Dec 13 2014

Made it to Malaysia

We leave our heavenly beach at Khao Lak by 9am, before it gets too hot and sticky, and make our way for Trang from which, we have been told, we can get to more deserted beaches and lovely coast, bypassing Phuket and Krabi. The journey takes us through stunning scenery, we take little detours to see more of those karst formations the Thai coast is so famous for.

Riding to Trang, Thailand

Pak Meng beach, Thailand

We get to Pak Meng beach and feel like it would be a lovely place to spend the night. It is very low key, lots of tiny restaurants along what looks like a shaded, abandonned, promenade. It is only after we find a place, the Yatale, check in, shower, change and go for a walk, do we find out that this promenade is in fact a tsunami protection wall. It feels eerie. We are the only ones out walking. The council went to the trouble of installing funny arm chair looking benches and sculptures every hundred metres, but for who?…

Pak Meng beach with tsunami wall, Thailand

Crab sand balls, Pak Meng beach, Thailand

Pak Meng beach, Thailand

Our last night in Thailand, Pak Meng beach

We decide to have dinner at our hotel restaurant, our last Thai meal, with a view of the most amazing sunset. The perfect setting for a drink. The choice is not great for a single malt enthusiast, but, with such a setting, it will be perfect with a little ice. Not sure where they thought I was putting the ice!!…

Anne’s first scotch in months, Pak Meng beach, Thailand

Pak Meng beach, Thailand

The next morning, after a last short stroll to admire the stunning rock formations in the sea in the gentle morning light one last time, we leave our hotel, on Pak Meng Beach – thank you Thailand for a wonderful stay – head south towards the Malaysian border. We always love the light in the morning and that feeling of discovering a new place. No, we haven’t tired of this. In fact, it surprises us that, after five and a half months on the road, we still get this feeling of excitement, that sensation of feeling alive as we set off on Streak and Storm.

Pak Meng beach, Thailand

Rubber trees near Trang, Thailand

Palm oil trees – so beautiful yet so lethal

After some beautiful lighting moments along the way, and stopping to see the rubber trees and palm oil trees, it is not long before the rain clouds drop their load – maybe it’s just a passing shower? We can’t be bothered to stop and put our waterproof trousers on. We’ll soon dry out. We’ll soon be out of it. Confidence is … (not so) high but neither wants to admit it!!… Not this time!!! Today turns out to be our 5th day of rain – not bad but it doesn’t make it any nicer. We end up riding at 50kms an hour for a while the rain is so heavy. And it is not long before our boots are sloshing with water.

As usual, we choose a tiny border crossing, in the middle of the Thale Ban National Park (!?), which means taking smaller roads. The route is not obvious, and after a few left, right, left, oops, turn back, left, straight through, we get to the border. The sun is shining for us which is lovely. The border crossing is so fast, under an hour for both countries, which is a record. While we wait for the Malaysian customs officer to complete our carnets for us, we chat and wave to so many people passing through. There is a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. It is interesting to see what people are buying in Thailand to take to Malaysia: food, toys and cleaning brushes. There is a scooter taxi service that takes people back and forth across the border. They have simplified the process between the 2 nations which is refreshing to see: no customs check for those nationals.

The heavens were very kind to us again holding out until we had finished going through some twisties before opening up again. Out of the mountain range and we head for Alor Setar. The road takes us past the largest fields of rice we’ve seen. It feels great to be able to see in the distance again (we have always enjoyed open expanses) and not be surrounded by steep, albeit stunning, jungle clad sheer rocks. The lighting is glorious, a massive storm forming just ahead of us.

Storm near Alor Setar, Malaysia

We haven’t booked anywhere and everywhere we try is fully booked. We eventually find a large, impersonal hotel but it’s clean and not ridiculously expensive so it’s perfect for tonight. After a hot, warming shower, wet clothes hanging all around the room, dinner is down the street at a small streetside restaurant.

Tomorrow, George Town, Penang!!

