Thorn Tree travel forum

bike shop in bangkok

hello,

i am 3 days from bangkok and i need a good new rear wheel. i do need a welldone wheel, i carry about 50 kg and heading to chinese mountains. i do not want to have problems with spokes.
does anybody know any reliable bike shop in bangkok?
thanks everybody
salva

yemen to oman

hi peddlers,
can anybody tell me a success story crossing this border by bike?
any tips greatly appreciated

Hotel Sherazade is NOT bike friendly

Just a warning to anyone thinking of staying in the Hotel Sherazade in Marrakech. They are not very bicycle friendly! They told us we could store our bike boxes there for the duration of our holiday which is why we booked in there at the beginning and end of our trip. When we got there, they insisted we pay to store the boxes next door in the public toilets. We also had to store our bikes there. Now that we have returned to the end of our trip, they wouldn't even let us store the bikes in a corner of the lobby for 5 minutes. They were real pricks about it all. I would say regardless of how charming the rooms may sound, it is really not worth it. They are overpriced as well as being very unhelpful.
Well worth avoiding!

Bicycling in North Thailand

Hello,
my name is Axel and i will be starting a trip through the North of Thailand and then on to Laos ( and later down to Malaysia, Indonesia and the Phillipines ) around the 5th of December In Phichit ( north of Bangkok ) and will arrive around X mas in Chiang Mai. If anyone is touring in the area by bicycle and wants to ride together with me for a while feel free to drop me a line. I am easy going and enjoy life and like to cycle around 80 to 100 ks a day. I speak German and English and a little Spanish, Peace and enjoy the ride
Axel
axel_nitschka@hotmail.com

Edited by: Axelaxel

Join our Kiva lending team: Long Distance Bicyclists

Hi all!

We just made a loan to someone in the Ukraine using Kiva (www.kiva.org) as part of the Kiva lending team: Long Distance Bicyclists. Our team could use some more members!

You can go to Kiva's website and lend to someone across the globe who needs a loan for their business - like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or selling bicycle parts. Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent - and you get updates letting you know how the entrepreneur is going.

The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back - and Kiva's loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly.

It's finally easy to actually d... more »

Bike on Boats/Ferries in Thailand

Hi, I was wondering whether anyone knows whether you can take a bike on ferries/boats in Thailand, ie from Chumphon to Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Samui or from Phuket to Phi Phi. No idea what sort of boats they have and it will determine what route I'll be taking through Thailand. Anyone got any idea whether it's possible without hassle, with hassle or with paying??
Thanks

Packing a bike in 2 boxes to avoid airline fees?

Anyone have any experiences with packing your bike into 2 separate boxes to avoid those STUPID and HARASSING fees? 1 box for both wheels, the other form-fitting to the frame (with the forks removed), and other luggage stuffed all inside the frame, in the corners of the wheel box, and in the carry-on? Both boxes should be pretty much at or below the "62-linear-inch" rule, and well within weight limits for most airlines (20-50 lbs per item, plus carry-on).

Its a bit more work and an extra tool or two, but to save hundreds of $$ and open up more airlines for travelling, I'm willing to try it out...

Here's a link of someone who's done it a few times:

http://www.efn.org/~rick/bike_box.txt

I imagine it would work for many riders, particularly those with smaller frames (mountain bikes) and on the lighter-side of packing... more »