Epic Road Trip (Episode 13) - SOLO RIDE: Thousand Corners & Golden Triangle (Part 1: KL - Surat Thani - Kanchanaburi)

Hello Hello Hello.

Are you ready for it? THE MOST EPIC RIDE todate?

SOLO, FIRST TIME, ONE LEG.... well if you are ready, keep on reading!

Well the idea came about for quite a while, however, the main reason for the delay is the approval of annual leave. This ride will be the  longest solo ride I have ever done.

Meanwhile, I started to plot the route. Which route to take, etc etc. Initially this was the route I planned:

KL - Hua Hin, Hua Hin - Mae Sot, Mae Sot - Mae Hong Son, Mae Hong Son - Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai - Ayutthaya, Ayutthaya - Chumphon, Chumphon - Dannok, Dannok - KL

8 days in total, 4 up and 4 down. However, after talking to my 'sifu', he suggested that I visit Kanchanaburi and the Golden Triangle whilst I was there so I don't need to repeat it in the future. After recalculating, here is my new route:

KL - Chumphon, Chumphon - Kanchanaburi, Kanchanaburi - Mae Sot, Mae Sot - Mae Hong Son, Mae Hong Son - Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai - Golden Triangle - Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai - Ayutthaya, Ayutthaya - Surat Thani, Surat Thani - Dannok, Dannok - KL

10 days total, 6 up and 4 down. Very tight schedule so I have to be very strict in my riding everyday.

The Night Before:

Since this was quite a big journey, I don't really know what to pack. My wife helped me a lot during this time. Be sure to view my videos on youtube on this journey as I briefly described what I packed.

Day 1 (KL - Surat Thani)

As usual, I will pack and go to bed around 8pm or so because I will wake up at around 1:30am - 2am to begin my journey. However, due to last minute packing and feeling of excitement, I only had the chance to had a shut eye around 11:30pm and fell asleep around 12am. I woke up at 2:30am and begin my journey at 3:30am.....with only 2.5 hours of sleep :(

The ride to the border was like every other ride to the border. However, I stopped by at Changlun to meet my friend, Syed because he will be joining me and ride to Hat Yai with his newly wedded wife. :)

We arrived at the border around 8:45am and the border was packed. However, we managed to find a way to squeeze through and managed to pass around half and hour later.

We left Dannok at around 9:45am or so and we headed straight on route 4. My target was Chumphon because I will only have around 500km or so tomorrow to Kanchanaburi.

Syed and his wife went straight to Hat Yai as I went on my way. My next stop was Phatthalung where I will refuel and stop for something to eat. I hope that the restaurant at the Shell Petrol Station is open. The last time I went there, they haven't finished renovating.

Alhamdulillah, the restaurant was open and I was getting hungry as I didn't took any proper breakfast just now. An overdue stop plus a chance for me to take off my leg for some rest.

During the stop, I re-evaluated my journey for Day 1. Chumphon was still another 400km away and I was beginning to feel tired and sleepy. This was because I only had like 2.5hours of sleep. So, do I keep pushing to Chumphon on Day 1 with 9 more days to go or do I stop at Surat Thani, but have an extra 200km journey to Kanchanaburi tomorrow? Hmmm... decision - decision.

As i was chewing away my first proper meal of the day, I made my decision. Surat Thani it is. I didn't wanna risk falling asleep on the bike and feel that a proper rest would be more beneficial. Therefore, after I finished my lunch, strapped on me leg. I mount my bike and headed for Surat Thani which was around 230km or so.

Along the way I got so tired I can't stand it anymore. So I look for the nearest bus stop and took a power nap. After about 30 minutes, I got my head right and moved on. Around 12km from the hotel, I got held up because a lorry was overturned after hitting a factory gate (of all the things! ). It took them about 45minutes to clear a path.

After clearing the obstacle, I followed the GPS to one of the hotel I found on the internet. To my dismay the map on the internet pointed to a housing area and I couldn't find the hotel. I browsed through my GPS to a hotel nearest to the river, but when I arrived, the hotel was under renovation. I looked for another hotel on the GPS but that hotel was apparently closed. As I was making a U-Turn, I saw a picture of a 'swan-towel' and was happy to see that it is a hotel. I quickly parked my bike, went to the reception and got me a room. Finally!!! :D

  

I arrived at the hotel around 5pm, so there was plenty of time. I took a shower, prayed and got dressed, ready to have my tour around Surat Thani. Surat Thani is famous for its night market located next to the river. I read a lot about it and now I can see it for myself.

