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Tajlandia

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Apdejt 2017

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Pomimo iż wpisy z moich wypraw datują sprzed kilku lat, 

spisuję je na papierze dopiero w 2016 i 2017 roku...

Ten blog nie jest więc opustoszałym duchem, tylko po prostu powoli mi idzie...

Epilogue - 28.02.2016

Prachathipat (Bangkok suburbs) – Bangkok airport
The last 24-hours

My WS host puts Kostas and me up at his friend’s house (thank you friend!).

Once at the premises, we talk, exchange stories, listen to music and sing.

The following day Kostas decides to ride with me to the airport.

Since we have been very healthy cyclists for the past couple of weeks, we decide we’ve hard-earned our opportunity to go naughty. We stop by at a coffee shop for some sugar-loaded treats, we drink, we smoke… Rowdy cyclists yes we are!!!

 

 

 

Day 14

Ayutthaya – Prachathipat (Bangkok suburbs)

It’s oveeer… My last day of cycling before I hit Bangkok and fly off…

The route is quite simple: straight on the national 32 and then 1, until Bangkok.

Mental note for later: big metropolises like Thai capitals are a traffic road nightmare to get in and out of – hop on a train whenever you can!

I don’t really have anything to say expect that I have 45km of bituminous road to do, in heat and accompanied by the never-ending honking of the overexcited (overheated?) truck drivers.

I pull at the biggest Thai commercial centre at 1pm. With the very last remaining money I get myself a cup of coffee and get in touch with my sister to arrange for a WesternMoney cash transfer, as I’d left for Asia with only 500€ in hand and no credit cards whatsoever.

Three hours later, with a fresh supply of cash, I meet my wonderful Warmshowers hosts and a fellow Warmshower cyclist and the celebrations can begin…

Km: 46.24 km
Tm: 2:08
Av: 21.6 km/h
TOTAL: 1015.24 km

Day 13

Wihan Khao - Ayutthaya

After a tumultuous Thursday, Friday’s looking a lot better.

I managed to shake off yesterday miserable experience mainly thanks to my lovely CouchSurfing host Dani and her geek of a boyfriend. I was lodged, fed and treated to a captivating conversation about all things nerdy. I so love CouchSurfing…!

Anyways, with not so many kilometres left to go, I decide to take it real easy. I take my time when passing by the elephant parks and go on an extended visit of the Wat Rachaburana Temple Park.

I finish off in Ayutthaya, early enough to go for a 2-hour full-body massage, take a disco nap and have dinner at a fancy restaurant before setting off to a night visit of the city.

Life is good.

Km: 70.48 km
Tm: 3:35
Av: 20.1 km/h
TOTAL: 969 km

 

Day 12

Nakhon Sawan – Wihan Khao

Today I’m angry, sad and distressed.

I am pretty gutted to have to write about this but it's part of my story, it's life, it's what happened, so here I am. I had three good opening lines to bring the subject up but as days went by, I forgot them all. Which is good… in the end… it means it hasn't taken up as much space as I was afraid it would.

What's the deal?

Sexual violence against women.

I was happily cycling along a busy road, minding my own business when a car pulled up and started following me. The guy honked, as they all do, and I waved my hand in acknowledgment, as I usually do. Except that the car wouldn't pass me by but continued riding by my side. And honked again. I turned around and saw that the guy was jerking off and happily showing his junk off.
I first tried to ignore him. No reaction.
I then made fun of his tiny dick in order to humiliate him. No success.
I then yelled at him so that he leaves me alone. Without any result whatsoever.
I wanted to kick his car but decided that should he be a nut case, he could easily run me over and so I didn’t. Nothing I did or said – and not speaking Thai didn’t help – had any effect of the creep. I was powerless. I could not protect myself, run away nor stop this from happening.
I was in tears.
Not because a minor sexual offender tried to show me his junk, but because there was absolutely nothing I could do about it to stop it and nothing I could do penalise him for his wrongdoing.
Once jerked off, he would just go about his day until he found another woman, girl, person susceptible to be his next prey.

This is not to say that this happened to me because I was cycling in the middle of nowhere, on my own, somewhere in Thailand.

No.

The exact same thing occurred to me when cycling in the heart of Paris just a year ago. Another man flashed me when I was walking home with a friend, in the late 90’s, literally 200 metres away from my house in Poland.

Thailand, France or Poland: sexual violence against women knows no boarders. Thousands kilometres away or in front of your house. Alone or accompanied. Does. Not. Matter.

The sad fact is, 99% of women have, are and sadly will be victims of sexual violence. In most cases, according to my experience, you don’t go off deeply scarred. Just like you manage it feet away from where your parents live: you will manage it on the road. Staying put does not protect you from predators and wandering off does not mean you are making yourself vulnerable. It really does not matter.

Remember that your home is lands remote to someone else and a faraway place for you: home to another.

Km: 120.80 km
Tm: 5:32
Av: 21.8 km/h
TOTAL: 899 km

Day 11

Tambon Sai Ngam – Nakhon Sawan

Quick, quick, a horse for a quick breakout from the slimy road hotel. I leave as fast as if my pants were on fire, without breakfast, no coffee, nothing to drink. I know I’ll find a place with grub down the road and indeed, only half an hour later, I’m sitting with locals at a roadside eatery, opposing a morning market. I get whatever the neighbours are having and start the day with some rice and meat, cucumber and brown-tinted soup. Should have been enough, but as I’m also on my 10th day of cycling, my hunger has had time to transform itself into an insatiable beast and I NEED MORRRRE…. I see a pineapple-shaped lollipop and decide it fits my needs just right. Well, that’ll teach me, as it stings all my remaining taste buds and makes even water BURN LIKE HELL.

I decide to gun it, as there isn’t anything to fix your eyes on but vistas of plain nothing. Two hours into the desert of nothingness, I come across a water re-fill: small shop in the middle of nowhere. As always, my every move is being tracked by the owner and only once she decides I’m not an alien threat to her small business, she starts chatting me up. I’m so much of her own people that she gets comfortable enough to do her pedicure with me by her side.

And then, it’s back onto the empty field roads: long stretches of nothingness filled with headwind… The dread of any cyclist. After a dozen kilometres, I am really sick of it. Couple of dozen more and I’m on the verge of dropping it all. FUCK IT. I don’t care. It’s stupid. Why did I even come here in the first place? Why must I always torment myself with some grandiose adventure plans? Why can I not just sit on my but, like most normal folks do, and NOT MOVE A FINGER?

I’ve made a decision, I’m not continuing. I rest my arms. I surrender.

The next bus to Bangkok is in one hour. The local bartender tries to direct me to the bus stop and is 100-positive I’ll be able to take my bike aboard.

Well, I end up spending an hour looking for that freaking bus stop: going back and forth, asking for additional information at the bar, even trying to catch a ride with local police force. In vain. Nobody’s going my way and whatever buses seem to be passing by, do not stop anywhere within sight.

My gosh, Thailand hates me so much, it will not even let me give up and hop on a coach. I’m forced to continue cycling and, luckily, have some good music on to keep me going. With the right beats in the ears, the perspective quickly shifts and the loathed circular movement of the thighs magically starts to smoothly sail on its own…

I get to Nakhon Sawan, aim for the centre and stumble across a hotel resort. I get an extra-cheap under-the-roof room and, once I scrub off yesterday’s hotel’s slime, I hit the town. By night or not, the city tour does not impress me: Thai city solutions are really not my style. I do manage to taste something quite delicious at the local street market though: corn fryers sold by a beautiful lady-boy.

Km: 111.66 km
Tm: 6:04
Av: 18.3 km/h
TOTAL: 778 km