My year of riding through South East Asia was almost up,
which meant I had to start heading back to Malaysia to organise a carnet
extension, I also planned to store the bike there while I went home for a few
months to work. Before heading back to Malaysia I decided to take a ride from
Bangkok to the 3 pagoda pass on the border with Myanmar, this road takes you
through some wonderful forests and also passes the infamous Hellfire Pass and
bridge on the river Kwai. Hellfire pass was a particularly difficult cutting on
the Burmese railway, also known as the death railway which was built by the
Japanese in WW2 using forced labour including Australian and British prisoners
of war. Conditions were extremely harsh and many died from cholera, dysentery,
starvation, exhaustion and even being beaten to death during the 6 weeks it
took to finish the cutting, over 12,000 allied POW’s died in the construction of the death railway
making it was a moving memorial to visit.
The road to the border took me past Erawan national park
with its magical waterfalls and Sai Yok national park. I had been told about a
dam on the way that had flooded a city, you were able to get a bungalow on the
water and if you took a kayak on the lake you could still see the buildings,
this sounded pretty good but when I arrived there just wasn’t any accommodation
that was suitable for the bike. I pushed on and stayed the night in the town of
Sangkhlaburri, which wasn’t far from the border, Sangkhlaburri was the home of
the longest wood bridge in Thailand, it was originally built for transport but
now is only open to people crossing on foot and has turned into somewhat of a
romantic destination. The town was filled with romance themed hotels and cafes
and there were love hearts everywhere, I felt a little uncomfortable being a
single white tourist in what seemed to be a town full romantic Thai couples.
The next day I made it to the three pagoda pass, I looked into to Myanmar hoping
to return next year for the trip to Europe and then I turned around and headed
for Malaysia.
I decided to avoid the main roads on the way back and took
the back roads south through the forest of Phetchaburi, The roads twisted and
turned through some stunning scenery until I arrived at the quiet sea side town
of Prachuap Khiri Khan. Khiri Khan is a tourist friendly town that is
surprisingly off the tourist map and as you stroll along the waterfront only a
handful of westerners can be seen in the restaurants, guesthouses and hostels
that overlook the ocean. I stumbled across a quaint little hostel not far from
the water called Maggies, It was comfy,
cheap, had secure parking for the bike and was home to some very cool
travellers, one of which was traveling through South East Asia on bicycle, this
got me thinking about my next adventure…… some bicycle touring is on the cards
perhaps.
From Khiri Khan I headed to Ranong district, more amazing
forests and more windy roads, my destination was Khao Sok national park. A
friend had told me about some floating bungalows in the national park, you can
walk out your door and jump straight in the lake, it sounded like a great place
to relax for a few days. When I arrived at the park I encountered a common
problem on my motorcycle journey, I had to take a boat ride to the floating
bungalows, which meant I had to leave my bike, there didn’t really seem to be
anywhere secure to park the bike so I decided to look for other accommodation
options within the park. I was hoping to stay somewhere slightly unique while I
was in Khao Sok and luckily the park is also well known for its tree house
accommodation. I spent a few nights chilling out in a room in the trees, each
tree house was separated from the others so the I hardly saw any other guests other
than the monkeys that also called the trees home.
My route to the Malaysian border took me through Krabi, a city
surrounded by impressive Karst rock formations that dramatically rise out of
the thick jungle, the spectacular cliffs here draw rock climbers from around
the world. The beaches just outside of Krabi were picture perfect and I had
planned to stay here for 5 days, however when I looked on the map I noticed the
small island of Koh Lanta nearby, what better way to spend my last few days in
Thailand then by chilling out on an island? As soon as I rode off the ferry to
Koh Lanta it seemed that the pace of life slowed down immediately, the island
had a strong beach and diving focussed tourist industry but it wasn’t as busy
as many of Thailand’s more popular island hotspots, it was also the full moon
so many revellers had headed to Koh Pha Ngan for the full moon party, leaving
Koh Lanta for those wanting a more relaxed get away. I found a well priced
bungalow on the beach and settled in to a few days of island life. Koh Lanta
was a nice island to explore on the motorbike, the north was home to the main
tourist district which had some nice floating restaurants and bars that were a
great place to meet travellers and the South was home to a national park, the
road between the two offered some great cliff top bars and restaurants with
stunning views over the water. I could have easily stayed in Koh Lanta for
longer and was slightly jealous of the dive instructors that made the island their
home but as always I had to keep on moving, I wanted to explore Malaysia before
I headed back to Aus. From Koh Lanta it was only a half day ride to the
Malaysia border and I met a pair of Malaysian BMW riders that accompanied me
for the trip, they were spending the night in Hat Yai so we parted ways just
before the border. Well, this was it, another border crossing and goodbye to
Thailand for now, I’d spent 3 months in the country and I still had so much to
see and do, that’s ok, I will put it all on the list for next time.
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