Ride: Kuala Lumpur - Koh Samui, Thailand (Part 1)

Kuala Lumpur - Koh Samui, Thailand (7/4/2010)

Heyya..

It's been 1 week since i came back from Koh Samui.. it's about time to update the blog...

There were 4 riders went to Koh Samui.. Me (Kawa KLR650), Doc Holiday (BMW GS1200), Piee (Suzi DR Big) and Bard (Yam Fazer)...

Left from KL to Koh Samui at 0600 hours on Wednesday morning (7th April 2010).. Reached Malaysia-Thailand Border Control at 1000 hours and entered Dannok, Sadao... Had a brunch at a Thai restaurant.. it was a simple brunch...

Left Dannok and at 200 meters from Hatyai Highway 4 Interchange, there was a massive traffic jam... all roads were blocked by the traffic police as some Thai VIPs were visiting Hatyai city.. we were stranded in the traffic for almost 1 hour... (1 hour of riding lost equals to 140 km of travel distance)..

An hour later, we headed to Phatthalung on Highway 4 and continued on Highway 41 towards Thung Song.. Upon reaching Thung Song, we joined Route 403 which led us to Nakhon Si Thammarat..

To avoid from entering the buzz of Nakhon Si Thammarat city, we used Route 4103 as its city by-pass.. the Route 4103 joins with Route 401 and led us to Don Sak harbour...

At Don Sak harbour, the ferry ticket costs 240 Baht per person + big bike for One-Way.. it takes 1 and a half hour to reach to reach Koh Samui, depending on the sea current.. The ferry, Seatran Ferry, has air-conditional lounge, cafe, foot massage service and open-air seating area on the upper deck.. it seems most travelers would prefer to use Seatran Ferry than Raja Ferry... mind you, Seatran ferry can be crowded sometimes...

As we reached Koh Samui at 1600 hours, the island is smaller than Langkawi Island in Malaysia... the streets are small which suitable for mopeds, ridden mostly by tourists... we headed straight to Chaweng Beach, which is located opposite side of the island (East)... it took us almost 30 minutes to reach Centara Bay Hotel @ Chaweng Beach from the harbour...

In the evening at Chaweng Beach, it is not a great spot to watch sunset as the beach is on the east side of the island.. I noticed during the evening, there are many locals having picnics at Chaweng Beach... it is a good opportunity to meet the locals and ask for hints where to have meals at local restaurants at good prices...

On the next day, i spent most of the time at the Chaweng beach... trying hard to get sun tan as much as possible.. hehe

During the afternoon, i decided to explore the island more... hence, i took a ride to the View Point (highest peak of a cliff which oversees Chaweng Beach)...

snapped couple of photos and headed to Hin Ta Hin Yai (Grandfather stone and grandmother stone)... it is a popular tourist attraction of Koh Samui... basically, the two rocks look like genitals and they are located only just few meters away from each other...

After dinner, i decided to explore the Chaweng Pub Street...

At the end of the street, there's a joint called Reggae Bar... after 11 pm, the club gets crowded mostly with beautiful tourists... ;-P

On the next day, i moved to a different hotel, Chaweng Palace... while the rest, Doc Holiday, Piee & Bard have left to Phuket for Phuket Bike Week... hence, i was at Koh Samui by myself for the next 3 days... hehehe..  Oowieeee!!!

Total journey from Kuala Lumpur to Koh Samui is approximately 900 km via Nakhon Si Thammarat and it took us almost 6.5 hours to reach Don Sak (including lunch break) and additional of 1.5 hours to reach Koh Samui via ferry...



HooRahh!!!

Ride: Koh Samui, Thailand (Few hours before departing)

Heyya...

I have packed my rucksack with all the necessary clothings as a nomad would have... As usual, i'd take a photo of the things before i start to pack them into the rucksack.. It is a reference for me to remember the things to be brought for my next trip...


