Long Weekend Trip to KhaoYai N.P.
- Thread starter Franz
- Start date
As of today, we (Craig-Esib & myself) will meet at my house on Sat 17.5. at 09:00, (located on the 331 in Bowin, right on the way between Pattaya and Phanat Nikhom), follow the 331 & 304 to Prachinburi then trough Khao Yai N.P. to one of the Hotels near Pak Chong (Juldis, Greenery,......), evening we could spend at P.B. Khao Yai Winery where they have a Jazzband every Sat night, during Sunday doing some short trips, returning the 'Chon' way on Mon 19.5. around midday, tripreport & fotos to follow. Peter-Dougal will follow on Sunday. Anybody else ????? Jerry where are you; still making snowmen in England ?????
Rustic, working on Mon 19th ??? Hooooooooliday, Visakha Buddha Day, if you come too, please pm or email me as I could make a roomreservation at one of the resorts, needs to be done by this week as a long weekend brings out half of bangkok and everything will be full. Cheers, franz
Hi Franz,
Could you put me down for a room for Sat and Sun nights.
I will come down from Khon Kaen, so will join you maybe at Prachinburi,
or the other end of the park nearer Pak Chong. Can I confirm the meeting point with you nearer the time.
Any idea what sort of time (Thai time is fine) you might hit Prachinburi?
Cheers,
John
Could you put me down for a room for Sat and Sun nights.
I will come down from Khon Kaen, so will join you maybe at Prachinburi,
or the other end of the park nearer Pak Chong. Can I confirm the meeting point with you nearer the time.
Any idea what sort of time (Thai time is fine) you might hit Prachinburi?
Cheers,
John
Hi John, glad you join, expect to be in Prachin at around 10:30 but give me until afternoon, want to confirm with Dougal and Craig-Esib first so that we can confirm a common Hotel I'm gonna book for all of us. Prices will be between THB 1.200 and 1.500 per night/room for double occupancy.
Ah! ...okay.
I'm checking whether anyone from work will come along and will let you know asap.
Cheers.
Dear All, planned route from Chonburi: meet at my house on Sat. 17.5. at 09:00, follow the 331 up to Mai then onto the 304 up to Phanom Sarakam, further on the 319 to Prachinburi (at approx. 11:30), through town and onto the 3077 at Hua Khao all the way to Mandarin Golden Valley Resort located left after the second National Park Toll booth. For guys coming from Bangkok, Hotel is on the 3077 after you turn right at Pak Chong on Mitrpharp Road (#2) to Khorat. I will book rooms for Craig-Esib, Dougal, John Gooding and maybe Rustic Charm (please let me know until Wednesday as not yet full). Back on Monday 19.05. Cheers, Franz
Update on MANDARIN Golden Valley Resort: per De-Luxe Room for 2 persons for one night incl. ABF & taxes is THB 1.500,00, for persons with 2 nights stay a special promotion: THB 2.599,- for 2 nights. As far as I know now: John, Craig and myself: 17.-19., Dougal: 18.-19., still wait for Rustic.
Update on MANDARIN Golden Valley Resort: per De-Luxe Room for 2 persons for one night incl. ABF & taxes is THB 1.500,00, for persons with 2 nights stay a special promotion: THB 2.599,- for 2 nights. As far as I know now: John, Craig and myself: 17.-19., Dougal: 18.-19., still wait for Rustic.
Er ... yeah ... sorry!
Put me down (1 person) for 2 nights- Sat & Sun. Thanks.
I'll text you.
Franz, I received your text. and it appears your house is a bit out of the way for me so I think it'd be easier to meet up in Prachinburi.
Shall we pick a time and location (fast food joint, Stabucks?) for Prachinburi? I don't know the place at all.
GT-riders on this trip: John Gooding - Khon Kaen, Peter "Dougal" - Sriracha, Terry "Rustic Charm" - Bangkok, Craig - ESIB (& Saen) - Pattaya and myself.
Time 17.-19.5.08.
Starting on Saturday from Pattaya, Craig on his BMW-F650GS picked me up at my home early in the morning, we took 331, 304 and then the 319. Was an easy drive as there was less traffic than usual. 331 & 304 are all 2+2 lanes trough Eastern Thailand countryside with the here and then a usual dead snake or dog on the side of the road. At Phanom Sarakam we turned on the beautiful 319 which is only 2 lanes and surrounded by ricefields which are now in their full green. Not taking a p... but just a stop for a foto; left is Craig and right is myself.
