Two For The Road

[siriweith]

This is one story from Phuket gazzette february 2004 for know samething about us.

Two for the road

Still very much together after 16,000 km on a small bike: Luca Bassetti and Supawan 'Phoo' Phuha.

Three months and 16,000 kilometers is a long time to spend on the back of a Honda 125. But for Luca Bassetti and Supawan "Phoo" Phuha, the extended ride was one big adventure, through good times and bad.

A motorcycle is not the best place to be in the rain, yet the couple kept their wheels turning and the kilometers clocking up from Phuket to Bangkok to the very north of Thailand, then south to Malaysia and Singapore, and on back to Phuket.

Would they do it again? Probably. And within the intriguing travel adventure are the threads of a romance on the road.

Mr Bassetti met K. Supawan a few years ago, but they were separated by distance because he, for the most part, makes Phuket his home, while K. Supawan, 31, was working in Bangkok.

Mr Bassetti, now 40, has always had an adventurous streak and likes to go to remote places or just take odd roads that other people wouldn't normally think of exploring.

Left, at the Burmese border in Mae Sai. Right, in front of Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers.

Doing it in a way others wouldn't normally choose was part of the fun for him. K. Supawan said, "He was talking about coming to Bangkok to see me. I didn't think he was serious.

"But when I got off work, there he was, in front of my office building, on his motorcycle after coming all the way from Phuket. I didn't know what to say."

Mr Bassetti managed to use a logic all his own to explain why traveling on a motorcycle, especially a 125, is much better than flying.

"It takes me time to get to the airport," he said, "then I have to book and wait for my flight. When the plane lands, I have to get my luggage then go find a taxi, and waste more time in Bangkok traffic to get where I want to go.

"It's just so hard to get where you want to go all at one time, and fast. If I just drive my motorcycle, I leave Phuket and get where I want in Bangkok in 12 hours."

He added that a larger motorcycle is harder to maneuver in the busy traffic of Bangkok, so the smaller 125 suits his needs.

In October, K. Supawan left her job and joined Mr Bassetti in Phuket. He said, "Phoo was always telling me she could never go traveling to such places because of money and the lack of time.

"I told her, anyone can do it and you don't need to have so much money. You need to enjoy life and not just work. I wanted to show her Thailand. I wanted to open her eyes."

So from Phuket they began their expedition, taking in 15 major destinations throughout Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

K. Supawan said, "We asked our friends if they wanted to join us and only one person said he would, but driving his truck. He ended up not going."

On one of the early nights, they had to pull over at a gas station in the middle of nowhere to sleep, K. Supawan recalled. "There were no hotels and a huge mountain ahead so we just slept beside the minimart at the gas station. It was really quiet and no one saw us, or at least no one disturbed us."

Mr Bassetti, originally from Italy, said, "I learned when I was younger and traveling that when you get stuck and don't have anywhere else to sleep, a gas station is the best and safest place to stay. There are always people around and the lights are always on."

On the road in Singapore.

Sleeping at a gas station was nothing compared with riding in heavy rain for hours on end.

Chiang Mai was one of their favorite places and they stayed there for more than a week. K. Supawan said, "It is really interesting how people in one part of Thailand are so different from people in another.

"The people in Chiang Mai made me feel at home and they were so friendly – the friendliest, I think. They gave me free lessons in traditional foot massage because they saw I was interested. Nothing in Bangkok is free."

Traveling through Malaysia, K. Supawan was also able to spend time in a real forest and see "a lot of animals, including orangutans."

K. Supawan said, "People think that we're crazy and that it's not safe to drive a motorcycle so far, but it's not true." She explained that people who drive in the city in busy traffic probably are more at risk than the couple were on their long drive.

"When you're out in the country it is just hendless road and there aren't very many people you can crash into," she said.

When they reached Singapore, Mr Bassetti was surprised that the authorities allowed him to bring the motorcycle into the country.

Even so, they ended up parking the bike at a hotel and taking taxis. The fast pace of city traffic made it no place for a Honda 125.

K. Supawan said that once during the trip Mr Bassetti decided to turn down a red dirt road to see whether it was a shortcut to their destination.

"It was so quiet," she said, "and no one would be there to help if we had a problem with the motorcycle. I knew that we would have to drag the motorcycle out if anything happened."

Mr Bassetti's only concern on taking the detour was to listen to the forest noises – he has a justifiable fear of tigers.

Luckily, it turned out that the dirt road was a short cut and they made it back onto the highway.

"Sometimes it was boring sitting on the motorcycle for hours and hours," K. Supawan said, "and the rain made it worse. But Luca kept on going, telling me, 'We are almost there.' He's very determined."

K. Supawan maintained contact with friends and family by email or mobile phone. Mr Bassetti, meanwhile, did all the driving.

For both, safety was a prime concern. They wore leather jackets and jeans, and full-face helmets, just in case.

"The only accident we were ever close to getting in was when we were laughing and joking – we weren't really looking at the road," K. Supawan recalled.

Ten punctures was the tally for the trip. Damage is much more likely in cities than in the country, Mr Bassetti said.

Now back in Phuket, Mr Bassetti and K. Supawan are taking a break and enjoying life on the island, not on the road.

The old Honda 125 endured more than enough on the trip and Mr Bassetti decided it was time to upgrade. The couple have just bought a new motorcycle, a Sonic 125.

They are also looking at the possibility of a sponsored trip, perhaps to Cambodia, which they weren't allowed to enter last time around.

By Supaporn Sriprom

And so why we are in Chiang rai after 16 years i live in Phuket?

We enjoi the could of the winter season and we decided to building here your house.

Phuket,also if the beach where i live before Kamala beach is quired,became notorius around the world after the tragedy of tsunami and full of tourist.

Here in one of the more remote province of Thailand,life is very cheap and i love sit down in same restaurant or samewhere and to be alone.

The house we build is a holiday house,our idea is not to live here all years long.

But for now we enjoi this place also if my girl friend is not native from this area.

I am happy to take her away from the pollution of Bangkok and far away from the family problem....

We cover the distance chiang rai singapore 3000 km 3 time already with different motobike

and now we enjoi honda cbr 150 cc.

[sceadugenga]

What a great adventure.

[mcgriffith]

Fantastic ride, and story- Welcome!

I rode a KTM 125 (Sachs 2-stroke motor) from EU to Afghanistan once long ago (1971). I understand your joy of the road!

BTW, I have owned a CBR 150 for 2 years now, and ride it on occasional loop trips around Northern Thailand. Enjoy!

[flupke]

hi Luca & Phoo ,

nice story , you are getting famous now quickly in small town chiang rai , carefull ,

any new adventures planned yet ?

must be some kind of addiction , just keep on going

maybe you can post this in GT rider forum

by the way nice " holiday " house ,

ciao

[siriweith]

i have the picture of the street from chiang rai until singapore that my girl friend make when i was driving in 3 different trip

tomorrow they will install to me adsl line and will be more easy

because for now i connect with mobile telefhone and the line is not fast and need long time for big picture

i do same years ago one post with all this street in italian forum

but last year the forum crack and we loose everythink

no plane for trip now for the future i hope laos because is very closed to chiang rai

mc griffith you are much better than us with the trip you do in 1971 until afghanistan from europe

Edited September 15, 2008 by siriweith