Before serious physical changes in his senior years starts to slow him down, Noah ventured out one day on a bicycle to conquer this cloud-shrouded, rainforest-clad behemoth. It didn't matter that the monsoon season had prematurely taken over summer and that the prospects of getting drenched on the road were high, which is the opposite of last years ride to Cambodia in the searing heat at practically the same time of the year. The exhilarating feeling of having conquered one more mountain, striking out one more item in the bucket list and some new cyclist friends added was foremost in his mind (actually it is the thrill-seeking and adventure-loving beast inside him that Noah has to feed every so often).
One thing that was not quite well with the plan was the threat of rain and this was the forecast a week before Noah left for Chiang Mai.
the weather.com showed that Thursday to Sunday
were the most promising days even if rain
were the most promising days even if rain
was still a possibility.
Noah decided to gamble on this lull in the rain and hoped that the weatherman would be right this time. He had to do this climb to Doi Inthanon, because it was now or never. A trip to the homeland was fast approaching and this was his only window of opportunity.
Next thing was to get a ticket on the night-sleeper train to the northern city of Chiang Mai where the mountain concerned is located.
D-day dawns and Noah kisses the missus goodbye and with a heart pounding with anticipation starts with what has to be done to get to the foot of the mountain.
At the Thai Railways central terminal
at Hua Lamphong, Bangkok waiting for
the call to board. Imran's backpack
doubles as a bike stand.
doubles as a bike stand.
Thats the train #13 at the
platform #6 to depart at 7:35 pm.
the bike goes into the cargo bogey...
...and Noah finds his seat #38 in
the second-class sleeper car...
...which transforms into double-decker
bunks once the trip is underway.
13 hours later Noah is in the
beautiful city of Chiang Mai.
from Chiang Mai railway station
he pedaled 59 kilometers to Chom Thong -
a sleepy town at the foothills of the Doi
Inthanon national park.
that's the Inthanon Hostel. It is actually
more of an AirBnB that Noah found
online, which he fancied because of
it's location and because of the...
PIZZA!! and the owner - PJ, didn't
disappoint Noah, but immediately set out
to bake the best pizza this side of the world.
She said that Noah needed all the nutrition
for a long ride in the morning and she threw
in practically every topping available.
breakfast the next day was from
this store where Noah stocked up
on Gatorade, water and other essentials
for the long ride.
The Doi Inthanon road is 39 kilometers from he first checkpoint, which is three times as long as the L'Alpes d'Huez - the French classic race. The average climb is 5.8% with gradients exeeding 23% in some stretches.
that's the first check point...
this ticket, which would be checked at
the second check point.
for restroom and pictorials including...
is 20 kilometers ahead, but by
this time Noah was already near
breaking point.
that day and 4 kilometers was not
far away except that this was the
steepest portion so far.
but Noah still needed to climb some
steps to get to...
Buddhist monks and some supporters inquired
from Noah if he rode the bike from the valley,
and they got excited when they found out that
he did. what was next was really out of the
ordinary, because they gave Noah these
items, which they said was their blessing
for such an achievement.
and the data that Noah achieved
for that ride to the top
Now for the ride back to Chom Thong
day Noah was practically 8 hours on the saddle.
The next day Noah was stiff and hurting in every inch of the body that he had to scrap the original plan to pedal back to Chiang Mai. It was only good that a songthew driver - below, agreed to take him and the bike.
A relaxing haircut and shave at a police barbershop was unplanned, but Noah couldn't resist the novelty of having his hair cut by a policeman in uniform, complete with badge and pistol.
Yeah... khao soi. When in Chiang Mai never miss this coz you can't find it elsewhere.
Grasshopper biking Adventures was the next stop, which is managed by a good friend and co-cyclist - William Tuffin.
And yes, the most handsome German this side of Thailand makes a trip to Chiang Mai more meaningful. Catching up with him is always a blessing.
Ralf takes Noah to the railway station for the 5 pm train to Bangkok amidst a heavy downpour. It was like the weather was saying: "Noah, now that your adventure is done, let me get back to my monsoon mood."
Noah boards the train only to discover that he is the only passenger on this car. He had to make sure that this was not the "Train to Busan" before he could sit back and relax. A few stations down the line added more passengers for about 9 for Bangkok.
That same day Noah's son schedules a Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment for his old man. It's the fastest way to recover from fatigue and Noah simply loved it.
Whilst inside the hyperbaric chamber Noah had time to think about the recent adrenaline-charged ride to the peak and with a thankful heart he raised his thoughts to God Almighty - the giver and sustainer of life.
