Thailand dirt track, jungle, Koh Samui, custom bikes - Episode 13

[00:00:08]In the last episode, I explore more dirt tracks, but this time it's a little wet and muddy. I have a chat with a monk. I catch a ferry, which rams another ferry.

[00:00:22]I find an incredible place to stay on the beach and I get to meet my favorite custom motorcycle builder.

[00:00:30]>> I really headed off from the town of Krabby along the river.

[00:00:44]Today I'd be heading east for the first time towards the Gulf of Thailand.

[00:00:51]outside my window.

[00:00:58]When people don't know which way you go, go.

[00:01:07]I brea you in cuz you s on my pillow.

[00:01:17]I stay home with you. Morning.

[00:01:23]Today, well, going to try and find some dirt as I've got another one of those GPX files, but the issue has been that they could be over a decade or more old.

[00:01:33]And a lot of these little roads like this, this isn't actually the path yet, but they've been concreted like a decade ago. So, I don't know how much dirt we'll get, but they seem to just wind through these palm plantations, the palm oil ones. You see a lot of these in Malaysia. So, and we're getting closer.

[00:01:57]So, probably big industry around here.

[00:02:01]But it's hopefully going to cross to the other side of Thailand, this little narrow strip of land, and then it's basically heading back north to Bangkok.

[00:02:11]But we'll see what we can find out here.

[00:02:13]I'm not sure. The other issue is that it did rain yesterday or the last few days and I may get turned around as as I've mentioned again before that the tires on this uh I'd rather be on a dirt bike tires to be able to handle this sort of stuff because I don't want to be going down and digging out of mud for the next 6 hours. Anyway, I'll shut up and we'll get on with it.

[00:02:41]There was a bit of off and on the dirt and concrete roads for a while, then onto a main pitchman road, then back onto a long section of dirt.

[00:03:09]until another short sealed road section.

[00:03:12]So, they definitely have been upgrading the roads around here since this dirt GPX file had been made.

[00:03:22]But finally, I gone on to all dirt.

[00:03:26]The track was wet, but not that muddy for now.

[00:03:32]There was the occasional pothole, but otherwise, the track was in good condition.

[00:04:08]The track started to get smaller and turned into two tire tracks.

[00:04:17]There was a lot more water on the track now.

[00:04:38]The route that was on my navigation no longer had existing trucks, so I tried to follow ones that looked to be the closest, but soon I was way off the direction of the route I had.

[00:04:59]So I doubled back, not really wanting to get lost for days.

[00:05:15]And now I had no traction. My tires were caked in mud.

[00:05:24]Then I spotted an old gentleman on the bike waving me in his direction.

[00:05:33]So, I made my way towards him as he seemed to want to show me the path out of the forest. He must have thought, "This guy is definitely lost riding that bike out here."

[00:05:46]It was quite beautiful riding through here with the sun filtered through the palm tree leaves.

[00:06:00]It was good he knew where he was going as there were tracks heading in all directions but none near the GPX file I had.

[00:06:10]How cool was this palm canopy?

[00:06:20]I thanked the guy for showing me the way out and continued on the main track.

[00:06:46]The bike was still sliding around a bit in the muddy sections, but all manageable.

[00:07:00]There were tracks on the map that weren't in reality and there was nothing on the map and there were tracks in reality. So, the farmer helped guide me out of there, which I was grateful for.

[00:07:11]I'd be going around in circles for a while, I think. And this is why tires are the most important thing when going off-road in the wet. Well, mud at least rock ship okay and that but yeah I was just sliding everywhere because obviously I've lost all grip through the tires anyway. So a little bit of rain here and you want to be have a very aggressive tire. So I may have to stick to the sealed road for a bit longer. Maybe there's some more further north. But I know this area got rain further north it didn't. Bit of a bummer, but want to stay upright as much as possible. I'm gathering this island up at a village and then I'll just keep making my way east and then start turning north. See what else is out there. There was one thing I wanted to check out. An old place that a tree had seemed to well several trees had seemed to taken over. See if I can find it. I may not be able to.

