Wish I were there

I am now at home and cannot help thinking that my planning was quite poor this year. Not really my fault because I had to squeeze in my last trip between some of the few commitments I still have at home, but this made me to miss the "Bike for Dad" event.

Ready for the ride !

I love riding a bike (not the noisy and puffing kind), I love Bangkok and Thailand, and this event was an unique opportunity to blend my two passions. And this in a quiet and secure environment, far from some rowdy drivers who make Thai roads the most dangerous in the world. Seeing the Ride live on the thai TV made me regret not taking part still more. What struck me the most was seeing all these people smiling and obviously happy to ride together behind the Prince.

Oh, I do not wish to be too excited, and can imagine the social and political background of this event. But if riding a bike could make thai people more united, I am all for it. I could even imagine that this could be an incentive for them to ride their bikes more often in their everyday life, and generally to live in a more healthy way, but I would not hold my breath.

In some way I could manage to take part in the event, as one of the rides planned out of Thailand took place not far from my home. There were about 150 people attending, mostly thai people living there, and mostly women. The atmosphere was very cheerful, with everyone smiling and happy to be together paying a tribute to the beloved King. I could spot two or three lads that I would have liked to know better, but it was obviously not the right place to even think of it.

On top of that, I understand that there is now a big two-weeks annual festival in Udon Thani with a lot of shopping, parades, live music and fun (and some brawling too). It is called Thung Sri Muang Festival, takes place from December the 1st onwards and is aimed at honoring His Majesty the King. Reading from Facebook, it seems that every boy living within 50 miles around wants to go, but obviously they have neither transport nor money nor place to stay in town … I guess I could have selflessly helped some (or at least one every day) by offering bed and board free of charge, with some beer money as a bonus.

So time to be smarter when planning a next trip to Thailand … But then there is always something interesting going on in this fabulous place !

Festival in Udon Thani