Riding 2Up

Sunday, 14th December 2008

We have made our first border crossing and now find ourselves in Thailand! We spent three nights on the island of Penang, relaxing by the beach and hiking through Penang National Park. We had a hot, bustling third day trying to get some shopping done in Georgetown. Pascal had his motorcycle gloves stolen, so we had to find a replacement pair as well as trying to find screw-on gas canisters and spare inner-tubes in case of a serious tyre puncture. After several hours of cat-and-mouse chases, we were successful on all fronts except the gas canisters which means we will be at a loss for cooking food when camping for a little while longer.

We caught the ferry from Georgetown to Butterworth (as we came across on the bridge), and after a good feed we headed up to Alor Setar the state capital of Kedah. We only stayed here overnight without much sightseeing as there was little to do. Rice paddies and then palm oil plantations line the landscape for miles. After a lazy morning, we decided that we would say good-bye to Malaysia and head straight for the Thai border. Our border crossing was completely hassel-free, with no-one checking the bike or asking any questions. It simply was a stamp-out and stamp-in affair, but exciting for us nonetheless.

We are spending the night in the small provincial town of Phattalung were we appear to be the only westerns (or falang, as the thai say) around. As we've seen signs for hot springs, waterfalls and a bird sanctuary, we may well be staying in the region a little longer before heading west to Trang, Krabi and Phuket.

Wednesday, December 17 2008

With a Carrefour breakfast in our bellies, the start to our day was marked by the typical packing of our gear into the panniers on Francois and checking out of our accommodation. On the road west to Krabi from Nakhon Si Tammarat we came across a large reclining bhudda, a sight which was to become a common experience for us in Thailand. By means of the helmet intercom, we confirmed the need to pull into this Wat and to give Francois sometime to channel his inner Bhuddichatta.

Further along the road to Krabi, the route was very picturesque and adorned by limestone hills and lush green forests with small plantations of palms, rubber trees and bannana palms. The dominant scent varied beween palm oil refineries, burning off of refuse and cow manure (i.e. not very pleasant). From time to time we would have a big black cloud of diesel exhaust engulf us, but a quick twist of the throttle saw us wizz by the trucks and vans that stuggled to climb the small hills. Although Pascal was sure to see them in the rear vision mirror as they gained momentum on the downhill. The Thai drivers aren't scared of speeding especially in their large 4WD utes that dominate above all other vehicles. It isn't uncommon to see a 4WD wizz by at 140-150kmph. It wouldn't be so bad if the roads were suited for this speed, but when thhe roads are laced by cows, goats, motorcyclists going in the wrong direction and slow moving vehicles, the obstacles become significant and driving over 100kmph can only be considered an extreme sport, certainly not one for the intrepid motorcyclist adventurers that we are.

In Krabi we found a nice little guesthouse to bunk for a couple of nights on Chou Fa Road, and booked ourselves on to a tour to explore the beautiful islands of Southern Thailand the following day. For 2200bht ($100AUD) we booked ourselves on a kayaking tour departing at 8am for Hong Island. To regain some energy from the day's efforts we strolled down to the night markets for green curry, fish cakes and pad thai, all the typical thai foods we've grown to love.

Wednesday, December 24 2008

Christmas Eve on the road was another hot dry and dusty ride this time north to Mae Sot. The minor roads although more interesting, were slower than the major roads and with more obstacles progress was quite slow. On the number 1 freeway heading north from Bangkok, which we joined at Nakon Sawan just after lunch, it was a straight express road to Kamphaeng Phet and onwards to Tak. Pascal had to stay alert thanks to delinquent truck drivers that merged in front of us and tried to press us off the road and the countless Toyota Hilux drivers with lead foots. When we finally made it to the Mae Sot turnoff, we were all too happy to leave highway 1 behind.

And what a joy it was to ride route 105! It was motorcycling paradise with fresh tarmac, beautiful bends and spectacular vistas. What a fantastic Christmas present for us both after the hot, dry and flat plain lands of central Thailand full of sugar cane and rice paddies. We pulled into a scenic area with panoramic views over the mountains for a coffee and some documentary filming on our handycam.

After a long 557kms of riding we finally arrived at Ban Thai Guesthouse just on 5pm. Once settled into our more upmarket accommodation, we set out by foot in to Mae Sot town in search of a Christmas feast. What we found was very non-traditional, Thai-Burmese cuisine, a far cry from shrimps on the barbeque or roast turkey. Instead, we had the most delicious Burmese ginger salad with roasted peanuts, sunflower seeds, seasame seeds, cashews, peas, fried ginger and fresh shallots and chilli. For mains Arja had tempura vegetables in a spicy peanut curry whilst Pascal opted for the chicken in a similar sauce, both exceptional and we left with a very satisfied feeling content that our not so Christmas dinner was very appetizing.

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