Bike has got new fluids and gone through a round of cleaning. Needs another deep-clean though. Travelling equipment washed, sunned, and stored. Journal for the trip posted and copies filed. There are 19 posts, including this, in all. However, I am sure that there are moments overlooked, simply because there are so many of them and because I lack the words (and the memory). This journal will hopefully invoke some good memories if my friends on this ride chance upon them in future.
It was amazing. I only wanted to ride Nan, but got many times more. First was Phu Thap Boek, then all the mountain & border roads between Laos & Thailand, to Nan, followed by more mountains, then Mae Hon Son and Thai/Myanmar border. And the corners; every conceivable type were there. Easily, a few thousand corners in this trip. I have never been through so much corners in one trip. And this is while on the main roads. The other ‘roads’, once you turn left or right off the main route, are, mildly-put, alarming, and require a certain level of confidence & bike handling.
EXTRACT FROM AN EARLIER POST:-
“Ever since Phu Thap Boek, access to nearly every hotel we check into was a challenge apart. The toughest (for me) was at Phu Thap Boek. Leading to that hotel was a narrow and uneven track, gravelly and slippery with a 20° incline. I nearly tipped over the edge while riding up, which would mean a 10’ drop down the side. I notice that while the main routes between provinces, cities & towns are excellent, the connection between rural places to the main route can be “anything”. Once you leave the main route, you can be riding on asphalt, concrete, packed earth, gravel, sand, plantation tracks, loose aggregates, or a mixture of all that. I am guessing that the Authority provides and maintains the main connections while the individual rural places or villages sort out their own links to join the route. So the small places off the beaten track, like the places we visited, wouldn’t spend too much on costly asphalt which would require maintenance (money), and anyway, their commutes are usually rough & tough commercial vehicles and scoots like Honda Cub. They are not bothered by the lack of asphalt.”
So once we leave the main route, which is often, searching for the border lines, or hunting for POIs or checkpoints, or simply getting to the hotels, we are never sure what’s going to be under our tyres.
Despite all that, we were never unduly stressed. Even though we were checking out of a different hotel each morning, we never had that “Wish I don’t have to ride today” kind of feeling. For most days of the ride, we arrived at the next hotel with plenty of daylight left. Once or twice, as early as lunchtime. That gave us lots of time to ride around and visit POIs, or explore the area on foot, or start ‘Happy Hour’ early. Each morning, we would be refreshed and ready and in high anticipation for the day’s ride. We would be alert and ready once we mount, because departing the hotel is as challenging as arriving. It can be sliding down a gravel path on a slope or uneven earthen tracks with puddles and stones. Complacency could potentially spoil your day’s ride or worse still, end your entire trip. Not to mention the inconvenience cause to the others. All these came down to careful planning, and not by chance. Kudos to KM7, the Accidental Champion.
In all, we had a great ride and enjoyed the camaraderie. It was crazy and tough for me. I am on a road bike with panniers, that double as crash bar when (not if) I tipped over (LOL). The Dynamic Duo of Insane Rider and Cookie Monster were always there to help when I ran into ‘situations’. The best riding buddies ever. And KM7, who never fail to get us out of trouble, which he got us into in the first place. The planning was exceptional. 22 days on the bike for me cos I started and end in Singapore. When asked if we would do it again, everyone said yes. I would too, but differently. I would like to spend more then one night at some of the stopovers. There are some places which are definitely worth more time.
As a parting shot, KM7 threw me a curve ball. He asked, “What have you learned from this trip?” I was tongue-tied. “I learn that don’t have to be perfect”, he declared. Hmm. Profound. He must’ve been smoking.
So to the people on this ride, please don’t hold offence to my bluntness and inaccuracies in the posts. Like KM7 said, “Don’t have to be perfect”.
But I did learned something, though. On the last day at Hadyai while collecting the key card during check-in, the chubby, smiling receptionist wish me ‘Sawadee ka’ and a ‘wai’. I instinctively & naturally responded likewise and answered, ‘Krap’. As I turned and walk away, I suddenly realised that all my past pathetic attempts to learn Thai has come to this; I’ve uttered my first Thai word without any effort! Natural like, you know. And with a ‘wai’, too. Unlike when asking for the toilet in a restaurant which usually begins with “Eh! Uhh, hello. Uhh..Where is the ……?” It only took me nearly 3 decades of visits to this country to learn and respond naturally to this simple phrase.
So to the Land of Smiles; “Kob kun krab”.
Jaywalker, in SG, 21 Jan 2023.
2 wheels and an engine 