Wednesday 23rd April, 2014
We woke up early, for our last few hours in Malaysia, and packed up to hit the road for our meeting with Syed at the border. The traffic wasn't too bad, we only had to go straight up the highway to the border. On the way we filled up with the last of the cheap fuel before we entered Thailand, the price would more than double once we crossed the border. I was concerned we may have a problem leaving Malaysia, as our carnet was not stamped in on entry, but there was no issue at all, passport done and through into no-mans land. There is a duty free store between the two borders, and that's were we met Syed again. He hadn't slept for 34 hours, having
We woke up early, for our last few hours in Malaysia, and packed up to hit the road for our meeting with Syed at the border. The traffic wasn't too bad, we only had to go straight up the highway to the border. On the way we filled up with the last of the cheap fuel before we entered Thailand, the price would more than double once we crossed the border. I was concerned we may have a problem leaving Malaysia, as our carnet was not stamped in on entry, but there was no issue at all, passport done and through into no-mans land. There is a duty free store between the two borders, and that's were we met Syed again. He hadn't slept for 34 hours, having
worked the day before, then ridden all night from Singapore, so he was a tad jaded when he arrived. He was meeting a friend in Pattani on the south east coast, so rode there with him. We stopped a couple of times on way for him to have a spell, then Lyn led, and I rode shotgun to keep him awake. His friend had made reservations in a top hotel in town, and had negotiated a really good discount for us, so way had a bed for the night. We went out for a meal, thai style, and it was a great meal.
Thursday 24th April,
After breakfast, Syed had contacted a bike shop to get his boots looked at, and mentioned I wanted some oil, as Lyn's bike had clocked over the 10,000 kms, and suddenly there were 2 guys there at the hotel from Bikers Pattani, who had a bike service shop not far away, so Syed and I followed the guys to their shop to do the oil change. We met everyone there, and became celebrities due to our trip. They did the oil change for me, including removing a bolt that had picked up the thread, and replacing it, and at a very reasonable price. I highly recommend these guys if you ever need any bike work in this area. I was given a Bikers Pattani tee shirt as a
After breakfast, Syed had contacted a bike shop to get his boots looked at, and mentioned I wanted some oil, as Lyn's bike had clocked over the 10,000 kms, and suddenly there were 2 guys there at the hotel from Bikers Pattani, who had a bike service shop not far away, so Syed and I followed the guys to their shop to do the oil change. We met everyone there, and became celebrities due to our trip. They did the oil change for me, including removing a bolt that had picked up the thread, and replacing it, and at a very reasonable price. I highly recommend these guys if you ever need any bike work in this area. I was given a Bikers Pattani tee shirt as a
gift as well, which is bit small for me, but fits Lyn, she will wear it with pride. The guys contacted us later, and wanted us to go out for a drink with them that night, and we had a ball. A large group of them were there, and they also took us for a ride around town. Whilst there were only a few that could speak enough english to talk to, Syed interpreted, and every one of them were super friendly, really good people.
That day we also discovered that we had only been given a 14 day visa on entry to Thailand, not long enough, so we will try and sort out an extension, or have to do a border run and re-enter to get another 14 days. Apparently this is standard now with land border crossings, bugger.
That day we also discovered that we had only been given a 14 day visa on entry to Thailand, not long enough, so we will try and sort out an extension, or have to do a border run and re-enter to get another 14 days. Apparently this is standard now with land border crossings, bugger.
Friday 25th April
Syed left to go back to Singapore, and we headed north along the east coast, first to Songkhla, then up a narrow spit of land that should have given water views, but didn't, except for a hill just before Songkhla we went up to find a spot to take a photo. There is a long bridge across to the spit, and lots of fishing traps and boats on either side. The ride was hot, and we had to stop for a cool down drink and sit in air conditioning for a while. The temp has been around 38 deg, but with very high humidity, and it just saps your energy. We rode into Nakhon Si Thammarat and took the first hotel we could find, over our budget but we were past caring. After a shower and change, we wandered around a nearby market and bought some street food for tea, then off to bed.
