I have now
arrived in Thailand. It is interesting
to note the changes that come up between countries. Being on a bike gives a unique perspective to
some of the immediate differences from one place to another. For instance, on crossing into Thailand on of
the first things that jumped out (at) to me was the size of the dogs. From Vietnam to Cambodia there are plenty of
loose dogs roaming about, and on a bike you get an occasional chase. But there were always of the size that I
thought, "if you catch me I can kick the shit out of you with my bike
shoes, no problem." The first
couple dogs I have seen in Thailand make me think "if you catch me with
angry intent, im fucked." Things
like rotweilers and german shepards, dogs that can do some damage and not just
look hungry. Maybe being more affluent
and off the menu allows people to keep bigger dogs around. Either way when cycling through villages you
notice how big and plentiful the loose dogs are.
Another thing that stands out is the
amount of road-kill I passed between the border and Trat (such an attractive
sounding place). When you are tired and
eyes down, you notice a lot of things imprinted into the asphalt. It can be a fun game to guess what it was,
you get bored on the bike. Anyway on
crossing into Thailand, the amount of road-kill seemed to increase dramatically,
lots of snakes and frogs. The occasional
rodent or bird, a dog. I thought of 3
factors that could contribute to
that. One, the roads on the Thai side of
the border are really nice, and therefore people drive a lot faster. Two, people are not so poor so they may not
be trying to eat anything and everything that they can catch. And three, it may be a lot more
bio-diverse. I am leaning toward number
two.
The third difference that stands out
right away are the number of police and military checkpoints. Other than borders I cant remember police in
any of the three countries I passed through.
A couple police vehicles passed me in northern Cambodia, but they may
have been emergency response, like an ambulance. Since crossing into Thailand I have already
gone through 3 checkpoints. One police
and the other two appeared to be military.
And it is the first country to remotely check my bags (granted the guard
pressed on my backpack for about 2 seconds before waiving me through, but its
still more than all the other borders combined).
I am sure if you crossed on a bus you
might notice other differences first.
Most people on the bus are not actively trying to avoid running over the
already run-over road-kill, but I am trying to keep my bike at least a little
clean.
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