Koh Phangan!!!

Heyya..

I woke up at 2.30 in the morning, took shower and put my riding apparels on, had couple of Nescafe ice latte in cans, unplugged the iPod and HTC X One from their charger units, packed them into the GSA handle bar pouch.. Also I’ve almost forgotten, to wash the Scoot Goggles lenses.. I remember during my previous ride to Koh Samui, I was struggling when riding at night due to dusty goggles lenses…

The initial plan of going to Krabi took place a week before as I should have gone to Krabi few days before Merdeka weekend.. this was to avoid Merdeka crowd in Krabi as Malaysians tend to go there for a quick weekend holiday.. Unfortunately, I left my passport, bike grant and Thai vehicle insurance at my dairy farm, near LCCT Sepang Airport.. but I could not delay the trip by a day or two, due to my friend’s wedding in Pekan 3 days later on Saturday.. Due to that, I had to postpone the Krabi trip to a week later..

The riding to Krabi was torturous as I had to ride through heavy rain in the dark from Tapah to Bukit Kayu Hitam to Patthalung.. it was cold, dark and my Clover “Rain Proof” pants did not work very well!!!! Now I know Clover products are useful for the first 2 years, but then, they start not to become water proof anymore.. my bottom part was wet and the rain passed through the pants and the water went into the boots.. I reached the border control by 6.45am, did passport and customs declaration and left Thailand’s Sadao Border Control at 7.30am..

As I was riding towards Patthalung, I started to think that Krabi is such a boring place and it is too family oriented beach resort.. Many Malaysians love to visit Krabi.. i can even say, every Malaysian has visited Krabi.. I wanted to go to a beach where I wont find any Malaysian bikers or Malaysian families on holiday.. hehee

Therefore, I decided to head to Koh Phangan in Surat Thani.. the decision of going to Koh Phangan was made as I was nearly approaching Patthalung’s intersection of Highway 4 and Highway 41 on its flyover bridge.. That’s me.. always make last minute planning and I can always change my plan easily.. that’s the reason why I love to ride solo.. and, Koh Phangan is a Party Island.. Ooohh the babyyyy!!

 

Alright, back to my journey log.. I reached Don Sak pier at 10.15am.. there are 2 ferry services; Seatran Ferry and Raja (Racha) Ferry.. But only Raja Ferry goes to Koh Phangan.. Although Raja Ferry goes to Koh Phangan, the number of ferries departing to Koh Phangan are very limited.. there times are 8am, 10am, 2pm and 4pm..

I missed the 10.00 am ferry by 20 minutes.. hence I had to wait for the next ferry which departs at 2.00 pm… the cost of the ferry is 460 Baht that includes 1 big motorcycle and 1 handsome passenger.. LoL

While waiting for nearly 4 hours, I had green curry chicken lunch at Raja’s cafeteria.. the cafeteria is clean, it looks it's been built recently and in general they sell thai dishes and noodles.. 

Unfortunately the ferry didn’t arrive at 2.00 as scheduled.. it came at 2.30 pm as the weather was terribly bad for the arriving ferry against the strong sea current.. 

While waiting for the ferry to arrive I’ve met a girl, Amanda Li, from Hong Kong, travelling alone.. i've got to know she’s into diving and Koh Phangan has several beautiful diving spots..

Finally the ferry arrives, loaded the GSA on the ferry and later, the ferry departed.. On the Raja ferry, the ferry seems to be an old ferry.. compare with Seatran Ferry, the interior of Seatran ferry is much better and cleaner.. anyway, I should not be complaining as Seatran doesn’t provide ferry service to Koh Phangan..

The ferry journey took almost 3 hours to reach Thong Sala Pier at Koh Phangan.. it was nearly 5.30 pm and dark..

According to Amanda, Koh Phangan has many beach spots but the most beautiful beach spots are located at Haad Yao and Haad Salad.. so I headed straight to Haad Yao from Thong Sala Pier.. it took nearly 20 minutes to reach Haad Yao from the pier.. the road is narrow and hilly.. so need to watch out for small bikes/scooters crossing the narrow road..

Haad Yao has many hotel resorts.. I went to 6 hotels at Haad Yao area and found few which are nice to stay.. then I decided to check out Haad Salad because I’ve heard the area is quieter than Haad Yao and the beach/lagoon is nicer..

..Thong Sala Pier, Koh Phangan..