Syed left to go back to Singapore, and we headed north along the east coast, first to Songkhla, then up a narrow spit of land that should have given water views, but didn't, except for a hill just before Songkhla we went up to find a spot to take a photo. There is a long bridge across to the spit, and lots of fishing traps and boats on either side. The ride was hot, and we had to stop for a cool down drink and sit in air conditioning for a while. The temp has been around 38 deg, but with very high humidity, and it just saps your energy. We rode into Nakhon Si Thammarat and took the first hotel we could find, over our budget but we were past caring. After a shower and change, we wandered around a nearby market and bought some street food for tea, then off to bed.
Saturday 26th April
We had about 175km to go today, to Krabi, on the opposite side of the peninsula, find somewhere to stay, then on to Phuket, where Lyn had booked a room at a resort for the exorbitant price of $175 for 7 days. After an uneventful ride to Krabi, apart from a stop for fuel and drink, and a look at the Senna book to work out how to get Lyn's music back on bluetooth, we found a good room at the right price, with a view of a mountain across the road. We picked that room as it was at the front, and had a little verandah we could sit on and watch the world go by. What we forgot, was that the world keeps going by all night, and the noise didn't stop.
We had about 175km to go today, to Krabi, on the opposite side of the peninsula, find somewhere to stay, then on to Phuket, where Lyn had booked a room at a resort for the exorbitant price of $175 for 7 days. After an uneventful ride to Krabi, apart from a stop for fuel and drink, and a look at the Senna book to work out how to get Lyn's music back on bluetooth, we found a good room at the right price, with a view of a mountain across the road. We picked that room as it was at the front, and had a little verandah we could sit on and watch the world go by. What we forgot, was that the world keeps going by all night, and the noise didn't stop.
Also, because it was so hot and humid, we didn't want to come out of the air conditioning, so we didn't use the verandah at all. Lesson learnt, take the back room, and get a peaceful nights sleep. We went for a ride around Krabi for a look, and found a nice quiet restaurant over the water, where we had a good meal, and a couple of drinks for about AUD $20.00. Krabi is a bit like a mini Phuket, very touristy, and busy, with lots of tours, boat rides, etc, good if that's what you want.
Sunday 27th April
A fairly late start, (not like us..) as we only had another 175 kms to go to Phuket, so headed off in the normal 700 deg 200% humidity weather, following main roads. A bit over 100 kms later, my fuel light came on, so I told Lyn to look out for a servo. "Mine's been on for 30 kms, " she said, so it was time to get fair dinkum about it. We rode, and rode, and kept looking, got to Phuket, and still no servo. We finally found a dodgy looking auto dispenser that took notes, so put 100 Baht worth in to get us by, and of course there was servo around the next corner where we could fill up properly. From there we got lost twice trying to find the resort we were booked at, but eventually found it.
A fairly late start, (not like us..) as we only had another 175 kms to go to Phuket, so headed off in the normal 700 deg 200% humidity weather, following main roads. A bit over 100 kms later, my fuel light came on, so I told Lyn to look out for a servo. "Mine's been on for 30 kms, " she said, so it was time to get fair dinkum about it. We rode, and rode, and kept looking, got to Phuket, and still no servo. We finally found a dodgy looking auto dispenser that took notes, so put 100 Baht worth in to get us by, and of course there was servo around the next corner where we could fill up properly. From there we got lost twice trying to find the resort we were booked at, but eventually found it.
Monday 28th April - Friday 2nd May
Here at Katong Kata Beach, the Bouganvillea Resort for the next week, a really nice room, with Wi-Fi, air con, pool, en suite, undercover bike parking, time to sort out a few issues like visas, pay some bills, catch up with the blog, check the bikes over, watch TV, etc. etc. A trip into Phuket Town to the immigration office told us that the only way to get the time we need on our visas is to do a border run, we can only get another 7 days extension from here, and it would cost us 1,900 Baht each, so not worth pursuing. That decided, we will ride up to Ranong near the Myanmar Thailand border, and get another 14 days prior to our current visas expiring on the 7th,
Here at Katong Kata Beach, the Bouganvillea Resort for the next week, a really nice room, with Wi-Fi, air con, pool, en suite, undercover bike parking, time to sort out a few issues like visas, pay some bills, catch up with the blog, check the bikes over, watch TV, etc. etc. A trip into Phuket Town to the immigration office told us that the only way to get the time we need on our visas is to do a border run, we can only get another 7 days extension from here, and it would cost us 1,900 Baht each, so not worth pursuing. That decided, we will ride up to Ranong near the Myanmar Thailand border, and get another 14 days prior to our current visas expiring on the 7th,
then ride to Ko Samui.
