Mr Beem's Asian Journal
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northern Thailand to Malaysia |
Northern Thailand to Malaysia (December 2003)
Thailand is about thirty years ahead of Laos, development-wise that is. This is primarily because it has not been on the outskirts of various wars for the past three decades, so they have had a chance to get ahead and focus on their economy and infrastructure. This is immediately apparent when you cross over the Mekong River from Laos to the border post at Chang Kong.
Chang Kong is tucked up in the top right-hand corner of the country and is a quiet and prosperous little town running along the western bank of S. E. Asia’s longest river. I cleared Immigration there but had to wait until the next day to clear Customs – like I said, “it’s a quiet little town”, so the Customs boys had knocked off early. The Immigration guys said come back tomorrow if you really want to, up 2 u. ‘Up-to-you’ was a saying that I was to become very familiar with during my second visit to Thailand.
I spent the night at a nice little guesthouse overlooking the river, and next morning I got the Carnet for the Bike stamped. They stamped both the entry and exit part of the book so… perish the thought, but I could have sold Mr Beem in Thailand and no one would have been any the wiser. A BMW Dakar retails for almost twice the price in Thailand as it does in Australia, good job for them that I love that bike.
I took the back roads down to Chiang Mai. Thailand has excellent roads compared to Laos – mind you most places have good roads compared to Laos. The roads are well sign-posted and the drivers are probably licensed, most of the cars are fairly new and the older ones are in good condition so it makes for some safe, pleasant riding right there, throw in some stunning mountain scenery and you have the recipe for a great days Biking.
The trip down was pleasant, but uneventful and I arrived in the centre of Chiang Mai about four in the afternoon. The sign for the Good Day Guesthouse jumped out at me among all the other signs most of which were written in Thai Script. I pulled into the lock-up car park – that’s always a good start if you are riding a bike. I asked for the price of a room, it was four dollars, so I unpacked the bike and moved in. I asked at reception about a bike shop. I had snapped a battery terminal about thirty kilometres outside of town and needed to get it resoldered or a new battery. There was a Big Bike shop at the corner of the Moat. Chiang Mai is a little over seven hundred years old and was originally built inside a walled moat. I was in a hurry to get the bike sorted, so I went straight down to find the shop, they were just about to close, but came over to have a look at the bike and the new farang. I asked about fixing the battery, they could not do it but said that they had a new one in stock. I asked about filters, 'Oh Yes Have', so I asked about tyres 'Plenty of tyres in Chiang Mai'. This did not seem so hard to believe as Chiang Mai is Thailand’s second biggest City.
The following morning I was at the workshop early, I told the boss that I wanted to do the work myself all that I needed from him was some space and the parts and I would pay for both, he was happy with that. I asked to see that filters and battery. Khon – the boss - said that he would have to see the filters just to be sure that the ones that he had in stock were the right ones – you have to smile don’t you.
I went ahead and stripped the bike down, it was time for a Service anyway, and he could always get the parts from Bangkok if he didn’t have the right ones, which of course he did not.
I needed a fuel filter, an oil filter, and an air filter, all of which had to come from Bangkok, which only takes two days. That delay gave me the opportunity to clean up and oil and grease the rest of the bike. The battery we were able to get locally but the terminals were on the wrong side so we had to extend the terminal leads, you have to do the best you can with what you have.
Three days later the bike was finished and running better than ever. During the time the bike was in the shop they lent me a Honda CB 400, to run around on. We had also shared a few beers after work and become good friends, which was the real bonus of the experience. After that I would often just pop in for a chat and to share a few sundowners, or go for an evening ride up to the Buddhist temple at the top of the hill with the boys.
I also had the good fortune to meet up with David Unckovich, who is the resident expert on the loops and trails around Chiang Mai. David was organising a little trip up to Fang which is almost due north of Chiang Mai, you can get there in about an hour and a half if you go direct. We were taking the pretty way which is about five hours riding twisty roads, Great !
We arrived at the hotel in Fang around five thirty, and David gave us our options, the one that got unanimous approval was option A. Get settled in, have a shower, go out get a couple of drinks, have a two-hour Thai Massage and then have Dinner.