It was nearly dark so I went to one hotel at Haad Salad, called Salad Beach Resort.. I bargained the room rate and got 900 Baht for a night.. the resort is beautiful with Thai wood craftsmanship, bungalows facing a swimming pool, private beach and it includes breakfast..

I went to night market in Koh Phangan town.. it is a small town.. beside the night market, it has a food court where u can dine the night market food and also it serves thai dishes..

The next morning i had a wonderful breakfast provided by the Salad Beach Resort with a great superb morning view of Haad Salad aka Pirate Beach.. since the hotel is located at a lagoon, there are not many beach tourist at the Haad Salad beach.. Every morning, there is a hotel staff cleaning the beach and scrapping off sea shells on the beach.. they really keep the beach clean and tidy..

 After lunch, i teamed up with Amanda, who also stayed at the same hotel with me, and explored the island with my GSA.. 

On the Koh Phangan map, there is an island which is attached to the main Koh Phangan island, called Koh Ma..  Unfortunately, the sand at Koh Mah is very coarse and the beach is quite dirty and not maintained very well.. Koh Mah is connected to Koh Phangan by a sandbar..

I stayed at Koh Phangan for 3 days and 2 nights.. really had a wonderful time at Koh Phangan.. it was such a beautiful day on the day i left Koh Phangan.. i took the 7.00 am ferry to Don Sak and the sky was blue and clear and the sea was calmed...

I reached Don Sak pier at 10.00 am and the day was getting warmer and hot... for the south bound to KL, i chose to use the eastern coastal route via Sichon, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Hua Sai, Ranot and Songkhla.. i've done this route 3 years ago when i had my previous KLR 650 RedBull.. it was nice to use the coastal route again.. bringing back all the sweet memories..

HooRahh!!

China-Laos Solo Ride ::Pre Ride::

Heyya..

It was on February the First, Year Two Thousand Eleven.. The time was in the afternoon at almost 1pm.. I was doing nothing at home after playing online gaming Modern Warfare 2 on Playstation 3 console.. I’d been playing online since morning coffee at 7 o’clock in the morning and had 2 meals of McDonalds delivery.

I was bored… very bored…

Then I decided to take a spin on my 30 Years Anniversary GS Adventure, to Souled Out at Hartamas for couple of pints of the black stuff, the Guinness.. this is how I enjoyed my life to the fullest, while most people were working… LoL

While I was enjoying the second cold pint of Guinness, I had a crazy idea of riding up to China-Laos Border alone… on the NEXT DAY!

Normally, I do not plan when it comes to riding.. I always plan within at least 12 hours before I decide where to ride. And I will never use GPS unit.. I always use road MAPS.. Well, most people think I’m crazy for planning a very long ride ‘alone’ and only plan couple of hours before I start the epic journey. 

That is me.. That is Globe Rider, the Legend!

On the way back home, after 2 pints of Guinness, I paid a visit at Sunny Cycle to buy and change for a piece of new Metzeller Tourance XP rear tire.. Sunny gave couple of hints of China-Laos road condition and I pretty got the picture of it, especially on Laos’ Highway 13..

Then re-filled the huge GS Adventure’s 37-liters fuel tank (including reserve) at Shell for Ron 97 fuel.. The fuel-distance mileage showed 740km of mileage with the full fuel tank. I was really up for the China-Laos Border solo ride.

As I came back home, I started to packing my things, re-charged my Olympus E-P1 PEN camera and iPod.. Eventually, everything was ready but I was missing something... hmmmm… a Laos Road Map, which is the most important thing..

In the evening, I called my friend, Aswadin, to accompany me to Kinokuniya at KLCC to buy Laos Map and had an early KFC dinner. By the way, Aswadin is a friend of mine who enjoys listening to my great riding adventures.. I must always have a heavy dinner plate-all thighs-original-KFC dinner before I do a long ride (average 1,500km in one day) as I can have an early sleep so I can wake up at 2.30 in the morning before I start my ride at 3.00 in the morning..

By the way, have I mentioned that I bought the Laos Map merely few hours before I started my journey to China-Laos?

For your info, this is how I plan my ride.. Always few hours before I start my journey… I do not plan 2-3 months ahead… there’s no thrill and no challenging when you plan 2-3 months earlier.. I’ve heard people say something like, “Fail to plan is to Plan a failure”… Oh, that is so crap, lame and fucking nonsense!

Globe Rider way is:

“Choose a destination, fill up the fuel tank, put my Game Face On and Go!”.. 

click:
--START THE SOLO JOURNEY--

HooRahh!!