One of the other guests here, a Swiss guy, bought this 1952 750cc Ural sidecar outfit, and has ridden around parts of S.E Asia on it. It still goes OK, but doesn't like the heat, so he is shipping it back to Switzerland before doing it up.
One of the other guests here, a Swiss guy, bought this 1952 750cc Ural sidecar outfit, and has ridden around parts of S.E Asia on it. It still goes OK, but doesn't like the heat, so he is shipping it back to Switzerland before doing it up.
Saturday 3rd May
A quick breakfast, then on the road to Ranong, where we can do our "border run". This shot was taken near the bridge over to the mainland from Phuket, it is a great area, with clean water, and a lot less busy than the main areas on Phuket, but there are still plenty of places to stay. If I was coming back here I would stay in this area next time, or further north at Kho Lak, nice and clean, with a newer look about it. Good roads all the way up to Ranong, but the daily rains have started, so we had to pull in to another shop with undercover parking to escape another downpour. A couple of mini donuts each and a can of drink, and back on the road after the storm
A quick breakfast, then on the road to Ranong, where we can do our "border run". This shot was taken near the bridge over to the mainland from Phuket, it is a great area, with clean water, and a lot less busy than the main areas on Phuket, but there are still plenty of places to stay. If I was coming back here I would stay in this area next time, or further north at Kho Lak, nice and clean, with a newer look about it. Good roads all the way up to Ranong, but the daily rains have started, so we had to pull in to another shop with undercover parking to escape another downpour. A couple of mini donuts each and a can of drink, and back on the road after the storm
passed. Arrived in Ranong, and found a good hotel, The Farmhouse, fairly new, nice and clean, and the rooms were about 28 aud including breakfast.
Sunday 4th May.
Today we are off to Myanmar (Burma) to get our visas renewed, so rode down to the jetty (got lost again), and joined hundreds of other tourists doing the same thing. There are busses every day from Phuket bringing tourists to do their border runs, and Ranong and its counterpart across the water in Myanmar thrive on the business it brings in. The houses over the water in the picture are on the river going into Victoria Point in Myanmar, just up from the jetty.
Sunday 4th May.
Today we are off to Myanmar (Burma) to get our visas renewed, so rode down to the jetty (got lost again), and joined hundreds of other tourists doing the same thing. There are busses every day from Phuket bringing tourists to do their border runs, and Ranong and its counterpart across the water in Myanmar thrive on the business it brings in. The houses over the water in the picture are on the river going into Victoria Point in Myanmar, just up from the jetty.
Climbing over the boats to get ashore in Myanmar to get the visas. It is a slick system, the touts work with own boat guys, and organise all the paperwork. You need a crisp unfolded $10.00 US bill, which they supply for small conversion fee of course, and this needs to be in the correct page of your passport to hand to the Myanmar immigration guy, along with a photocopy of your passport. They usher you onto their boat for the 45 minute trip across to Myanmar, and they have to stop at a couple of checkpoints on islands on the way. Once there, up to the immigration hut to be stamped both in and out at the same time, and then back to the boat. We wanted to have a walk around the streets for a look while we were there, so
organised for the boat to wait half an hour for us to have a quick wander about. The town isn't very big, not much to see, so it didn't take long. There was another guy on the boat with us, and aussie named Jake, formally from the Gold Coast, and his Thai wife and son, they were OK with it, and joined us for the walk. Jake has been living in Thailand now for 15 years, and speaks fluent Thai, so it was handy to have him as an interpreter as well. Most of the border runners buy cigarettes and alcohol while they are there, as it is cheaper, but the selection is pretty limited. We got on well with Jake and Moi, his wife, and ended up going out for lunch with him when we got back to Ranong. As Jake is a chef, we let him order for us, and he gave us a rundown on what was in it, and how to eat it. They live in Hua Hin, about 5 hours away, so we had a fairly quick feed, to let them get back home before it gets too late. We would be passing through there later on, so made plans to catch up then
Jake and Moi with their son after lunch, he was bit homesick when he saw the Queensland plates on the bikes. He also has a bike, a 2012 Harley Street Bob.
