Land of Smiles is a popular acronym for Thailand. You may think that’s a bunch of bullshit but I kid you not, Thailand has deservedly earned this moniker. In particular, Thais just love to smile and pose for pictures

In most countries that I have traveled to, people (excluding young children) resent having a complete stranger take their picture. Not in Thailand! Now mind you, Hanumann is not an ordinary stranger, but in general most Thais (especially the ladies), seeing that I have a camera in hand and pointed in their direction, smile and tell me they would love to have their picture taken; better yet, on some occasions, I have had Thai ladies run up to me, tap me on the shoulder, requesting to have their picture taken. After the ‘photoshoot” is over, most of them just smile again and thank me for taking their pictures, then walk away (smiling of course).

As mentioned before, Hanumann is seriously thinking about taking up cycling as a way to explore countryside when he travels to foreign countries. But I kid you not; on the rare occasions that I have biked in either Thailand or Costa Rica, it has been a dreadfully painful experience primarily because of an uncomfortable saddle (bike seat). In addition, most of the rental bike equipment is woefully inadequate.

On my most recent trip to Thailand, I did some cycling in Sukhothai on two consecutive days. While riding, in order to protect ‘the family jewels”, I kept shifting my weight from side to side in order to avoid sitting directly on the saddle. After the bike ride, I went to a masseuse who specialized in a balls massage in order to alleviate the discomfort.

Bottom line, the solution to this ball-crunching dilemna, is to bring your own bike with you on your travels….

During my many trips to both Thailand and Costa Rica, I have observed so many people cycling on the roads as a way to either explore the country or just as a recreational pursuit. In Costa Rica, cycling is a popular recreational pastime especially among the young ‘tico” crowd in the central Mountain range. On weekends, you’ll see a whole group of cyclists (mostly locals) on the highways biking up and down the mountains. In Thailand on the other hand, cycling is really popular with the European tourists, many whom bring their own well equipped touring bike with them.

In early 2004, while taking a taxi between the village of Soppong and Mae Hong Son in the rugged, mountainous region of Northwestern Thailand, we passed by two young German guys (they were in their mid 30’s) who were cycling up a steep mountain pass . A couple of day earlier, I met these blokes at a small restaurant in the popular mountain resort of Pai. At the top of the mountain summit, there was a lookout point/rest area where all us serendipitiously stopped for refreshments; we were soon joined by a real veteran cyclist in his early 60’s from Norway. Biking in the mountains seems like a great adrenaline rush. Every steep, grinding climb up the mountain is balanced by the exhilarating ride on the downhill side of the mountain.

Touring by bicycle versus car, bus, train or motorcycle has its advantages and disadvantages; sure biking takes a lot longer to get from Point A to Point B than by car, but I think it’s a healthier and more environmentally friendly way to explore the countryside. Plus its more fun! And after seeing so many Europeans touring Northern Thailand by bicycle, I think you will see Hanumann himself, sometime soon, on his brand new fully loaded tour bike somewhere in the mountains of Thailand or Costa Rica cycling as fast as the wind!

Hanumann professes to be attracted to members of the opposite sex. Over 92% of the time, the relationship is just brief, casual and friendly and never gets beyond first base.

On my last trip to Thailand, I brought along’ a little friend” named Freddie the frog (In Thai, the word for frog is gop). I purchased Freddie at a gift shop in San Jose, Costa Rica. When you press him, he emits a croaking sound and his mouth lights up. All the girls in Thailand fell in love with Freddie (and a few fell in love with Ling Yai as well). I admit, that even the Great Hanumann sometimes needs ‘a little help from his friends” when it comes to the ladies. Rivet, rivet....

While having breakfast at Kamala Dreams in Phuket, I met some young Israelis who sought my advice on some travel arrangements in Thailand. I guess they sensed that I was a seasoned traveler to Thailand in addition to being someone they could easily communicate with in English

Finally in Ko Lanta, on the morning I was returning to Bangkok, I met this French guy in his mid 40’s who was having breakfast at my hotel. It seems that he was heavy into meditation, Buddhism and eastern mysticism. He related how he stayed for one month in Ko Tao, a very quiet and relatively undeveloped island with almost nonexistent nightlife near Ko Samui in the Gulf of Thailand. Now he was going on two weeks in Ko Lanta in the lull of the quiet low season. Now most guys who are traveling alone to Thailand go to the more commercial and more popular resort areas, where there are abundant opportunities to hook up with some nubile Thai cuties. Not this bloke - one thing that struck me as sort peculiar about this Frenchie, while he professed his devotion to health and fitness, he smoked cigarettes. Oh well…

While I was in Chiang Dao, Northern Thailand, I met a number of tourists from Europe. I discovered that a passion for cycling was a common denominator among these Europeans. On the day that checked into the guesthouse, I met a family of four from Belgium who were on a cycling/trek tour of Thailand; before they departed Malee’s to go on a 3 day camping trek into the mountains visiting hilltribe villages, I talked at length with the young daughter about their trip. On day 3 of my stay, I met a very nice middle-aged professional couple from the Black Forest region of Germany and had some wonderful conversations with them about a variety of topics. It seems that the owner, Ms Malee, while visiting Europe last year, had stayed with them at their home for a short while. The couple had returned to Thailand to visit their daughter who worked at a University in Bangkok in the linguistics department

