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Motorbike (Motorcycle) Ride: Ko Samui to Ferry to Don Sak Pier to Surat Thani

This is a short Article about a motorbike trip from Surat Thani to Krabi to Phangna to Phuket to Surat Thani. Followed by motorbike riding TIPS for visitors to Thailand.

We just returned from a short vacation trip to the places mentioned above. My ass hurts. My back hurts. But, it was all well worth it. Traveling by motorbike is the best for a number of reasons:

Buses for me are no fun because:

1. People that smell like their own rolled cigarettes sit next to me as a rule.
2. So do drunk people.
3. So do people that bathe in perfume.
4. So do people that fall asleep on my shoulder.
5. So do people that take their own space and part of mine.
6. Half the time I offer my seat to an old woman - and I end up standing for hours.
7. I can't stop the bus when I have to ching-chong (urinate) and nor can I make my way back through
40 people standing in the isle. I'd lose my seat anyway.
8. I can't stop at the gas stations and speak Thai with the people working there and make them laugh.
9. I can't stop and see the dead snakes and try to guess what type they were when they were alive.
10. The air isn't fresh on a bus and usually I'm cold as hell or hot as hell - neither of which I enjoy much.

Motorbikes are great because:

1. I'm in control of everything. I can stop when I want. Take photos of anything. Video of anything. Eat
at any place I see. Ching chong anywhere - I really enjoy going on the side of the road to mark my territory. Yes, it's primitive, but I enjoy it...  If I want to dramatically alter the trip - I can. I can say - damn, it looks like rain where we're headed, lets go the other way instead... I can't do that easily on the bus.

2. Motorbikes are SAFER than the bus. At least I feel that way. I have no objective data to back that up - just a feeling I have after almost dying on a number of buses over the couple years I've been here. Bus drivers do the STUPIDEST things. Stay awake and sit in the front seat to see what I'm talking about. Stay on the right side - behind the driver for an added thrill. That way you can SEE the oncoming traffic that is blaring their horns at your dumbass bus driver.

So anyway, we hit the road about 7:00 am and stop to get some gwit diao from our favorite place close by. The grandma waits on us this time and actually gives me the large handful of vegetables that I ask for everytime we go - but never receive. I think it's because she sees I've lost 11 kilograms in the past few months.  Whatever the reason I scarf it down and we hit the road. I realize I've not had a coffee yet - and that spells t-r-o-u-b-l-e come about 11am if I don't get something soon.  We stop for gas - topping it off and get two Birdy canned coffees which I suck down like an addict.

It's cool this morning and I wear sweatpants and two long sleeved shirts. I'm still cold at 105 km/hour. We head down 4008 highway past the Rajabhat university and into Baan Naawk (countryside)... We make a left at the highway 44 and then promptly u-turn to get going the right way towards Krabi.

Krabi comes fairly quickly since it's about our 6th trip there and we're not all that anxious to get there since we know the deal. They are FINALLY almost finished with the road work once you get into the city limits there - it used to be a 10km stretch of mud sucking your tires and slippery going. Now it's equivalent to a 6 lane highway - but with no painted lines- it's a free for all with everyone treating it as a free ticket to drive as they wish. F-1 is popular here.

"On the way to Krabi from Surat Thani..."

Number of times used the horn to beep at dogs and people I thought were going to jump out in front of me on the motorbike: 5 so far.

Krabi is cool. We hit the hotel that we always stay at because we can lock the motorbike with a chain that's fastened in front of their entrance. Our motorbike has a "Si Sa Ket" license plate on it - which to Thai people is as baan naawk as one can get - so we're sure someone thinks we're stupid and can just take the motorbike without too much fuss. So, we're extra careful.

We eat pizza at my favorite place there in Krabi town - owned  by a foreign guy that's always there - VIVA restaurant that's in the city area around the motorbike shops - HONDA - YAMAHA, etc.  Good pizza!  Bad service. You know - the entire vacation the waitresses did not get ONE order correct. Not one. It's the usual here- I tell my g/f that she doesn't listen - but, I think I'd better be quiet about it. NOBODY listens here.

We lock the motorbike at the hotel. We walk to the pier - 1/2 km. We ask everyone there - going to Railay beach?  Nobody is. We're not excited about paying the longtail boat guy 600 baht to take just us two. We wait a half hour. Nobody. We give up and go back and get motorbike and drive to Noppara Thara Beach about 18km away - it's a really nice place - at low tide one can walk out to the islands and explore a bit.

We ask the big boat staff there if they'd take us and the motorbike to phi-phi and then on to Phuket. They said yes. They called the owner. He said no.  So - we were faced with a decision to drive to Phuket or not.  If we have the time, and we did, I usually just GO for it. But, this was a serious haul. Not just to there, but on the way home going from Phuket to Surat.

It took us a little while to think - 5 minutes- and we decided to go.

We drove back to Krabi town at sunset and had dinner at the same restaurant. The girl taking the beer order didn't listen when I said, "Heineken YAI" and so she brought the smaller and more expensive "Lek" which is the small bottle. I told her I said Yai (big) and she insisted I didn't. LOL. My girlfriend had heard me say yai and I clearly remember it. So I made her bring a big one. She had a serious attitude over it, which is weird. She must be the owners wife. Nobody else would have the balls to give me a problem over it.

So we ate and watched the Manchester United game a bit on the small TV.  We went to bed early after reviewing 150 digital photos we had taken with the Sony cybershot.

