Beginning Of The Journey

  This was the beginning of our journey guys. The video was taken by Culu's love Gizmo. Our great friend Erkan and Gizmo accompanying us to the airport on tuesday 4th of November 2014. Before doing all those stuff with a lot of questions and dreams in our mind. Just watching the road silently and enjoying the sunset. Gizmo is joining us in less than a month and we are so happy about that. We just wanted to share this emotional day. We can still remember how anxious we were all.

Sequence 01 2 from gizemaynagoz on Vimeo.

Road To Hua Hin

  Hi again dear journeystas. By the arrival of Umut, Culu's childhood friend we left Bangkok and started pedaling down south. And this episode is about our first days with him. We are glad that a friend just join us by bike after doing all these months alone with Culu. Now we are a bigger crew and having a lot of fun. So here's our road to Hua Hin.

  Few minutes before leaving Bluefin Guesthouse

 Umut is wearing these biking tights and giving us some funny images from the back. We've been told to get one of these pants before starting the trip but Culu doesn't feel too comfortable with his image to outside and never touch those things.

Culu's showing Umut some Thai dishes on the road. He insisted not to eat these spicy meals for the first week for not leaving his stomach at the loo. But he couldn't refuse those delicious pad thais.

 That was our first room with Umut. It was a beautiful place right next to the river.

   We pedaled that day for 90 km and it was Umut's first day on the road. We already had enough of cycling and thought to find a place to have a shower and rest. Then we find this homestay in a little town called Amphawa. Our hut was placed on a banana plantation site and it seems like the owners worked their ass off to create such a beautiful garden over there.

 I was keen on jumping in those canals underneath our hut.

   At first we were surprised to hear it wa just 400 bahts per night but then we realized that it was a misunderstanding. At the end we were a bit pissed off by hearing that the price was for one person.
 

  But anyway they were too kind to us and fed us at the breakfast with a huge bowl of Tom Yam Soup and bananas for the road. The old man even called Culu at night to show the wi-fis. At first Culu thought he was trying to show where the modem is. But actually he was trying to show Culu the fireflies covering the trees which makes them looks like a Christmas tree.

 And finally we reached the sea after 110 km of road trip. These black spots on the sea are fishermen huts installed on the water.

  That day we started early to search for a place to camp for the night. We tried to settle up close to the water but ended up in a buddhist temple.

   I took the chance to have a nap right away while the guys were setting the tents up.

   At first Umut didn't want to stay in the garden of the temple. He was asking Culu if we have rights to stay here or we should ask to somebody before settling up. But since there were nobody to ask Culu told him about our previous experiences. Usually it is the best place to camp and stay overnight. We always choose a school or a temple if we need to stop. First of all the monks are always welcoming. If you need a place or even food you shouldn't hesitate to ask them. It was a bit weird though to sleep at the cemetery of the temple but somehow we felt comfortable and sheltered with all these blessed souls behind us. There was a bird sanctuary right behind the tombs. We had blue birds flying above us and some others chirping at the pond back.

  It's better to wake up very early like five thirty to pack the stuff and go back to the road.

   We only have to ride about 30 km that day. On the road we passed the salt farms of the south western coast.

 And finally we reached the beach. You can clearly see the excitement of Umut in his eyes.

 And here we are at Cha Am Beach where we get in the water all together to cool down a bit. It is getting warmer everyday guys. We are becoming lobsters soon. Umut is already suffering from sunburn.

  Well, now we are staying with our new friend Olivier and Nood at their place on the beach near Hua Hin. After riding at the heat we took a break for couple of hours to wait for the sun to cool down and continue the road afterwards but then we ended up in this lonely beach with a single beach bar on it. Olivier and Nood are running the place as well as their guesthouse back. We were too lucky again to find such a kind and generous people here. We thought to take a couple of days beach break before going any further. Olivier is a great guy and we are spending most of our times hanging out at the beach and chat with with him. Nood and her mom are feeding us with their delicious food and we are just so happy at the moment. I also have a young new friend called Gaga. But i'll talk about that on the next episode. So, stay tuned and have a great time wherever you guys are. Bye bye for now from sunny Thailand.

My First Train Ride Ever

  Yo yo yo! Somehow we forgot to upload this episode. I never been in a train before and when we arrived to Thailand after resting two days in our room in Aranyaphratet we took the train to go to Bangkok. It was a five hours ride from the border town to the capital. At first i got confused by the ear scratching sounds of that enormous machine but then i checked if Culu is also in panic like me. He seems okay and i thought this was normal then. Anyway it was a relaxing trip this time without any efforts. We just slept and chilled at the train and i kinda like it at the end.

 We were glad to find that cheap room for 200 bahts in Aranyaphratet which gives us plenty of time to rest for two days. After all these dusty road we've made in Cambodia we were quite exhausted.

                            That swimsuit was fitting Culu at the beginning of our journey.

   We waited at the station for three hours and chat with our Chinese 76 year old friend. He still can remember a bit of english and told us his story while waiting. I just got up on our bike and listened him for three hours.

   Trains in Thailand are quite cheap guys. Usually it is 48 bahts per person from where we took the train to Bangkok. But since i am a dog Culu payed 90 bahts for me and 90 for our bike. The rest was too easy. Me and Culu had our seats as well as our bike has it's place right in front of us.

   It is cool to sit and watch beautiful Thailand from the window. It also allows us to realize what we are into and gives us time to plan for the next days.

A Performance

  This was filmed by Culu when we were in Siam Reap in Cambodia. He forgots to upload it i guess cuz it was not a bad performance at all. It was just a cover this time guys.

unchain lemmys heart from uluc ali kilic on Vimeo.

