Sydney (25-30 March 2017) : Day 1 - Around the City

Dabbing with a backdrop of Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge

St Mary's Cathedral

View of the city from Cook and Phillip Parl

Beautiful path along Cook and Phillip Park

Art at Cook and Phillip Park

Peanut at Macquaries Point, with HMAS Canberra LO2

Hoping to provoke the ire of Mrs Macquarie?

Royal Botanical Gardens

Royal Botanical Gardens

Royal Botanical Gardens with Government House in the background

Royal Botanical Gardens, with Carmen, in red across the river

Taking the last flights out of Singapore is a real challenge especially when your flight is delayed to 3.15 am, an hour an a half off course! Past 1 am, all duty free shopping grinds to a stop and with fewer people, the temperature drops as well. Hoping to find a place to snuggle, you will be disappointed to find the "free to use snooze lounge" is full since hours ago! Even strategic floor spaces with wall sockets are hard to come by!

Arriving in Sydney 8 hours later, we went through immigration smoothly. However, we were delayed waiting for VT's luggage. Strange that both bags were checked in at the same time but one took a lot longer than the other to come out from the hole.

When we reached Larmont Hotel at Kings Cross Rd, it was already close to 3.30 pm. Located at the fringe of the famed red light district, we were disappointed we did not see any vice throughout our stay. Recently refurbished, the rooms were modern and comfy. Coles was just around the corner and food outlets, a short walk away!

Assembling our Bromptons which came in our Lojel suitcases, we eagerly rode out. 

Fueled only by a Cadbury chocolate bar consumed as our plane was descending, we were only hungry for what Sydney could offer. 

Besides, having paid AUD 60 for a taxi from the airport, we were not keen to hop into yet another one, even if given the same luxurious van with wheelchair facility! We were in Sydney to ride and that's what we were planning to do!

Leaving our hotel, we hit William St, then turned right to Boomerang Pl and were quickly distracted when we saw Cook & Philip Park. We were charmed by the native bird and St Mary's cathedral. Exploring the park further, we bumped into an Asian lady who was walking her dogs. She was very curious with our small little bikes, asking lengthy questions. 

Taking our leave, we took a peak at Yurong Highway before making our way to Mrs Macquaries Point. A mere 3 km distance from our hotel, we were drowned by the sights for hours!!!

Our chosen route initially led us to the front of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Part of The Domain, the gallery overlooks a vast park with matured trees. Approaching Mrs Macquaries Point, we were greeted by the yachts moored at Fingers Wharf. 

Our eyes soon caught sight of HMAS Adelaide LO1 and HMAS Canberra LO2 docked at Garden Island, a part of the Royal Australian Navy on Port Jackson. The two helicopter landing class docks were berthed, idle on its homeport. Contrary to these 2 ships, on the other side of Sydney Harbour, The Royal Carribean was preparing to weigh anchor blasting its horn which could be heard from our side.

Carmen was showing during our visit and parts of Mrs Macquaries Point were cordoned off to facilitate the pop up opera house, all equipped with an outdoor stage and tiered seatings. Taking advantage of a harbourside view, it was a bit confusing for visitors like us as otherwise, we could have followed the path all the way to Sydney Opera House. That said, it did not deter us from queuing up for the best vantage point of the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge!

Before leaving, we paid our respects to the Ghosts of Mrs Macquarie on her favourite sandstone chair. Carved from a rock by convicts in 1810, it was said to serve the Governess of New South Wales well whenever she wanted a panoramic lookout of the ships sailing into the Harbour.

Bent on finding a closer view of Sydney Opera House, we went via Royal Botanic Gardens. Approaching the gates, 2 couples with their respective best men and bridesmaids were posing for their wedding photos. Inside, we had to wheel our bicycles past a water fountain and a quaint cafe that was hosting a party. Trying to enjoy the sights, we soon had to hurry as it began to drizzle. We were practically whizzing past the plants and wild birds without much thoughts all the while keeping a close eye for the rumbling choo choo train!!!

Towards one end of the Gardens, we came upon the Government House, then emerged out to a lane leading to Sydney Opera House. Throughout all this, the drizzle continued to come and go. 

Spurred by hunger pangs, we decided not to dine by the Opera House no matter how romantic dining by the harbour can be! We'd rather not risk getting our food wet!! Instead we left via Macquarie St, took cover under the Cahill Expressway, snapped a photo of King Edward Vll's bronzed statue and were charmed by the architectural designs of Sydney's Conservatorium.