[00:08:16]I headed off up the main trail. It had a lot more rocks in it, which was a good thing. Rougher, but less muddy sections.

[00:08:42]I was aiming for the puddles of water to try and clean out the remainder of the mud. I looked over the front wheel.

[00:08:48]There was a bit left, but most of the mud had cleared.

[00:08:53]I pulled up, had a quick look at the map, and picked a road that headed towards the east.

[00:09:12]It's a cold wind outside my window.

[00:09:21]>> It looked like there were storms ahead, so I pulled over to put on my rain gear.

[00:09:28]And it seems just in time as the rain started falling heavily.

[00:09:44]The rain came and went over the next hour or two.

[00:09:51]There were clouds randomly dumping the rain they had. So, it was very hit and miss as to whether you got wet or not.

[00:10:00]>> There are some quite elaborate intersections here in Thailand.

[00:10:08]So we better stay.

[00:10:15]Is it real? Could this be new beginning?

[00:10:26]The wall was built when the town was founded in the early 13th century. Over time, the walls deteriorated and were restored and strengthened on multiple occasions. In the 17th century, the city walls were renovated in the shadow style, reflecting the French influence at the time.

[00:10:45]I've come across another one of these ancient walled cities.

[00:10:50]They're massively thick. I guess defense was priority back in the day. And just over time, how grounds, you know, ground settled and it's just got waves over hundreds of years. I'm sure the bricks were put in level, but over hundreds of years eventually the ground moves and yeah, just fascinating. Would have been such a different time. Going to continue north.

[00:11:16]Hopefully I can find this one other place I wouldn't mind having a look at and then get up to that area where, you know, the Thailand comes down and it juts out a little bit. So, I want to get to that corner there and make a plan from there. Seeing my dirt trails today have been scuffled.

[00:11:43]I made my way a bit further north.

[00:12:10]So, I saw a picture of this place and it looks quite cool. Literally, the trees have taken back over it. I mean, eventually if they don't cut them out, all the roots and that, the thing will just fall.

[00:12:29]The roots of the trees were all on the inside of the building as well.

[00:12:39]It looks like they've done some repairs on it and they've got some structures inside, but yeah, I don't know how stable that would be.

[00:12:49]I'm sure it's fine. Maybe uh >> a monk came over and started to chat >> towards Bangkok.

[00:12:56]>> Bangkok.

[00:12:57]>> Yeah.

[00:12:58]>> Yeah.

[00:13:01]>> So how old? Because >> over over 100 year.

[00:13:07]>> Ah yeah cuz many trees.

[00:13:12]>> I guess this will happen to all buildings in the end.

[00:13:28]There were storm clouds still to the south of me, but it looked a lot better in the northerly direction I was heading.

[00:13:38]>> No matter where you are, there's always a 7-Eleven.

[00:13:43]I had gotten to the little jutted out part of the mainland and the port area that service one of Thailand's most famous islands, Kosamui. So, I thought I might see if I could find out some information about it.

[00:13:57]>> I asked for the information center.

[00:14:02]I pulled over to the place with the large information sign on it where a guy directed me to continue further down the road.

[00:14:12]Come on, let me hear you say it's your mother.

[00:14:19]Don't want the games they play cuz we stay.

[00:14:33]>> The lady pointed the side and said, "Wait there."

[00:14:37]So, I headed to the ferry terminal just to see if there was any fairies that went to Kosanui, the island. Well, no.

[00:14:43]Very popular. And I rocked up and started asking. She just said 2:30 and got a ticket. And so, it's about $10.

[00:14:51]So, we'll see. Seeing I got scuttled because of the rain and the mud on the trails, I thought I'd uh just check out the island.

[00:15:02]I don't know how rough this is going to be. It's supposed to be an hour and a half. We'll see.

[00:15:20]The guy put a couple of chocks around the tires to keep the bike from rolling around.

