Ride: Hatyai, Thailand (Day-2)

Hatyai, Thailand (20/2/2010), Day-2

Heyya..

On 20th February, i decided not to join the rest of the group to travel and stay at Dannok, Thailand... Dannok is a border town of Southern Thailand and located in Sadao Province... The reason being why i di not wanna join them is, i have been to Dannok for countless times... :-P

As the group checked out and we waved goodbyes, i went for a lunch with a friend of mine at Diana Complex... my friend, Nong, who works as a cocktail mixer at Ice Bar where i went for clubbing a night earlier.. then, we decided to go to Samila Beach, which is situated 30 km from Hatyai city centre...

We left the city after lunch (3.00pm) and it took me only 20 minutes to reach Samila Beach...






Once arrived, enjoyed couple bottles of Chang and Leo, then headed straight into the sea...

The beach is shallow but it has huge waves.. I'd reckon is a great place for surfers...

After had a good swim and chill out for almost 2 hours, we decided to leave the beach and went to a light house near the beach as said by my friend.. i took couple of photos on the rock but didn't manage to go to the light house as it was sunset..

i was afraid i could not ride in the dark as i did not bring my helmet's clear visor through out my Cambodia ride.. lesson learnt.. :-P

Had breakfast at my favourite local restaurant in the next morning near Lee Garden Hotel...

Checked out from Florida Hotel and rode to Dannok.. Crossed the border, stamped my passport and returned Custom Declaration Form.. Remember, the form must be returned.. and if not, i will be penalized 2000 Baht when i'll be entering Thailand on the next trip...

Then i met with other bikers at Changlun, Malaysia and rode back to Kuala Lumpur..

That's all for the Cambodia trip.. we've managed to cover the Southcoast and East of Thailand, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia... total mileage is estimated 4,700 km.. total money spent for Petrol, Accommodations, Meals, Souvenirs and Entertainment almost reached RM2,600.00 for 11 days... Simply Amazing!

Come to think about it again, i spent RM2,600 for the 11-days journey which takes me to Surat Thani, Aranya Prathet via Bangkok, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Pattaya, Hua Hin and Hatyai... stayed at 3-4 stars hotel, delicious meals, great entertainment, petrol and souvenirs...

if i were traveling by airplane to Siem Reap, i might spend the exact amount but i could be staying in Siem Reap for 3-4 nights without having a chance to visit other cities, sceneries of countryside and tourist spots in Thailand..


HooRahh!!

Ride: Hua Hin - Hatyai, Thailand

Hua Hin - Hatyai, Thailand (19/2/2010)


Heyya..

It is such a shame to stay at beautiful beach town such as Hua Hin only for a night... i love Hua Hin so much.. No worries, i shall visit Hua Hin again when i will be traveling to visit my friend in Khlong Yai.. :wink:

Anyway, our next destination is Hatyai, which is located 750 km to the South of Hua Hin along Route 4 highway...

The night at Hilton Hotel in Hua Hin, me, Doc Holiday and Piee decided to ride in a group and seperated from Zaini's group... we decided to split up with them as we our bikes (KLR650, Versys and DR Big) can do a long range of mileage and left Hua Hin as early as 6.00 am.. we wanted to save our time by doing only 2 stops (300 km intervals) and reach Hatyai at noon so we could spend more time in the city... Hence, our refueling would be done at Chumphon and Wiang Sa..


But the plan of reaching at Hatyai at noon was a failure as Piee's bike broke down at Thap Sakae.. Anyway, we still managed to reach Hatyai at 2.30 pm and still had the time to spend in the city... OooWiee!

We checked in at Florida Hotel, Hatyai which is roughly 1.5 km away from Lee Gardens Hotel Plaza (the heart of Hatyai city).. Florida Hotel has a great location for those who would not wanna stay in the hustle bustle of the city and prefer to take tuk-tuk to the city.. anyway, the hotel is only 1.5 km from the city.. the room costs 550 Baht per night..


I decided to have a full body massage in Hatyai as i've never had one since the day i've left Kuala Lumpur, been reached Thailand and Cambodia..

I had a wonderful lunch with Eddy, Doc Holiday and Piee at thai restaurant, called Kai Tod Daycha.. Eddy, a friend of Doc Holiday who rode from Taiping and joined us in Hatyai, kindly treated us the great lunch... Cheers mate!

Then most of us spent most of the time by ourselves.. i went a walk with Piee around the Florida hotel as there are many sight-seeing places can be done... hehehe.. Piee is such a funny guy!! He's a true, great entertainer!!

The night, i decided to walk around Lee Garden Hotel Plaza.. there were many tourists having street food..

i met a friendly girl who was willing to show me around Hatyai on her motorcycle at night... such a great opportunity for me to become a pillion of someone who knows the city very well...

then we had McDonald's for dinner... why McD? it's because i'm always hooked with fastfood, even in Kuala Lumpur.. I won't be satisfied without fastfood.. hehehe...
Anyway, I simply love McDonald's in Thailand as they serve Triple Cheeseburger.. they were Absolutely Juicy and Yummy!

