Mini Gold Bananas $1 – Aroi

… bananas, but still fully involved in things Trang.

Besides getting in the pre-dawn rides, which this week have been a little more brutal than normal, we’ve been strategizing how and where to get our visas renewed, plus working on a new project of recording backroad cycling tracks around Trang for prospective day tours.

A Ridley ringer showed up this week at the Fashung meeting point on his new Ridley Team carbon rocket ($3,000). Powered by a 150-lb 28-year-old, the group of old men (average age late 50’s) set Strava records trailing in his wake. Not satisfied with our normal ride after the first day, he shamed the group into challenging the pass the next morning for our 5 AM effort. All I can say is that Strava thinks I bettered my time to the summit by 2 minutes in 30-km head winds that almost stopped me cold rounding the first corner uphill.  His taillight wasn’t even visible after the half-way point.

Trang cyclists, besides their individual daily routines, have a number of opportunities to support various community events. This weekend there were two events where local cyclists offered support. Trang hosted it’s bi-annual Audax 200 Km where 250+ riders test their mettle on a course with a cut-off time of 13 hours.  I did this last year on the east coast of the peninsula and Durango actually hosted one recently. I didn’t enter but was part of the governor’s escort out of town. a number of reasons not to sign up this year; I’ve already done it, El Nino has brought very strong summer winds three months early, and mostly I didn’t know about it until after registration was closed.

Also this weekend, Stanna and I were asked to “ride in a parade” for Journalists Day, which ended up being an “anti-corruption” rally that we had not a clue about until we saw one of the many Thai banner’s printed in English. The Trang cycle club followed the 200+ walkers at a push and glide pace. Not something we’d normally do consciously, and will seriously avoid in the future.

I took my road bike in to a pro-mechanic (another unsecured outdoor shed-style workshop) to get the rear derailleur tuned (jumping up a gear while climbing with increased torque).  Tune up took less than five minutes, but subsequently he discovered the rear hub was bad and I had a broken spoke up front. So when he gets back from racing this weekend he’ll install a new set of “used” high-end wheels and a new chain.  Don’t think Mr. Ridley has to worry about competition, but this 30-year-old Trek should run a bit quicker.  I’m keeping the old wheel set for those Sunday rides where we go “everywhere” a two-wheeled bike can go.

Thai Omelette

In the TL;DR category: This year, because we only came to Thailand for 3 months, we didn’t obtain two sixty-day visas as is customary.  Last year we’d heard, from a inspecting Immigration Officer checking visas at our guesthouse, that we could easily get 30-day extensions at his office at the port town 20-km to the south.  However, since our return this year, reports have conflicted on this opportunity, saying that we could only get 15 days.  With the second 60-day visa they have to give you the longer extension, albeit that still requires you to check out and come back into the country at the border.  Foreigners without a visa, that would include us after our first 60-day visa obtained prior to coming to Thailand, can only get 15 days at a border or 30-days if they fly into the country.

Dory & Waffle Chips

Hence the dilemma, as you have to do the complete “visa dance” on the same day: either renew easily for 30 days, or find a way out of the country and method to return securing the last 30 days. We had two offers to drive us to any of the three border crossings in southern Thailand, we just didn’t know whether to take travel gear and how we might get back.

Update: Fortunately, just yesterday a Thai Trang friend offered to call her friend at the port town immigration office and confirm that we don’t have to leave Thailand, we can get an extension stamp without leaving the country.

Update 2: We were able to extend in Kantang, but it did required two extra trips for additional requirements: photocopy of passport and entry card, plus a color passport photo.  5 things in total.