My Last Post of 2015 - Bucketlist Ticked!

We are less than 90 minutes away from 2016 fellas, and I can't imagine what's in store for the brand new year ahead because 2015 has been nothing but spectacular in ways I never dreamt of in 2014.

Riding from Singapore to Mt. Everest B.C., completing 1,864 corners in Mae Hong Son (Chiang Mai), meeting amazing people from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, China, Tibet, America, and not forgetting all the beautiful people in my life from home who stood by me (you know who you are), thank you. 

Forget about making new year resolutions since breaking them seems to be part of the cycle. Instead, dare to dream at whatever point you are in life, believe in yourself and work hard to make that dream come true.

Life's an adventure, let's ride through it!

HAVE A SPANKIN' NEW YEAR!!

Merry Blessed Christmas Twenty Fifteen!

All I want for Christmas is.. a Ducati Panigale. 
Hurhurhur.


#savingforit
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!!!

Have a blessed one!

Day 12 #MHS. Malaysia - Singapore : Braving The Storm / Trip's Summary

In today's post, all you'll see is mostly grey.. cuz that was practically what our whole journey back home was. 

With our remaining 600KM to home sweet home today, we were greeted with monsoon hitting us hard starting from within the first hour of our journey. 

And it didn't stop all the way until we saw the sign to Woodlands. 

Riding through the torrential rain for over 4 hours, haha the weather was reeeaaally testing my RS Taichi waterproof gears to the max. End up my top and bottom inner wear were damp, gloves and cheek pads soaked, only my socks were kept dry with my TCX waterproof boots. 

My waterproof Tom Tom GPS going through the rain with me haha no need addition housing case!

Normally when it rains, we would just continue the ride through. We have our rain gears anyway, we'd just slow down our speed a little. 

But today it poured so massively that multiple parts of the roads were flooded, some even close to knee-level height. The visibility was SO BAD that we just had to stop and take shelter under a flyover until the rain subsided a little.  

Most car-drivers wouldn't know or care much about this, but we (as riders) experience different kinds of rain drops whenever we ride in the rain. Some feel like needles prickling you, some was just downright *PIAK* painful, and there are the really gentle drizzles that sweeps pass us. 

But through North South Highway today, we encountered all the different kinds of rain at one go. 

After many hours on the road, I'm always thankful seeing Woodlands Checkpoint sign again after a touring trip. 

It's been a pretty darn long ride to and fro Chiang Mai and so glad to be back home safe and sound!!


Here's the Trip's Summary

Day 1   Singapore - Ipoh, Malaysia
Day 2   Ipoh, Malaysia - Hat Yai, Thailand
Day 3   Hat Yai - Bangkok
Day 4   Bangkok - Lopburi - Bangkok
Day 5   Bangkok - Chiang Mai
Day 6   Chiang Mai - Pai
Day 7   Pai - Mae Hong Son - Mae Sariang
Day 8   Mae Sariang - Kamphaeng Phet
Day 9   Kamphaeng Phet - Bangkok - Nakhon Si Thammarat
Day 10 Nakhon Si Thammarat - Hat Yai
Day 11 Hat Yai, Thailand - Ipoh, Malaysia
Day 12 Ipoh, Malaysia - Singapore

*If you have some time to spare, a comfortable round way trip from Singapore to Chiang Mai would be 12 - 14 days. 

With a distinctive character of it's own made up from the Shan and Hmong tribe culture authentically retained, the land of misty mountains has lived up to it's name for holding Thailand's most challenging roads with 1,864 corners, attracting visitors from all over the world to this wildlife sanctuary. Riding through Mae Hong Son on my very own Ducati all the way from our little sunny island, Singapore, is definitely a memorable and unforgettable experience.

 
Get on your ride, it's time for you to go for it ;)



[Singapore.Malaysia.Hat Yai.Bangkok.Lopburi.Chiang Mai.Pai.Mae Hong Son.Mae Sariang.Kamphaeng Phet.Bangkok.Nakhon Si Thammarat.Hat Yai.Malaysia.Singapore]

[Mileage Clocked: 4,502KM]

[Weather/Temperature: Rain Like Siao/24°C]

[Terrain: Tarmac]

Day 11 #MHS. Bangkok - Nakhon Si Thammarat - Hat Yai - Ipoh Malaysia : That Near-Miss

 

Thailand never fails to impress, even at the very last leg of my journey. 

 After 13 hours on the train, we arrived at Nakhon Si Thammarat.