Later that night, i decided to have fun and experience Hatyai nightclub.. so i went to a club, called Ice Bar, and actually it's a chic funky club..


Therefore, to summarize the ride from Hua Hin to Hatyai, we rode almost 750 km and took my long range group almost 8 hours to reach Hatyai including the time of fixing my friend's bike...


HooRahh!!

Next Ride: Hatyai (Thailand), Day-2

Ride: Pattaya - Hua Hin, Thailand

Pattaya - Hua Hin, Thailand (18/2/2010)

Heyya...

I was too excited to leave the busy Pattaya as my next destination would be Hua Hin.. I've read lots of good review on Hua Hin..

Hua Hin is a beach resort place, near 200 km south of Bangkok, where most Bangkok residents would visit during weekends.. Unlike Pattaya as westerners would prefer... Hua Hin is the oldest and most traditional Thai holiday resort.. Hua Hin is also known as the Royalty's favourite beach resort.. 

We left Pattaya at 7.30 in the morning... the traffic was building up, but we were lucky to leave a lil bit early.. We joined Route 3, which led us to Bangkok city...

Moments later, we passed Si Racha and Chonburi town.. Upon reaching Bangkok city, we decided to ride closely and did not wanna get lost as some did in the beginning of the tour...

Almost 1.5 hours from Pattaya, we successfully reached Phra Pradaeng @ Chao Phraya River... we took the same barge, which we did on our first Bangkok trip and cross the Chao Phraya River... we then continued our ride heading towards Samut Sakhon and led to Samut Songkhram on Route 35..

We then exited the Route 35 and rode along Route 4, which is the highway to the south coast of Thailand..

About 120 km later, we reached Hua Hin... OooWiee!!! 

Usually Hua Hin will be packed during weekends and i was lucky to be there on Thursday... so the Hua Hin beach town would be less crowded...

We reached Hua Hin and checked in at a hotel which is located along the Market Street, Dechanuchit Road... the hotel is called Baan Permchan, is so clean and i love its interior... also, the hotel owner was very soft-spoken and very friendly...



The room is simple, bright and clean.. i was very happy with the room.. in fact, i could go to the top floor to do laundry and the hotel has a beautiful sight of Hua Hin at night...

"The best known of these is definitely Hua Hin night market. A visit here is an absolute must during your stay. It is located in the centre of town and runs up from Petchkasem Road to the railway line and opens from around 18.00.  Most stalls will start to break down at approximately 23.00, however some selling food will stay open until dawn.

The market is a fascinating insight into Thailand and the way Thais like to live. You will find countless outlets selling delicious food that is freshly cooked and served to you within a matter of minutes. 

Do also take a look behind the stalls on the pavements because there are plenty of restaurants there as well. Other than the food, you'll discover an overwhelming variety of local handicrafts, souvenirs and clothing on sale. 

The night market can get very hot and busy at weekends, so take your time here. Prices can also be a bit more expensive than other markets in Hua Hin, but they still represent good value."

After checked-in, we had a wonderful seafood lunch.. it was seafood fried rice and crab meat cooked with curry leaves.. Delish!!!

Then we headed straight to Hua Hin beach and jumped into the sea... the beach is very clean and the water is blue, crystal clear.. i swam couple of hours and took few breaks accompanied with bottles of cold beer by the beach.. wickedddd.. 

As me, Zaini and Piee spent few hours by the beach, it was time to head back to our hotel...

As mentioned, our hotel is located along the Market Street... hence we had to walk through the night market.. it was good as we had the chance to see and buy souvenirs, gifts and food along the night market... the night market is not as busy as what you'd think.. i could see there are lots of Russian tourists at Hua Hin...

*photos courtesy of Zaini Zaid

To me, Hua Hin is the best place of all the places i have been through out the journey.. it was good to chill out in this town...

After dinner, i decided to have a walk along the Night Market and headed to Hilton Hotel.. Hilton hotel is located only 1 km away from my hotel.. there are pubs and bars between Hilton and my hotel... i decided to have a drink at Captain Inn Bar and made friend with a bar hostess, Miss Dao..




*view from my hotel.. right along the night market and beach @ Hilton is not far away (top left building)




Then i joined Piee, Zaini, Doc Holiday and Doc Gwendy at a walk-path bar, facing the sea near Hilton hotel... the sea view was beautiful, even at night.. it's such a great place to chill in the evening...

Total journey we did from Pattaya was 320 km and took us almost 3 hours to reach Hua Hin beach... I really enjoyed most of my time at Hua Hin beach... I will definitely be visiting this beach again..



HooRahh!!

Next Ride: Hua Hin - Hatyai, Thailand

Ride: Pattaya, Thailand (Day-2)

Pattaya, Thailand (17/2/2010), Day-2

Heyya..