Anyway, i will be departing in about 4 hours time (0500 hours) and shall be meeting Piee and Doc Holiday at R&R Rawang... I hope to get enough sleep later although i'm pretty excited which won't help me to sleep..


We shall be arriving at Don Sak Pier (East of Surat Thani) by 1.00 pm - 2.00pm... will be taking a ferry to Koh Samui from Don Sak... the ferry might take 2 hours to reach Koh Samui...

I will stay for 3 Nights in Koh Samui and 1 Night in Hatyai before returning to KL...

Another tale of my 3Bs adventure... ;-)

HooRahh!!

Ride: Koh Lanta - Island Hopping, Thailand

Koh Lanta - Island Hopping (18/3/2010), Day-2

Heyya...

On the second day in Koh Lanta, i went for the Island-Hopping between 4 islands in Southern Koh Lanta region..

The tour included lunch and snorkeling on 4 islands..

At 8.30 am, there was a pick-up truck waiting at hotel lobby to fetch us for the tour to the Saladan Jetty... Upon arriving at the jetty, we were gathered with other tourists.. there were 14 tourists on board of the boat.. at 9.00 am, we left the jetty and headed to Koh Ngai as the first snorkeling spot... the water is clean & clear and the depth was only 8-10 feet... there were hundreds of fish swimming in the coral and approached us for food (bread)..

After 1 hour spending with the fish and corals, we headed to Morakot Cave (Tam Nam)... initially, i didn't have a clue of the place... from the outside, the island looks like a big lime stone cave... we were ordered to use life jackets and swam in a line... the tour guide led us into the cave and we were swimming for almost 10-15 minutes in the cave with total darkness...

Then, there was an opening of the darkness... as we swam nearer and entered the opening, i was absolutely amazed with the scenery... there is a small beach in the middle of the untouched cave... Too beautiful to describe... all of us spent for 1 hour in the middle of the cave... as more tourists coming, we had to leave the beach by swimming into the same path as we entered...

The best video i could find from Youtube:

We then left the Morokot Cave and headed to Koh Kradan with full speed... it was nearly 1.00 pm..

We reached Koh Kradan and there was one Japanese chic who can wait to swim in the water... Do you know why? The sea water at Koh Kradan was so clear... it seems the water has been filtered...

As i got down from the boat, i jumped straight into the water, ignoring the boatman's order to have lunch first... the beach is so beautiful, something which you don't get in Malaysia... between swimming in the clear water and lunch, i chose to swim first.. LoL

Anyway, the lunch by the beach was simple, yet very delicious... it was a typical Thai set of lunch with Green Curry Chicken, Veggies and Fried Chicken... Once finished, i spent another 1 hour swimming in the sea again.. ;-P



The time was almost 2.30 pm when we had to leave the Beautiful Koh Kradan.. I will definitely stay longer for few days in Koh Kradan during my next trip to Koh Lanta...





Finally, we then headed to Koh Mah.. we stopped at 1st spot but then the sea current was getting stronger, hence we had to move to another snorkeling spot... Thus, all tour boats had to go to the 2nd spot, which made the place over crowded.. Koh Mah has a deeper depth for snorkeling.. I didn't enjoy snorkeling at Koh Mah as there were too many people... anyway, i cannot blame them as the weather wasn't on our side...

That concluded my 850 Baht Island-Hopping tour.. it was fun as i got to make new friends on the boat as well.. :-P










I came back to the hotel, i still managed to swim in the hotel's infinity pool and went to watch the sunset again along Prae Ae Beach... at 8.30 pm, there was a Fire Show along the beach...

It was my last evening at Koh Lanta... hence i spent every single moment by sitting on beach chair along the quiet and peaceful beach.. enjoying the sunset, clear sky and warm sea breeze... As i was watching the sunset, it seemed the time had stopped and the beach became silent for a moment.. How i wish i could live in Koh Lanta forever... Definitely i will come to Koh Lanta every year...





HooRahh!!

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!!

Koh Lanta - Island Hopping (Southern Region)