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My friend an I (2 women aged late 30's early 40's) did a 4 day trip with Thai Cycle which is a side project of Paddle Asia. I've been to Thailand 4 times now and this part of the trip was so VERY authentic and off the beaten track. Food was first rate and accommodation was basic however very comfortable. The company allowed us to customise our trip and helped us decide what to do - we also had 3 days after the cycling at Khao Sok National park kayaking and staying on the water their in bungalows, however I've reviewed in the Khao Sok area. The trip started on the island of Koh Yao Noi with local Khun Run. He came and met us the night before our scheduled trip to introduce himself and size us up for bikes. His English was very good and he was always smiling and had a great personality. Next morning, we went firstly to his mother's restaurant, meeting his wife and child. Also there were the company owners Dave and Moo who were with another tour group. We had a lovely local breakfast. Most of the day we spent riding on the ring road of the island, along with some basic off road paths. We spent the afternoon watching the locals play a tournament of soccer and volleyball. It was lots of fun and we were the only farang there! Koh Yao Noi is very easy going and I highly recommend it if you like a not so touristy island. It does have tidal beaches that aren't as spectacular as some on Phuket however you trade that off for a really nice vibe and view. First night of the tour we stayed again at Pasai Bungalows and the next day we ate breakfast again at Run's mother's restaurant. (YUM!) We transfered via boat to Phuket, where we were met by our driver Sin who had the bikes for our trip. We drove to a Phang Na school where we started our days riding. Run & Sin where fantastic - they did almost EVERYTHING for us. Prepped our bikes, suggested food and nothing was too much trouble. Lunches were not too heavy (soup or noodles) and dinner was always great - the best food and always balanced in the thai way - a great mix of dishes - and whatever heat level you desire. Very authentic. The rest of the cycling was in the country side of Phang Nga and Khao Sok area. Everyday the scenery was lovely - rubber trees and palm oil plantations, amazing limestone karsts and rain-forest. Past the plantation workers local homes and past the guard dogs which were no problems! It was amazing how Run knew what turns to take and we never got lost! Sin was a very safe driver and would meet us at check points in our van (which carried all our bags) and if we were riding on the road (not often however a welcome break to off road - giving our bottoms a break!) would shadow us so we were safe - although the Thai people show bike riders respect and don't try to run you off the road anyway! We were fairly 'unprepared' for the trip ... we were both basically fit - however we'd only cycled about 15km a day on roads and bike paths in preparation 3 weeks. Neither of us had ANY off road experience. It would have helped us however it didn't mean we couldn't do it. The weather was 35 degrees and 98% humidity - not as bad as it sounds when you're riding a bike making your own fan!! Most of the trails were NOT in full sun anyway. We did about 35km a day (we had a gps - and basically called the shots as to when we'd had enough - usually the afternoon rain made the decision for us!). 35km off road is vastly different to doing the same on a sealed road. Off road was anything from private sealed concrete road, to small gravel, larger gravel, big smooth boulders with deep crevices, 'single' track stuff and some water logged muddy areas. We stopped at several AMAZING temples, worth the trip in itself. Bang Riang was one - spectacular. Another was up around 300 steps into caves - I don't have the name at hand. It was so good I'd go again.…
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Date of experience: March 2011
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We completed the 7 day Coast to Coast Mountain biking trip of Southern Thailand with Thai Cycle in Sept 2011. It was just a small group, which meant it was very personalised to our abilities. The company is run by Dave Williams, who has a bizarre sense of humour and interesting views on life ;-) , but always went out of his way to ensure we had a great time. He was also very helpful in the bookings stage. In addition, we were accompanied by Run (our local thai cyclist) and Sen (our local thai truck driver). Again these guys were friendly, helpful and never without a cheeky grin. Basically we started on the west side of the Malay Penninsula of Thailand, perhaps an hour or so north of Phuket (where we were picked up) and cycled across to Gulf of Thailand. The truck has an open style rear with bench seats and is quite comfortable. It also has the job of carrying the bikes on the roof, our bags, the eskies of cold water and fruit, plus the occasional beer! The total kms we rode was something around 360km. We did some exploring and occasionally found new trails (sometimes by getting lost - but not in any serious way, just a lot of fun). We travelled up and down mountains and hills, through palm farms, rubber farms, single trail, dirt road, a few main roads, through schools and temples, across rickety bridges, through mud / dust/ rain / sun and the highlight - crossing two fairly big rivers by foot. We ate at amazing road side stalls, met lots of interesting locals (saw only 2 other tourists in the area), found lots of great markets, visited temples, went to a festival, saw elephants working fields, locals hard at work etc Dave is very interested in the local flora and fauna and could point out a lot of things to us. We saw macaques, snakes, butterflies, orchids etc - all of which he could name. Each day ended with a hard earned beer and a few salty treats - either the regular chips, or more interestingly a local mix of peanuts, chillis and anchovies. Each night we stayed in basic hotels. They had airconditioning. They did the job at the end of a long strenous day. Breakfast and dinner were also always varied, so that we could sample loads of different dishes. I felt that we really got to eat the "local dishes" as we went to the same places all the locals did. The bikes were pretty good and the guys checked them over each day. Any adjustemnts / repairs were quickly managed. Being the slowest of the group, i was often last, but they would never leave me behind or leave me out on the fun. One of my favourite touches were the ice cold washers that Sen would arrive out of the heat with, plus the super sugary energy drinks! Being the only girl, and a bit of a wimp traveller at times, I once never felt unsafe about my surroundings, which was very reassuring. I would easily say this is one of my favourite holidays, and after this trip we went on to Cambodia and Vietnam, but this was the highlight (plus our kayaing in Khao Sok which i have also posted).…
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