bike tour - ilivetotravel's travel log

One of my friends mentioned how in her time in Bangkok, she enjoyed bike rides in the countryside. As I mentioned in an earlier post, she also recommended visiting the unique railroad market by the Mae Klong rail station, about 1.5 hrs. outside of Bangkok. My friend and fellow traveler Phil and I agreed that it sounded like a great idea so I contacted the individual that had taken her to both places and arranged for the bike tour as well. We did not have a full day to spare so, unfortunately, the bike ride would only be about 2 hours. Nevertheless, it would allow us to see something much different than the city so we felt it was still going to be worth it.

After visiting the railroad market to see the 9AM train go by (we almost missed it!), we headed towards the Amphawa Floating Market (which, unfortunately, was closed that day) to begin our bike ride.

It had been a couple of years since my last bike ride (a bike tour in Buenos Aires that went flawlessly) so it took me some pedaling to re-learn balance and I had a couple of mishaps early on due to that (one of those more painful than the other…). I found my biking groove and, combined with fairly easy terrain, went forward with the bike tour for the next 1.5 hrs or so with no further issue.

Bangkok, Thailand, river, Mae Klong, bike tour, travel, adventure

Awaiting the river crossing with our guide (photo courtesy of fellow traveler Phil I.)

About to cross the river on this beauty

Riding by farms and plantations

Bike tour, Bangkok, Thailand, travel, explore, adventure

Our guide in the lead, followed by me (photo courtesy of Phil I.)

Passing a bunch of empty coconut shells at one of the farms (photo courtesy of Phil I.)

Beautiful water (topped by some algae?) at one of the banana plantations

Love the shadow of a banana plant on the surface of the water

Bang Kung Camp

We made a stop at the Bang Kung camp which is a former navy camp from wars past (with Burma, I believe) dating from the late 1700s. The camp has statues depicting the fight training the soldiers went through. The camp also had a temple that was overcome with vegetation as the camp was abandoned for a couple of hundred of years (but is now open for the faithful – and bike-tourists!).

Bangkok, Mae Klong, railroad market, Bang Kung, Amphawa, bike tour, thailand, travel, adventure

Map showing the market, the floating market and the camp

Bang Kung, camp, navy, Thailand, Bangkok, temple, Buddha, travel, explore, bike tour

Outside of the temple; and our guide Andy and I taking a break (photo courtesy of Phil I.)

In front of the temple

Inside the temple

Training for a fight!

Bang Kung camp, Bangkok, Thailand, bike tour

I had to blow up one of the photos because one of the fighters looked life-like…

Statue honoring an important leader of the war with Burma

Along the way, a church

We pedaled mainly either on well-paved roads or minor side roads along coconut farms and banana plantations. It was all very serene and it was a very enjoyable, pleasant bike ride. Along the way we passed a Catholic church, not quite labeled that way, it was called Our Lady of Help Christion (sic) Church. It looked closed so we did not go in. I have to say it felt out of place but it was also cool to see!

Our Lady Help, Mae Klong, church, Catholic ,Bangkok, Thailand

In front of the church with my fellow adventurer and much better cyclist

Lunch time!

The ride ended with a late lunch in a small restaurant perched on the river bank of the Mae Klong River, upstream from where we had started. And just as we got there, it started to pour! It was perfect timing, great food, and a cool setting to rest from the busy morning while enjoying more of the delicious Thai food (see my post on food in Bangkok!)

Mae Klong, river, Bangkok, Thailand, travel, explore, bike tour

View of the Mae Klong River from the restaurant

food, foodie, Thai, cuisine, travel, explore, eat, Bangkok, bike tour

Shrimp tempura and chicken curry – delicious

The bike tour was a phenomenal idea and a good change of tempo, especially as it got us out of the hustling, bustling city to see a beautiful countryside and breathe some fresh air – I need to be sure I always look for options like this in future travels!

What to Know

We hired Grasshopper Adventures for the bike tour (fully paid by us, no freebies given for me to mention them).
Wear your helmet. You are in the developing world and, should an accident happen (like it happened to me!), it is better to be safe than sorry when you may or may not get access to the medical care you are used to.
While it is hot and humid, it was very pleasant while on the bike.
You can do a short bike ride like we did or a day-long one.

Save

When I sat down to write this post, my first thought was: “What can I possibly write about Buenos Aires that has not been written before?” Good question.

My visit there was triggered by its being the location of two children’s homes we were going to help via a trek to Patagonia with Trekking for Kids. I was not disappointed in that being the location as my prior visits to Buenos Aires, even the overnight trip one, were always good: good city, good vibe, good food, and good wine.

I decided to go two days ahead of the official start of the group trip so that I would have some time to tool around some. Tooling around soon turned out to include a day trip to nearby Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, across the river from Buenos Aires.

So, I turned my attention to determining where to stay. I had already paid a good bit to be able to trek in Patagonia after the time in Buenos Aires so I was looking for a good alternative to just paying a hotel room. Two others from the trek decided to come early too so, immediately, I decided that an apartment rental was the best option. Using FlipKey, I found a great 2 bedroom apartment in Palermo on a high floor and with some good views. Mercifully, it had A/C as it was summer in Buenos Aires. (FlipKey did a great job of showing me apartments based on my criteria which included not only location and price point but availability of A/C and wifi!)

apartment rental, Buenos Aires, FlipKey, travel, comfort, lodging, Olympus, photo

My room at the apartment: nice corner and a balcony!

