Muar-Pak Bara-Krabi-Koh Phi Phi-Songkhla-Pattani-Narathiwat-Sg Kolok-Malaysia

[Abg Acid]

After Kru Sae Mosque we continue south. The road was getting boring. Its flat country here. The road was a dual lanes hiway, but it was too straight and flat. Once in a while I would duck my head low and pulled as much throttle to kill the mileage and watched the tachometer as it goes to the redzone. It clocked 140 kmh. The GPS on the other hand registered 128 kmh. Not bad for a little machine with capacity 150 cc.

Dr.tt or her Er6n had no problem at all keeping pace with me, and sometimes I do wish I was on my bigger bike. But fuel in Thailand is so expensive that made me reluctant to drive the bigger bike.

Road 42, is a boring stretch, especially if you have been on the road for a week. Its flat, straight and you will do stunts just to kill of some kilomters. Each time I pulled the throttle, Dr.tt will pulled too, and when I slow down she sometimes overshot me from the left. Managed to take this picture on her tail

Slow down lady, slow.. There is a roadblock ahead!

Another army roadblock. Some are with armed soldiers, and some are left vacant. No problem, we were not stopped neither asked for our passports. It think we met 7 of this along Pattani to Narathiwat

 

[Abg Acid]

It was almost noon when we reached Narathiwat. The first thing we saw was that there were too many soldiers. They were armed to their teeth. Automatic guns, helmets and bulletproof vest. We were wondering if there was an incident which happened just recently. But the streets were full with people moving about, and it was congested. Many small streets were barricaded with barb wires too. many of them were closed for trraffic, making the available roads even more crowded. Motorcyes parked by the roadside had their seat opened and stayed opened that way for some unclear reasons. Was the sun too hot, thus an upraised seats will save the bottoms from being fried when you sit on it? I wondered!

Finally I stopped by a roadside shop and immediately a western on a cub came along. He said he had been following me for a while when he saw us on the street with no proper directions and he knew we were not locals. He introduced himself as Hans, a German but has been living in Narathiwat for the last 15 years. He believed he is trhe only western to have stayed that long in Narathiwat. We had some drinks together and his curiosity as why we were there were answered. "This is Narathiwat, No tourist ever comes here, theres nothing here! Thats what he said.

Well, at least my curiosity concerning the presence of too many soldiers and motocycles with seats raised were answered too, thanks to Hans. He said, there was show going on tonight. Celebrities and Vips are coming to town from Bangkok, and security has been tightened up. Easy for the soldiers to check if there are bombs underneath the motorcycle seat. "This is narathiwat!" he likes to say that.

So it was clear to us then. There were no bad incident, just normal procedures for security measures. Hans added that, lately there were many festivals, shows, concerts and celebrations going on at Narathiwat. Money has been pumped form Bangkok for these events, maybe as a move to win the population's heart now after a long period of unrest. Thats a good sign, with the new administration life could be better. And we as tourist will benefit too as there are many rural roads and remote places to travel and as for now, bikers only dare the highways. We sure hope what Hans been telling us will be a reality soon enough.

Hans also recommended few hotels we could stay if we were interested to attend to the show that night. We said thanks, as we already had made our decision that very moment of riding south to stay at Golok. He bade farewells and ride safe. We wave goodbye,.. deep in my heart "This is Narathiwat!"

This was the only picture I took of Narathiwat, the spot where we stopped to drink and Hans came along. Actually I was a bit nervous to take out my camera which is quite large when soldiers and people watching me.

 

[David Learmonth]

Interesting report & photos!

 

[Abg Acid]

Captain,
Yes in Malaysia we have 19 bh for a liter of ron95, thats half what we pay in Thailand. And we dont have gasohol too. They are all 100% benzene. RON 97 has gone up though. Currently it is 29 bh to a liter.

David L,
Thank you. Glad you like them.