However, due to an existing train in Lane 1 (the one right next to the platform), our train had to park in Lane 2 first (the middle train track). 

Passengers alighted and so did we, right onto the rocky train tracks, then cutting through the train on Lane 1 to get to the station's platform. 

But hang on for a minute. How are our bikes gonna get down like that?

So we checked it out with the train staffs, with hand gestures (as they couldn't speak English), we were told a waiting time of 2 hours before being our train is able to move to Lane 1. Then only can they unload our bikes onto the station platform as currently the height from train to ground level is too high.

This caused a delay in our planned schedule for the day, but it's not like we had any choice.

So we said ok, but due to language barrier, this happened instead:

Using hand signals and simple English, I smiled and told them "We'll wait, but when you unload our bikes, please be careful as they're like our precious babies". 

They only understood the word "baby". So they all thought I had to rush back to Singapore to look after my baby (like a toddler)(I'm not a mom yet FYI). 

And they all went like "Baby!" while nodding their head in understanding. 

So, they all gathered together and my bike was unloaded RIGHT AWAY. 

I was like "Oh my god. What are they doing??" 

I tried tell them no need but they were too engrossed in helping me get my bike down. I couldn't stop them. 

Next thing I saw, my bike took its leap of faith. 

The front wheel has touched the ground, while the rear is still in the train, and the middle under section was.. oh my goodness.. missing the train's platform by barely an inch! It really almost hit! 

Gosh, I was so worried and everyone was just raising their voices, asking to support the bike here and there.

 Then came the rear wheel and together with everyone's effort, my bike has made it safely.. 

onto the middle of the train tracks.....

"So now how?" I asked worriedly. 

How to push my bike through all these rocky stones and onto the station platform? No ramp no nothing leh! Wa biang.. Hmm..

Then the Thai people were like "Okay okay"!

How to okay? 

 Ok looks like this is how we're gonna do it, Thai style.

They pushed my bike down the train track, then we found some random wooden plank and together, we pushed my baby up, onto the station platform.

PHEWWW!! 
Thank god my precious darling is fine on proper grounds now. 

Next, the train staffs looked at the CBR600RR and straightaway, my partner told them "No no no, my bike ain't gonna clear the train's platform. We'll just wait".

Kanchiong spider. Hahaha.

This is why I love Thai people. Even when they don't understand you, they'd try their best to help you. 

We walked to the street stalls opposite to have some lunch before heading back to the train station where the CBR600RR was unloaded safely and ready to go.

Rode about 200KM towards Songkhla then onto Hat Yai.

This time, we crossed over to Malaysia via Padang Besar border instead of the busy Sadao border. There's practically no one here. 

It's time to navigate our way to Ipoh with my waterproof Tom Tom GPS, to catch up on some rest for the night. 

Time check, it's 6:30PM and we're officially in Malaysia! Just one border away from home :) 
The roads are wet because a storm has just passed and the calm following right after is just simply beautiful. 

This long stretch of road after Padang Besar border to North South Highway offers an incredibly stunning view especially when the skies are playing nice. 

Try this route out the next time you cross over to Thailand!

[Singapore.Malaysia.Hat Yai.Bangkok.Lopburi.Chiang Mai.Pai.Mae Hong Son.Mae Sariang.Kamphaeng Phet.Bangkok.Nakhon Si Thammarat.Hat Yai.Malaysia]

[Mileage Clocked: 3,802KM]

[Weather/Temperature: Sunny/30°C]

[Terrain: Tarmac]

Next: Singapore

Day 9 & 10 #MHS. Mae Sariang - Nakhon Sawan - Bangkok : Rough Roads Ahead

Woke up feeling better today as my pain from the mild food poisoning has subsided, although my body still feels a little weak. We have 800KM to cover for today and tomorrow from Mae Sariang - Bangkok, laying over one night at Kamphaeng Phet.

I must say the roads from Chiang Mai - Pai - Mae Hong Son - Mae Sariang really got better in general, with wider corners and smoother tarmacs. The most challenging part was indeed Chiang Mai - Pai.

Honestly, the amount of potholes we've gone through over more than a thousand corners has really taken a toll on our suspensions. You're enjoying the smooth roads, then suddenly the tarmac disappears and you find yourself bouncing around in gravel and potholes.

oh dear, my poor baby Ducati.. I bet it's totally not enjoying this

Initially, it seems ok. After a while, we start to hear our bikes squeaking "TAK TAK TAK" or "EEK AKK EEK". Our chain has also picked up a lot of dirt and dust so it's important to lub it every now and then.

