call it the Phato Drop. The next 3 km was not the kind of downhill we are used to but an extremely steep drop with a gradient ranging between 8-12%, our bikes cruised at 65 - 70 km/hr and it was extremely difficult for us to control and balance our bikes. I had an even more difficult moment because of the weight I was carrying in my panniers.

The ride further was easy but on the highway with blazing sun. We stopped for our breakfast and then continued riding further to our destination as we wanted to get away from the highway as soon as possible. Our destination today (Khao Narai Green View Cafe) was a glamping site with dome tents to sleep in and it was on top of a hill with a panoramic view of the entire national park and mountain ranges around. We were blown away by the views once we reach there as everything here was beyond our expectations. The place has a vast lawn, water body, rainbow tube slides, trampolines, hammock, great food and everything amidst pure nature with no kind of pollution around. We freshened up, rested a bit, had our breakfast, explored this huge property, literally clicked thousands of photographs and later called it a night by 10 PM to start early the next day.

Kapoe to Si Phang Nga National Park

It was our 7th day and the ride from here onwards was majorly on national highway 4 which wasn't a pleasing thing for any of us. The road construction in patches and the strong sun only made things worse for us. This time started early with the sheer aim of finishing the ride at the earliest. We had to cover 100 kms today to reach Si Phang Nga National Park and we would be camping inside the national park tonight.

By the time we had stopped for our breakfast, we had already covered a distance of approximately 70 Km. It was around 9 AM and the sun was already draining us down. We hydrated ourselves at this gas station with some coffee, lemon iced tea and lots of freshly cut watermelon and pineapples. Once we regained our energy levels, we started again and stopped directly at our destination - Si Phang Nga National Park.

I have always loved the National Parks in Thailand and this one was no different. For those who don't know, Thailand has a huge network of National Parks wherein they have dedicated camping grounds, you can rent a tent from them at a nominal price or can pitch your own. The camping ground would also have a cafe nearby with local foods, a shop to buy souvenirs, bathrooms and a shower area for visitors. They also have lots of trails to trek on and many would generally end at a beautiful waterfall worth taking a dip in.

Once we settled up in our tents and had our lunch at the cafe, we were ready to trek through the forest and explore the waterfall. We started our trek towards Tondeng Waterfall and Nature Trail through the section of dense forest with a strong sound of crickets, small insects and even snakes. We could feel the wilderness around us. The trail made us hop several river crossings before we found this beautiful blue water pool. The waterfall wasn't impressive but the pool felt divine. The water was so tempting that I immediately opened my clothes and took a dip inside. After spending some time in the pool, we were ready to walk back as it was also getting dark.

The trek and our time in the water has already made us hungry and thus we stepped outside the national park to find some food. Most of the places were already closed but we managed to find a small home-run restaurant which sold Bannan pancakes, roti and chicken curries. I literally had a food orgasm while cherishing roti bread and chikan curries. It was definitely one of the finest I ever had before. The food and culture in Southern Thailand are highly influenced by Muslims in Malaysia and therefore these curries get more prominent from here onwards. We stelled back in our tents after the good wholesome meal and passed out instantly.

Si Phang Nga National Park to Ao Phang Nga National Park (Phuket)

It was the last day of our ride. I woke up around 3 AM today only to witness one of the most magical skies I have ever seen in Thailand. From shooting stars to the constellation and outlines of our milky-way, we were able to see all these and more from our naked eyes. The wilderness of the National park actually forced us to not take a shower today and therefore we were able to start our ride by 4:15 AM. The first 8 km of the ride was pitch dark and it felt like we were in riding inside a planetarium. I can never put this experience into words but it felt magical. Once we were back on the highway, we rode continuously for 21 km on the national highway and then moved into a smaller highway to continue further.

I remember this particular moment when the sun started to rise from behind the mountains and our headlights started getting off one by one, we could see the dawn taking over the dark night, the nip in the air made us shiver and clouds in lower levels made the entire moment feel heavenly. Not sure if this photo helps you understand my experience but it felt surreal. The roads here were all covered in fog and it felt as if the temperature has suddenly dropped a couple of degrees.

We continued further and had our first stop outside a seven-eleven store in Kapong. While everyone feasted on toasties, fruits and coffee from the store, I managed to get my hands on locally made sticky rice and sweets wrapped in leaves which were delicious and worthy breakfasts. We still had 50 kms to go and one steep section of the climb on the way. We started again after the break and continued further till 90 km when we took the smaller detour for the last time. We literally missed these smaller routes in the last 2 days. In no time, music was playing like earlier and we started signing, talking, taking photographs and enjoying nature again.

We got back on the highway to cover the last 10 kms of the ride and even though we felt comfortable on the saddle, the sun killed us. I literally have no memories of this last 10 km as we just kept riding with utmost focus on the road and the distance left to the hotel - the Borsaen Villa Bo Sean. It was as if we were only doing the countdown of km left while riding.

The moment we reached the hotel and officially ended our journey, emotions of all kinds started bursting from each one of us. I felt euphoric, for being able to ride close to 800 kms non-stop in 8 days, for all the crazy climbs we did and for being able to challenge myself to do this tour with the group of amazing humans and cyclists I have been riding in my city for just over a year. I quietly patted my own back and felt proud of myself for doing all this and more.

— The author is Bicycle Mayor of Ranchi, Jharkhand, India