– Anne

Dec 12 2014

Coast to Coast, Relaxation Rediscovered

Golden sand, clear blue water and lunch under the palms. We are taking a few days out from travelling, for a relaxing few days away from motorcycle travel and blogs, aaaaah here I am writing a blog entry, oh well let’s continue…

The warm ocean breeze wafts across our faces as we walk from our bungalow down towards the sea. We have spent so long encased in riding gear that the rare chance to just wear swimmers and swim in the ocean have seen us stay an extra day here. Where is here you ask? A small place we found yesterday after leaving the tourist town of Hua Hin. We are now some 160km south near the town of Bang Saphan. Following smaller roads and then tracks has us just off the beach. This is an undeveloped area with small hotels and guest houses. A wonderful find and the type of place that we look for as we travel, friendly people, small places and good food. The pleasure of staying here and the rampant tourism of Hua Hin has made us realise that Phuket is not for us and we will bypass the place, it holds no interest of us in its current form. The facilities that those places provide are not what we generally seek as we travel, great for others but not our scene except in small doses as the stay at the Hilton at Hua Hin provided. I still feel that I do not belong in such luxurious places and am there under false pretences.

We have found it difficult over the last week to focus on this portion of the trip as we try to work out the logistics of 2015. Part of the problem is that our return to Australia is focused on medical tests, and therefore any follow on treatments in the event of an adverse result. This coupled with the lack of quotes for the shipment of the bikes leaves us a little in limbo. Still just another challenge for us to tackle that is part of the journey.

A bar on the edge of the beach provides a convenient meeting place for many of the ‘locals’ of European or American origin. Many are retired but some have jobs that allow them to work from any location provided they have internet access, judging by the number of communication cables that festoon the power poles in every towns Main Street that is a given here, although not always that quick. It is interesting to hear the individual stories of those who have moved here. Most have not been back home for many years and have no desire to do so. One of our hosts at Bang Saphan, Larry, moved to Thailand some 30 years ago. He and his wife run a relaxed and friendly guest house with pool just a minute from the beach. They have lived in different parts of Southern Thailand and now settled on this wonderful place that is still reasonably undeveloped.

Our guesthouse at Bang Saphan, Thailand

Anne is loving this deserted beach at Bang Saphan, Thailand

Bang Saphan beach, Thailand

As part of Rest and Relaxation (R&R) plan, Anne found a nice hotel, adults only which we found out from fellow guests once there and a first for us, on the west coast at Khao Lak, about 50 or so kilometres north of Phuket. This area was one of many on the west coast of Thailand affected by the Tsunami in December 2009 and the rebuilding of hotels and other facilities will have restored the tourist employment to the area. Having seen pictures of the destruction at the time, it was surprising to find large trees intact up to the beach. I can only assume that the impact of the 2009 tsunami was less here than in other places closer to the epicentre . We enjoyed three days of relaxation and exposure to sun sea and sand. What a wonderful change: a relaxed pace, swimming twice a day, playing with the frisbee we always carry with us and seeing the beautiful and ever changing sunsets that Anne diligently recorded each evening. What struck us both as we first walked to the beach was how wonderful it was to feel the air and gentle breeze on our skin. Usually, only our face gets this feeling.

Our lunch spot at Khao Lak, Thailand

Anthony has always loved building dams and waterways – Khao Lak, Thailand

Resort beach, Khao Lak, Thailand

Enjoying a beach sunset, Khao Lak

Sunset on our frisbee bay at Khao Lak, Thailand

It was interesting to contrast living in this secluded tranquil environment for a few days compared with the usual routines of finding accommodation, food and negotiating traffic that is our daily work environment. We both enjoyed it immensely, but when we loaded up the bikes and opened up the throttle, it was great to be back on the road again, transmission restored.

– Anthony

Dec 10 2014

Off duty … back next week

Transmission interrupted…

– 2slowspeeds

Dec 5 2014

The King’s Birthday

Today, the fifth of December is the King of Thailand’s 87th birthday. The Thai national flag and the yellow kings flag festoon the country, on buildings, along roads everywhere you go you see yellow. Yellow tee shirts, tops, dresses and jackets. The Thai people revere their King and look to show it on this day, a public holiday in Thailand. We are heading south from Ayutthaya, looking to bypass Bangkok and head down the coast towards Phuket some 920km away over the next few days.

Yellow t-shirts worn by moped-taxi passengers, Ayutthaya, Thailand

Leaving Ayutthaya on the King ‘s birthday

Traffic is light as we set off, but on passing Bangkok we join a steady stream of slow moving holiday traffic on the Freeway heading west. As we turn south on highway 4 and are parallel to the coast we both suddenly feel we are getting closer to home. We are on the thin spine of Thailand and for some reason that changes how we perceive our location.