Monday 5th to 9th May
Rode from Ranong to Don Sak, the ferry port for the trip across to Kho Samui. Good road back across to the east coast, not much traffic, and a few hills to keep it interesting. Turning right onto the main highway to head south to Don Sak, there were some nasty rain clouds ahead, so we knew we would cop it sooner or later. We dodged a few showers, but on a detour we took to get off the highway for a while, it started to pour. Lyn was in front and headed off the road into a house that had a covered verandah, so I followed her in out of the rain. The mother came out to see what the noise was, and just smiled when she worked out what was going on. Her
Rode from Ranong to Don Sak, the ferry port for the trip across to Kho Samui. Good road back across to the east coast, not much traffic, and a few hills to keep it interesting. Turning right onto the main highway to head south to Don Sak, there were some nasty rain clouds ahead, so we knew we would cop it sooner or later. We dodged a few showers, but on a detour we took to get off the highway for a while, it started to pour. Lyn was in front and headed off the road into a house that had a covered verandah, so I followed her in out of the rain. The mother came out to see what the noise was, and just smiled when she worked out what was going on. Her
husband/boyfriend/son? came out after, nodded, and went back inside, while the daughter continued putting on her make up, and didn’t seem to notice we were even there. No one could speak any english, we knew no Thai, but it didn’t matter. The rain stopped, we said thanks, and continued on our way. At a stop for fuel, I noticed an oil leak that appeared to be coming from an oil line fitting on the engine, so I tightened it up a bit, have to keep my eye on it for a while. We caught the ferry across to Kho Samui, it is a much bigger island than I imagined, taking about half an hour to get from the ferry terminal to the area our accommodation was in, and that was only about a quarter of the way around. The problem
we had was we were a day early, so had to find somewhere else to stay. We cruised around without much luck looking for a hotel, as it was getting dark, and so was Lyn, who is not a big fan of winging things like accommodation, and did mention that to me. We saw signs advertising what looked like a resort, so followed them up a steep concrete driveway that wasn’t somewhere you could stop on. At an area that levelled a bit, Lyn stopped, while I went on ahead to find somewhere to turn around. There were some apartments at the top of the hill, and about 1 bike length of level ground, so I called Lyn up. We were in someone’s driveway, and of course they heard the bikes and came out. It turned out that
Johan, the canadian guy living there was a guest, and he invited us up on to his verandah to look at the view, which was superb. We mentioned we were looking for a room, but as it wasn’t his place he couldn’t help us. He was going down into the town for something to eat, and invited us to join him. We followed him to a local Korean BBQ place, where we ate like kings for about $5.00
Long story short, we ended up staying at Johan’s place for the night, in a spare room that was free that day . The next day we had a bacon and eggs breakfast, with fruit, orange juice, and toast, at a little eatery down the road for about $5.00 aud, great value. Next stop was to book in at the accommodation Lyn
Long story short, we ended up staying at Johan’s place for the night, in a spare room that was free that day . The next day we had a bacon and eggs breakfast, with fruit, orange juice, and toast, at a little eatery down the road for about $5.00 aud, great value. Next stop was to book in at the accommodation Lyn
had arranged through her time share, so found it and got things sorted. The next four days were to be spent relaxing, getting washing done, and a bit of sightseeing, including the big Buddah. We met John and Dedrie, a couple from Melbourne, and had afternoon drinks with them for the next few days. Lyn organised a dive trip for Friday with Easydivers to Sail Rock, so it was an early start then. A really good trip, 4 divers to each instructor, lyn and I, and a guy named Nick, who is an engineer on cruise ships, and a girl from the Czech Republic named Aleyna. Paul, the instructor is from Scotland, a bonny wee lad who took good care of us, thanks Paul. We did two dives, with a decent lunch in
between, plenty of fish, very little current, and a calm sea, so a good day. Dinner with John and Dedrie topped it off nicely. Kho Samui is a bit like Phuket, but more laid back, with less hype. The roads are crowded and narrow, but it still flows, and there is no agro, everyone is on island time.
