I don't have an iron butt, but I'm determined to get home safely today.
So if it takes me 1,000km of riding to press through, so shall it be!
After a good 10 hour rest, I packed my bags one last time for this trip, as we approached into Hat Yai Railway Station. Just one last leg more to go and I'll be home sweet home..
First thing I did was head towards the cargo section to retrieve my bike.
Praying again that it survived the train ride haha while standing by for the unloading.
Head out first.
Steady...
Next is taking my bike's full weight to bring it as gently as possible to the ground.
Look at the faces of these guys.. feeling every ounce of that 800kg machine. LOL. I can't remember how many times I pleaded for them to be careful. I was so nervous once again.
They were as careful as can be, and my bike's safely on the platform! Tipped the guys and thanked them a whole lot!
Time to load up the bags and strap em down for the ride home!
Rode out of the train station and,
went to get my final dose of awesome Thai street foooddddzz first!
This will definitely fuel me up for the long ride through North South Highway as I will not be making any more stops apart from refueling until I get back to Singapore.
This morning's looking pretty cloudy as I made my way towards Sadao Border. No fear of wet weather with my full RS Taichi Drymaster gears on and my waterproof TCX boots!
Cleared the Thai and Malaysia Border smoothly and onto North South Highway we go.
The truth is, it can get pretty discouraging looking at the big chunk of amount in kilometres you have to clock for the day. So what I normally do, is break it down into 4 - 5 sections.
Like now, I've about a thousand km to do, so I broke them down into sections of 200km each, and just keep my focus on finishing one section at a time. Base on about 200km per section, it is also the time when I will refuel. That is when I'll reset my mind, recharge, and start my focus on another section. It's much easier to swallow. Rather than travel 200km and telling yourself you still have 800km more to go.
Halfway through my journey on North South Highway, a storm hit and it poured heavily. Thankfully just for a while, though heavy enough to get my gloves a little damp.
Even though the sections of the journey is broken down, which really helps keep me going, the fatigue from the ride is still very real.
I rode and rode.. until I finally saw the sign to "Tuas". Happiest moment of my life at that point. LOL because gawwwddd it's been such a damn long ride.
I continued on until I arrived at Singapore's customs, and man, it feels really good to be back on home ground. It's so easy to get complacent when you're so close to home, but I kept reminding myself as long as I'm still on the roads, I've got to be as careful and cautious as I have been through Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia.
The journey is then finally completed, when I'm back home safely. Back chilling on my couch, with this naughty fur ball of mine which I missed dearly.
So so thankful to be back home safely, reunited with my chromie!
SG > Hat Yai > Bangkok > Sihanoukville > Phnom Penh > Siem Reap > ANGKOR WAT > Siem Reap > Bangkok > Hat Yai > SG
Singapore to Cambodia and back to Singapore, all in a total of just 9 days.. that's seriously one hella ride. I lost 3 kg, but I gained a ton full of beautiful precious memories that's gonna stick with me a lifetime.
Say it wasn't possible? I've just showed you how it's done.
Some may say that it ain't enjoyable because it seems like such a rushed trip. But actually, I found that it was alright, apart from the first 2 days of intense riding where we covered 2,000km due to the unavailability of the train ride. The truth is, not many people have the luxury of Time, to go on touring rides like this.
Some may take a longer time, some may take a shorter one, up to the individual's preference. The whole point is, you did it, and that's what matters the most.
Some say, when you've money, you don't have time. Or when you've time, you don't have the money. But I beg to differ. Life has always been about priorities and balancing everything together. No one said it was gonna be easy, but it's definitely worth it.
I may not have the luxury of time to go on long touring rides where I can take my own sweet time, but then again, it's something I don't really want to do either because too long away from home and I'll miss my family, my dog, my friends, and yes! I actually miss work.
I take just the amount of time I deem adequate to finish the trip, slot it into my schedule, and once I've completed it, another wonderful memorable adventure fulfilled, I dive right back to work and home!
That's life to me.
Anyway, Cambodia has been amazing.. and I miss the country.
So..... guess what's happening in 2017? ;)
[Singapore. Malaysia. Thailand.Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, ANGKOR WAT, Cambodia. Bangkok, Hat Yai,Thailand. Malaysia. Singapore]
[Mileage Clocked: 5,002KM]
[Weather/Temperature: Cloudy/Thunderstorms/27°C]
[Terrain: Road/Tarmac]