SPG.com
Dubbed a cycling paradise because of its rolling hills, Chiang Mai in the northern part of Thailand is the perfect place to combine exercise and adventure. And Chiang Rai Bicycle Tour can help you do it. You'll pedal through Thai villages and rice fields on quiet local roads for a half or full day before heading back to the Le Meridien Chiang Rai Resort, where you'll no doubt be ready for a spa treatment.
The half-day tour is a 19-mile ride peppered with eight small hills. You'll be picked up around 8:30 and travel 15 minutes outside the city, where you'll start with a short safety lesson and personalized 24-gear mountain bike fitting. From there, you're off! You'll follow the Lao River past fruit orchards, teak trees, and rubber plantations, and will stop to visit the white temple Wat Rong Khun before having lunch in a nearby restaurant. The full-day tour adds 12 miles of cycling along local roads to your excursion, and ends in the Namtok Khun Kon Forest park, which features a 230-foot waterfall. Looking for an even bigger adventure? Combine 20 miles of biking - including a 2,300-foot climb along a dirt track up a mountain - with a one-hour elephant ride followed by a boat trip back to Chiang Rai, where you'll catch a ride back to the hotel.
[image via Chiang Rai Bicycle Tour]
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