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I recently got the opportunity to join Spice Roads, one of Bangkok's leading operators of 'tours on two wheels', for a half-day cycling trip known as the Bangkok Jungle.
The tour typically kicks off from a place called Face Restaurant based on Sukhumvit 38. The easiest way to reach this meeting place is to head for the BTS skytrain station at Thonglor. Head for Exit 4, walk down the stairs and turn right. The first road on your left is Soi 38, so you will need to walk a short distance on the left-hand side of the road before reaching the restaurant. In short, it is pretty easy to find.
Friendly faces
Shortly after my arrival, I was greeted my our guide for the day, Arnusan 'Jum' Phaojinda, after meeting with a Belgian national called Pascal and his son and two daughters, who were also signed up for the tour.
After a quick 'heads up' on basic safety procedures, we made our way along the soi towards Rama IV Road. From here we headed for Klongtoey, where we would take a long-tail boat from the pier.
On arrival at the pier, Jum kindly helped us all with our bikes on to the boat before setting off. The boat had a furry little guest on board, a black cat that can be seen in the gallery accompanying this story.
During the short boat journey, you may spot the MV Doulos, the world's oldest ocean-going passenger ship, which is moored in Klongtoey through August 24 (read more). After a matter of minutes, we were back on terra firma in Samut Prakarn province's Bangnampheung community. This is often referred to as the biggest green area, or 'lung' close to Bangkok.
Jump snapped up some interesting local fruits, such as noi na ('custard apple') for our co-riders to sample. Pascal and his family had arrived for the first time in the kingdom just two day prior to our cycle tour.
After a short ride of about five to ten minutes, we arrived at the start of a section of raised concrete pathways that run throughout this rural idyll. Jum pointed out to me that more and more residents of Bangkok are snapping up land plots in Bangnampheung, since it tends to be cheaper there and provides a welcome escape from the capital. Safety first
Firstly, I would like to point out the professionalism of our guide – this is all important on pretty much any form of touristic activity, and Jump always demonstrated a commitment to putting safety first. One member of our group had a slight phobia regarding snakes and so the narrow raised walkways on which groups normally travel filled her with a certain degree of trepidation. After a short consultation, Jump opted on this occasion to explore the area by road rather than the raised walkways.
The nice thing about this tour is that it really allows participants to see people go about their daily lives in a very natural way. There are opportunities to stop and take photos and time alloted for short breaks since it can be pretty thirsty work, particularly at this time of year.
The things that really stood out for me during this trip were the number of recycling initiatives that have apparently been rolled out within the community. This can only be a good thing in terms of long-term development of the idyllic area.
After cycling gently for about 40
minutes, we took a short break to sample some local fruits. This was
close to the temple of Wat Bangnampheung Nai, which boasts a famous
floating market (weekends only), which is extremely popular among both
locals and tourists.
A boon for nature-lovers
Since the Bangnampheung community remains blissfully underdeveloped at
present, there is hardly any traffic except for a handful of
motorcycles. The lush greenery often provides much welcomed natural
shade, while you are sure to see some interesting animals along the
way. The tour in its entirety takes
about three to four hours and covers a distance of about 20 km. I am
fairly used to mid- to high-level aerobic exercise, so I would
categorize this ride as being 'easy to medium' in terms of difficulty.
A person who is reasonably fit but who doesn't cycle much could
certainly manage, while someone who rides often may find it fairly
easy.
In terms of enjoyment, I would have
to say eight to nine out of 10, while the same would have to be applied
to our guide in terms of the service and care he provided us with on
the day. We closed out our trip by feeding the fish at Bangnampheung's
public park, before heading back over the river to the 'City of
Angels'.
This tour costs 1,000 baht (US$30)
per person if you make your own way to Face Restaurant. If you wish to
be picked up from your hotel (any hotel within metropolitan Bangkok),
the rate is 1,650 baht per person.
Spice Roads operates
a huge number of options throughout Asia, so whether you are a novice
or a budding Lance Armstrong, there are plenty of choices available to
you.
For further information, or to make a booking, call Spice Roads on Tel: +66 (0)2 712 5305, or visit the official website at http://www.spiceroads.com .
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