We stayed in Pattaya, Thailand for 3 days (2 nights)... on the first day, we reached Pattaya in the evening.. hence i decided to explore most of my time in Pattaya on the 2nd day...


Pattaya is located in the east coast of Gulf of Thailand, about 165 km from Bangkok city..


I woke up late at 11.00 am and had brunch at Northern Indian restaurant, where i had a good Chicken Tikka Masala and Naan bread...

Then me, Doc Holiday and Piee had a nice drinking session along Pattaya Beach.. it was very relaxing and i decided to swim in the sea... whilst the other two had foot massage at the place where we were relaxing.. we were by the beach until the evening.. no wonder i am getting darker these days...


The 3 of us then had a superb seafood dinner at Marina seafood... it was a treat by Doc Holiday... Cheers Doc!

After dinner, we headed to a Utopia Bar where it had a live band along the Walking Street.. the band was good; played 70's and 80's rock songs...

the best part of the Utopia Bar, there is a pole dancer on top of the bar.. Piee simply can't get his eyes off the girls... the girls were sexy, indeed...

We didn't sit and drink at the bar for very long as we had to leave to Hua Hin in the very early morning on the next day as we had to travel through Bangkok city... We tried to avoid the peak hours of Pattaya and Bangkok...




HooRahh!!

Next Ride: Pattaya - Hua Hin Beach, Thailand

Ride: Phnom Penh - Pattaya, Thailand

Phnom Penh - Pattaya, Thailand (16/2/2010)

Heyya...

I woke up as early as 6.00 in the morning in Phnom Penh... woke up with joyfulness as i knew i have successfully been in Phnom Penh, Cambodia... it was time to go home... All my things have been packed in the Givi topbox a night before... I came down to the hotel lobby to meet the others...

As usual before i ride to any destination, I would put the topbox on its rack.. Lube the bike chain and warmed the engine for at least 10 minutes.. Then i would ride for 1-2 km to make sure everything is good and the bike is ready to be ridden..

*photo courtesy of Shamsrad

*photo courtesy of Ariff Hashim



As planned, we departed to Pattaya, Thailand at 7.00 am... we refilled our gas tanks at Total gas station... We had our light breakie at the gas station, everyone seemed to have a cup of coffee before the ride...

We left the gas station 30 minutes later.. we headed to the South West of Phnom Penh, entering National Highway 4...

*photos courtesy of Shamsrad

By the time we left the gas station, traffic started to build up as the locals were starting to go to work...

As we were riding miles away from the city, the traffic got better.. less cars along the Route 4...

Before we reached at a junction which separates the route to Sihanoukville and Koh Kong, we had a tremendous ride... we enjoyed the ride as the road was winding through the hills of Damrei Mountains, also known as Elephant Mountains...

* Picture courtesy of Zaini Zaid

*Picture courtesy of Ariff Hashim

At the junction of Sihanoukville and Koh Kong, we stopped for coconut drinks and had the local Cambodian Durians.. they were marvelous and taste similar with our local durians...

We continued our hilly ride until we reached Koh Kong Bridge.. the bridge connects the 2 neighbouring countries of Thailand and Cambodia on Kah Bpow river and it is located 10km from Khlong Yai town (Thai Border) and 133km from Phnom Penh.. The Koh Kong bridge is estimated 1900 meters long and it is the longest bridge in Cambodia..

Upon reaching the Khlong Yai, we passed several casinos along the coastline...

At the immigration office, i've met a new "friend"... hehehe... some said, i have unfinished business at Khlong Yai, Trat... true, indeed... i need to visit here again although it's 2,000km away from Kuala Lumpur... :wink:

Entering Thailand, we continued our ride to Pattaya... it would be another 280 km ride... the initial ride along the coastline was exhilarating as we knew we were already in Thailand and it is much safer to ride... I could see the beaches along the Route 3 were beautiful.. i must come back to Khlong Yai someday...

We then stopped for a quick snack and refueled at Khlung... Then headed straight to Pattaya..

Upon reaching Pattaya city at 4.00pm, we started to feel the heat of the traffic... we were new in Pattaya so we did our little tour around the city and along the beach, which is the hot-spot of tourists... the day was hot and full of tuk-tuks...



We managed to find our hotel, The Green View Service Apartments, along Soi 15...






Soi 15 (Street 15) is located 50 meters away from the infamous Walking Street... there were AGo Go bars, pubs and clubs beneath and beside our hotel...

*picture courtesy of Zaini Zaid

We stayed in Pattaya for 3 days (2 nights)... we had plenty of time to explore the city and swim in the Pattaya beach...

To summarize the ride, we did almost 410 km of riding from Phnom Penh to Pattaya... the road was winding, hilly and breathtaking... we finally made our journey through Cambodia..


HooRahh!!

Next: Pattaya, Thailand (Day-2)