Saturday 10th May
Time to pack up after 4 days at the resort, things now have a place to go, it is finally getting easier and quicker. After a small hassle at reception, we headed off to just miss the 10.00 am ferry, there is one leaving every hour. The trip takes an hour and a half, so time for a snooze if you are tired. By the time we got off the ferry at the other end it was nearly 1.00 pm, so we knew we weren’t going to get far today. As soon as we left Don Sak on the highway, the clouds came in, and before long we were seeking shelter in the front of a shop from a really heavy downpour. It took about half an hour to clear, and then back on the highway,
Time to pack up after 4 days at the resort, things now have a place to go, it is finally getting easier and quicker. After a small hassle at reception, we headed off to just miss the 10.00 am ferry, there is one leaving every hour. The trip takes an hour and a half, so time for a snooze if you are tired. By the time we got off the ferry at the other end it was nearly 1.00 pm, so we knew we weren’t going to get far today. As soon as we left Don Sak on the highway, the clouds came in, and before long we were seeking shelter in the front of a shop from a really heavy downpour. It took about half an hour to clear, and then back on the highway,
and into Surat Thani, where it came down again, so into another shop front for a while. A quick drink, and we finally got through the black clouds and into some sunshine, and of course more heat. The road is mostly two lanes each way, but as it is the main highway to Bangkok, there is also a lot of trucks, so it is interesting riding. We pulled up for a break at a servo with a giant kangaroo out front, and fuelled up, but no one could tell us why the kangaroo. A guy from Singapore we spoke to while having a drink told us that the the PTT servos often have rooms for rent attached to them, usually pretty good, and cheap, handy info. It was now after 5.00 pm, so we inquired, and this one did, for 650 Baht, about $22 aud, sold. Nice and clean, similar to what you would get in Australia for $100 - $130. The seven eleven had meals, we bought three, that filled us, total cost about $4.00 aud. Some coke and soda to go with the scotch, and we were set.
Sunday 11th May
After a good nights sleep, we rode up to Hua Hin, a fairly big town on the coast with a bit of a holiday vibe to it, a lot of people come here for week ends. This photo is Lyn standing on the jetty looking over the beach, as you can see there is no surf, and the beach is not what we would expect in Australia. We found a hotel for the night, and tried to track down Jake, who we had met in Ranong, but we had no address, and the phone number he had given us was missing a number, so we had no luck.
After a good nights sleep, we rode up to Hua Hin, a fairly big town on the coast with a bit of a holiday vibe to it, a lot of people come here for week ends. This photo is Lyn standing on the jetty looking over the beach, as you can see there is no surf, and the beach is not what we would expect in Australia. We found a hotel for the night, and tried to track down Jake, who we had met in Ranong, but we had no address, and the phone number he had given us was missing a number, so we had no luck.
Monday 12th May
Headed off for Bangkok, where we were booked in to a time share apartment for about $15 aud a night, but were a day early, so toured up the coast road to Phetchaburi, on our way to place called Ampawa, on the south western outskirts of Bangkok. It was a stinking hot day, nothing seemed to go right, we had both had enough of sweating in our gear, and struggling to be understood when asking the simplest things, so tempers flared. We were going to stop where there was supposed to be a cave with a temple in it, but neither of us was in the mood to try to find it, so rode on to try to find our room for the night, which was such a mission
Headed off for Bangkok, where we were booked in to a time share apartment for about $15 aud a night, but were a day early, so toured up the coast road to Phetchaburi, on our way to place called Ampawa, on the south western outskirts of Bangkok. It was a stinking hot day, nothing seemed to go right, we had both had enough of sweating in our gear, and struggling to be understood when asking the simplest things, so tempers flared. We were going to stop where there was supposed to be a cave with a temple in it, but neither of us was in the mood to try to find it, so rode on to try to find our room for the night, which was such a mission
that we ended up ringing the place and a guy came and got us. The locals we asked gave us directions in all directions, none of them right. The guy that was running the place was really helpful, but I believe that the room was over priced for what it was. It was right on the river, so there was a lot of mozzies around. This photo was a local woman across the river having a bath and doing her washing in the river. She just walked down the steps to the depth she wanted, and did her thing.
