Day 33 #B.E. Hat Yai Thailand - Kuala Lumpur Malaysia : Losing My Rear Tyre With A Puncture

The sun was already shining through the cabins when I opened my eyes this morning, I was about to reach Hat Yai soon.

Got up and changed into my gears.

And then lie back down again to snooze for a few more minutes..

Until I hear the train announce our arrival at Hat Yai station, I hurriedly got up, took all my gears and got down the train.

When I got to the platform, I saw that my bike was already loaded down, ready for my retrieval.
There isn't a fix rate that is charged for porter fees when they help you load up/down your bike, but you'll have to tip them. A comfortable range is between 50 - 100 baht.

At Hat Yai Railway Station

Checked my bike and it was perfectly OK! The train station staff then gets me to sign a receipt to say that my bike has arrived into Hat Yai safely and I have retrieved it.

There were many Motorcycle Taxis around, and some of them approached me. I smiled at them and pointed towards my bike, and they laughed upon realizing momma's got her own ride here! ;p

So this sums up my 15 hour train ride from Bangkok to Hat Yai! Not that bad uh.

Now let's gear our asses for the long ride of about 540KM to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!

But first, let me get some Thai Iced Milk Tea to cool off the heat and hydrate.

 Gulped down the milk tea in minutes and all that was left was a big bag of ice.

 

Looking at the blistering heat, and not wanting to waste the bag of ice, I decided to keep myself cool by stuffing it into my jacket as I ride. Hahaha it workssss!

Off to Sadao Border!

Traffic was pretty smooth with a moderate crowd. Saw many Malaysian bikers with their big bikes heading home too.

And! I've entered into Malaysia! One step closer to home :)

From here, I've got about 500KM today to reach Kuala Lumpur for a night's stop. With my cam shaft in a poor condition, I can only cruise between 70-80 km/h.

I think that's slower than what the road shoulder allows. LOL.

Decided not to think too much on the speed and rode on. Close to 200KM into my journey, nearing the exit of Butterworth, I suddenly start to feel my rear wheel wobbling really badly and a few drivers who passed me by pointed towards my rear.

Almost instantly, I knew.. MY FIRST TYRE PUNCTURE! 

Luckily I was already traveling on the road shoulder, and I took the exit right in front of me where there was Petronas petrol kiosk. Checked my air pressure and yup! My rear is punctured.

Searched my tyre for nails but couldn't find any. Tried pumping air into the tyre but the air would escape immediately and I couldn't locate where it was from.

I've got my tools and spare inner tyre tube with me, but ideally I wanted a mechanic who could watch and make sure I was changing my tyre the right way.

And I'm sooo thankful to find a bike workshop barely 3 minutes away from where I was!!
Can't believe it. #tooblessedtobestressed

Ok let's do this

The mechanic was surprised I was all alone and offered to help change my tyre, but I told him to let me try on my own. He smiled as he nodded his head, and stood beside to make sure I was doing it right.

Got my tyre out, and next, I've got to pry open it to remove the punctured inner tube.

Man, I'm sweating buckets. Like, really.
Changing my tyres under the sweltering heat in my full gears was.. ouhhhhh. I feel like I'm burning 1,000 calories just doing this. Hahaha.

Looking at me, the mechanic laughed and took over the job hahaha. I was just too tired man! Ah, and he found the culprit that caused the puncture. A really tiny sharp pin.

Exchanged a few conversations with the mechanic and before I know it, my tyre was fixed. Upon learning about my #beyondeverest journey and that I was traveling alone, he didn't even charge me for the work and was just happy to be of help.

#BeyondEverest is just so blessed with all these amazingly kind people I've encountered, really.

Continued on my way towards Kuala Lumpur and got caught back in action while on the highway ;)

I tried not to look at the time, and I didn't look at my speed. I could only go that fast on my Suzuki DR200 anyway and I just hope to reach Kuala Lumpur before nightfall.

It started to pour pretty heavily, and it rained for over 3 hours as I continued to ride on until the
sun began to set. With my RS Taichi drymaster gears I was kept dry throughout.

By the time I arrived into Kuala Lumpur and checked into the hotel, it was past 8:30PM. Grabbed a light bite nearby before turning in to bed.


Tomorrow, my bike and I will finally be back home in Singapore, TOGETHER!


[Singapore.Thailand.Malaysia]

[Mileage Clocked: 8,594KM]

[Weather/Temperature: Sunny/34°C/Rain/23°C]

[Terrain: Tarmac]

Next: Home, Singapore