About the Stars-First solo to Central Thailand

Prologue

Back in December the stars said I would do a lot of learning while traveling this year. I didn't buy it, for it was just a random browse. However, too many nights spent reading ADV riders' RRs during that sem break meant I re-defined what was crazy. It stirred wanderlust in me that nudged my spirit to go. For someone who has never toured alone, this meant I had a lot of catching up to do. Also, I had less than 2 years riding experience, so by most accounts this was a little crazy, a little beyond what I was supposed to be doing. But who was supposed to set the benchmark? The other thing was that I had a short term break, and I didn't wanted to spend too many days on this tour, but at the same time I wanted to make the most of the opportunity.

Day 1

I decided I was just going to take off and decide my ride plan on the road. After all, why did I need one? I wasn’t sure how much fatigue I could take. My main concern was dealing with an accident, so I decided against pushing it. Of course, I was wrong. I pushed it in the end, riding 3400km in 4 days. My previous NSH ride was done all the way with the raincoat on from SG to Sadao. This time, the heavens were kind. Purchased my thai insurance at Gurun Caltex for at RM15 for 9 days. I arrived at the thai border at 7pm SG time. As the last vestiges of daylight vanquished and the street lamps came on I rolled into Hatyai town. There was a minimal of that torchlight on the map stuff. I couldn't have hoped for a better start.









Night view in Hatyai.



Day 2

I woke early and had a hearty breakfast. Life is good in thailand! Onwards towards Hua Hin, I decided I would reach my minimum target for this ride, central thailand. There were a few minor horlan incidents, but this were limitted to within a couple kilometres. I wouldn't say I was lost. I just wasn't sure where I was :) South thailand is supposed to be easy to navigate. "Just a couple straights", the experienced riders would say. But you gotta cut me some slack since this is first time I am reading maps on rides. I depended on my touring mates for everything previously.









I turned off the road at a point with a signboard "Scenic Spot". The only problem was that scenic spot meant some off road riding. It got steeper and steeper, and i quickly turned back. Didn't fancy trying to be a fool with street tyres on gravel.





Scenic spot didn't look too scenic. Either that, or it was further in, and I didn't get to the good stuff.



By evening I was in Hua Hin. Ended the riding before nightfall, and good weather once more! There wasn't any of those map reading in the rain senarios.





Hua Hin is a very touristy town. According to Palmer who was in Chiang Rai at the same time, he paid 800baht for a night at Marina hotel. Having reached Hua Hin at 6pm without a map, I stuck to the stretch along route 4. First quote at Grand Hotel and Plaza was 1300Baht. I rode off. Second quote at Shailom hotel was 3500baht as they were were full. I decided against trying my luck at Marriot or Hyatt or the likes and went back to Grand Hotel. If Banyan tree resorts was building in the area, you can be sure Hua Hin is going to be like Phuket in no time. After all, there were already so many "ang moh" in the area. The toristy feel didn't interest me, but I was glad to be able to get around easily despite my half pass 6 thai.



The night view.









Perhaps being used to group tours, I didn't enjoy myself as much as i thought I would. The riding was carefree and enjoyable, but there was something lacking after the riding was done. The cammaraderie and cheerful banter with my motoV mates was what I missed most. Thanks goodness they had internet cafes there. Palmer said he was willing to wait for me in Chiang Rai for a beer but I guess I wasn't so sure about heading north futher anymore. 2 days of hard riding had satisfied my appetite somewhat. I had already achieved my minimum target. Sanity dictated that I should rest a day in Hua Hin and explore the town. The only thing was that I wasn't so sane the next day and felt like heading back the next morning. The train station at Hua Hin was to depart at 5 plus in the evening. I wasn't interested in waiting when the station staff couldn't confirm if there would be space for my bike. Since this was a BIKE trip, I rode back to Hatyai.



I was wondering why the weather was still so good. Not only was I blessed with good weather, the road was laid with flower petals, and it was a little surreal when the cars in front of me swept aside petals as I approached.



Thereafter, everything went down hill. It started pouring. The gods must have heard my thoughts and scoffed at my ingratitude. But since I didn't need the map anymore there still wasn't the "map in the rain" thing. Taking the slightly potholed roads with low visibilty was quite a challenge, plus the fact that I had a shit load of weight, carrying tools and spares that added to the weight on the rear, making the bike squat under throttle at times and wobbling on the front occasionally. With a bit of luck and a lot of concentration I made it back to Hatyai. I thought I would rest the next day at Hatyai to recover.

Day 4


Right... Recover. NSH was easy riding. Compared to route 4 it was a lot easier to melt the miles. The accumulated fatigue was geting to me. And then I overshot the turn and headed into JB to fight the evening peak traffic. Bummer. It was inevitable I was to struggle with consistency. If I was ever to ride alone again, I would follow FB666Y's example and take the train to skip the central thailand portion to get to the good stuff up north.

Epilogue
All in all it was a good learning experience. I was forced to learn and do eveything on my own. If I had a second chance in future I would make sure I visit more attractions and take more pics. This trip looked like a topo exercise in retrospect, or somewhat like a hardcore riding thing. I never intended it to be that way. Each morning I woke up not being sure where I wanted to go to until I mounted the bike. This was what I enjoyed most. There was always an air of spontaniety about it. Never mind I didn't had good pics to show on day 3 and 4, partly due to the heavy rain, and partly due to its barren landscape. I did what I felt like doing, that was what this trip was all about. I had my run and spent enyoyable moments doing something I enjoyed, learnt and overcame myself. Till the next travel... But perhaps, just perhaps, it was all about the stars.