But first we spent some well deserved down time at the pool. It was great to relax and enjoy the resort we were paying for. We'd been on the go the previous two days, so the pool chair was a welcome break.
By noon we were back in a cab, heading to our starting point for the tour. Our group was Gail and I, and a group from the Netherlands. Thankfully, they were all experienced cyclist, so we weren't constantly waiting for anyone. Even the nine year old could ride well.
The tour wove all through Chinatown, down narrow alleys with people working and trying to get by us all. Very hectic, but thankfully none of our group fell or ran over anyone. A couple times we got split up due to the shear amount of people along the route.
Along this portion of the ride we got off the bikes and walked them through a bustling market. I felt in the way constantly, but it was very interesting to watch these folks working. They even had time for a couple pictures!
At last we made it to the river where we loaded all the bikes onto long boats and headed up-river, then took a left turn into a canal. This portion of the ride passed by all kinds of houses along the canal. One would be scabbed together with whatever floated by on the river and the next would be a beautiful house. Strange!
After a bit I saw a narrow, decrepit walkway hanging over the water and joked with Gail that it was our bike path.....oops! It was our bike path! It wove in and out of residential areas, and eventually we stopped at a little shop for fresh fruit and cola's.
The path was very narrow in places, and several times we had to make 90 degree turns, and BTW, we weren't the only ones using the path! A few areas were elevated above the plantation, and a misstep would land you on the jungle floor six feet below.
After an ice cream stop and a quick stop at a temple, we hopped a boat and wove our way through the night market crowd back to the bike shop. Everyone made it back safe, thank goodness. Back to the hotel to wash the layers of sweat and dirt off, and downstairs for an amazing Italian dinner. We met one of the chefs, who spends time in Abu Dhabi every year working at a hotel just down the road from our apartment. Hopefully we can go visit him while he is here!
We had to be out of bed at 4am, so it was an early night for us. We packed quite a bit into our four day trip and really got an appreciation for Bangkok.
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