Later that day, I met a couple at Malee’s who were cycling enthusiasts from Holland. They brought their own touring bikes with them from Holland and were planning to tour all of Northern Thailand by bicycle stopping here and there for a night or two. On my final night at Malee’s, I had the pleasure of having dinner with both the German and Dutch couple

My next stop was Sukhothai in Central Thailand, where I went on a sunset bicycle tour of the backroads of this historic city with a family of five from Munich, Germany. I talked at length with the husband and found out that we both had something in common - we were both avid long distance runners. He and his family were also cycling enthusiasts back in Germany. In fact, he was telling me how he biked to and from work, 15 KM each way. Sounds like real fun…

Like I stated earlier, meeting fellow American tourists in Southeast Asia was indeed a rare event. The following are some stories of my encounters with some very interesting foriegners (exotics).

While I was ordering some ice cream in a stylish cafe in Siem Reap, Cambodia, a very attractive young Asian lady who was working on her laptop computer caught my very discriminating eye. With a very stylish short haircut, a lovely complexion and dressed casually elegant, I found her extremely attractive. Moving forward, I introduced myself and inquired about her background; she was from Singapore and had relocated to Cambodia to get away from the more westernized society and lifestyle of her homeland. As she indicated that she was quite busy with her work, I decided not to ‘pursue her” any further, so I left the café with unrequited passion.
Oh well…

Just returned from a 26-day sojourn to ‘the Land of Smiles” right in the middle of the rainy season; Northern Thailand was being inundated by monsoons which triggered the worst flooding in the provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son in the last 40 years.

What a trip it was; I had to endure a total of about 3 hours of rain, including a 10 minutes torrential downpour in Bangkok on the evening of August 12. Fortunately this rain squall occurred while I was comfortably seated at Tamarind Cafe, one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants in Bangkok

Flying from Siem Reap (Cambodia) to Chiang Mai via Bangkok on August 19, I had some trepidation about arriving in a flooded out Chiang Mai. Fortunately, the floodwaters had receded 1 - 2 days before my arrival and the rains had tailed off. Everywhere else I traveled to was relatively dry. In fact, Ko Lanta and Sukhothai were dry as a bone. The only time I got punished by the elements was on my last night (Aug. 31) in Kamala (Phuket), whereupon returning to my hotel in the wee hours of the morning, I had to navigate the last 100 yards or so in the middle of a moderately heavy downpour. Needless to say, I got soaked. The next morning, the sun was out as usual.

It seems that Hanumann has special powers; wherever he traveled in Thailand, he chased the rains away. And when, ‘the Big Monkey” departed “the Land of Smiles”, the rains returned triumphantly.

When planning a trip to Thailand and Southeast Asia during the rainy season (May to November) one must prepare for the eventuality of rain. However, the pattern of tropical storms during the rainy season is so unpredictable and can vary from year to year. Quoting ClaudioS of Thailand Travel Forum, ‘no two rainy seasons are alike.”

In addition to meeting the aforementioned American gypsy, on my return flight home on Sep. 06 on Northwest Airlines, I had a delightful conversation with a middle-aged couple from Houston at the airport in Tokyo. They were returning from 10-day hiatus vesting Beijing, Hong Kong and Bangkok. Running into fellow Americans is a dual edged sword - when I encounter too many Americans, I avoid them like the plague as one of the reasons I travel to foreign countries is to get away from the familiarity of home; however, when American tourists in a foreign country seem to be endangered species, I always savor the encounter. As Americans, we immediately bond because of our common cultural and geographical origins. As travelers in a strange land are wont to do, we always exchange travel experiences and stories as well as discuss the current events back in the USA. In the case of the Houstonian couple we talked at length about the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf States and about the disturbing images of the aftermath on BBC.

You are probably wondering (and rightly so), on my last trip to Thailand and Cambodia whom did Hanumann meet? That will be the topic of a subsequent post, when I discuss my encounters with a variety of exotics (foreign tourists). Stay tuned…

Whenever I travel to Thailand. It is amazing how few Americans I bump into. Case in point is my recent trip this last August 05; all told I ran into and had some meaningful exchange with one middle age American lady. I ran into her in Chiang Mai at Aum, a dedicated vegetarian restaurant on Moon Muang Road in Chiang Mai. She was somewhat of a gypsy, having bolted from her comfortable abode in Mill Valley and semi-corporate job in San Francisco over a year ago, to explore Southeast Asia. This American Gypsy was talking about her latest ambition - to become a successful trader in the stock market albeit without the aid of a laptop computer. Apparently, she seemed convinced she could do all her research and all her transactions from internet cafés. Oh well, what a pipe dream! I wonder what she was smoking??????