Last day of 2011..

Heyya..

Today is 31st December 2011... it's the last day of year 2011..

The year of 2011 means a lot to me.. i have reached 30 years old.. (30 is the new 20, by the way!)

Also, i have achieved few things before i've turned 30 years old.. such as; riding alone to China-Laos, covered Cambodia, did Mae Hong Son's 1000 Corners TWICE within 3 Months, worked in Chokchai Thailand, open up my dairy business, bought Pajero Sport after i sold my Honda NSX, and most importantly, owning an R1200 GS Adventure (not many people have owned the GS Adventure at the age of below 30), and many more..

I hope there will be more great things to come in year 2012..

HooRahh!!

Arai Tour Cross II helmet.. After 4 years..

Heyya..

After 4 years I have been using the Arai Tour Cross II helmet, its condition is still considerably good and solid. The cushions still could hold onto my face / head although it is already worn by 25%.  Not bad if I consider I have been using it for the past 4 years in many types of weather conditions, crashes, doing almost everyday on long ride (+600km per day)..

The first time I used the Tour Cross II helmet when I had the Aprilia Pegaso Strada (fcuking crap bike, trust me!).. it didn’t have tall windscreen and I survived using the Tour Cross II with its long chin enduro helmet design and helmet cap at high speed.. At first, I didn’t feel comfortable at high speed especially when I needed to do shoulder check maneuverings.. Furthermore at high speed, Tour Cross II helmet can give you a hell of neck pain if you don’t have a strong neck muscle..

Also at high speed, I need to keep my head steady because a small turning movement could make the helmet vibrate rapidly, thus making me having bad headaches..

Then I sold the CRAPrilia (did I spell it correctly?) bike and bought Kawasaki KLR 650 (2010 model).. The KLR 650 is such a great, brilliant and lovely bike.. It’s tall, big and it has the aggressive enduro look with 21-inch front multispoke rim, wide handle bar, long front suspension (although it’s too soft), comfortable seat and big 22.1 liters of fuel tank. Although my current ride, the 30 Years Anniversary R1200 GS Adventure, has 33 liters of fuel tank (excluding the 4-liter of reserve), I still consider the 22.1 liters tank is big for this 650cc, high torque @ low-rpm thumper engine.. With a full tank of fuel, I can easily do ~430km of mileage on this superb 1987 bomb-proof-engine KLR 650. This is one of the reasons why the US Marine Corps uses the KLR 650 as one of its fleet.

Anyway, back to the Tour Cross II helmet.. Although the KLR 650’s windscreen is not a tall and big as the BMW GS Adventure’s, it didn’t give me any trouble. The KLR 650 is not a fast bike as it gets wobbled if it is ridden at the speed of 150 km/h.. In fact, the KLR 650 struggles to achieve 150 km/h speed barrier.. It handles well below 140km/h, thus making the Tour Cross II feel at its comfort zone.. Therefore, I never encountered any problems with the Tour Cross II helmet and I loved the helmet every moment I used it with the KLR 650. They both are such perfect combos!

In December 2010, I had the opportunity to buy the BMW “30 Years Anniversary” R1200 GS Adventure.. My business had been doing very well and I’ve been dreaming to own a GS Adventure. The R1200 GS Adventure has been my dream bike ever since I grew interests on dual-purpose bikes.

Anyway, the GS Adventure model comes with larger windscreen and front screen spoiler. These two contribute a lot on the front wind hitting on the rider and also protect from being hit by stone chips. They are so large that make me feel hot when I ride in a hot day. Hence, I removed the Arai Tour Cross II visor and use a pair of Scott Goggles. These goggles give more air to flow inside the helmet, on the face area.

Wearing the Goggles also gives lots of advantages. On a foggy day, the mist does not enter the goggles and this is very helpful for those who wear power-glasses when riding, like me. The mist does not even get on the glasses; thus, no fog is developed on them as no warm exhaled-air gets onto the glasses.

Secondly, it is guaranteed no dust or sand can get into my eyes. I really hate when this happens. With the goggles, you can say goodbye to the dust and sand.

The only disadvantage of using the goggles is during heavy rainstorm. The big particle of rain will hit on my face especially on my nose and upper lip. They can be pain in the arse! The only way I can avoid this is by sit slightly closer to the big windscreen, to get protected by it. Or sometimes, I tend to cover the mouth with my left hand, but riding with one hand on the throttle is dangerous on heavy rainstorm.