We decide that the coast is where we would like to spend the night, we find a nice Hilton hotel on the beach at Hua Hin and get the last room. How lucky are we! We have not been on a beach for over 18 months and the feel of the sand between one’s toes on the first step brings back to both of us why we like the sea and living in Australia. We both felt energised by the experience and rejuvenated compared with how we normally feel at the end of a day’s riding. Into the warm sea we went to swim and body surf.

At our hotel in Hua hin, for the King’s birthday, Thailand

After a short walk around what is a very touristy town, we are back to the hotel entrance where a big TV screen has been set up and locals and tourists alike watch the Prime Minister light the first candle for the king’s birthday. We have candles too and they are lit, songs are sung and it is great to be part of another experience that we had not planned for or expected.

A sea of yellow everywhere today for the King’s birthday, Thailand

The whole of Thailand is meant to light their candle at the same time for the King’s birthday

May the King of Thailand have many more such birthdays. “Long live the King”

– Anthony

Dec 4 2014

Train trip to Bangkok brings back childhood memories

It is funny how excited we both are to be taking a train into Bangkok today. Something we haven’t done in ages. We’ve both loved travelling by train over the years: you have time to look out of the window at the scenery (and day dream as I have always done) and we also invariably meet interesting people. It seems like a great adventure! Funny how we crave out-of-the-ordinary experiences – whatever our ‘ordinary’ is! As we wait on the platform, a ‘local’ expat we get chatting to is surprised we haven’t taken a taxi to get to Bangkok. Much quicker and more comfortable he tells us. That’s not what we’re looking for – we have all afternoon and evening.

Chris, an ex-colleague of Anthony’s who hosted one of my exhibitions in Oman years ago, is now living in Jakarta but working in Bangkok and we haven’t seen him for 3 years already. The train journey is (meant to be) 2 hours according to the train schedule, so we leave Ayuttahaya at lunch time after a quick and tasty road side meal near the station.

Ayutthaya train station with local tuk-tuks

Over the last few months, I have often wished I had taken photos of certain things, and then it’s too late as the opportunity has passed. There was another such occasion when the train arrival was announced by a train guard, dressed in immaculate uniform which looked as smart as any military personnel, ringing a huge beautifully polished brass bell. Our train which half freight half passenger stops at the platform just long enough for 3 of the 7 carriages. Passengers get onto the train from the track, on both sides of the train.

Our train to Bankgok is arriving on the right

A modern train with closing doors is boarded from both sides at Ayutthaya station

We travel 3rd class with natural air conditioning, all the windows and doors are wide open. The train is quite packed so we keep walking back to the next carriage: it is a great old rattly train, all the doors are open – no concern with health and safety here!! The breeze in our faces brings back memories. For Anthony, travelling a train with windows and doors open to the elements is pure joy. He has always loved train travel since his first recollections in 1963 when he was eight and his family returned from South Africa on the Royal Mail Ship RMS Pendennis Castle and travelled by steam hauled trains from Southampton from Durham. He has always like to be able to poke his head out the window – he reckons he probably has some dog in his genetic makeup. Any family members experience the same? Over the years with safely and air-conditioning this opportunity has disappeared in the western world, but luckily for us, not here.

We end up in the last carriage. This carriage, it turns out, is reserved for aged, monks and handicapped, with the last 3 rows reserved for train guards. Oh well, the guard doesn’t mind us being there – we obviously fit in one of those categories!!

Loved the Registered trademark symbol ® to make this more ‘official’!!

Anthony sits next to a gentleman who moved his bags to make space for us but I spotted a spare seat further up the carriage. I get chatting wih my seat companion: my age, this Thai lady has been living in London for the past 25 years, having opened their own Thai restaurant in Kensington. Funny world or rather funny creatures we human beings are. We both left our home countries 25 years ago, she left South East Asia for the UK, and we left the UK for Australia and here we both are on the same rattly train… It’s like our excitement at travelling by train today. Do we not get enough excitement travelling as we do on motorcycles? To both us, it is an exciting experience because it is different to our norm.

We spend a lovely evening in a Cuban bar with Chris, catching up on each other’s news and recent experiences. The return journey took 3 hours but for the memories such a train journey brought back and the new ones it created, it was worth it.

– Anne

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