Just a little ahead was Rose Garden and Pavilion, yet another lush greenery smack in the city. We wished we had time to sit in the rose gardens for tea but it was getting dark and we had to salute Matthew Flinders for his circumnavigation work of what was to be called Australia today! He stood frozen in time amongst the heritage buildings in Sydney, namely the state library, Parliament House, and museum.

Approaching the end of the street, Archibald Fountain caught our eye. As a first time visitor, the center piece statue with streams of water spurting out appeared like a Siamese Buddha with many hands! Located in Hyde Park, we circumvented its perimeters passing Hyde Park Barracks Museum and once again St Mary's Cathedral, although this time we were coming from the front side. 

The old quarters, behind William St

Coming back to Cook & Philip Park again, we hit William St once more. Beyond that, it was a continuous climb all the way back to our hotel.

That night, we found our way to Plateia, a Greek Restaurant located a mere 2 minutes walk from Larmont. It was our second meal of the day, after a nasi lemak and lasagna at 39,000 feet above ground! The Lamb Souvlaki was our favourite and this joint turns out to be our favourite hang out place for many nights to come!

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Larmont Hotel

LTF MR2 (7-15 August 2017), Day 9 : Finale

One last photo in Singapore before we return to our respective homes. The Roscoes though, had to wait for their Singapore-Perth bound flight. Carolen flew direct from Bangkok

Great noodle shop in Loei

Fiery Stuff

On the way to The Bicycle

On the way to the airport. Conditions were pretty crammed, even though we had hired a bigger Songthaew

Airport authorities deflating Sue's bike

George feeling for the nipple!!!

The ladies with Prim. She was the key instrument to our first class train travel to Nong Khai

The men with Prim

Heartsick at Bangkok airport

This morning, after walking out for a hot bowl of noodle soup in a bustling coffee shop that takes up 2 shop lots, we finally found our way to The Bicycle. Located on Route 201 and not far from our hotel, we still took a Songthaew as we were all feeling lazy on the last day of our trip. Besides, the chili flakes from breakfast was starting up a bonfire in our bellies and the humid weather wasn’t helping either!

The Bicycle, a well equipped shop in Loei, trades mostly in Orbea bikes. Our shopping though revolves around the smaller accessories that can be brought home with us. While we enjoyed shopping for ourselves, we also bought a pair of gloves and water bottle for Chief as gratitude for this wonderful trip.

The Roscoes, eager to return home, finally emerged out of hiding when it was time to leave for the airport. They were accompanied by Celia who preferred sleep over food. Naturally, Mrs Lee does not have to go hungry as doting Mr Lee will always provide but Pete was still not eating much!

At Loei’s airport, our bikes went through stringent checkings. The staff insisted for us to deflate our tyres completely! To do so, we had to reopen our boxes until George found an ingenious way of slotting our hands through the box handle.

Arriving at Suvarnabhumi airport, we were appalled by the conditions of our bike boxes. As The Bicycle had supplied us boxes that are cut on the flap covers, the weak points gave way during transportation. Deflating our tyres at Loei had also unraveled some of the packaging.

Checking in our bikes for the next leg took awhile as the airport was swarmed with passengers. By the time we were ready to have lunch with Prim, it was time for her to leave for her next appointment!

Lunch was a hurried affair. Afterwards, we rushed to immigration but had to follow the ALL PASSPORTS lane as the ASEAN lane was not opened. Only Celia and Alvin managed to use the APEC lane!

With an airport filled with rich Chinese tourists, our wait took almost to the brink of missing our flights. Thankfully, by the time they called for us over the PA system, the ASEAN lane had reopened. We managed to switch lanes, stamp our exit and made a mad run to the gate!!!

 
Photo Credits :
1. KC
2. Alvin 
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EPILOGUE  

Pete returned to Perth and was diagnosed with kidney failure. However, through the powers of prayers he has fully recovered and returned to cycling as well!

LTF MR2 (7-15 August 2017), Day 8 : Loei

One for the road

Alms giving, a daily morning ritual for Monks to make merit and collect food for the day

On the way to the bus station

The local bus station

The Roscoes.

Storage space is limited on Thai buses with LPG tanks

At the Paddy Fields

First stop. Note the holiday rental in the background

Poor cows were frightened of us

Right after the multi-storey wet market, Loei

Loei, bike lanes

Dinner with Mike and Rahda

This morning, after another round of Khao Tum, we left the Roscoes at the local bus station. Pete could not continue any further as his health had been going down south since Day 4, catapulting into a fever at Chiang Khan. Even though Papa Mike was consulted over a video call, his medical advice failed as he could not give a “personal touch” to his patient. In this case, it was literally!!!

