Hi All
We it is a little over a month that I will be reporting.
It started around the end of January with a long ride from my home in Khon Kaen to Phuket. it is a boring ride with not to much to report, the first day of riding I left Khon Kaen at about 7:30am which was a little later then I had first planned but I will admit that I had slept in. The ride was straight down route 2 heading towards Bangkok. I stopped at Korat at the Kawasaki dealer for a service on the bike as I do not want to have it done in Khon Kaen as the service is not that great. There was no waiting time and the service was finished with in an hour. I have also forgot to mention that I had only arrived home the day before I left and the bike's battery was dead, not even a charge would help so it was a last minute running around to try to get a new battery. Not an easy task here in Khon Kaen, but I managed to get one for Kawasaki which they had taken from one of there new bikes in the showroom, hope there did not sell it the next day.
so it was off fro Korat heading towards Hua Hin, once passed Suraburi I took the highway 9 as not to have to enter into the centre of Bangkok and then on to the 35 through Sumet Songkhram and down to the 4 and on to Hua Hin arriving at around 4:30pm and about 650 km for the day. I stayed at the Donkey's Rest Inn which is a family run guest house and a great place to stay. A few beer were consumed with Andy the owner and a few other English guests, it was a little late getting to sleep but what the heck.
The next day I was a little shady and not out of bed as early as would have liked but I finally got on the road around 8:30am and back onto highway 4 heading for Chomphun and stayed on the 4 to Ranong and down to Phuket. The road from chomphun to Phuket was the most interesting part of the ride and was quite enjoyable with good road conditions and just a little road works not far from Ranong. From Ranong to Phuket you have to be careful as the mini van races start and they think that they own the road. In all honesty I think the driving skill get worse south of Ranong but it just my thinking. I arrived in Phuket around 5pm and 675km of good riding.
After having spent a week relaxing in Phuket it was time to get on the bike again and destination was Bangkok to meet with a friend and ride to Loei and Nan, so it was a 5am start in hope of beating the mini van races out of the island of Phuket. the trip to Bangkok was just the same route in reverse so nothing to report here. I arrived Bangkok at around 4:30pm with a little bit of a detour due to the protests but I managed to get to my hotel. I was to meet Neil Griffith at 6 am the next morning out side Paddock shop. We headed up route 1 to Saraburi and then the 21 to Phetchabun and then turned onto the 2258 to Khao Kao which is a fantastic road and then 2325 which take you through some very scenic areas. We headed onto the route 12 and the route 12 café which is now a bit of a tourist area for lunch which was very disappointing. after lunch it was route 12 to Lomsak and onto the 203 to Loei, the 203 is one of my favourite roads in the area, the last 30km the road was very greasy and slippery. we arrive Loei mid afternoon and check into our hotel and showered and rested and off to Chris's steak house to meet Jeremy and Sarge for a bit to eat and drinks. The first mistake was made when we decided to get a bottle of Jack to share, the bottle was finished during dinner and it was decided to get another bottle as the follow was the day before the general elections and no alcohol would be served after 6pm. It was a good plan till Chris informed us that he has opened a new bar round the corner from his restaurant, so we set off for a look and the second bottle was cracked open. A general decision was made not to ride to Nan the following day and finish the second bottle (big Mistake)
The Next day Jeremy and Sarge headed of on their own way, Jeremy to Bangkok and Sarge headed home, Neil and myself had a sleep in and meet for late lunch at about 4:30pm and worked out what our plan for the next day was going to be (no alcohol was consumed). Our plan was to head to Nakhon Sawan not to Nan. the next morning we meet early and changed our mind and decided the end of day destination would be Nan after all. We headed back out on the route 203 and to route 1268 to Ban Kok and then the 1083 to Na Noi.
Well I never made Na Noi on the 1083 in the Si Nan National Park I was to hot into a corner and never made it out the other side. I meet with the metal guard rail, being thrown from the bike I was very luck not to be hurt, just a bruise on my hip. The bike was not rideable and lucky that we had just passed through a border police check point 2 km prior to coming off so Neil headed back to see if there had a pickup and were able to take the bike and myself to Nan. to our luck there was a guy that was prepared to take me first to Na Noi but after some convincing and maney changing hands it was load the bike into the pickup and off to Nan.
Arriving in Nan the bike was taken to Tony's Place where Tony said I could leave it till I made arrangements for the bike (a big thanks to Neil and Tony for their help). once at Tony's there was a Norwegian guy Thomas who said that the would take myself and bike to Chaing Mai the following morning. after checking with his wife that is was ok he arrived back at Tony's place and w]and wanted to head off to Chaing Mai then and there so loaded the bike into his pickup and off we went. Never though that I would be in Chaing Mai when I woke up. We arrived in Chiang Mai at about 9pm and found a hotel and time for some sleep. the following morning the bike was taken to Kawasaki and I flow bank to Udon thani in the afternoon, and a taxi back to Khon kaen and home. the repairs were quoted and insurance company approved and it was about 2.5 weeks and the bike was fixed and ready for me to pickup so off to Chiang mai in my pickup to collect the bike
While in Chiang Mai I meet up with a few of the guys that were heading off on the Gt rider river cruise and a few drinks were had.
the next day it was off to Khon Kaen not before putting a deposit on a KLX 250 for myself
More To Come
Grubman
We it is a little over a month that I will be reporting.