We then continued up to Prachinburi where we met up with John who came down all the way from Khon Kaen on his Yamaha FJR1300A. Further on did we meet up with Terry (Rustic Charm) who went trough the chaotic Bangkok traffic to meet us there. Altough they were all looking for the LOTUS, it was only BIG-C they got (some of my Ooooooops'es). Anyway after meeting we did not yet leave Prachinburi when Terry decided that it was time to examine the grainsize of eastern asphalt. Luckily he escaped this slide unhurt physically and his DUCATI Monster S2 - 1000 was lucky to just suffer some scratches, nothing that can't be repaired. So after bending the gearlever into a useable position, we continued our ride, although a little bit more careful. Had some great lunch for a very reasonable price at a small "swedish-thai" resort called MOON RIVER on the left side on the 3077 just 2 kms before the paytoll into the National Park.
Just while entering the park, The Spirit in the Sky decided that we are too hot to handle so he gave us some cooling...........made the roads quite slippery but Terry didn't do another sampling.
Roads are very well maintained and we also saw a group of young Thai riders from Bangkok. Hear and see, one did have a brandnew registered Hayabusa !!!! On top of one of the hills there's a nice platform with good view over the valley down to Pak Chong.
After checking into the Mandarin Golden Valley we did go another 30 kms to have steak & wine at the PB Winery Restaurant. Being in the middle of nowhere, some Thai is necessary to get a steak to your liking, altough it may still be rare even if you have ordered it well-done for 5 times.....
Terry - John - Craig & Saen:
Well next day we were off to the National Park again where we met up with Peter and his second love (or is it his real first love...) the Yamaha Fazer 1.
John & Peter at the tollbooth:
Bring your workpermit for Thai entry fee (per bike THB 30,- plus per passenger THB 40,-)
We went up the highest elevation between elefant dung and treebranches just to have morning fog obscure any possible view. Did a fotoshow with Thai kids there and asked their parents for photofees of THB 20,- per shot.............. :lol:
Khao Yai is full of waterfalls, most of them are all around the 3077 where many small roads go into the unknown:
Living animals seen by some of us: elefants, monkeys (macaces), snakes, monitor lizzards, deer, birds and loads of butterflies.
We didn't do every route, why should we ? There would be no going back to Khao Yai in the near future, just now we are already talking about our next trip down the eastern beachroad to Chantaburi and Trang. All this was discussed at a dinner at Juldis Resort. Before things got too fluid, we went back to our beds because Monday it was already back to daily life.
All in all this was a very nice trip because of the distances all of us took just to make this happen. Many thanks to all of you guys and lets plan the next one already...............................Franz
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Time 17.-19.5.08.
Starting on Saturday from Pattaya, Craig on his BMW-F650GS picked me up at my home early in the morning, we took 331, 304 and then the 319. Was an easy drive as there was less traffic than usual. 331 & 304 are all 2+2 lanes trough Eastern Thailand countryside with the here and then a usual dead snake or dog on the side of the road. At Phanom Sarakam we turned on the beautiful 319 which is only 2 lanes and surrounded by ricefields which are now in their full green. Not taking a p... but just a stop for a foto; left is Craig and right is myself.
We then continued up to Prachinburi where we met up with John who came down all the way from Khon Kaen on his Yamaha FJR1300A. Further on did we meet up with Terry (Rustic Charm) who went trough the chaotic Bangkok traffic to meet us there. Altough they were all looking for the LOTUS, it was only BIG-C they got (some of my Ooooooops'es). Anyway after meeting we did not yet leave Prachinburi when Terry decided that it was time to examine the grainsize of eastern asphalt. Luckily he escaped this slide unhurt physically and his DUCATI Monster S2 - 1000 was lucky to just suffer some scratches, nothing that can't be repaired. So after bending the gearlever into a useable position, we continued our ride, although a little bit more careful. Had some great lunch for a very reasonable price at a small "swedish-thai" resort called MOON RIVER on the left side on the 3077 just 2 kms before the paytoll into the National Park.
Just while entering the park, The Spirit in the Sky decided that we are too hot to handle so he gave us some cooling...........made the roads quite slippery but Terry didn't do another sampling.