As we made our way out of Mae Sariang towards Kamphaeng Phet, we thought the ordeal with bad roads were over.

Then.. this.

Still in the mountainous zone, we meet more road works..

Over 40KM of it.. (that's further than cutting across Singapore),

And.. MORE SHIT POT HOLES! Down slope, up slope, all also have! AHH.

Ahhhhh!

You can't see my face because of my tinted visor but I tell you.. it's pretty much like that.

Then finally back to smooth tarmac and nice curves, as the altitude gradually decreased and we feel our ears pop, we made our way out of the mountains.

It took us about 6 hours from Mae Sariang to Tak, where we continued onto Kamphaeng Phet for a night's rest at Riverside Hotel (S$24/night).

Wrapping up our escapade in Mae Hong Son, we were treated with a gorgeous sunset ride. 

Day 10

With another 400KM to clear today, we set off from Kamphaeng Phet for Bangkok via Nakhon Sawan.

Linking back up on the same route we took from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on AH2, braving the killer sun for more than 4 hours, we have arrived back in Bangkok safely. I'm missing Chiang Mai's weather already.

Hello again, Bangkok jam. Oh, all that honking and buzzing traffic.

The busy life of Bangkok goes on while we headed straight for Hua Lampong Railway Station where we'll be taking the overnight train back to Hat Yai.

We're hoping to get onto the last train which departs at 22:50PM. It's now 3:30PM so I think we stand a good chance of getting a ticket for both ourselves and our bikes.

Oops. Unfortunately when we got to the train station, the last train does not have a cargo section so our bikes won't be able to travel along. The train before 22:50PM was at 15:30 which has just left.

So instead of taking the train to Hat Yai, the train service staff advised us to take the train from Bangkok to Nakhon Si Thammarat. It's the next nearest station to Hat Yai, 2 stops away, 200KM apart. Hmm.. it's not so bad lah hor.

So up our bikes went, went through the usual procedure and choo-choo! Off we go on the 13 hour train ride!

Tomorrow, we'll be crossing borders over to Malaysia.




[Singapore.Malaysia.Hat Yai.Bangkok.Lopburi.Chiang Mai.Pai.Mae Hong Son.Mae Sariang.Kamphaeng Phet.Bangkok.Nakhon Si Thammarat]

[Mileage Clocked: 3,435KM]

[Weather/Temperature: Sunny/31°C]

[Terrain: Mountainous roads/Pot Holes/Rough Roads/Tarmac]

Next: Ipoh, Malaysia

Day 8 #MHS. Pai - Mae Hong Son - Mae Sariang : Measuring The Years Of The Long Neck (Karen) Women

300KM worth of curves and corners to cover today (Pai - Mae Hong Son - Mae Sariang), as we continue on our journey to Mae Hong Son town where I fulfill my must-do list of this trip by visiting the Long Neck Village!

Stoning before the long ride begins! We're gonna cover more corners than we did from Chiang Mai to Pai, like that wasn't trying enough. But nothing's gonna stop me from finding my Long Neck (Karen) women!! #feelingdetermined

Omg, and I thought me wasting time by stoning was bad. Look at this dude, worse. Gear up all, then go lie on the hammock and sleep.

Hellooo! Time to go RIDING!!

So captivated by the view at Coffee In Love cafe yesterday that I had to visit it one more time this morning before we headed to Mae Hong Son.

Besides, someone needed his caffeine fix to function! Haha and for me, being surrounded by such beautiful scenery of magnificent mountains refreshes me already.

And here we are! Just chilling and waiting for our coffee to arrive :) I could bask in the sun all day with a view like that. The weather is comfortably soothing at 22°C.

With all that amazing landscapes captures in my heart and mind, we filled our tanks up at the petrol kiosks and it's time to hit the roads and make our way to Mae Hong Son!

There are no petrol stations from Pai to Mae Hong Son so please remember to refuel before you depart from Pai.

Upslope hairpins.. Sharp corners..

And attempting his first knee down here in Thailand.. with all that baggage strapped on some more.. Someone sure came prepared with knee sliders on! LOL.

More than halfway there to Mae Hong Son, we've cleared another few hundred corners. My bags are seriously giving me not enough space to sit.. Ack. Maybe I should consider trying out Komine's side saddle bags from Hodaka Motoworld next time.

We are down to 98KM to the Long Neck Village in Mae Hong Son and what we have are just more windy roads to glide through. The road conditions are better than from Chiang Mai to Pai, with not much road works going on but occasional potholes. 