The landlord was very friendly and flexible but was spot on on restaurant recommendations – bonus! And when I looked out of the balcony, I recognized the small square by the building as one I had seen on HGTV’s House Hunters International a couple of years ago.

After the couple of days on our own, we moved to the hotel were the group was going to stay while we worked with the children’s homes outside of Buenos Aires in Moreno. The hotel was located in Recoleta, another nice neighborhood in Buenos Aires. The hotel was located across from the Recoleta cemetery where Evita is buried. I lucked out with the room assignment and had a great view of the cemetery and could even see the ocean, er, the river.

Buenos Aires, Recoleta, cemetery, Argentina, photo, travel, South America, church, architecture, history, Evita, Olympus

The Recoleta Cemetery

Argentina, Buenos Aires, Duarte, Recoleta, cemetery, travel, photo, Olympus

Typical scene at the Recoleta cemetery

church, Pilar, Argentina, Buenos Aires, Duarte, Recoleta, cemetery, travel, photo, Olympus

Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Pilar right at the cemetery’s entrance

I had visited the cemetery in 1991 but still went back in to look for Evita. Of course, there is a sign indicating where the famous’ tombs are but if you look for Evita under “P” for Perón, you will not find her. You must look under Duarte, her maiden name.

Evita, Eva, Peron, Argentina, Buenos Aires, Duarte, Recoleta, cemetery, travel, photo, Olympus

The family mausoleum where Evita’s remains rest

Eva looms large in the Argentine psyche – and on the side of buildings too…

Evita, Eva, Peron, Argentina, Buenos Aires, building, travel, photo, Olympus

That’s Evita up there

The other plus for the hotel -and another thing that loomed large for me- is that it was a few storefronts down from my favorite ice cream place in Argentina: Freddos, first discovered by me in 1991!

Freddo, ice cream, gelato, Buenos Aires, Argentina, foodie, food, foodporn

I could not even wait to snap a photo before taking a bite (or 3)

Oh, the food in Buenos Aires…

Maybe the city should be renamed “Buena Comida”, instead of “Buenos Aires”… In my time in Buenos Aires, I probably gained weight. The likely contributors certainly included my almost daily Freddo’s ice cream cup but it also included the incredible beef, pastries, desserts, and wines enjoyed at places like Cabaña Las Lilas (which serves some of the highest quality of beef I have ever had as well as an incredible appetizer plate), Campo Bravo (where we enjoyed a highly diverse plate of cow components…), El Trapiche (a locals place with not only great beef but amazing pasta), and even Biking Buenos Aires (a bike tour that provided delicious pastries during our break)!

food, foodie, Cabaña Las Lilas, Puerto Madero, foodporn, Buenos Aires, Argentina, delicious, photo, Samsung Galaxy

The appetizer plate at Cabaña Las Lilas was a home run!

beef, food, foodie, foodporn, Buenos Aires, Argentina, delicious, photo, Olympus, parrillada

The parrillada at Campo Bravo: name that part

food, foodie, foodporn, Buenos Aires, Argentina, delicious, photo, Samsung Galaxy, pasta

Butternut squash stuffed pasta with an outstanding blue cheese sauce

pastry, churros, factura, food, foodie, foodporn, Buenos Aires, Argentina, delicious, photo, Samsung Galaxy

Pastries served as a snack during the bike ride

mate, Buenos Aires, Argentina, tea, photo, Biking Buenos Aires

Mate cups

dessert, postre, Cabaña Las Lilas, chocolate, Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires, Argentina, food, foodie, foodporn, Samsung Galaxy

Don’t forget dessert: this beauty courtesy of Cabaña Las Lilas

A place to stroll around – and bike around!

Buenos Aires is such a walkable city. Trees and parks everywhere and, as I shared before, PLENTY-O monuments in this South American metropolis. Walking down Ave. Libertador, which is bordered by a park between it and the river, is a good way to stretch the legs after an overnight flight – or after a massive lunch on beef and wine… #justsayin

Libertador, Argentina, Buenos Aires, bike path, jogging trail, Olympus, photo, travel

Ave. Libertador is good for walking, jogging or riding!

One thing I had not contemplated to do is in Buenos Aires is to ride bicycles. I mean, ride a bicycle in a large metropolis in Latin America? Nuts, right?? Well, let me tell you, it was so much fun and, actually, safe! I did not realize it but Buenos Aires has built bike lanes in some parts of town which meant that about 80% of the bike tour I did with Biking Buenos Aires was on bike lanes. For about 13 of us, we had the main guide who shared a lot of great information about the sights, and two additional guides who supported the group, handled crossing intersections, and were just great guys.

I had never visited La Boca (more on it later) and got to re-visit the Plaza de Mayo and ride around the Casa Rosada. We rode around Puerto Madero were we had a snack. And then we hung out at the bike tour office to eat delicious empanadas that we had bought. Enjoy these final pictures of what we saw during my bike tour and don’t forget to eat and explore to your hearts’ content in incredible Buenos Aires!