[00:15:38]They pulled up the anchor and we were on our way.

[00:15:44]It was a little rough, but not too bad.

[00:15:52]I hadn't eaten today, so I grabbed some rice and mints. Unlike most traveling in the western world on boats, planes, and trains, they didn't charge more than normal, just a couple of dollars.

[00:16:10]We came in to the dock at Kosamui. Some of these boats had seen better days.

[00:16:19]While I was waiting for the ferry, I had done a quick search online for somewhere to stay. It was on the other side of the island, so it meant I just needed to ride around the coastline.

[00:16:32]According to oral history, the island of Kosamui was first inhabited around the 6th century, settled by fishermen from the Malay Peninsula and visited by passing traders from southern China.

[00:16:47]Now, this is what southern Thailand and its islands are famous for. Crystal clear water.

[00:17:06]I had ended up at a place called Fisherman's Village.

[00:17:23]Uh, apparently the accommodation was right in front of me.

[00:17:28]It must be that building there to the left.

[00:18:05]Technically, I made an error. Some people may not think it is, but technically it was. When I actually got to the ferry terminal and was asking the lady about the ferry over here, it was loud, it was hot, and she sort of rushed me through and got the ticket. Oh, I'm on. Okay, I'll just go with it. Then I was think I should really book something. So, I went on to the app, bookings.com, and I it was hard to see in the glare. Blah blah blah. Anyway, I actually booked for tomorrow night.

[00:18:34]So, I got here and they still had one room left. And yeah, I wasn't I just saw the one photo. It was near the beach and I was trying to get somewhere near the beach and this is pretty near the beach.

[00:18:44]So, I'm going to have to stay two nights. I know it's going to be hard to take, but two nights looking at this and hearing the ocean lap of the shore.

[00:18:58]So, out the front is actually what they call a walking street. So, they close it down in the evenings and there's food and just people using it as a pedestrian area rather than vehicles. So, I'll go check that out. And tomorrow, it looks like that cloud is actually staying south and by midday it should be full sunshine, a bit of cloud in the morning.

[00:19:20]So, hopefully that will happen. As the sun shone the last of its rays on the day, I headed out to see what the walking street in this area was like.

[00:19:32]They had a row of very nicel lookinging restaurants along the beach with great views and by the smell of food drifting out from them. I can only imagine how delicious it would have been. If anybody didn't know, weed has become legalized in Thailand. So, there are stores like this everywhere. So, the walking streets probably a bit over a kilometer, maybe a kilometer and a half. They had a night market. You can tell the difference between a local market and a market for the tourists. It was all about souvenirs and those elephant pants rather than unique, delicious food.

[00:20:13]>> I saw this lady making well, I'm not really sure, but they did look yummy, so I thought I'd try it.

[00:20:27]Well, although I didn't get the dirt tracks I was after today, it still turned out pretty well. Ended up in a really good spot. And on that note, I'm try these. So good.

[00:20:45]I rode off the next morning to have a bit of a look around.

[00:20:57]It was a beautiful day with the sun finally back out.

[00:21:10]Decided to go for a cruisy ride around the island. And yes, it is a tourist hotspots and there's groups everywhere, but I'm embracing my inner tourist.

[00:21:20]I think this island's more find your little area and stick to it as it's quite difficult traveling around through all the traffic. But that's a good thing to be doing, too. Just totally checking out and just relaxing while you're here.

[00:21:34]So, for the rest of the day, I think I might be doing that once I have a bit more of a wander.

[00:21:40]I rode along the coastline, dropping in on some of the beaches and some headlands, but I thought where I was staying was actually probably the best spot. So, I spent the rest of the day basically doing nothing more than watching the view.

[00:22:02]I mean, with views like this, how could you not?

[00:22:13]I left before dawn to get the first ferry back to the mainland.

[00:22:36]had an early start to make sure I was here in plenty of time for the 8:00 ferry and then find out the 8:00 ferry is electric cars only. So, I'll be going on the 9:00.