Roads are very well maintained and we also saw a group of young Thai riders from Bangkok. Hear and see, one did have a brandnew registered Hayabusa !!!! On top of one of the hills there's a nice platform with good view over the valley down to Pak Chong.
After checking into the Mandarin Golden Valley we did go another 30 kms to have steak & wine at the PB Winery Restaurant. Being in the middle of nowhere, some Thai is necessary to get a steak to your liking, altough it may still be rare even if you have ordered it well-done for 5 times.....
Terry - John - Craig & Saen:
Well next day we were off to the National Park again where we met up with Peter and his second love (or is it his real first love...) the Yamaha Fazer 1.
John & Peter at the tollbooth:
Bring your workpermit for Thai entry fee (per bike THB 30,- plus per passenger THB 40,-)
We went up the highest elevation between elefant dung and treebranches just to have morning fog obscure any possible view. Did a fotoshow with Thai kids there and asked their parents for photofees of THB 20,- per shot.............. :lol:
Khao Yai is full of waterfalls, most of them are all around the 3077 where many small roads go into the unknown:
Living animals seen by some of us: elefants, monkeys (macaces), snakes, monitor lizzards, deer, birds and loads of butterflies.
We didn't do every route, why should we ? There would be no going back to Khao Yai in the near future, just now we are already talking about our next trip down the eastern beachroad to Chantaburi and Trang. All this was discussed at a dinner at Juldis Resort. Before things got too fluid, we went back to our beds because Monday it was already back to daily life.
All in all this was a very nice trip because of the distances all of us took just to make this happen. Many thanks to all of you guys and lets plan the next one already...............................Franz
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Hi Gus
Looking good there and john,,you look good too.
getting home sick here on bermuda,,
keep it coming, it's always nice to see guys touring around.
John, on February are you joining us(dougal) to CM tour?
Looking good there and john,,you look good too.
getting home sick here on bermuda,,
keep it coming, it's always nice to see guys touring around.
John, on February are you joining us(dougal) to CM tour?
Nice one Franz!
It was great to see you again and meet John , Terry , Craig and Saen. Finally get to meet some more GT Riders.
Looking forward to the next one.
I do think it is an insight into your character that you tried to coerce 20 Baht from the kids to take a photo with the Farang!! :twisted:
Maybe John would like to say something on that?
Marco, Feb is a go. In fact we are so considerate that we plan to check all the roads for you for the Feb trip in December!!
It was great to see you again and meet John , Terry , Craig and Saen. Finally get to meet some more GT Riders.
Looking forward to the next one.
I do think it is an insight into your character that you tried to coerce 20 Baht from the kids to take a photo with the Farang!! :twisted:
Maybe John would like to say something on that?
Marco, Feb is a go. In fact we are so considerate that we plan to check all the roads for you for the Feb trip in December!!
Madyakka & Tahaan, you are more than welcome for the next one, trying to set up a 3 day-2 nights tour to Chan and Trat along the baches whereever possible. One night in chan, the other near Trat. Will do a separate post soon.
Terry, if I wouldn't have done this with my monstrous back, the sun would have hit you in full force and the Monster then the guiding rail...... :lol:
Cheers, Franz
Terry, if I wouldn't have done this with my monstrous back, the sun would have hit you in full force and the Monster then the guiding rail...... :lol:
Cheers, Franz
Thanks to Franz for getting the trip together and for the bookings etc, and for just being him, and thanks to the other guys and gal for a great weekend of biking and a very relaxed atmosphere.
As far as the 20 Baht photos my Thai is so far behind Franz's fluent mixture of Thai Swedish, Austrian, Laos and no doubt a few other languages, that I have no idea what he said!
Franz's posting is very eloquent so I will keep the words down but put up a few pics to flesh out the trip.
But first for Marco, yes I am hoping to be on that trip, but am intending to check it out as Peter says, in December first, that is if he will still have me after our repartee at the weekend.
The trip., filling in Franz's report.
Inspecting the damage, a corner leaving Prachinburi
The bikes arrive at the visitor centre
The BKK guys including the Hayabusa,leave the visitor centre
Parking up at the Mandarin Golden Valley
Sunday am, Time for the rain gear?? Turned out we were just heading into the cloud, wet roads but no rain on the way up to the viewpoint Khao Kieo
The road has seen better days, potholed in places, apart from the Kee Chaang, but manageable on an FJR, so must be OK for most bikes.
