Cycling In Bangkok.

[hackbike 6]

08/11/2008-23/11/08

Errrrrrrrr anyone got any hints for me cheers.

I would like to hire a bike out there but haven't really got a clue how it work's.

Didn't do it in Hong Kong but managed to Hire a Shopping Bike in Japan.

I plan to take my HIV and lights.Are there any regulations out there for bikes?

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[Fnaar]

Mr Hippo's in Bangkok
www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/member.php?u=1409

 

[friedel]

Do you want to just cycle around Bangkok or use Bangkok as your jumping off point for a trip around SE Asia? If you want the bike for a while, it might be just as cheap to buy one here. You can get some entry level Treks starting around 14,000 Baht.

We are in Bangkok now, and I just added this page:

http://travellingtwo.com/resources/thailand/bangkok

And this one:

http://travellingtwo.com/resources/thailand/bike-shops-and-equipment

Might be useful. Shout if we can add any more info for you. Cycling around Bangkok is a great way to get around the city, if you are okay with lots of traffic (friendly traffic, courteous, but lots of it) and the pollution. Bring a face mask. I get a headache after about 30 minutes.

 

[mr_hippo]

friedel, I have just read your two links.
1) Taxis - I have carried many bikes in normal taxis - both boxed and unboxed. Regular taxis include Toyota Corolla, ThaiRung Adventure , Suzuki APV and Toyota Innova. Limo taxis can include Toyota Camry, Mercedes Benz and BMW so how much bigger is the Camry compared to the Corolla? Would the limo driver let you put a bike in his car?
2) Public transport is 'time consuming and expensive'? I will agree with you on the time consuming (at times) but not on the expensive!
3) Bangkok is huge - it is! You have just mentioned two tourist areas.
4) Just where are the bike lanes? I have seen two painted lines on the pavement but that does not make a bike lane! Look at this example:-

Would you call that a bike lane? I wouldn't!
5) Pollution - if you are riding in gridlocked traffic in central Bangkok, of course there will be heavy pollution! Get away from the centre.

hackbike6 - I believe the best place for rentals is http://spiceroads.com/about/bikes/
I live in the Lat Phrao area and rarely venture into the city although it is only a few miles away. There are a few of my videos on http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=hipponokloo

One thing to be very careful about is 'Priority from the left'; in the UK, we are used to vehicles on the main road having priority but it is not so here - it took me a long time to get used to it! You often see traffic on the main road stopped to let the side traffic out.

I don't know what size of bike you use but if you would like to join me on one of my circuits one morning - just let me know how far you would like to go, if my Trek 3900 21" would be suitable.

 

[zimzum42]

Bangkok is most definitely massive, even on the expressways at night, it takes ages to get across the city!

 

[friedel]

Hi Mr Hippo!

Where did you get that name from? I like it

Maybe you could get one boxed bike in a normal taxi. With two it was definitely a no go, plus we had all our panniers separately to carry and stash somewhere. When we got the 'limo taxi' at the airport, we actually had a huge van so we could literally throw our stuff in and still had heaps of space/seats left over.

I think the public transport, perhaps buses aside, is expensive in Bangkok. One very short ride on the sky train is 15 Baht, then you have to come back to your hotel. That's $1 and considering you can travel much of Thailand by bicycle on $10 a day if you want to, that's a lot relatively for a low budget bike tourist. If you're loaded, it's not such a big deal. If you're two people, running all over the city, then it adds up. Take the bike and over a few days you'll save enough for a few beers.

Where are the bike lanes? We have noticed quite a few in the streets around Lumpini Park. They're painted red, with bicycle logos on them. They look new though. Maybe a recent initiative? Not that it helps all the time because the taxis park in them but anyway... they are far better than the picture you show.

 

[zimzum42]

This is the first time i've encountered anyone call public transport in Asia expensive!

you lot must never take the bus or train in the UK!

 

[friedel]

This is the first time i've encountered anyone call public transport in Asia expensive! you lot must never take the bus or train in the UK!

It's all relative

I did go back and edit that page a bit. It wasn't clearly written, so thank you Mr. Hippo for pointing it out!

We lived in the UK for years. Of course, Bangkok's metro and skytrain are a bargain compared to the tube, but if you take it as a proportion of what the budget traveller might try and spend here on a typical day, it can eat up half your budget. Get on your bike to cross the city and all of a sudden you can enjoy a lot more. That's what I was trying to express.

For example, you could get a bed in a really cheap hotel on Khao San Road for 150 Baht. You can go eat servings of pad thai here for 10 baht in some markets, that's about $0.30 cents. And then if you want to go from your hotel on Khao San Road to Lumpini Park and back you have to take the river boat and the Skytrain and that's going to cost you about 1 hour each way and 70 Baht return. If you want to get to the weekend market from Khao San Road, you have to budget $3 to get there and back by Skytrain and boat.

