The last chapter

It is early March when I set course for Chiang Mai. As always, when you cross the provincial border there is a large sign that shows the highlights of that region and in this case the text: 'Welcome to Chiang Mai'. I squeeze my handlebars hard again and realize that the last chapter of an eventful cycling adventure has arrived.

I've been invited to a reunion at the Pun Pun Organic Farm about 60 kilometers north of Chiang Mai. The stage to the relatively remote location leads through bright green rice fields, surrounded by beautiful mountains. A nice setting for the final chapter, I think.

At the reunion I soon find out that the Pun Pun Farm attracts a special group of people. Pun Pun Organic Farm is therefore much more than just an organic farm. It is a true inspiration center.

The main goal of the community that lives around the farm is to do so as self-sufficient as possible. This includes not only cultivating herbs, vegetables, fruit and free-range livestock for own use, but also, for example, building houses from clay, also known as Earth Homes .

All this mainly serves an educational purpose: volunteers who participate in organized workshops in the field gain insight into the techniques of organic seed saving and manufacturing sustainable ones earth houses so that they can apply these techniques elsewhere.

Self-sufficient living is a way of life

I meet Kritsada who has been living at the farm for over 8 years. We have an extensive conversation in one of the earth homes on the terrain. The self-sufficient life is a real one way of life and Kritsada is very clear on the key question that underpins this: "What do you really need in life?" A question that lingers in my head long after our conversation.

Back in Chiang Mai I visit Ron Gerrits. He has been involved in the shelter and reintegration of drug addicts for many years and recently completed the CreatingBalance Foundation founded with the mission to improve the future prospects of children from Northern hill tribes in a sustainable way. The interesting conversation I had with him about this shows that he encounters many challenges in doing so.

And of course Ron and I cycled together on the tandem, after which he invited me for a sporting challenge. One of the activities in the drug rehabilitation program is climbing Doi Suthep, the more than 1,5 kilometer high mountain that stands right next to the center of Chiang Mai. Ron also invites me to make this climb and so we cycle together on Saturday morning the 13 kilometer long climb to the temple on the mountain. (See opening photo)

Symbolically climbing that mountain represents the end of my cycling trip, in reality the last chapter in Northern Thailand got a nice tail. At the Bike Fest cycling event last year I made many new contacts in the Thai cycling world, including the founders of the website Bike Finder. They actively followed my cycling journey and came up with a very thoughtful invitation.

Press tour of the highlights of Nan

I was able to participate in a press trip where we would cycle along the highlights of the provincial town of Nan. The trip was organized by Nok Air, an airline where your bike travels with you free of charge, even a tandem. I accepted this unique invitation and made a short video of the press trip.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/RDgV-k_6XpM[/youtube]

After a pleasant flight to Bangkok, the tandem and I travel by train to Lopburi for a visit to the AIDS hospice. Seven years ago I visited this hospital and the adjacent Wat Prabat Namphu temple and what I saw there touched me deeply. The tour we were given at the time was quite confrontational and evoked a feeling of powerlessness.

My cycling trip gave me the opportunity to give something back to the AIDS hospice. Together with frequent volunteer Huub Beckers, I looked at which innovations we could spend the collected sponsor money on. The fridge kept freezing shut, the bed linen was worn through and there was a great need for a so-called air mattress for decubitus patients.

Thanks to the contributions of my sponsors, we were able to provide all 35 beds with two sets of new sheets and pillowcases and the refrigerator and the air mattress could be purchased. Because of the donations, but certainly also because of the better preparation, I left the hospice after my second visit with a feeling of satisfaction. Huub has the experiences of my visits shared on his blog.

Back in Bangkok

Back in Bangkok, the last mission in my project remains: donating the tandem to the Skills & Development Center for Blinds in Nonthaburi. After some final repairs and new tape around the handlebars, I now really cycle through Thailand on the tandem for the very last time. In just 1,5 hours the day-long experiences that I have experienced together with the tandem pass through my mind.

At the Blinds Center Mick is waiting for me, he was the supervisor during my first volunteer work in Thailand with whom I became good friends. The donation of the tandem is warmly received by John Tamayo, co-founder of the institute for the blind. After completing a donation statement, we place the tandem together in a large rack on the wall between the other bicycles.

There he stands, like a trophy. The first prize from a world tour. We've been through a lot together: defied mountains. making passers-by laugh and many inspiring stories from co-drivers shared. In the next chapter, the tandem is the new sense organ for blind people. And me, I trust blindly in a new travel adventure.

Check out the stories of my journey back at 1bike2stories.com or facebook.com/1bike2stories. Donations for innovations in the AIDS hospice remain welcome, view more information here.

Thomas Elshout

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