Who has parked their patrol boat in my field.

Jun 21, 2006
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DATE: Thursday 23rd August.

THE WEATHER: Fine and sunny all day longgggggggg.

THE RIDER & BIKE: Tropicaljohno on his Phantom 150.(Miss Pinky)

THE WAY: Phuket - Khao Lak - Takuapa & return same way.

THE REASON: Looks like the rains have finally stopped, about time I had got off the island for a ride. Also wanted to check out the boats that have been left high and dry after the tsunami, along the mainland's west coast.

ROUTES: 402 - 4 - 402

TOTAL DISTANCE: approx 220kms.

THE TRIP. After reading David Unk's report this morning, and his comment "Isn’t anyone else riding or writing up trip reports (shame on you all.)", I looked outside and the sun was shining and hardly a cloud in the sky, no excuse for not getting out on the road.

So a quick service for Miss Pinky, (check tyre pressures and 2 stroke oil level), it was then up in the loft to get my bike gear down, and was on my way by 9am. Unfortunately it takes about 45 minutes to get off the island of Phuket, (I live in the southern part of the island), but traffic not too heavy, and with the sun shining it was quite enjoyable.

Once off the island you join Route 4 which is the main route to Bangkok. Most traffic turns right here, to go north to Bangkok or south to Malaysia, but I take the left hand Route 4 which follows the west coast all the way up to Chumpon.

This is a very scenic ride, quite a few corners around Khao Lak and some beut views of the ocean. Khao Lak was one of the worst hit places when the tsunami hit, and this is where the boats are parked that I want to see. My previous trip up to Ranong on the GS, riding at quite a brisk pace, I saw the police patrol boat high and dry. Today riding the Phantom at a much slower pace, looking for the same boat, I missed it, and ended up at Takuapa, where I knew I had gone too far, so stopped for morning coffee, (actually a Mars bar and a strawberry milk). Then on the way back the patrol boat was easier to see.

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This boat is parked 2kms from the nearest water.

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This is near the boat looking the other way, towards the sea - somewhere

So now its off to find the other boats, as mentioned the Police patrol boat is beside the main highway, so easy (more or less), to see when riding along, the other 2 boats are in the village of Thai Muang. Now you would think it would be easy to find a house with a rather large fishing boat in their back yard, but took a while before I found it.

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Some people have a water fountain as a feature in their back yard, this poor guy has a fishing boat

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This is standing at fishing boat looking towards the sea, which I think is about 800m away.

Then just around the corner is another fishing boat, neatly parked at the side of the road.

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On the ride back to Phuket, whilst still on Route 4 I came across this sign, apparantly consulting with the G.F. the words above the left hand sign says 'old road', but if this was your first time along this road, would be a bit confusing.

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Now which way - eeny meany miney mo

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Back home again

Whilst only a short ride, I was able to get back home before the rush hour, and with no rain at all, made it an enjoyable ride, especially as I have a Heinz Gerrick airflow jacket which is great at keeping you cool whilst riding,, but as it consists of 2 layers of material full of holes, the first bit of rain and goes right through you.

ps. Pikey no trouble with my balls at all, they all stayed nice and firm with no play at all.
 

daewoo

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Dec 6, 2005
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Thanks for taking the time to write up the report and post the pics...

Still hoping to do CM and Phuket in either Nov or January, so will be looking for a few nice Day and Day/Night rides and drives to see more of the south,

Cheers,
Daewoo
 

DavidFL

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Tropicaljohno
You little bewdy too mate, a trip report. The wind up from me was worth it - got you out riding on Miss Pinky. Thanks for keeping the south's wheels ticking over.

But don't you always love those old & new road routes with the same nos?

One of the best ones in the North is route 1080 north of Pua, there are several of them (1080s), with at least 5 road junctions were they intersect & leaving you wondering where the hell are we? Is this the way to fukawi tribe?
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And here's another with Silverhawk wondering which is the best way to Phu Chi Fa.
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Isnt this a great country for motorcycle riding?
 
Jun 21, 2006
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quote:

Originally posted by Davidfl

Tropicaljohno
You little bewdy too mate, a trip report. The wind up from me was worth it - got you out riding on Miss Pinky. Thanks for keeping the south's wheels ticking over.

Isnt this a great country for motorcycle riding?








David, certainly agree with you there, so much so, am hitching up the trailer and leaving Tuesday for Cnx, be there sometime Wednesday, will bring the Degree up this time.
 
Aug 3, 2004
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Hi John,
Good to see you made it to the inland boats. I am sorry I didn’t have the time to take up your offer to go with you when I was there. It looks like a real logistical headache to refloat them. Come to think of it they could probably make more money putting up a fence and charging admission !
I am now freezing my backside off in Brisbane. Down to something like 11C. We had some nice weather last week though and I took the grand daughters to the Ekka which was great but the Phantom has not ventured out from under its cover for a week now. Much needed rain to top up the dams in SE Qld.
Keep the wheels rolling. Thanks again for your hospitality while I was there and for the enjoyable ride. Mikerusts instructions to get to Suvarnabum were good and we made no wrong turns. There are airport signs from the time you near the end of Hwy 35 but it was comforting to know we were heading through the right suburbs.
Cheers,
Peter
 
Jun 21, 2006
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A pleasure meeting you Peter, and you even got to ride Miss Pinky, with photos to prove it.

Perhaps on your next trip south you may have a bit more spare time, and we can go for a ride off the island...

Great weather now down south, no rain for the last 2 days, just glorious sunshine....
 
Jun 21, 2006
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Ian, can I book another parking spot in your car park for my trailer please, will be up in the week.

How many more X-Centre stickers do I need to put on my trailer in lieu of payment.
 

cdrw

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Oct 6, 2006
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TJ...
Below are some pictures taken just after the tsunami, of the last fishing boat which appears in your post. While the boat is now probably a land-locked 'house' boat for a few families...then it was just one of the many post-tsunami oddities I saw when I was in Phang Nha and Khao Lak trying to help out.

Boat.jpg


Poor pix...but it shows some of the debris that arrived with the boat
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Below, at the boat and looking back towards the ocean, where the boat came from (beyond the distant palm trees, over a mile away)
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