[00:22:48]There's probably worse places to be having to wait another hour.

[00:22:53]I'd say I waited for the ferry to be unloaded before I was able to board.

[00:23:47]I was a first on, so not too sure where to go, but I ended up going right to the front.

[00:24:05]There was an almighty bang and crunching of metal. Another ferry coming into dock had run into the side of this ferry, but no one seemed to be bothered about it.

[00:24:15]It looks like it might be a common occurrence.

[00:24:26]We passed the small islands on the way back and some fishermanmen.

[00:24:35]There's a pretty epic mountain range on the mainland coming in.

[00:24:40]Tell you what though, it is so humid and muggy. It is brutal. I think I'm just going to get on the bike and ride just up the highway.

[00:24:50]Trying to keep cool.

[00:24:52]So hot.

[00:25:02]The ramp dropped and I was off again.

[00:25:14]It was incredibly humid. So instead of looking for tracks in the jungle around here, I thought it best to make my way further north.

[00:25:38]There's always a massive golden Buddha close by.

[00:25:53]I rode most of the day until late into the afternoon.

[00:26:04]Made the accommodation after about 6 hours on the bike. A very useful, functional north south highway for Thailand, but mind-numbingly boring.

[00:26:19]So it got a bit tired coming into this town. I went, me, that's me done. So quick search, found this place, which is about $30 Australian dollars and it's very clean, looks pretty new, and have a shower, pass out, and do the last bit tomorrow.

[00:27:00]It looked like they were building a massive laying Buddha.

[00:27:05]I had made it to the outskirts of Bangkok and the elevated highways.

[00:27:32]There was one more place I wanted to check out before this journey ended.

[00:27:48]So, there was one place I really wanted to check out before I left here in Bangkok, and it is a custom motorbike store. And this is Mu. He's the >> Hi. Hello.

[00:28:00]>> He's the guy who's created all >> I'll show you around some of these bikes. I had come across this image of a custom motorcycle years ago, which I love the design of. I thought if I ever get to Thailand, I'd check it out as it wasn't the only custom bike build I really liked. Muyang had a really cool workshop like the ultimate manhed. I asked him a few questions on how this all happened. I start from uh 2014 before I don't have skill for custom my motorbike. I am a art director but uh I ride motorbike uh have accident from the bike. I not uh forgot the bike when I smell from the gas tank. I need to ride again and but my body not 100% you know find some bike I can ride slowly I not ride fast again and I found the the classic by look like Yamaha SR 400cc I try to do custom for me and for my friends and have many friend follow me on Instagram they say muyong you can custom for my bike really I just for hobby you know and that that that is begin for me And until now, >> this was built from a Yamaha the Go 1100, turning it into a cafe racer. He built this one in a hard tail style.

[00:29:23]This bike he built in 2020, but was in the recent floods in the south, so was back to be repaired. He built a gunman 10cc, a Honda Monkey in a bobber style.

[00:29:40]a Honda Dax 125.

[00:29:44]It seems the more unique and creative Mongon can be, the better.

[00:29:48]>> You want to also travel?

[00:29:50]>> Yeah, that's my dream, Josh. I I know when when you uh talk to me with your um traveler in the world. Very amazing, man. I like jungen, I like mountain, I like beach, and I like NOS and I like people culture. I need to go like like you.

[00:30:09]>> Where would you want to go?

[00:30:11]>> Ah, you told me in the video. I really need to go California.

[00:30:16]Really like have the big leg, right? Big lake, big mountain, nice junction, big tree. I like the tree, you know. And that my California.

[00:30:26]>> And finally in his build area was his latest creation, funny enough was going to be an adventure bike. Definitely worth coming here and checking his place out. He's got some really cool bikes and I want one, maybe two.

[00:30:44]Well, seeing I've made it to Bangkok, this is where the trip ends. Till next time.

[00:30:58]Oh my love, you're such a fragile thing. I know.