 

[Abg Acid]

The ride towards Sungai Kolok was easy. It's only 60 odds km. An easy ride along road 4084 and took a right turn into road 4057 near Tak Bai. Sungai Kolok is a smallish border town, right next door to Malaysia. Separated by a small river and the Malayisan call this town as Golok. Its a favourite destination for shoppers amongst the ladies from Malaysia, though men come here a for a bit different reason. I havent been to Golok before, but I ve been to the other side many times before. There is a duty free village just opposite the river, the malaysian side.

Anyway, the other reason I wanted to be at Sungai Kolok was to visit the railway station as preparation for my next adventure in November. Its the Cambodia adventure on bicycles. We will board the train at Golok, after cycling in from Kota Baru. It will be a train ride with our bicycles to Bangkok. And from Bangkok we will cycle to the Cambodian border at PoiPet and then to Battambang. From Battambang we will take a boat to Siem Reap. A 14 days trip, and we will fly home with bicycles onboard from Siem Reap. Air Asia has made travelling real cheap!

Sungai Kolok, small streets, a malaysian happy time border town of Thailand.

Another photo of Golok town. Its not really a modern town, but there are many hotels here too

I went into the railway station to check trains schedule and prices and also the procedures of taking a bicycle, and as I came out I saw Dr.tt was being "interrogated" by a soldier. It was more of a social interview actually, and she waved, telling me it was Ok, and I took this picture.

A photo of our room at Merlin Hotel. 480 bh. Bit rundown though. Here at Sungai Kolok, Malaysian ringgit is accepted freely. You can pay anything using Malaysian currency

 

[Abg Acid]

DAY 7TH. SUNGAI kOLOK-BORDER-PASIR MAS

Another easy ride today. We took it slow. Breakfisrt and then check out. The motorbike lanes at the border was very narrow. A simple mistake, may cause your front wheel hit the curb. That would be a disaster, especially if you were on a big bike and fully laden too.

We handed over our motorbikes TIP, (temporary Import Permit) which we got when we came in at Wang Prachan Custom. These papers are very important, they must be returned or else you will get a summon the next time you come back to Thailand. The Thai customs are quite efficient now, with computers , a gizmo that will raise a flag if you did not return the papers on your next entry visit.

On the Malaysian side its a breeze. There is no stamping on my passport, instead its just a slide on the machine. Our passport has electronic data imbedded and soon enough we are on home ground.

 

[Abg Acid]

Day 8 Pasir Mas - Sungai Kolok

South Peace Bike Week

Ahaa.. caught you guys! I m sure you thought our journey has ended. Nope, we return to Sungai Kolok the next day, to attend a bike Festival. We've been invited to a bike fest by The vice president of Golok Riders Club. whom we met when we stayed a night there. After lunch at pasir Mas, we rode back to Golok. Redo a new TIP, (as our Thai bike insurance was still valid, it was easy) and we were in Thailand again. Immediately after the custom check point we saw a large airfilled plastic gazebo welcoming bikers. It was the registration site. Registration was only 300bh, and you get tickets for entry to the festival, dinner and also a t-shirt. Soon there were a lot of motocyles, and many from Malaysia too. From registration Site, we were taken on a big convoy through the town streets towards the festival site. Soldiers kept the streets free for the Convoy.

Air filled gazebo, welcoming riders to the festival. This photo was taken just before the convoy begun

The vice president of Golok Riders Club at registration, Mr Wan Faris

 

[Abg Acid]

As it was a big event, soldiers are deployed to keep survelance for the safety of all. We were toldt the Governor of Narathiwat and other VIPs will attend too.

A photo of us dressed up in our bike community outfits at the regitsration site. This shot was taken earlier, we were the early birds at registration

A nazi came for registration. He has a spade uo front

And lots of other stuff on the rear, including a fire extiguisher?

 

[Abg Acid]

Squad of smartly dressed police. They loved bikes too. I saw one test derive a harley too

Dr.tt taking her position before the convoy begun without wearing a helmet. You can never do this in Malaysia, even at a Festival site. Helmet is mandatory.

