Biking Backroads and Dining with Friends

On our first venture into the heart of Bangkok, we signed up to do a free bike tour with Cand Bike Bangkok Tours. This was a company started by a young man who had taught himself English and just wanted to do what he loved: bike and show people his city. He took us through alleyways and down streets that we would have never seen if we’d have stayed on the typical tourist track. It was a fantastic experience and one I recommend to anyone who travels to Bangkok.

What made this experience even more special was this little 8 year old boy in the picture. Our guide, Prayuth, told us that a couple weeks ago, he had overbooked his riders and didn’t have enough bikes, so he found a neighbor who he’d noticed had a couple extra. This neighbor had a grandson who really liked biking and wanted to go along. He let him do so and, from the sounds of it, has not missed a ride since. Prayuth has taken him under his wing and basically has made him his little apprentice. His biggest encouragement is that the boy learns to speak English, so Prayuth would have us ask the boy questions in English, and expect full sentence answers. Prayuth said that the boy showed up each day for the rides (he did two a day) and would be very disappointed if no ride was happening. He also said that he was going to miss him once school resumed and the boy would be unavailable. It was very heartwarming to see such a great human story.

Thailand has a lot of immigrants, particularly from China and Myanmar. You can see the mix of these cultures in the various temples throughout the city. Above are photos from one of the temples we stopped at, Wat Khun Chan. The second image is a reclining Buddha in Myanmar style. You can tell this because it has a more feminine face, along with powder white skin and red lips. There is also a mix of Hindu beliefs that can be found in some of the temples. In the middle picture in the second row, you will see Ganesha, the remover of obstacles, and next to him, his mouse, which is who will relay your messages to Ganesha. The bottom left is a Hindu demon, Rahu, who eats the sun causing solar eclipses. He is representative of evils such as materialism, mischief, lust and fear. There was so much more he told us, but my memory is terrible!

Our final stop on this day (after finishing with the bike tour), was to the Shangri-La hotel where we met up with Cristian and Marisa who were in Bangkok for a conference. So thankful to AISA for giving me the opportunity to make friends all over the world!