With our first land border crossing looming, departing George Town very much felt like the end of our Malaysian experience. Not knowing when we'd next come across our favourite breakfast, we stocked up on roti canai before hopping on the ferry back to the mainland. The ride was flat, hot and interrupted briefly by a recurring puncture to Freddie's bike (a staple discovered in the tyre).
Our ritual monument photo at the conclusion of each country: a mosque in Alor Setar, northern Malaysia
As our insurance policy would not cover us in the Pattani region to the east, we opted for the Wang Prachan border in the west. Though we'd read blogs from other cycle tourers about the rather steep climb leading up to the border, we stocked up on three roti canai with egg and cheese each before bidding Malaysia farewell and riding into what Freddie described as a "beast... an absolute beast" of a climb. Here's how the events of that climb unfolded... poor Sean:
Coming down the other side was a lot more fun, and with the Thai border just around the corner, we grew evermore excited with every stroke of the pedal. Before long, we were at the crossing, signing out of Malaysia and into Thailand! Having had our extended two month Thai visas issued in New Zealand before we'd left, we were a bit anxious to see how the border guards would respond. It turned out to be a very casual affair and before we knew it we were riding off down the hill into Thailand.
Our first taste of Thailand was very different to any normal tourist's first impressions. Typically one would fly on in to Bangkok, with the immediate culture shock, hustle bustle of the city, immense poverty, tourism and the classic, incessant sales pitch of locals trying to get as much baht out of newcomers as possible. As you can imagine, this was not the case for us, though there was a noticeable difference within the space of the first kilometre from the border: wetter climate, heaps of utes and indecipherable signs (having not been colonised, Thai road signs are not presented in a western friendly way - at least in the deep south). First night spent in Chalung: can’t say I’ll ever be back, though it did provide the necessary IBT (in-between-town) amenities on our way through: shelter, food, water and cheap beer (so much cheaper than Malaysia).
Quite a different feel riding in Thailand. Photos can't quite depict a headwind, but I can assure you there was one
With not much going on in Chalung, we sought to make some progress north, with a 100km+ day planned. However, at the 30km mark, we saw signs for Koh Lipe, and before long we were headed for the western coast, and Pak Bara Pier. Here we met Robert, a lovely Canadian man living in Thailand, who before long had offered to have us for dinner with him, his daughter (Samantha) and her friend (Henrietta) at their resort’s restaurant on our second night on the island. Living on a strict budget certainly restricts our food options, but boy did Robert treat us to an incredible banquet of food that night! The first round of curries, vegetable dishes and seafood would have sufficed, but this was no normal night, as Robert sought to put an end to Sven’s starvation. Two more chicken curries were ordered, with Sean and I being the only meat-eaters at the table, a rare food coma beckoned. Though we tried to simply share a mango sticky rice dessert between us, sure enough two were presented before us and our fate for the night decided.
Koh Lipe and the iconic long-tailed boats of Thailand - quite the contrast to the Malaysian outboards
Beautifully clear water on Koh Lipe - a shame about the rubbish that plagued the beachfront
As if treating us to this wasn’t enough Robert offered to have us join them on their snorkelling trip the following day. Arriving at the first snorkel spot after a slow boat ride on a classic Thai styled long-tail boat, it became apparent that no snorkels had been loaded onto the vessel. Fortunately Robert and Samantha spoke fluent Thai, resolving the issue, sending our boatman back to the resort, while we relaxed in the warm, coral white sand beach… not a bad place to wait. To our delight, the coral was in better condition to what we’d seen on the Perhentian Islands, though Koh Lipe’s beaches were littered with rubbish. The snorkel trip showed us a side of Koh Lipe we otherwise would not have seen, as the island’s beaches were littered with rubbish washed ashore from God knows where: plastic water bottles, beer cans, pair-less shoes and jandals, motorcycle helmets, chip packets, miscellaneous clothing, petrol and oil containers. Being low season in Thailand, issues like this seem to be ignored, as everything is geared towards preparing for the high season. Still a beautiful island, just not looked after in the way it deserves.
Freddie, myself, Samantha, Henrietta, Robert and Sean at the end of our snorkelling trip. Legends
Upon returning from our snorkel trip, Rob shouted us a mango smoothie before parting ways. Heck, he’s even offered to have us to stay in Hua Hin when passing through. What a great man!