Arrivals of some goldwings and choppers

 

[Abg Acid]

It was hot, my hair turned red! Photo with a Thai biker. He is one of the registration guys

A row of classic bikes. Mostly with Thai registration plate numbers

Choppers and easyrides. I was hoping there were some extra long modified choppers, you know "Stretched Choppers" as we called them in Malaysia. Unfortunatley there was none for a good photography. I ve been to Phuket bike week before, and I've seen a number of them there, and even trikes with big vehicle engines

Dr.tt posing with Goldwings, she has always been fascinated by Goldwings. Goldwings are always main attractions in events like this, though some call them 'moving refridgerators'

 

[Abg Acid]

Dr.tt getting ready with her position before the convoy started, being interviewed by local bikers. She gets a lot of attentions here.

Goldwings and Harleys were position upfront for the convoy, Bikes ready to roll.

And off we go! It was a long convoy. And where was I? I was only a pillion rider, sat behind Dr.tt. I left my bike at pasir Mas, I think my bike is too small for the event. hehe ;D

 

[Abg Acid]

Yes, the convoy to the Fetistival site was along one indeed. Soldiers kept manned the streets free from traffic, at every junctions. The small town of Sungai Kolok stood still, everyone jumped to the street to see bikes passings. Hundred of thems. At the registration, there were almost 600 bikes that registered.

These are Malaysian registered motorcycles, happy time without helmets on the street. Something you can never do in Malaysia

In less than 20 minutes, the convoy fun was over. We had reached the destination, the festival ground. Photo here is parking site at the festival ground.

 

[Abg Acid]

More pictures of South Peace Bike Week

Bikes parked at the Festival ground

A classic BMW with a boxer engine

A thai participant with a spike hairdo, cool!

 

[Abg Acid]

South peace Bike Week is a grand event. It goes into the night with bands performance, fireworks, food, door gifts, lucky draw etc etc. I wondered was the 300bh registration enough to cover the cost? Simply it wont. Then we were told, that there were some fund from Tourist department and also from Bangkok. Its was the same story that we heard from Hans in Narathiwat just a few days ago. So it must be true after all. And the motto for this event South Peace Bike Week, .. Ride For Peace was definitely a good one. We sincerely hope, South Thailand will have a good year ahead, and we will come riding and touring this region more often.

There was a rock concert going on as well. A big happy noise from the crowd when the band played "Hotel California". Notice the large poster on the background of the stage?.. Thats the Governor, riding a Harley V-Rod.

The concert was good too, in the sense that there was a break during Magrib prayer's time, the muslim dusk payer time .The band stopped playing for awhile, and then it was back to rock and roll.

One of the 2 hosts going dowstage interviewing the participants

 

[Abg Acid]

The event arrangement was good, guests and participants were gives seats. it was very orderly. We were kept entertained thoughout the nite. One of the best Bike Festival I ve ever attended, surely.

Notice the coloured canophy at the far end?. Those are food stalls. Each registered participants were given 4 coupons of food. There was so much food to chose from , and I had only 2 coupons used. Its was more than enough.

Definitely a big crowd. A succesful bike event, and happy participants. I will definitely come back next year.

 

[Abg Acid]

Day 9th

Home ward to Muar , Johor. Almost 600kms

The 2 of us rode back, with memories of a fantastic motorbike holiday in Thailand for both of us. Along the way, we made some new friends too. Emails and telephone numbers were exchanged. We look forward for another visit of South Thailand, hoping to visit on happier times.

The journey home took us almost 10 hours of ride.

regards
Abg Acid

 

[burnjr]

AA nice ride report and we all enjoy the ride to PHI PHi island.we will ride together soon

 

[zain]

Just finished read up your RR. Unfortunately, I could not see any pics. But, its a nice report then.

 

[Abg Acid]

Oh really?... Thats too bad Zain. the pictures are all stored at Photobucket. Try and see if your settings have blocked photobucket.com.

Thanks for reading the report anyway.

AA