We all chipped in a few Baht and bought three bottles of Whiskey, then went to a massage place that David knew, they were not used to having five big farangs arrive all at once and had to send out for masseuses. We were in one big room with five mattresses on the floor and three bottles of whiskey. It didn’t take long before the girls were having the odd nip out of the bottle too. You can imaging how it went over the next two hours, lots of talk and banter and all the time the level in the whiskey bottles was dropping, I have never laughed so much. After that it was out to Dinner a couple of the girls tagged along, and a good night was had by all.
The next morning it was a nine o’clock kick off, but we did not get on the road till ten, sometime these things happen and no one was too upset. The ride was along the back roads, we were skirting the boarder with Burma and then heading south. We stopped for brunch – noodles at a hilltop resort and then raced back to Chiag Mai. As we had not managed to finish the whiskey we arranged to meet that evening and have a post mortem on the trip and polish off what ever was left in the bottles. It was agreed that it was a ripper little trip and if we had the chance we would do another…soon.
An old friend of mine was to arrive shortly he would spend a week so I set about organising an itinerary. I would take him to all the usual tourist spots around town, and then a four-day bike ride around the Mae Hong Song loop. Phil, who used to work with me in New Guinea has not had to much time spent on bikes and he was coming with Virginee a friend of his from New Caledonia, so two up on a hire bike was going to be a big adventure for him.
Virginee and Phil
I had Virginee behind me for the first day to give Phil a chance to get used to the bike and after that he made a good job of fending for himself. The main reason for the trip was to ride the road of one thousand bends, and to see the Long-neck people in the Mae Hong Son area.
It was a great trip as we had lots of stops as it was Virginee’s first time to Asia and she reminded me of the wonderful scenery (rice paddies, Temples, buffalo) and interesting people that I had started to take for granted, we also had some fun nights out and a chance to reminisce about the good old days in the “Land of the Unexpected’ (New Guinea).
Back in Phuket !
Soon after Phil left I put a new set of tyres on the bike and set off for Phuket, a seventeen hundred kilometre run which I did in two days.
The main reason for returning to Phuket was to collect a credit card that I had asked to be sent there, also to catch up with some of the good old boys and girls that I had met on my first visit five months previous. The last five hours of the journey into Phuket, I drove through some of the heaviest rain that I have ever seen, and this coming from a boy with seventeen years in the tropic – it was a solid waterfall.
When I arrived back at the Surin Bay Inn, the scene of my Passport and travellers cheque debacle, I felt that the reception was a little restrained. I doubt if they ever expected to see me again. We had a little chat, and I assured them that there were no hard feelings and asked about the credit card – yes, it had arrived. I spent two weeks there catching up with people going on a run to Burma and generally having a good time.
I also took the opportunity to replace two bearings in the rear hub, and fit new handlebar grips; sun block had melted the original ones.
And into Malaysia
I left Phuket at around eight in the morning and by five in the afternoon I was at the Malaysian border. The formalities were a breeze and Malaysia struck me as being very British in contrast to Thailand, which seems very Asian. It was something to do with the roads and the signs and the buildings, but mostly a sense of order.
I had been talking via email with a guy who went under the name of Norton; I was introduced to him by Ted Simon. Norton, so called because of his love for British classic bikes of the same name, lived at Bertum in Penang Province about one hundred and fifty kilometres from the border had offered me a bed for the night, so that was my next stop.
December 8th
I am still in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and still having a fun old time. I was thinking of making Bangladesh my next stop, but the little dictator at the Embassy has put paid to that idea, so instead I am putting myself and the Bike on a flight to Kathmandu. I may well double back to Bangladesh and go in over the Land Border I will have to wait and see how time and money conspire on that one.
Malaysia has far exceeded my expectations, I would say that it is without doubt the friendliest of any off the Asian countries that I have been lucky enough to visit. I am still waiting for a spare part to arrive from Germany for good old Mr Beem and when it does, ETA the 12th December. I will book the flight to Nepal. I have learned that it does not pay to get ahead of yourself in these matters. So once the rear hub is here and fitted - then I will make the Booking. I hope to have Christmas at the foot of Everest...that should be one that I will remember.
Certain uncharitable people have mentioned that they have never actually seen me ride the bike, and seriously doubt if I can, I have been accused of pushing it from in front of one temple to the next. For the doubters I have enclosed a photo, no stunt doubles were used and no animals were harmed during the taking of this photo.
It was taken on the road back from Malacca, which is about an hour and a half ride from Kuala Lumpur. It is a lovely and historic seaside town, where I spent last Sunday.