The next day we were back on the bikes. It may not have been the smartest idea to ride 90km on a day where we had to board two boats to get back to the mainland, have lunch and then start riding in the heat of the day. Funnily enough, though it wasn’t really that funny at the time, Fred suffered from heat stroke and uncharacteristically pulled to the side of the road to get a breather about 65km in. This was my moment. My legacy to the trip. The final push. The last 25km to Yan Ta Khao (renowned for it’s word class petrol station). It was time to stand up and be counted. I heard the wise words of P Diggs in my head “Don’t you go and let the world weigh you down, should you ever fall, I’m gon’ be around. Pick you up keep you away from harm. And when our day is done, we shall be one. We shall be one”. And one we were, arriving in one of the greatest IBT’s this trip has ever seen thanks to the lead of yours truly, Arty G.
Nothing like a bit of kiwi drum 'n' bass to put us on track. Cheers to P Diggs and the Shapeshifter boys for your endless inspiration https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNK96nZk0Hk
On to Trang the next day, where we fell into the trap of Siam Sato. After just 26km we had time to kill and thought a cheeky beer and some cards would be a nice way to unwind. I trusted Freddie and Sean. I have done for most of this trip. But they failed me. They were lulled into the enticing price point of Siam Sato. Chang priced at 55 baht, while Siam Sato sat as low as 33 baht. Little did they know that Siam Sato was not a beer at all, and despite being noticeably stronger than beer (with a far superior baht:standard ratio), the malt-less, sticky rice wine gave flashbacks to our non-alcoholic Guiness experience (hints of honey) with a touch of grotty sav.
The face of a man happy with his beer, or repulsed by his sticky rice wine? Siam Sato - don't be fooled by the price
To add insult to injury, the next day of riding we’d opted to hit Koh Lanta. That all sounds nice and boy did it look good on Google images, however in the flesh it did not deliver. After our longest riding day of the trip so far (122km) into a stiff headwind all day, we were greeted with another rubbish-strewn beach, with a gale force onshore breeze (gale). The price for our waterfront resort (450 baht per night = $18 between us) seemed too good to be true, and sure enough the beachfront restaurant and bar was not in service, with a big wall of weed mat hung across the view to the sea to prevent incoming sand and rubbish. The food was amazing but again low season was evidently playing it’s part in the degradation of the beach.
A brief respite from the wind - a rough ride to Koh Lanta
When you go to the beach to watch the sunset, but spend most of the time clearing a spot to sit amidst the rubbish - sort it out humanity
One of the culprits for a mean feed. Koh Lanta delivered on the food front
Upon leaving Koh Lanta we were graced with a tailwind for the first 50km, before it turning in our face for the final 40km leading into Krabi. Torrential rain joined the party, giving us a good hosing before arriving at our spacious and cheap hostel.
Since shaving our heads for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer (DONATE TO OUR CAUSE) back in March, Freddie has had constant troubles with his lid. In Java people would stop what they were doing and stare; Malaysians would often throw roti canai at him (to his delight), and Thai’s find themselves in fits of uncontrollable laughter. Something had to be done, and a rainy day in Krabi with little hope of getting to Railay Beach that day, we headed to the barber for a cut. 100 baht ($4) later, he walked onto the street a changed man… a confident man once again. There was no way he could justify visiting Maya Bay (the location where the movie ‘The Beach’ had been filmed) with a crook lid… that would just offend Leo too much.
Looking nervous - $4 is certainly not an expensive chop, so I had no idea what was going on at the back
No shortage of things to buy in Thailand - except we overpacked, so we tend to steer clear
Street food is the best food... and the cheapest
We joined the swarm of tourists at the pier to board the ferry to Koh Phi Phi. As is often the case with our bicycles, we were denied boarding without a 100 baht bicycle tax (don’t these people know that travelling the world by bike is harder than what these other tourists are doing! We should get discounts if anything!) Due to Phi Phi’s popularity, the ferry was large, meaning the bikes could be wheeled on with the panniers still attached - it can be a real hassle detaching all the bags and hoisting the bikes onto small boats as we had done twice in Malaysia and on our way to Koh Lipe. It was time to switch off for a few days. Though it seems like we’re island hopping more than we’re riding, our philosophy is that you’ve got to enjoy the attractions on offer while they’re there. After Thailand and Vietnam, the road turns inland, and no doubt there will be days in Myanmar and India where we’d kill for a relaxing day on a Thai island. Soak it up while it lasts I say!
Always nice wheeling the bikes straight onto the ferry - keep the panniers attached
Cheers to Macpac for the jackets - they're gonna get tested in Thailand by the looks
