Sunday, March 28, 2010

Ride: Kuala Lumpur - Koh Lanta, Thailand

Kuala Lumpur - Koh Lanta, Thailand (17/3/2010)

Heyya..

I'd apologize for not updating Globe Ride blog for my recent trip to Koh Lanta, Thailand.. The holiday trip was only for 4 days (3 nights) which happened from 17th - 20th March 2010..

I left Kuala Lumpur as early as 4.00 am and heading to R&R Rawang for the first re-fueling.. it was still pitch black the air was cold.. The ride was long on the boring North Expressway with the average speed of 130 km/h.. Luckily i had my Ipod Nano with me which helps me to stay awake during the ride..






Reached Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration Checkpoint at 8.30 am after i changed Thailand's Baht currency and bought Thailand vehicle insurance for my KLR 650..




As we entered Dannok, we had a simple fried kuey teow for breakfast at a restaurant opposite of Oliver Hotel..

At 9.40 am, we headed to Koh Lanta via Highway 4... I was very familiar with the Highway 4 as we by-passed Hatyai and Phatthalung.. Then we headed to Trang and the road was marvelous.. it was hilly with uphill and downhill corners, almost like Fraser's Hill road but shorter...



As we reached Koh Klang jetty, we took a barge to cross a channel between Koh Klang and Koh Lanta Noi.. traveling on the barge took only 20 minutes and it costs USD1.50 to cross from Koh Klang - Koh Lanta Noi - Koh Lanta Yai... Arriving at Koh Lanta Noi, i rode for another 10 km to reach another jetty for Koh Lanta Yai barge... the ride on the barge took shorter than the previous, approximately 5-10 minutes..





































As we reached Koh Lanta Yai, we were looking for a place to stay and finally checked-in at a beautiful and new constructed 4-star hotel, called Ananda Lanta Hotel... it costs Baht 1,600 per night.. the Hotel has beautiful infinity swimming pool and breakfast is included... also, the hotel is located along Khlong Dao beach, next to Saladan town and there are plenty of shops, 7-Elevens, restaurants, launderettes, etc etc...




































Had a simple yet superb lunch at a small restaurant 100 meters away from the hotel... then headed to the beach for a swim till evening and chilled out at a bar @ Maya Lanta Hotel... 







































































As my head started to feel light, i headed to Prae Ae Beach to witness Sunset... Prae Ae beach is also known as Long Beach as  It is a stunning crescent of sand some 4 kilometres long. The beach is steeper and the water not as sheltered as at Klong Dao which makes for fantastic, safe swimming for adults. I had couple of bottles on beach bed by the Prae Ae beach and the sunset was beautiful... What a perfect holiday for me! :-P






















Went back to Ananda hotel, took shower and rode to Saladan town for dinner... After dinner, we bought some souvenirs and headed back to Prae Ae Beach to chill out by the beach again and also bought tickets for Island Hopping tour on the next day...





To summarize the ride, we rode from KL to Koh Lanta Yai for almost 8 hours of ride to cover 800 km of distance...




HooRahh!!






23 comments:

  1. Finally an update... HooRahh!! Enjoy your Koh Samui trip aiit.

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  2. the colour of your "acerbis" handguards suit your bike nicely...:)..is it comfortable riding your KLR650 from KL to Kok Lanta with pillion..?

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  3. can see that no fork brace fixed to your KLR...don't you feel high speed wobble at cruising speed of 130km/h?

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  4. sweet!!! bid u safe journey to koh samui bro, enjoi!!

    Jay

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  5. Wahh...nice journey once again!

    & still manage to get your hand on the girl...:DD

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  6. Huiyooo.. syoknya tengok bro jalan2.. syok jugak yer pakai KLR nih.. teringin jugak nak angkat..

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  7. Yen,
    It's better for me to update the Koh Lanta trip as i do not wanna forget things i've done there... Next week I will be riding to Koh Samui and i don't wanna mix my memories up with Koh Lanta trip..