Conclusion, I really love the Arai Tour Cross II helmet. It suits me very well with my style of riding and also on enduro design outfit. I would recommend this helmet if the user rides below 150 km/h of speed (without big & tall windscreen) and has strong neck muscle.

No doubt the Tour Cross II is proven and widely used by over-landers around the world. It also has been documented on Charlie and Ewan McGregor’s Long Way Round and Long Way Down documentaries.

HooRahh!!

--My 30 Years Anniversary GS Adventure--

Heyya…

Some of you might have been wondering why I always mention my R1200 GS Adventure as “30 Years Anniversary GSA”…

Well, I love mentioning it as it is limited and BMW came up with the model to celebrate its 30 Years Anniversary of GS bike, which the first GS, the R80 GS, was invented in 1980.

How different is my 30 Years Anniversary GS Adventure compare with other R1200 GS Adventure?

For your info, the 30 Years Anniversary GS Adventure comes with bigger bash plate (which cannot be bought from Motorrad and no other 3^rd party makes it), bigger handle guard and Red Adventure Seat.

There are hundreds of the normal R1200 GS (Biasa) and R1200 GS Adventure in Malaysia BUT there are only 9 units of 30 Years Anniversary R1200 GS Adventure in Malaysia.. and mine is one of them. Wicked!!

HooRahh!!

TGNMBB -- Thank God No More Blackberry!

Heyya..

Finally, I have got rid of my Blackberry Bold 9700.. All I can say, it was a bloody crap phone! (apart of its BBM)

After nearly 1 year of using it, I had major problem with its battery. It drained too soon and even died off when its indicator stated there were still half left.

I changed to a new battery but after weeks of using it, more problems came. Every time I surf the Internet browser or sms or have a chat, the BB tends to switch off or sometimes, restart by itself. When it restarted, it tends to re-loop its restart procedure for almost 20 minutes.

Now I’m waiting for Samsung’s latest phone, the Galaxy Nexus. Everybody has switched to touch screen smart phones these days.. no more Blackberry please.

HooRahh!!

Alpinestars Bionic II

Heyya…

For years, I’ve been dreaming for having motocross outfit as my riding attire. But as I always travel far in Indo-China countries, the weather gets hot and rainy at times. Hence, I tend to ride with my Dainese jacket and Clover pants, which they were both constructed with Gore-Tex material.

This year, after experiencing riding in China-Laos in summer, I was bored with the outfit. I was looking something, which is light, cool and easy to move around. Also, something that looks wicked with my Arai’s Tour Cross-II helmet and Scott Goggles. Therefore I started my search for a body amour but none of the body armour suits sold in Malaysia have the looks which I’ve been looking for. Until I’ve found the Alpinestars Bionic II.

I read its reviews on the net and most users gave thumbs up on the armour. It is light, it protects and hugs my body nicely and its design is better than others. The nets are stretchable and they feel cool during hot day. Normally, I would not go for Alpinestars' products because I’ve had disappointing experiences with the brand especially on its quality control. I’ll see how long the body armour will last.

The next step is to find a nice combo design of jersey and pants which suit well with the 30 Years Anniversary R1200GSA scheme.

HooRahh!!

Top Box-less..

Heyya..

There was one day, I was wondering if my 30 Years Anniversary GSA would look good without the Hepco & Becker top box.

I’ve been using the top box since the first day I bought the R1200 GSA and it has never been taken off the bike. As I was going through the photo album of the day when I purchased the GSA from BMW Motorrad, I noticed how beautiful the GSA itself without any accessories.

Hence, I took my GSA for a spin without the top box. The GSA looks much nicer with its more aggressive 

looks as an enduro dual-purpose bike.

HooRahh!!

My Globe Nomad Rider Blog needs to be updated!!!

Arrrgghhh...

Since i've been working on my dairy farm, which is called Nakhon Ratchasima Dairy Farm, i haven't got any time to update my blog at all...

There are few ride reports i need to write, such as:

1. Solo Ride to China Border and Laos
2. Christmas in Koh Samui with Adventure Ride riders
3. Solo Ride to Pak Chong, Nakhon Ratchasima 
4. Work at Chokchai Farm in Pak Chong... but this time, i drove my Pajero Sport to Chokchai Farm
5. And not to forget, i need to finish the Second Ride to Golden Triangle, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son... hehehee

I will update these rides someday... and also gonna make a link for Nakhon Ratchasima Dairy Farm and my new Mitsubishi Pajero Sport SUV in this blog too...



HooRahh!!