Our home in Bangkok: Bluefin Guesthouse

  Hey guys. We are back again. We were waiting our good old friend Umut to arrive and join the journey here at the Bluefin Guesthouse which we spent our first week of the trip. It was just so great the week we spent with the people here and we came back to say hi and chill for a while. Oh we love this place. It is in a very cool district where the food choice is unlimited and local price, not tourist price. And it is close to the city center, to Khao San Road and the museums and so on. So if you guys come to Bangkok ever. We are totally recommending this place and it's people. So i am cutting the talk now and leave you alone with the journey.

  Here you see Culu's excitement of meeting Gizmo online. They have these skype sessions quite a few times a week. And it is the only way for him to feel close to his love for now. But soon Gizmo is also joining us and we will pedal together for a while.

 Lovely Gizmo is at the other side of the planet.

 That day our great friend Mbano took Culu and Nora for a city tour and they ride to sky train first time.

  Well, we had a great week in Bangkok again with all our friends. And after Umut's arrival we left Bluefin and hit the road again. We are heading south and now close to Hua Hin. The ride is going great we will be posting our first days with him on a short while. Bye bye for now and enjoy our video.

song for the cockroach from uluc ali kilic on Vimeo.

Angkor Halls

  We spent the most fatiguing week of our tour so far. Three days in the archeological park and four days only in Siem Reap. Culu tried to evaluate our limited time in our last days but at the end we were satisfied by the result. It was very amusing, entertaining, educating and most of all priceless two months for both of us. For me Cambodia was a little bit harsh. Since i was sick most of the time and the Cambodian dogs are not that civilized i think. Seems like they have a tough time here with the humans and not that welcoming at all. Anyway this was the end for now in Cambodia. Here's the last video we made from here. The journey will continue in Thailand the next months. See you soon.

angkor halls from uluc ali kilic on Vimeo.

My First Wonder Of All Of Seven

   Good morning dear journeystas. First of all we would like to excuse for this post. Because usually we don't do too much touristic stuff as you know. But this time was an exception guys. Like Culu was today telling me about that this Angkor ruins was the most entertaining place he has ever been. Well, then let me tell you guys what the hell in these days we are doing.

   We left Phnom Penh and our great friends Elodie and Onur back and took this speed ferry to Siem Reap few days ago. After spending great time in Phnom Penh it was time to move on while knowing our visas running out. We would never forget the time we spent with these wonderful people in this great city. We will definitely come back. We believe it's our duty to mention all these great souls back there. Grazie mille Elodie, Onur, Meysun, George and Jeffrey. You shall all keep it flow.

   By the way it's one of the very rare country that you can actually buy a happy pizza from the corner i believe. It can keep you happy for a long time guys. If you know what i mean :)

  It can be very pleasurable feeling to meet your friends just by chance sometimes.

Anyway guys let's get back to our subject and get serious.

   Culu arranged us a boat to Siem Reap and it took off very early in the morning and i was ofcourse the only one who gets the most of it.

   We crossed the Tonlé Sap river, then the lake called the same name and reached the banks of the lake near Siem Reap. The trip was extraordinarily fun since we were allowed to go on the top of the boat. But after a while we got hit by the wind and slowly resign to our seat back in the cabin and slept all the way.

   I was center of attraction when we arrive to the end of the boat trip like usual then we quickly packed our stuff to our bike and hit the road to Siem Reap. After a half an hour ride we reached ther but it took time to find a place to stay since they didn't accept dogs in most of the guesthouses we asked. But the answer was always "No have rooom. We fuuu." Then Culu find us a place in Angkor International Youth Hostel and jackpot. It is cheap but most importantly it has a great young Chinese crew with the people who work and stays there.

  Culu was talking about this place since the beginning of our trip to asia. At first i didn't know shit about it but then he told me that there are only seven wonders in the world and these Angkor ruins are one of them. That is why this episode is dedicated for this ruins and especially because it is my first wonder ever i've seen in my life and i loved it as much as Culu i believe. By wondering we are on a bike, we were the most mobile people around and thanx to Culu; he somehow managed to find the most hidden paths in the jungle.

   It is a very lively town Siem Reap guys. It is a big town but still preserves its beauty in general. Well it can't be ugly with trees like that all around. The youngest one would be 300 years old. In the Angkor Archeological Park we saw mostly trees about 1000 years old i guess.

  We had a three day pass to the site and started enjoying our ride into the ancient ruins. It is great fun to cycle in the forest and suddenly reach an ancient temple in the middle of it. The saddest part is that they didn't let me in. So the first day we did mostly outdoors with Culu and he did the second day alone to get this pictures without me. Well i didn't mind. I had enough of temples the first day.

  You need to wake up early to be at the temple in case if you want to see the sunrise. Culu did the same but unlike the most of the tourist he didn't wait the sun outside. Instead he went in Angkor temple like couple of others did and enjoyed it in silence and alone. When he was inside i was examinig the sculpture outside.

   Miserable tourist crowd desperately waiting for the sun to shine but the clouds won't let it show its face. But the sky was still beautiful with this little colony of clouds. Being in the middle of a jungle gives us the chance to hear some weirdest birds at the background. While feeling sleepy by waking up that early, we put ourselves in the jungle and listened the birds welcomes the day.

 I want to take your attention to the trees at the side of the road guys. 

  He told me he had a nap on top of this temple about an hour. Waking up again in the jungle and looking down from above should be just perfect i imagine.

 We were almost in every hole at the ruins.

  I think the best way to see the most of the area is by bike. You can rent tuk-tuks but they can't take you inside the jungle paths like a bicycle. Anyway, we arrive to our last day of the Angkor today. This is also our last day of our visa in Cambodia. Tomorrow morning we will start pedaling through Thailand. We should be paying a five dollar penalty i guess for each day of  delay. We hope you enjoyed the temples. We will be uploading the video in a short while. Untill then, bye bye.