Day 3 #B.E. Hat Yai - Nakhon Si Thammarat - Surat Thani

Thailand time is an hour behind Singapore at GMT +7, and setting off early to promptly be on schedule as per my itinerary takes discipline, especially when it comes to waking up early at 5:30am everyday and moving off by 7:00am.

Hat Yai is a small city located nearest to the Malaysian Border which I crossed yesterday, where many bikers from Singapore stop over to rest before heading back or continue up North. Visited the Buddha situated really high on top of a hill, overlooking Thailand at Hat Yai Municipal Park.

So far, I didn't really have to use my GPS other than locating where exactly my hotel is because there are big road signs that shows clearly the way to go. More often than not, it's usually just either Left or Right. Haha so it's pretty straightforward. 

In fact at times, the GPS will cock up and bring you to holand (bring you round and round) so it's better to just follow the road signs.

 

The great thing about my Suzuki DR200 is that its fuel consumption is very efficient. My 11L tank can last me about 380KM including reserve. As advised by my local Thailand friends, it's best not to go to just any petrol kiosk because some of kiosks carry petrol which are hmm, not clean.

Looks like its UKM. 

Yep, this is the one recommended. I try to go to this petrol kiosk if possible. But if my petrol is left with only lasting me another 100 metres, I'd take even those petrol selling in glass bottles by the road side. Hahaha shit petrol is better than NO petrol. 

Crossing the bridge towards Songkhla

Haven't encountered any traffic jams so far, the roads are in reasonably good condition too. However, I've got to constantly look out for trucks and pick ups as here in Thailand, motorbikes are lowly prioritized, you've got to give way to them as much as possible.

When driving/riding especially in foreign countries, it's not so much of who has the right of way. It's about giving way all the time. Safety comes first, before pride. Remember that if you wanna stay alive ;p

Surat Thani in Thailand actually means "A City of Good People", a title given to the city by King Vajiravudh. Looks like this doesn't apply to bulls here :p Haha getting BULLied by this blackie with it standing in my way, refusing to move an inch. 

Let's take a wefie then! 

I don't even care that one side of my pants is up and the other down

Traveling alone, it takes quite a lot of effort to snap even just a simple photo. 

Each time I stop to take a picture, I sweat buckets. Find a safe place to stop, remove gloves, take out tripod, set up camera, adjust lighting, adjust angle, put on timer, run over to snap the shot, come back, check, picture no good, repeat the steps until the right shot is captured. All that in full gear under the sun.

So I always hydrate each time I stop, to replenish all the water loss. 

Covered close to 400KM today and arrived safely in Surat Thani. Some members from the Surat Thani Biker Club and TAT actually came down to my hotel to send their warm welcome as I shared with them why I was doing this trip over dinner.

Will definitely meet these Thai bikers the next time I ride to Thailand again! 

[Singapore.Malaysia.Thailand.]
[Mileage Clocked: 1,402KM]
[Weather/Temperature: Sunny/30°C]
[Terrain: Road/Average Tarmac]

Next stop: Hua Hin, Thailand