Biking in Bangkok

Bangkok's streets tend to be congested: cars, sputtering two-stroke tuk-tuks, taxis, millions of scooters, stinky diesel buses, trucks, pick-up trucks, mobile food stalls, all battling for every meter of asphalt. One mode of transport is rarely seen: the bicycle, whether powered by human strength or electric. In fact, it would be difficult to navigate the densely built and heavily trafficked neighborhoods of downtown by bike, and making your way through this traffic jungle is the only survival strategy.

Let's change the scene: In the heart of the city, in a loop of the Chao Phraya River, lies the 16 square kilometer peninsula of Bang Krachao. Here, one encounters a completely different Thailand than across the river in the shadow of the skyscrapers, elevated roads, and elevated trains: In Bang Krachao, you meet the Bangkok of yesteryear.

Our group of travel professionals gathered stable city bikes from Thailand Biking, a company owned by the Dutchman Andreas Breuer, on June 17, 2025. After a short ferry ride under the massive Bhumipol Bridge, accompanied by three local guides, we were surprised by the rural setting in the midst of the 15-million-metropolis.

We cycle past farms, coconut palm groves, rice, and other fields. Dogs and chickens roam freely in the villages. Avoiding them sometimes requires skill. A hefty monitor lizard crosses the road gravely, completely unfazed by the cyclists.

Believers pray at a Buddhist temple complex. Lek, one of our guides, knows everything about Buddhism and gives a short lecture. Above another temple, a Hindu one, a powerful statue of the elephant god Ganesha looms. The cozy Café Ozone, where we have lunch, we share with quacking ducks and geese, exotic fish, and a turtle.

In Bang Krachao, there are about 25 to 30 kilometers of bike paths, many of them natural, others on paved routes. I wonder if they were created by people who actually ride bikes. Because they are not easy to master: they are quite narrow in places, and you have to be extremely careful not to stray off the path and into the ditch, especially in tight curves. Additionally, it is hot and humid.

Yet the feeling of having escaped from the noisy, hectic, and exhausting metropolis into a rural Thailand of old, where life unfolds at a slowed-down rhythm, where children laugh and play freely between the houses and on the street, and older people wave at you friendly, outweighs the sweat shed many times over.

On June 20, 2025, I flew back to Zurich with Thai Airways. The first part of my open-ended journey had ended after seven months; I had accepted a journalistic assignment in Switzerland to supplement my travel funds with the fee.