Took a short break at this scenic look out point, and to also admire the view. Sometimes we get so caught up with our eyes on the roads that we forget to take notice of all that beauty that's around us.4

And look at these cuties, all dressed up in their colorful traditional outfit and ready for a dance, maybe? Told them to touch my Ducati for goodluck and they did.. Haha so adorable.

Continued on our way, riding for more than 4 hours, from when the sun was at it's strongest, to mellowing down during the late afternoon and gradually softening into evening..

We've safely reached the capital of Mae Hong Son! YEAH.

Gawd I'm so tired but it's so rewarding to finally be here! We are now about 900KM away from Bangkok and here in Mae Hong Son's capital is where you can get your certificate on completing the 1,864 Corners loop at the Mae Hong Son Chamber of Commerce!

Grabbed a quick shot of Wat Chong Klang temple as we rode pass and went straight for the Long Neck Village, before continuing onto Mae Sariang after the visit.

There are two ways to get to the Long Neck Village.
Either by Boat or ride/drive straight in.  Look out for the sign that points you in the right direction. Alternatively, use Google Maps and search "Long Neck Village Mae Hong Son". It led us there instead of my Tom Tom GPS as it did not have that location registered in it.

It's about 11KM from the main road into the Long Neck Village. We were riding through the forested area when I saw a stream ahead, and my eyes widened. Hmm.. am I supposed to cross this?

Wet Crossing Ahead

I looked closer and saw that there were loose pebbles covered with algae in the stream, so the kiasu me throttled through it slowly. I was like, phew.. heng never slip and fall. Haha.

 Just when I thought I was done with that stream crossing, came another one! And another one! And a few more! There were MUTIPLE WET CROSSINGS to Long Neck Village and I'm like..

"Ok just keep calm, slow and steady, and cross the stream. Everything's gonna be fine" I told myself. Luckily my partner and I didn't have a bluetooth communication set otherwise he'd hear all my kiasu talks to myself.

After all that splish and splashing, ALOHA! We are at LONG NECK VILLAGE, home to the Kayan Tribe! Woooot!

Entry Fee Into Long Neck Village

250THB



Collected by a local villager who explains the money goes into maintaining the village for the Kayan Tribe to continue their heritage and living here. He also shared with me that many bikers have skidded and fell in the wet crossings as they went too fast. So see, it pays to be kiasu at times ;)

Ok so now we're officially in Mae Hong Son’s most touted and controversial tourist attraction - The Long Neck Village where we witness the Kayan women wearing weighty brass coils around their neck as part of the tribe's tradition. 

Myths of The Long Neck Women

These brass coils depress the collarbone and rib cage, which results in an unnaturally stretched neck, hence as the name "Long Neck" suggests. It is commonly claimed that if the coils are being removed after many years of wearing them, the Kayan woman's neck would fall and "break" as it will not have the strength to support the heaviest part of our body - the head. 

How Did They Start Wearing These Coils?

This act of wearing the brass coil around their necks leaves no impact on their health. Hearsay on how this tradition came about was so that tigers wouldn't attack them and carry them off by their throats. Another saying is to make the women less attractive so men from other tribes would not take notice of them. 

From the Kayan women, to the little magnets and clothings as souvenirs sold here, the Long Neck villages are now on every tour's itinerary and have become a significant draw for Mae Hong Son's tourism industry. 

It is always so enriching being able to learn and experience different tribe cultures even from within the same country. 

From Mae Hong Son, we have about 170KM to cover to reach Mae Sariang where we will be resting for the night... and, it's night already.. 

And having a tummy upset with a slight fever now certainly does not help. I think I'm experiencing a mild food poisoning from some random street food somewhere along the way today. Thankfully I've got my First Aid Kit with me, at least I've got medication to help relief the discomfort.

Pacing ourselves instead of pushing, we arrived safely into Mae Sariang.

Credits to agoda

Checked into the very nicely done up Above The Sea Boutique Guesthouse (S$24/night), popped some medicine, took a shower and fell deep into sleep. Hopefully my fever and tummy turmoil would subside by tomorrow when I wake up.





[Singapore.Malaysia.Hat Yai.Bangkok.Lopburi.Chiang Mai.Pai.Mae Hong Son.Mae Sariang]

[Mileage Clocked: 2,605KM]

[Weather/Temperature: Sunshine With Blue Skies/Cool 24°C]

[Terrain: Mountainous roads, corners, tarmac]

Next: Kamphaeng Phet, Chiang Mai, Thailand