A bit suprised to be greeted by a Soldier with a big gun, and a big smile, but apparently a radar post on top.
Franz happy to meet a man in uniform.
The cloud tried to lift a few times, but not quite enough for a good picture.
The army had given special forces training in coffee making, maybe Rhodie might be able to explain the training methods, but it did not taste too bad, but I have often found everything tastes better on top of a mountain.
The pround parents just wanted a picture of their kids on a big bike, but guess who wanted to be in the picture, (so he could justify the 20 baht)
They quite liked my bike as well
Seems to have been left out of Franz's report, but Saturday pm, after Peter arrived, Craig, Terry and Saen and I left Franz and Peter having a quick drink before taking a nap, while we braved the rain and went out for a spin. Up the 2090 North to highway 2, about 8 km NE and then SE on the 2235 to the 2311, followed this and then a left turn took us into the back of the park and some lovely tranquil countryside, and the rain eased and then cleared to give lovely views.
The road led back to the main road just outside the Northern Pay booth and is a fun ride for a different view of the park.
When we arrived back, after stopping for coffee, at the Western bikers cafe, which allowed us to make our own coffee!!, Franz and Peter were still engaged at the same table, in heavy conversation, no time for naps, just putting the world to rights.
So thanks all again and looking forward to meeting more of you guys out there.
As far as the 20 Baht photos my Thai is so far behind Franz's fluent mixture of Thai Swedish, Austrian, Laos and no doubt a few other languages, that I have no idea what he said!
Franz's posting is very eloquent so I will keep the words down but put up a few pics to flesh out the trip.
But first for Marco, yes I am hoping to be on that trip, but am intending to check it out as Peter says, in December first, that is if he will still have me after our repartee at the weekend.
The trip., filling in Franz's report.
Inspecting the damage, a corner leaving Prachinburi
The bikes arrive at the visitor centre
The BKK guys including the Hayabusa,leave the visitor centre
Parking up at the Mandarin Golden Valley
Sunday am, Time for the rain gear?? Turned out we were just heading into the cloud, wet roads but no rain on the way up to the viewpoint Khao Kieo
The road has seen better days, potholed in places, apart from the Kee Chaang, but manageable on an FJR, so must be OK for most bikes.
A bit suprised to be greeted by a Soldier with a big gun, and a big smile, but apparently a radar post on top.
Franz happy to meet a man in uniform.
The cloud tried to lift a few times, but not quite enough for a good picture.
The army had given special forces training in coffee making, maybe Rhodie might be able to explain the training methods, but it did not taste too bad, but I have often found everything tastes better on top of a mountain.
The pround parents just wanted a picture of their kids on a big bike, but guess who wanted to be in the picture, (so he could justify the 20 baht)
They quite liked my bike as well
Seems to have been left out of Franz's report, but Saturday pm, after Peter arrived, Craig, Terry and Saen and I left Franz and Peter having a quick drink before taking a nap, while we braved the rain and went out for a spin. Up the 2090 North to highway 2, about 8 km NE and then SE on the 2235 to the 2311, followed this and then a left turn took us into the back of the park and some lovely tranquil countryside, and the rain eased and then cleared to give lovely views.
The road led back to the main road just outside the Northern Pay booth and is a fun ride for a different view of the park.
When we arrived back, after stopping for coffee, at the Western bikers cafe, which allowed us to make our own coffee!!, Franz and Peter were still engaged at the same table, in heavy conversation, no time for naps, just putting the world to rights.
So thanks all again and looking forward to meeting more of you guys out there.
You guys had too much fun!. I'm going to be out & on the road at the end of this week to compete with you! Ha. Ha.
Great trip & report. Please keep them coming.
Great trip & report. Please keep them coming.
David, not only fun; some of us like Peter-Dougal also quite a lot of Singha, so guys like me were sitting next to him and helping him not falling off the chair. Or other youngsters helping elder men down from a big stone.....................
And all this because he ventured too much out into the open water........
Looking forward to the next trip with John, will be like Tom & Jerry, although we can never be sure who is who.........
And all this because he ventured too much out into the open water........
Looking forward to the next trip with John, will be like Tom & Jerry, although we can never be sure who is who.........