So, one trip to the bike shop, back to your hotel and maybe out one more time for some sightseeing and you've spent as much as on your hotel room and enough for 15 servings of pad thai, or even four good, filling street meals at 30 Baht each with change leftover.

A lot of people won't care but there are quite a few cyclists travelling around here on just a few bucks a day and when you're trying to do that for a few months, just taking your bike around Bangkok instead of the skytrain for a few days can save a bit of cash.

That's all I was trying to express. Maybe we've been trying to travel too long on $10 a day... re-entry to the developed world is going to be tough

 

[zimzum42]

Fair enough!

 

[mr_hippo]

And then if you want to go from your hotel on Khao San Road to Lumpini Park and back you have to take the river boat and the Skytrain and that's going to cost you about 1 hour each way and 70 Baht return. If you want to get to the weekend market from Khao San Road, you have to budget $3 to get there and back by Skytrain and boat.

Which map are you using?

You threw me by saying 'river boat', don't you mean 'canal boat'? You don't have to take a boat and skytrain, there are other ways - bus and tuk tuk.
You ask where I got the nickname from - Thais are given a name at birth and a nickname - if you had a round, pink face at birth and a flat nose you might end up with 'Pig' as your nickname. My wife's nickname is Goy 'Little finger' and her brother is Goong - 'Shrimp'. Some Westerners are honoured by getting a Thai nick name. Mine comes from the time Goy and I were watching a programme about hippos on the Nat Geo channel - I yawned at the same time a hippo yawned and the rest is history.
The bike lanes around Lumpini Park are indeed new and as well as taxis on them, you also have motorcycles and mobile food stalls.
Are you still in Bamgkok and when are you planning to leave?

 

[Jitendrakumar]

Hi

I am jitendra from india and I haven't been Bangkok. but as far i think it will be the great experience for one who did it.

jitendra kumar

___________Capture One Auto Transport_______________________________________________________

 

[friedel]

Which map are you using?
What do you call it when you go to Thaksin pier (end of Skytrain line) and then take a boat.... that's not the canal but maybe it's called 'canal boat'? I mean the ones with the different coloured flags. I think the ones we took were orange and cost 17 Baht for the trip we took.

You're right, there are other ways, but the Skytrain/boat combo is the easiest for falang to figure out, at least it was for us. I'm sure if we were here longer we'd figure out the system better.

I like your name story. Thanks for sharing

We are still here but leaving tomorrow. Planning to take a train out of the city, maybe to Hua Hin and then start south.

On another note, I don't know if you have the time or inclination, but a little guide to cycling around Bangkok's suburbs would be great. We wanted to do our own daytrip, something along the klongs, like the organised tours do, but couldn't really find anything on which areas might be good to explore. In fact, you could write a whole site on cycling in Bangkok alone I reckon! If you had any specific tips and didn't fancy doing a page yourself, I would be honoured to put them on our page, with credit to you.

 

[hackbike 6]

Thank's for the replies guys I will sift through the info as im sure there is some useful tips here.

Yes I am looking forward to it but I really need to get a bike first.

Still need to read through this thread properly.

Thanks again.

Basically I just want to cycle and see what I find and my base is in Bangkok.

Im disappointed that I didn't hire a bike when I was in Hong Kong in July.

 

[hackbike 6]

friedel, I have just read your two links.
1) Taxis - I have carried many bikes in normal taxis - both boxed and unboxed. Regular taxis include Toyota Corolla, ThaiRung Adventure , Suzuki APV and Toyota Innova. Limo taxis can include Toyota Camry, Mercedes Benz and BMW so how much bigger is the Camry compared to the Corolla? Would the limo driver let you put a bike in his car?
2) Public transport is 'time consuming and expensive'? I will agree with you on the time consuming (at times) but not on the expensive!
3) Bangkok is huge - it is! You have just mentioned two tourist areas.
4) Just where are the bike lanes? I have seen two painted lines on the pavement but that does not make a bike lane! Look at this example:-

Would you call that a bike lane? I wouldn't!
5) Pollution - if you are riding in gridlocked traffic in central Bangkok, of course there will be heavy pollution! Get away from the centre.

hackbike6 - I believe the best place for rentals is http://spiceroads.com/about/bikes/
I live in the Lat Phrao area and rarely venture into the city although it is only a few miles away. There are a few of my videos on http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=hipponokloo

One thing to be very careful about is 'Priority from the left'; in the UK, we are used to vehicles on the main road having priority but it is not so here - it took me a long time to get used to it! You often see traffic on the main road stopped to let the side traffic out.

I don't know what size of bike you use but if you would like to join me on one of my circuits one morning - just let me know how far you would like to go, if my Trek 3900 21" would be suitable.

Thanks for this...It's drawing very near now 8 Nov.

I also want to go to Bombay next year.

That spicer roads thingy I have sent an email cheers.
£400 quid deposit oh well I suppose it's worth it.Suppose I will have to take a V Lock?

Thanks to everybody elses replies on here am just sifting through the posts.It's getting serious now.Perhaps I could go on a bike tour.