It started around the end of January with a long ride from my home in Khon Kaen to Phuket. it is a boring ride with not to much to report, the first day of riding I left Khon Kaen at about 7:30am which was a little later then I had first planned but I will admit that I had slept in. The ride was straight down route 2 heading towards Bangkok. I stopped at Korat at the Kawasaki dealer for a service on the bike as I do not want to have it done in Khon Kaen as the service is not that great. There was no waiting time and the service was finished with in an hour. I have also forgot to mention that I had only arrived home the day before I left and the bike's battery was dead, not even a charge would help so it was a last minute running around to try to get a new battery. Not an easy task here in Khon Kaen, but I managed to get one for Kawasaki which they had taken from one of there new bikes in the showroom, hope there did not sell it the next day.
so it was off fro Korat heading towards Hua Hin, once passed Suraburi I took the highway 9 as not to have to enter into the centre of Bangkok and then on to the 35 through Sumet Songkhram and down to the 4 and on to Hua Hin arriving at around 4:30pm and about 650 km for the day. I stayed at the Donkey's Rest Inn which is a family run guest house and a great place to stay. A few beer were consumed with Andy the owner and a few other English guests, it was a little late getting to sleep but what the heck.
The next day I was a little shady and not out of bed as early as would have liked but I finally got on the road around 8:30am and back onto highway 4 heading for Chomphun and stayed on the 4 to Ranong and down to Phuket. The road from chomphun to Phuket was the most interesting part of the ride and was quite enjoyable with good road conditions and just a little road works not far from Ranong. From Ranong to Phuket you have to be careful as the mini van races start and they think that they own the road. In all honesty I think the driving skill get worse south of Ranong but it just my thinking. I arrived in Phuket around 5pm and 675km of good riding.
After having spent a week relaxing in Phuket it was time to get on the bike again and destination was Bangkok to meet with a friend and ride to Loei and Nan, so it was a 5am start in hope of beating the mini van races out of the island of Phuket. the trip to Bangkok was just the same route in reverse so nothing to report here. I arrived Bangkok at around 4:30pm with a little bit of a detour due to the protests but I managed to get to my hotel. I was to meet Neil Griffith at 6 am the next morning out side Paddock shop. We headed up route 1 to Saraburi and then the 21 to Phetchabun and then turned onto the 2258 to Khao Kao which is a fantastic road and then 2325 which take you through some very scenic areas. We headed onto the route 12 and the route 12 café which is now a bit of a tourist area for lunch which was very disappointing. after lunch it was route 12 to Lomsak and onto the 203 to Loei, the 203 is one of my favourite roads in the area, the last 30km the road was very greasy and slippery. we arrive Loei mid afternoon and check into our hotel and showered and rested and off to Chris's steak house to meet Jeremy and Sarge for a bit to eat and drinks. The first mistake was made when we decided to get a bottle of Jack to share, the bottle was finished during dinner and it was decided to get another bottle as the follow was the day before the general elections and no alcohol would be served after 6pm. It was a good plan till Chris informed us that he has opened a new bar round the corner from his restaurant, so we set off for a look and the second bottle was cracked open. A general decision was made not to ride to Nan the following day and finish the second bottle (big Mistake)
The Next day Jeremy and Sarge headed of on their own way, Jeremy to Bangkok and Sarge headed home, Neil and myself had a sleep in and meet for late lunch at about 4:30pm and worked out what our plan for the next day was going to be (no alcohol was consumed). Our plan was to head to Nakhon Sawan not to Nan. the next morning we meet early and changed our mind and decided the end of day destination would be Nan after all. We headed back out on the route 203 and to route 1268 to Ban Kok and then the 1083 to Na Noi.
Well I never made Na Noi on the 1083 in the Si Nan National Park I was to hot into a corner and never made it out the other side. I meet with the metal guard rail, being thrown from the bike I was very luck not to be hurt, just a bruise on my hip. The bike was not rideable and lucky that we had just passed through a border police check point 2 km prior to coming off so Neil headed back to see if there had a pickup and were able to take the bike and myself to Nan. to our luck there was a guy that was prepared to take me first to Na Noi but after some convincing and maney changing hands it was load the bike into the pickup and off to Nan.
Arriving in Nan the bike was taken to Tony's Place where Tony said I could leave it till I made arrangements for the bike (a big thanks to Neil and Tony for their help). once at Tony's there was a Norwegian guy Thomas who said that the would take myself and bike to Chaing Mai the following morning. after checking with his wife that is was ok he arrived back at Tony's place and w]and wanted to head off to Chaing Mai then and there so loaded the bike into his pickup and off we went. Never though that I would be in Chaing Mai when I woke up. We arrived in Chiang Mai at about 9pm and found a hotel and time for some sleep. the following morning the bike was taken to Kawasaki and I flow bank to Udon thani in the afternoon, and a taxi back to Khon kaen and home. the repairs were quoted and insurance company approved and it was about 2.5 weeks and the bike was fixed and ready for me to pickup so off to Chiang mai in my pickup to collect the bike
While in Chiang Mai I meet up with a few of the guys that were heading off on the Gt rider river cruise and a few drinks were had.
the next day it was off to Khon Kaen not before putting a deposit on a KLX 250 for myself
More To Come
Grubman