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  8. Anonymous 1,
    Indeed the Yellow Acerbis colour suits the bike as i wanna have Red Bull scheme.. Also, it helps a lot as car drivers can see the width of KLR handlebar..

    This was the first time i rode with a pillion.. Comfort wise is okay once you have the speed.. but at slow traffic and between cars, i was really struggling..

    Also, the Fuel Consumption is totally different.. i was short nearly 30% of my normal mileage with full tank.. hence need to know when to do the next fueling stop..

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  9. Anonymous 2,

    You have a pair of very sharp eyes... I haven't got the Fork Brace yet.. so far at 140-150km/h, the bike does not wobble along straight road... There is a 'method' how to ride the KLR at high speed, which i experimented by myself... hehehe

    But i will definitely get the fork brace as it helps to take corners at high speed without any wobbles...

    Thanks, bro!!!! :-)

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  10. Jay...

    This is your FIRST comment... welcome to the blog, bro...

    Oh, Koh Samui will definitely be a blast!!!

    Thanks!!

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  11. CypridDark,
    the girl on my left is so cute... especially when she was riding her scooter with scarf and shades on..

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  12. Encikgalol,

    Thank you for visiting my blog, bro...

    Grab the KLR 650, bro.. it's cheap to maintain and very reliable... Tak perlu bawa laju-laju... Petrol pun boleh jimat kalau bawa 110~130km/h and you don't feel tired.. These two are very important when we travel for long distance..

    Bro, we should team up one day and have gather all KLR members for a trip to Thailand.. Always visit my blog, bro.. I'd really appreciate your comments here... Thanks!!! :-)

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  13. Is it true bro?? the maintenance utk bike nie tak mahal sangat mcm superbike?? skarang aku tengah pakai FZ150i.. paling jauh dah sampai Songkhla, Samila Beach.. minggu depan insyaAllah Phuket Bike Week.. skarang harga KLR dalam RM40K something kan?? If kawa is smart enough.. CKD the thing.. boleh jual murah dari ER6.. sebab dia single cylinder jer.. aku pun tak minat laju2 nie.. syokk ooo santai.. pastu tengok plak bro wat design Red Bull, perghh.. meleleh.. bila plak nak angkat GS?? hehehe..

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  14. Encikgalol,
    the maintenance of KLR650 is very cheap... for example, oil filter is only RM14.. a set of good Metzeler tires is only RM580 (inc labour) and the tires can last up to 15,000 km..

    Kawasaki will not CKD KLR 650 because:
    a) There is no demand for KLR650 and dual-purpose bikes in Malaysia as Malaysians are more into superbikes, streetbikes and small cc bikes..

    b) Currently KLR 650 is assembled in Thailand for world market for many years already.. so Kawasaki has to be fair to Thailand government for not losing hundreds of Thai jobs.. it is all already written in the contract..

    c) Kasawaki has spent Millions of Dollars setting up the factory and facilities in Thailand.. also, the Thai staff have been trained and acquainted with KLR650..

    So Kawasaki has to concentrate on other models (new models) to be CKD in Malaysia.. example ER-6F as latest model to be CKD.. maybe Versys could be next because there is a big demand of Versys in Malaysia and it uses same technology with ER-6N & ER-6F... so the cost to train and expand the assembly line could be less.. ;-)

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  15. Encikgalol,

    BMW GS1200 Adventure?? Next week aku nak pergi BMW kat Glenmarie.. nak tanya2 harga, downpayment dan interest rate diaorg boleh bagi kat Adventure model... mmg tengah minat sgt nie... pagi malam selalu termimpi pasal GS1200 Adventure ni.. hehehe.. ;-)

    Next week i'm riding to Koh Samui for the Songkran Festival... hari tu ada plan nak pergi Phuket Bike Week, tapi overcrowded sangat bro.. if i take holiday, i prefer to go places which are relaxing and quiet... kalau ramai orang, aku rasa macam rugi holiday aku ni..

    Btw Bro, have a safe journey to Phuket... tolak awal sikit sebab kat Border Control Bkt Kayu Hitam / Dannok mesti long Queue sbb ramai bikers...

