Ride: Songkhla, Thailand

Kuala Lumpur - Songkhla, Thailand (20/6/2010)

Heyya..

It was Saturday late evening, i was thinking what to do on Sunday.. should i ride to Awana and Bukit Tinggi? or should i ride to Cherating, Pahang?

Nahhh... they are too 'near' for me and they are in Malaysia.. Also, ride in Malaysia?? Apa barangggg.. Hahaaa ;-P

Then i was asking myself, how fit i am now before Chiang Mai ride in July? I will ride solo to Chiang Mai and it will cover almost 6,000 km of distance...

Hence i decided to ride solo to Songkhla, via Hatyai town.. Songkhla is located almost 30 km from Hatyai and 595 km from Kuala Lumpur... 
A very Short ride for me.. ;-P

So i left my house at 7 o'clock in the morning.. for this trip, i travelled very light.. brought couple pair of T-shirts and sandals.. Also, i wanted to test 2 new items, which are Tank Bag and Scott-Oiler chain lubricant..

I reached Danok at 11.00 am after clearing both Malaysian and Thai Immigration and Customs.. this time, i skipped my lunch at my favourite Danok restaurant as i wanted to have BBQ Chicken Rice in my favourite Hatyai restaurant... so far, i've never missed the BBQ chicken rice there...

As i reached Hatyai, i checked-in at Lee Garden Plaza Hotel... it is a 4-star hotel and located in the centre of Hatyai town... i got the room for 1000 Baht including breakfast for two... then i headed for a lunch and went to Ko Yo, Songkhla...

Ko Yo is an island in Great Songkhla Lake and located 35 km from Hatyai town.. The first stop i made was at Southern Folklore Museum.. the museum is on a hill and it has an amazing view of Tinsunalonda Bridge.. i was told that the bridge is the longest concrete bridge in Thailand...

Along the bridge, there is a Sleeping Buddha Statue... the statue is famous as the mountains in front of the statue has a similar shape of the Sleeping Buddha...

Therefore i stopped along the concrete bridge and snapped a photo of the Buddha and the mountains...

It was almost 4.00 pm and i headed to Hatyai Municipal Park... At the hilltop of the park, there is a huge Buddha statue, facing Hatyai town... Also, from the whole of Hatyai town, Samila Beach and Ko Yo can be seen from the hilltop.. simply breathtaking.. but getting to the hilltop, i had to ride a very steep narrow road and had to workout on climbing staircase for almost 200 meters...

Later in the evening, i had a simple dinner with a new friend i met... the dishes were Fried Mantis Prawn and Duck Tongue in Herbal Gravy... 

Oh, by the way, Oreo cookies in Thailand always tastes nicer than in Malaysia.. Hahaaa!!  ;-P

HooRahh!!

Songkhla, Thailand (Few hours before departing)

Heyya...

i'm well prepared for tomorrow's solo ride to Songkhla, Thailand.. the journey will not take long as Songkhla is 30 km East of Hatyai.. hence it will take approximately 4 hours to reach Hatyai (550km)..

The ride to Songkhla is for my Endurance training before i ride to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in July... it will be another Solo Ride for me and i'll ride 6,000 km from Kuala Lumpur - Pai - Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai - Kuala Lumpur..  hence, i need to be prepared with my fitness..

I have booked a room at Lee Garden Plaza Hatyai for a night as i will be coming back to KL on Monday (afternoon)..
I shall ride to Songkhla for lunch and will explore Tinsulanonda Bridge area.. there is a tiny island in the Songkhla Lake and there are 2 bridges connected to the island... on the way back to Hatyai, i shall re-visit Samila Beach..

Anyway, i've packed up all my stuff and shall test the new Scott-Oiler and tank bank as well during this ride...


HooRahh!!

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!!