 

 

Leaving town, we headed for Loei on Road 201. Along the way, we rolled past the slip road to the heritage museum that Fone had planned on taking us. However, we had politely declined as all we wanted was a good fellowship with the local cycling club and not to clock the miles.

The first 20 km to Loei, we rolled mainly on flats. It was a dull journey on the main highway with no interesting sights. The team was going relatively slow on a peloton when Claudine decided to sprint ahead. Finding himself off duty as official sweeper, VT decided to race with his wife.

The first order of the ride was to stop at a petrol station 20 km down the road. VT and Claudine were counting down the milestones when they were caught by a red light in a major part of Ban That town. Stopping for the longest time, they marvelled at the size of the place, garnering a bank, Tesco Extra and 7 Eleven.

As they have 2 km more to get to the said petrol station, they started pumping the pedals when the lights turned green...

“Thump! Thump! Thump!” they spun!

Then a faraway shout. Followed by another one...

Double checking, just in case, it was none other than Chief, shouting and waving. When he got near, he launched into a tirade at them for speeding ahead without a care. The petrol station “WAS” at the junction traffic lights which they had just missed out.

Retracing their steps, the stop at the 7 Eleven saw everyone going in for their favourite snacks. Sue was again with ice pack, nursing her bad shoulder that had gone down twice on this trip!

Once on the move again, we chanced upon another petrol station 2 km down the road! It was located exactly at the 20 km mark as earlier mentioned!! Haughtily, Claudine could not help but pointed out the pumps and the adjacent standalone convenience store...

Not far from this second petrol station, we turned left into Ban That Moo 15. A local school stood to our right while the municipal office was located a little further down the road, to our left. Beyond that were village homes.

As we travelled further down the road, the tarmac soon disappeared, leaving us a gravel path. Homes were more scattered, centered around farmsteads.

Travelling along the narrow village path which clearly sees very few vehicles, the tree branches grew over the road forming an arch. When we emerged out of this tree covered canopy, endless fields of rice against a backdrop of sweeping hills greeted us!

Far to our right, a nasty factory with shiny stainless steel funnels marred the otherwise pristine landscape. Listed as an agricultural product wholesaler on Google Maps but with a signage of some marketing company, it probably produces rubber products, judging from the rubber trees all along Route 4009.

Out of the village and onto the trunk road of 4009, the rolling hills began. Stopping midway at a village mini mart and on the junction to Ban Pak Mak Moo 7, we saw a few customers coming in just to buy ice! One customer with a mosquito coil tied to his back, is probably a rubber tapper on his lunch break! The surrounding area saw scattered settlements but strangely has a simple holiday rental!

Leaving the mini mart, we found ourselves riding on our own for miles on ends. Other than the standard rubber trees, we saw no homes or roadside stalls. Soon, hunger began to set in but looking out for a place to eat in such remote places is a real challenge.

We knew Loei was near when the road conditions changed. As cyclists, we were thrilled when we saw a dedicated bike lane right before us. However, our smiles soon turned to grimace when the lane that ran parallel to the road went up a steep slope.

 

 

Up on the knoll we were rewarded with sweeping sceneries of the valley below. At the hill crest, a beautiful resort home beckons. Hungry and hoping for a dining experience, we were disappointed its restaurant was closed due to lack of visitors!

Rolling downhill towards Loei, the road was going through expansion works. A blockade caused us a short detour but we soon found out bicycles could still travel on our planned route.

Further down the road, tall buildings were spotted to our right. Anticipating the end of the journey, it was still awhile before we actually got to the town itself.

Even as we hit the T junction and turned right on Route 2138, the town was still elusive. We travelled for awhile on a road decked with old shophouse before crossing a river to the busier side of town.

Once on the other side of the river bank, we came up to a multilevel wet market. Things started to pick up beyond that.

Stopping for a meal of rice with braised pork before checking into our hotel, Sue had to settle for eggs again!!! Done with lunch, we got to our hotel in no time but not before witnessing how our LTF Chief and a police officer became exemplary citizens when they helped an old lady push her stalled car at the traffic lights!

Our plan to visit The Bicycle, a bike shop that had supplied us with the much needed bike boxes for our return trip was marred when it started to rain heavily that evening. Thankfully, it stopped by dinner time, allowing us to meet Mike and Radha at a restaurant overlooking the lake.

After dinner, our lovely new friends took us on a durian hunt around Loei. Sadly, the durians we found were not ripe. Disappointed, we had to settle for 7 Eleven fare before parting ways with a promise to keep in touch. Some others though, crossed the road to the wantan noodle shop for more, before calling it a night!

Photo Credits :
1. KC
2. Ped Al

 

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Loei Huen Hao Hug Home & Resort