" You can read about the Surat Thani Night Market here "

Here are some random photos in front of my hotel at night.

Day 2 (Surat Thani - Kanchanaburi)

I began the day early as possible because I have about 700km or so to cover today. I left the hotel and made my way out of Surat Thani. Along the way I bumped into a couple of Harley riders. They were there for the Surat Thani Bike Week.

I stopped by for fuel at the famous Lang Suan PTT. The trademark of this petrol stop is the giant Kangaroos. I was only able to take photos with the small kangaroo because they had some sort of renovation going with the big one.

 

As I passed Chumphon heading further up north, I said to myself.. "WOW, this is the furthest I've ridden in Thailand". Then I said to myself again.. "Better get used to that statement, cause we'll be mentioning that a lot". When you are travelling alone, you tend to do that you know....talk to yourself. Hahahaha.

I stopped by for fuel at the Khao Pho rest area. It was quite a big rest area and I had a chance to have my lunch. (Today's special was chocolate powerbar packed by my wife). I met three bikers from Penang. I saw them at the border yesterday. Apparently they were at Surat Thani as well. When asked where I was going, I told them Kanchanaburi. They said "Alone? Can you make it? It's already close to 1pm.". I said no problem. They will be stopping by at Hua Hin. I told them that I was going to Mae Hong Son and the Golden Triangle, solo, for the first time. Again they were stunned.... and thought I was crazy. hahahaha.

As I passed Petchaburi heading further north and approaching central Thailand, I noticed that the road became slightly heavy with traffic. Maybe it was a Sunday, maybe it was the peak season but it was not as empty as the Highway 4 from the south. I soldiered on, following every route and intersection displayed on my GPS.

I then turned from Highway 4 to route 323 heading to Kanchanaburi. My first route that didn't start with '4'.

* In Thailand, the route number tells you where you are. For example, anything that starts with 4 means that you are heading southbound. 2 means you are heading to the east from the Central and 1 means you're travelling north. * 

I followed route 323 heading to Kanchanaburi. I glanced at my watch and it was close to 4:00pm. I was still on schedule as I target to reach my destination around 5pm. This is to allow me to have ample time to actually walk/ride around wherever I was staying.

The good thing about having a GPS is it tells you how many more kilometers to go. This way, you can anticipate both in terms of fuel and get your mind prepared.

As I entered Kanchanaburi, I passed the war cemetery. This was going to be one of the place that I will visit, but I must make my way to the Bridge over the River Kwai first. I followed the GPS and the signboard but when I arrived, there seemed to be some sort of festival. They blocked the way and apparently you need to pay to get in. I talked to the nice gate lady and told her I only wanted to go in for photos. She allowed me to pass. Then as I was trying to park my bike, another lady approached me and told me parking was 40baht. I showed her a photo of my friend's bike next to the bridge, she told me (thank God she can speak English) that the area was closed for the '2013 River Kwai Bridge Festival' and there was no way for me to get my bike in. However, the Festival ended on the day I arrived, meaning I can go there tomorrow morning. What luck!!!! The festival was held for 10 days and I arrived on the last day. Alhamdulillah, lucky me! :D

Without further a due, I asked for the nearest hotel and she pointed me to the River Kwai Bridge Resort which was about 300 meters I think from the bridge. I got on my bike, found the hotel, got a room, checked in, shower, prayed and got myself ready for a little walk around the place.

The Bridge over the River Kwai is an important historical place in Thailand and a must visit. You can read about it below:

" http://www.bridgeriverkwai.com "

" Tripadvisor review of the Bridge "

That night, as I walked to a nearby Muslim Restaurant for dinner, I managed to catch the fireworks for the festival.

Some more shots of my hotel later that night

The next morning, I got up early and made my way to the Bridge. Some of the decorations from the festival was still there, eventhough I couldn't get the view of the Bridge, I was able to get some of the decorations before they tore it up.

Next I made my way to the War Cemetery. I was amazed to see how well the place was taken care of. You can read about the War Cemetery here:

" Wikipedia on the War Cemetery "

" Tripadvisor review on the War Cemetery "

After the brief photo session, I went back to the hotel, put on my riding gear, checked out and got myself ready for the next section of my journey, Mae Sot.

END OF PART 1.... PLEASE CONTINUE TO PART 2 :)

PART 2 click here >>>