    Anyway, kalau nampak KLR650 Red Bull Dakar, kasi horn bro.. ;-)

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  16. Encik galol ko pun masuk blog ni?

    Taiko MLM ayam hehehehe....lawak tgk post ko kat MBC...

    Dakar rider:wahhh....the oil filter alone is cheap than my ZX2R....my oil filter original one was RM56....the price of the tyres,engine oil & maintanence all double the count....:(((

    Bro...you really going to get GS1200?
    Not opted for MotoMorini Stelvio1200?that thing has beautiful design for adventure bike & have 24 litres of fuel tank...good option for other adventure bike.

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  17. Cyprid : Aku start jumpak blog bro nie dalam MBC lah.. dalam thread KLR.. dalam Malaysia nie tak ramai yg pakai KLR.. kat Penang aku penah jumpak sekali ja.. mamat tue pomen Mega Fortune kalau tak silap aku.. ada box belakang 50 Liter..

    Globerider : Lepas pakai GS leh la pusing dunia plak.. mcm McGregor dgn Boorman.. aku jadi teruja nak pakai DP nih lepas tengok siri tue lah.. kenapa orang tak berani nak pusing dunia pakai sportbike/superbike?? konfem sakit pinggang.. betul tak bro?? hehehe..

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  18. Lagi satu nak tanya bro Globerider (ada nama lain tak?? pelik plak nak panggil globe nih.. mcm geografi plak) kalau tinggi macam aku dalam 1.7m, ada problem tak?? agak2 kaki sampai dak??

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  19. CypridDark,

    No more Italian bikes for me.. BMW has put tonnes of technologies on the GS1200.. it is very reliable, good on fuel consumption and Motorrad has plenty of spare parts in Malaysia.. the most important thing is, Comfort...

    also, GS1200 'Adventure' has 33-liters of fuel tank... it also comes with engine guard, tank guard, rear guards, aluminum side panniers, aluminum top box, Halogen Fog lamp, High Seat, Multispoke rims, knobby tires, etc etc...

    Does it worth of spending RM120,000 on GS1200 Adventure?? Definitely bro...

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  20. Encikgalol,

    Sportbike/superbike mana boleh bro.. sbb guna sportrims... even my friend punya V-Strom pergi Laos pun boleh rim bengkok (sbb V-strom pakai sportrims)... lagi satu, ground clearance tak lepas.. DP punya ground clearance tinggi & ada skid-plate lagi...

    another reason, sitting position DP dgn sportsbike memang lain... DP duduk macam kita duduk kat kerusi biasa... Knee Angle between 80-90 degrees,,, Sportsbike punya foot-pegs tinggi ke belakang, so knee angle mmg less than 45 degress... mmg boleh cramp kat knee and ankle area...

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  21. Encikgalol,

    You can call me Nomad Rider... hehehe... kalau panjang sangat, you can call me Arif..

    Bro, naik motor DP kena buat flamingo stand baru nampak macho... satu kaki kat ground, lagi satu kat foot-peg... macam motocross riders...

    lagi pun, buat apa nak dua-dua kaki cecah tanah... Bro, sekarang bukan zaman Flintsones, motor kena kayuh guna kaki... zaman sekarang motor dah ada engine... hehehe... Just kidding bro...

    Anyway, mmg KLR yg kat showroom tu tinggi... tapi bila dah duduk dan tanki minyak full tank, mesti motor ni turun skit... tambah pula bro dah bawa 2-3 bulan, mesti rear absorber dia dah season skit... so dia akan turun rendah... at that time, you'll have the confidence of riding tall bikes...

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  22. bravo!! i like this blog..

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  23. Pajebot,

    Do visit my blog often.. u're always welcome to write any comments here...

    Btw, i've seen your nickname in MBC website on KLR650 topic.. and yes, aku senyap2 baca kat situ gak.. pantau dari jauh.. heheee ;-)

    Anyway, there is always a guy from Bahrain reads my blog... do u know who's in Bahrain and active in MBC too? I hope he could write some comments here.. ;-)

    Thanks Pajebot!

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