Thailand!!! At last, the final destination of our Southeast Asia tour. We've biked 1100+ miles. Damn, that is a big number. I am seriously proud of what Grant and I have accomplished and saw these past 1.5 months. (BTW the US is almost 3000 miles long!? Wow, the States is unbelievably large lol).
The border crossing between Cambodia and Thailand was extremely straightforward. We went to the Ban Pakkad Border Checkpoint to cross southwest towards Chanthaburi, our first destination in Thailand. Two simple checkpoints and we were in and out within 15 minutes - just like that, we were in Thailand!!
From the moment we crossed the border, it was instantly apparent we were encountering something entirely new compared to the past few weeks. First, we noticed that the cars on the Thailand side were much nicer and cleaner. Then, after biking a bit, we'd be in a lush green forest, riding clean, spotless roads. Then, we'd see 4-lane highways and a bunch of 7/11s (the nice Eastern Asian “actually convenient” stores). 何 (NANI)!?!? Just 20km away in Cambodia, there were no proper restaurants or hotels. 😆
There was an immense familiarity with the “developed-ness” of Thailand. Everything I saw, from the convenience stores to even the buildings, had flavors of Japan, which I was used to seeing. There was a part of me that was relieved to be somewhere comforting and somehow nostalgic.
The road from Chanthaburi to Rayong was bike tour heaven. Clean roads and beautiful views. I listened to good music all day while absorbing the ocean breeze and rich, earthy aroma from the jungles around us. I'll list some songs at the very bottom if you're curious about what things I listen to. Nowadays, the hits are mostly Australian Surf Rock🤘.
Our last spurt was from Rayong to Bangkok. On the way, we stopped by Pattaya City since it's the closest major city to Bangkok. The city was an eye-opener to a different slice of life in Thailand. Pattaya City was the first place I've visited where it seemed like the main attraction to the city was sex tourism. The past red-light districts I've visited seemed like they were a late addition to an already developing city. Here, it seemed like the whole town was manufactured with sexy massages as the foundation. I have no intention of degrading anyone who participates in sex tourism. Everyone has their reasons to participate. Seeing it firsthand - and so blatantly happening everywhere we walked - was a lot to see and process.
Which brings me to the tangent thought of this post… why am I here witnessing this (and everything else), and why really am I here on the other side of the world???
I thought about this for a while. It's a mix of many things that have culminated in my life. I've always had admiration and fascination for people who go on these grand adventures exploring the world. I mean who doesn't? Some part of me though has always been envious of these larger-than-life figures. Am I not allowed to do these things too? Am I too ordinary or not have the personality to accomplish feats like them?
Well, here I am on one of these “grand adventures”.
Here's what I internalized after being here for the past few weeks — Regardless of the reason or intention of coming here, I did come here! Who knows if the “real” reason I am here was to escape my corporate job, to seek a dream travel life, because I was bored, if I was truly curious, or if I just wanted to have fun (in the most selfish extreme way possible)? It's probably all those reasons mixed in a weird concoction that I can't start to decipher. But what I do know is that being out here opened my mind to so many things. It's got me to think more critically, to know that I know absolutely nothing, to understand the people around you are so important, and that curiosity is the root of all things great in life.
From all this, I feel like I found a vague, Kota-Kun answer to the question, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”. To me, they're both the same thing that grows at the same time. The Cody that goes on biking adventures (chicken) continually fuels and germinates the source for more internal values that make me who I am (egg). To summarize, it's not the egg or chicken that comes first, but maybe it's all a continuous, ever-growing spiral that keeps improving itself and starts from one dot. Did I just rephrase evolution!? Man wtf am I rambling about 🤣.
Anyways what's important is that if you just do things, regardless of the reason - best if it's fun for you and you do it with someone who shares the same passion as you do - things will work out!
There's a line in a Skeggs song, Up in the Clouds, (Aussie Surf Rock 🏄♀️) that I love that relates to this topic.
“ I can't see through these eyes at times How the picture really sits It's hard without a frame To understand how big the picture is Just how big the picture really is And if it fits “
It's a song all about not knowing life, and having your head up in the cloud all the time thinking about your future and bigger questions.
We all sometimes spend way too much time trying to figure out what the big picture is in our lives. Sometimes shit gets hard. But maybe all you need is to chase after things you think are fun. Don't think of what benefits XYZ will have to your life. Just do it cuz why not? And maybe, just maybe, actively doing that will open new color pallets to your picture, making it so much more vibrant and attractive, and maybe we can forget about how big the picture really is.
This was a long one. If you're still reading thanks for taking the time to read my rambling. The many comments people left are also thoughtful 😭. Thanks guys.
BTW I am now in Bangkok!! We've officially concluded our biking journey. It's been a fun ride! I plan to spend the next couple weeks exploring Thailand and prepare to meet Ashley in Japan 🇯🇵.
Some songs I particularly liked while biking:
- The Moss - The Place That Makes Me Happy
- Skeggs - Up in the Clouds
- Nick Dorian - Cherry
- Moana - Where You Are
- Masayoshi Yamazaki - One more time, One more chance
- The Frights - The Comfort of Someone in the Other Room
