Koh Chang trip report

[Richyba]

Just back from a great trip from Pattaya to Koh Chang with my good lady on my Stallions (Matchless now) CT400 so just a quick report, first of all the bike.

 

The CT400 doesn't seem to be held in high regard on here ie Chinese <deleted> etc but I love it, I bought it with 15K on it and it's now well over 20k, I've had no issues with it, I do most maintenance myself and use quality oil and genuine Honda filters. The bike is still great and lovely on a run, it's slightly under geared but pulls superbly 2 up with luggage, I tend to cruise about 90kph but do 100 if the road looks good. The only mods I've done to the bike is to remove both catalytic converters which hasn't affected the fueling and certainly makes it run cooler, it also sounds better without being stupidly loud, a nice thump though. I had the seat extended and had pannier racks made, on this trip it has been a joy and fabulous on fuel.

 

So the trip, we left Pattaya and took highway 3 towards Sattahip but headed for Silverlake and Ban Chang to cut a corner then rejoined highway 3 towards Rayong then pressed on to Chanthaburi for a night.

 

I loved Chanthaburi, its really old school Thai but has a lively nightlife but beware not much English is spoken. We stayed at a lovely hotel by the the river which was great value.

 

Next day we pushed on to Trat before heading for the ferry, it was so easy on a bike but it would have taken a while on the bike.

 

On Koh Chang we headed for Bang Bao beach, the roads are amazingly steep and slippy but the bike felt great. Bang Bao was stunning, we spent 3 nights in a Bungalow but the real gem is Khlong Kloi which is the village behind the beach, just a dusty dirt road and a few bars and restaurants but an amazing chilled vibe.

 

Next stop was lonely Beach for a night of excess but I have to report it is now a shadow of its former self with loads of places closed but strangely I preferred the laid back party feel.

 

Onwards to White Sands for 2 nights, again very quiet but some great bars and restaurants with the inevitable fire shows on the beach, great fun though.

 

We reluctantly left the Island and headed back to Highway 3 to just outside Chanthaburi where we took the coast road through Laem Sing to Mae Phim, its a stunning drive with some great sweeping bends which were good fun with the torquey single.

 

We stayed the night at Mae Phim, its a lovely spot which seems to be loved by Scandinavians, there's some good restaurants and bars, there's even an Irish bar of sorts.

 

We kept to the coast towards Rayong through Ban Phe before rejoining highway 3 for a while, we then took highway 36 back to Pattaya which was better than highway 3 but not much fun with loads of trucks.

 

Conclusions?  First of all the Stallions was great, I think the bad reputation comes from Thais who love stupid exhausts and carb conversions which seems to destroy the fuelling and also never changing the oil let alone the filter doesn't help. I also think it's a bike that rewards a bit of mechanical sympathy, the torque curve means it pointless revving it out all the time, it has great stomp for 400cc I find, overall I still love the bike and the only major mod I plan is to fit an oil cooler, it does get hot and I think it would help engine life.

 

As regards the trip, I loved the route but we both so fell for Bangbao that I think we would have a week there but all in all a great trip that was only somewhat spoilt by us both having stomach troubles but there seems to be a lot of that about in general. We both wore ventilated jackets and trousers and it was fine except for stops at lights which were a killer, I did find having protection relaxed me though and I suppose also helped with sunburn, we also wear uk full face helmets which were great. So in short if your thinking of a trip this one is highly recommended, hope you enjoyed the report.

[brianthainess]

Good report, 'stopping at lights' are you aware of the duel carriage that runs parallel to highway 3 at Bang Chang avoiding the town ? it saves a load of lights.

 

[LaosLover]

Thanks so much for this. I keep meaning to get back there, and you have woo'd me away from White Sands Beach.

 

On White Sands Beach, there's still a restaurant called Thor's Palace. Thor was one of the first "famous" (then called) lady boys that I recall, with a huge customer base of straight people repeat patrons. Did you happen to pop in there?

[Richyba]

41 minutes ago, LaosLover said:

Thanks so much for this. I keep meaning to get back there, and you have woo'd me away from White Sands Beach.

 

On White Sands Beach, there's still a restaurant called Thor's Palace. Thor was one of the first "famous" (then called) lady boys that I recall, with a huge customer base of straight people repeat patrons. Did you happen to pop in there?

 

[Richyba]

1 hour ago, brianthainess said:

Good report, 'stopping at lights' are you aware of the duel carriage that runs parallel to highway 3 at Bang Chang avoiding the town ? it saves a load of lights.

 

Actually we missed that because we came in past the strip at BC but we did seem to miss most of the lights, Rayong was much improved to.

[Richyba]

17 minutes ago, Richyba said:

 

We never saw it but you wouldn't believe how much has closed, I really recommend Bangbao for a chilled old school vibe. This is the bay.

[atpeace]

Great post! I want to go now.

[PMZ]

Great report on the bike and the island, many thanks.