We woke up and the weather was off - so we decided to go back to the Wat Tam Seu-uh (Tiger Cave Temple) that we had been to a couple times already and STILL found fascinating... we climbed up into the cave area surrounded by STEEP rock cliffs hundreds of feet high - and took some photos (one below)

After this - and a fruitless search for the monkeys that jumped on us for bananas last time we gave some bananas to some Thai visitor folk that were resting at one of the levels of stairs. We headed off to Phangna after filling up the gas. I dumped the now bruised and spoiled bananas onto the dirt at the gas station thinking we'll not find monkeys anytime soon. I was wrong.

Number of times beeped horn so far: maybe 9.

We found an "Amazon Coffee" place and I had some more coffee to keep my headache at bay. They didn't have any chocolate cake - not sure why I was craving it like a lunatic. Maybe because I haven't HAD chocolate cake in over 2 years... yes, that must be it... 

The drive to Phangna was really beautiful - lots of rock formations and not much traffic. Once we hit Phangna town we stopped at a park that was accessed by going through a rock tunnel. The park then opened up into what was the prettiest park I've seen in Thailand. Incredibly nice. We found monkeys - but, without the bananas it just wasn't the same. We took some video - many pics - and then drove through the town. We hadn't gone 5 minutes when we saw "Wat Tam Chang" - Elephant Cave Temple.  Hmm...  we stopped and it too was one of the most beautiful places I've seen in Thailand. The cave has a stream running through it - and visitors can take kayak trips through it. The length of stream was 1200 meters - but I'm not sure how far the kayaks go through as the guide was already on a trip by the time we arrived there. Bring a flashlight and you can go exploring the cave - we saw tourists with head lamps.

We got something to drink and headed off to see the Phangna Bay which at least on the map looked like it would be incredible. It wasn't - only because you have to take a boat out of the national park to see all the islands - the trip was quoted to us at 1100 baht for over 4 hours of riding around the islands - no stopping - just a boat tour. We thought it would be nice - but decided against it - and I was eager to get to Phuket and show my g/f all the cool things there.  At the national park you can stay at one of the bungalows there... eat there, and explore there. The pier has a restaurant that is right on the water. Scenic place to eat.

We hit the road and barreled toward Phuket. Traffic was starting to really suck. Few motorbikes lots of trucks and cars. The bridge over to the island of Phuket is nice and we stopped to take pics. Couldn't take any FROM the bridge for safety reasons.

We arrived in Phuket near the Tesco - and decided to get some italian bread and eat at the food court. The food court was nasty food - as usual - all of the Tesco ones are for some reason - we've never eaten anything palatable there... but still we try! I ate italian bread with butter while the locals watched in amazement and probably asked themselves - why doesn't he eat "Thai Food".  Doesn't he like "Thai Food?"

The Thais always seem to ask me this EVERY time I am eating something other than THAI FOOD. They don't realize that 99% of what I eat is Thai Food - and I love it... but if I have a chance to get out of Surat and eat some McDonalds, some pizza, and some italian bread - I do it!

So - we headed into Patong beach area - I've been there a few times - for months at a time - I love it there and yet, now that I have my girlfriend I doubt we could live there. Maybe too much stress if I'm worried about things like making money... making a life... making a family...  I'd rather live somewhere outside of there and be close enough to get there if we needed it for a break.  There are so many things to do there - to see there.

We saw the north, south, and east. Not much of the west - but we'll go back. The scenery is great - photos below...

"in the heart of Patong beach - soft sand, swimming areas..."

"Northern end of the beach - rocky"

So - I was sick by Tuesday and we had just seen Promthep Cape - and I was getting anxious about getting some stuff done on this web site. I had yet to add the Google search and ads to the site... I had (have) numerous things to fix for when the search engines come through to spider it. I spent this morning (5 hours) so far fixing things and decided to type this up to give me some brain down-time.

When I looked at my girlfriend I knew she knew. She had that face. Yep hon, we're driving back today. It was 2pm already. She asked - "the whole way, or are we stopping somewhere". I used my usual response when I know the answer and don't want to break it to her....  "I don't know... we'll see how it goes".

(number of times so far I'd beeped the horn to keep from having an accident: approximately 150)

So we busted butt and made it back to Surat by the time it was JUST getting dark. We stopped for coffee and snacks and about 4 times for gas - I fill up everytime I'm less than 3/4's full because I fear running out of gas with 50 kilometers to the nearest gas station.

My girlfriend bought me a big papaya for dinner and I ate nearly half of it for dinner at home. I worked on the site a bit until midnight and slept a sound sleep. Not sick anymore.... maybe it's time to go to Ko Tao and Pha-nga before this weekend.  Teaching isn't all bad, we have some nice down-time that we all take advantage of...

More Photos here:    Krabi Photos     Phangna Photos     Phuket Photos

MOTORBIKE SAFETY INFO BELOW

[NOTE] Motorbikes are a lot of fun and a great way to travel and see a lot more than you would if you just took the tuk-tuk, buses, and taxis around Thailand.  Please read the TIPS section below for cautions.

[TIPS] 

1.  Don't rent a motorbike if you've not driven a moped or scooter at minimum in your own country. Thailand's tourist destinations are CROWDED during the high season and there is a lot of traffic. Traffic is unforgiving. There are MANY accidents here.

2.  Read "Driving in Thailand Tips".

3.  Don't drive as fast as Thais' and don't be afraid to use your horn more than they do. Use your turn signals always - for passing and turning.

4.  You can drive really slowly - under 30 km/hour and not upset too many people since some Thais' drive slowly too. 

5.  Set your mirrors everytime you get on the motorbike and use them a LOT.

6.  Always be aware of changing directions. If you move more than 8 inches to the left or right away from your 'line' then you need to be aware of what is in back of you and on the side of you. Thai drivers are ready for nearly anything as they come up behind you - but you need to be just as aware yourself before you move left or right.

[readers??] Anyone else have any motorbike driving tips they'd like to share - submit them!

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