Bangkok Cycling
If you're planning to ride a bicycle in Bangkok, do so with care. Cycling in such a large city can be more risky and challenging than adventurous, considering air pollution and the city's notorious and at times chaotic traffic.
However, if cycling is your thing, there are some perfectly safe and enjoyable rides in and around the city.
Bangkok has a second-level bicycle track. However, you will not be able to avoid the less enjoyable, larger ground-level roads, where you fight heavy traffic. Luckily, you don't spend much time on these: With the right route, you reach your destination faster than other vehicles.
Bangkok Cycling - Across the Chao Phraya River
Across the Chao Phraya River , a short hop from busy Sukhumvit, is an extraordinary place known to the locals as Bang Kra Jao. This amazing wilderness in Bangkok can only be reached by boat as no bridges span this part of the river, and incredibly it has been left untouched by developers.
Crossing the river is like taking a journey back in time. You will find a peaceful place with lush vegetation, a maze of waterways, small villages, temples and real tropical jungle. If it wasn't for Bangkok's skyline, you would never believe you were so close to the city. And, there is no traffic!
Bangkok Cycling - Bangkok Countryside
A short drive east of Bangkok will take to Minburi, one of the city's oldest and most interesting suburbs. Minburi is where the city and countryside collide to create a world of canals, ricefields and cottage industries. It is a place where Muslims and Buddhists live as they have for centuries alongside klongs. The San Saeb Canal, or Klong San Saeb , is one of Bangkok's most important waterways as it connects Bangkok's two main rivers, the Bangprakong and Chao Phyraya.
Bangkok Cycling - Koh Kret
Travel 20 kilometres north of Bangkok along the Chao Phraya River and you soon reach the island of Koh Kret. In 1722, during the reign of King Thaisa of Ayutthaya, the island was cut from an ox bow in the river and was previously known as "Khlong Lat Kret Noi" which means a shortcut to Kret canal. The island has always been populated by the Mon, a people that dominated the area that is now Thailand from the 6th to 10th centuries. The Mon of Koh Kret are famous for their craftsmanship and skill at the potters wheel and still make all kinds of terracotta and earthenware products. The main village is a thriving market place where you can see the pottery making process and shop for pots, mortars, and flowerpots.
Bangkok Cycling - Khao Ito
No self respecting mountain biker visiting Bangkok should miss this great one day tour to the relatively unknown area of Khao Ito. Bordering Khao Yai national park and just a one-and-a-half hour drive from Bangkok Khao Ito has some serious high-adrenaline riding!
This ride has everything except tarmac (well a little just to get to the trail): loads of single track, some technical challenges, some great up-hills and of course (what goes up must go down) scintillating descents. The views are superb. The trails will change with the seasons and even rain offers some great riding that will test your skills and nerve. This is some of the best one day riding you will do in Thailand.
