Bangkok To Malay 2008 Motogp On A Ducati Monster..and Back!

[RusticCharm]

The outbound leg was to be an easy ride as I had most of October free.

My route with overnighters and kilometers travelled- 

Bangkok to Hua Hin - 170

Hua Hin to Chumphon - 250

Chumphon to Krabi - 310

Krabi to Hat Yai - 180

Hat Yai to Penang - 200

Penang To KL - 300, (KL to Sepang Circuit - 50)

Total 1,460 kilometers

Rama II road was pretty awful as usual but once out of that it's open throttle all the way. Hua Hin was uneventful. Low season blues. The Pueng Pen hotel opposite Mickey D's at 980 Bt a night was good value. Big pool and in-room safe.

Chumphon? Why do I keep stopping in Chumphon? I never learn. No redeeming qualities whatsoever though I've heard the surrounding areas have some nice resorts.

Chumphom to Krabi was a nice ride with surprisingly little traffic though the odd float and parades around the villages slowed me down.

Scenery was eyeopening though these pics don't do it justice.

Used Adobe to make some panorama images here, hence the joins.

Deserted highways were a huge relief from the traffic nightmare that is Bangkok.

Krabi town was nice and .. er ..quiet. Actually it appeared completely deserted.

WHERE IS EVERYBODY!?

Sunset from the town center.

Krabi to Hat Yai is a very good ride though I got my first soaking in the mountains just before Trang, I managed to dry out (except crotch, natch) before arriving in Hat Yai.

Once in Hat Yai, I checked in to the Siam Center hotel. My grand ideas of checking out the nightlife disappeared as I hit the sack early, tired from my the wet twisties earlier in the day but it was tempting to call out for a takeaway.

A room with a view. (Another dodgy Adobe panorama effort).

Crossing the border the next day was a bit of a runaround but after being given contradictory directions by Thai customs staff, I eventually got the two pices of paper needed. Handed one to the Thai customs on departure and just showed the other to uninterested, sleepy Malay customs guys and then sped through onto Penang.

The Malay roads were excellent tough the trip was fairly bland. No potholes here.

I decided to take the ferry over to Georgetown and the long bridge on the way back.

The Penang Bridge in the distance is 13 kilometers long apparently, making it the longest 'something-span' bridge in the world. Okay, whatever!

I like Penang. Old-world charm a plenty. The view from the Cititel Hotel on Penang Road. About 1,700 Bt (or 170 ringgit) a night. Excellent hotel!

Excellent Indian curries on Penang Road though thoroughly unhygenic as I was to find out later while in the saddle.

Strangley enough, this place isn't a temple but a hotel. I must have been drunk when I took this photo!

Whatever you do, don't make the mistake of staying at the Eastern Hotel in Chulia Street (as I did back in the 80's), besides being a dump, it's next to a mosque so you have some tone-deaf Imam screaming away at some ungodly hour, hence the loudspeakers.

Well, finally on to KL. What a traffic disaster KL is. A thoroughy miserable experience upon entering the city. Gridlock and a rainstorm. And no idea where the hotel was.

Met up with two Ducati riders from Singapore but got separated in the traffic.

Followed the signs and eventually arrived at the Capitol Hotel in downtown KL soaked to the skin. And no parking area so had to park inthe adjascent shopping mall's basement carpark. Grrrr!

My mood was somewhat improved as the Capitol was again a very nice place to stay but I don't think they were impressed at the puddles I left in reception.

I've been very lucky with hotels so far with the exception of Chumphon.

Nice view of the Petronas Towers on a misty day.

At night.

Part 2 to follow....

[BSJ]

Hi RusticCharm, were you cruising along Harley style? Or have I misinterpreted something? Each leg is not a lot of riding for a day.

[JimsKnight]

I think he did it by taking short 1 day stopovers to break the journey up a bit.

Going for it in one blast might sound thrilling and heroic, but you miss out on all the great scenery and your surroundings.

For me November is better, you get the cloudy effects but less rain (usually).

Good tour Rustic!

See you on the road man

[Arthur88]

Rustic,

you mentioned some documents have to be presented at thai and malay customs. Can you explain to me? Bike I ride is registered under someone elses name but I have green book in order.

I am about to ride to Malaysia for the first time and need to know what paperwork to prepare.

Also, what about insurance on malay side, please explain to first timer.

Many thanks

Artie

[HDRIDER]

Hi RusticCharm, were you cruising along Harley style? Or have I misinterpreted something? Each leg is not a lot of riding for a day.

Hi

Not all drive slow on Harleys, day1, Phuket-Hua Hin. Day2 Hua Hin- Nakon Sawan. Day 3 Nakon Sawan- CM, and we was crusing

[RusticCharm]

Hi RusticCharm, were you cruising along Harley style? Or have I misinterpreted something? Each leg is not a lot of riding for a day.

My aim was to take it easy going down and blast it on the way back. I didn't want to spend the whole day in the saddle when I had a lot of time to spare. On the return leg (part 2) I was doing 400-500 kilometers some days.

Rustic,

you mentioned some documents have to be presented at thai and malay customs. Can you explain to me? Bike I ride is registered under someone elses name but I have green book in order.

I am about to ride to Malaysia for the first time and need to know what paperwork to prepare.

Also, what about insurance on malay side, please explain to first timer.

Many thanks

Artie

They check the green book against your passport, enter the details into a pc and printout two pages of info, identical I assume.

You hand one in to the Thai customs when you leave Thailand and the other to Thai customs upon re-entering. As to the 'insurance' for Malaysia, nothing was said by Malay customs. They did mention something about a 'Carnet' but just waived me through when I showed them the second printout from the Thai side.

On the way back, Malay customs were .. er .. absent, so I just got my passport stamped and handed in the second paper to Thai customs.

I probably missed something, maybe the insurance or some malay customs paperwork but what the heck.

I'm not sure about taking out a bike that's registered in someone elses name. Apparently, you need a letter of permission. Customs could get tricky here. Other posters may know.

[RusticCharm]

Part 2.

Once comfortably settled at the Capitol Hotel, I rode out to the Saturday practise session at Sepang. Met a few Malays on superbikes who showed me the way to the circuit though it's not particularly difficult to find. Well signposted on the way to the airport, KLIA.

Eye candy at the Ducati stand. And well, I'll be. The 1098s is 200k baht more expensive in Malaysia than Thailand.

Hey kid! Yeah you! In the white t-shirt. Eyes off!

Some more panorama shots, this time of the pits.

The 125's start their warm-up lap.

Elias (Ithink!) leaves the pit area.

My main man Stoner this time. But boy, he had a bad race.

And they're off! Rossi and Stoner are close.

The 3 days in KL went quick. Before I knew it, back on the road again to Penang.

KL to Penang - 300

Penang to Surat Thani (via NST) - 500

Surat Thani to Hua Hin - 410

Hua Hin to Bangkok - 170

Total 1380 kilometers

I was too much in a rush to take photos on the way back. It's avery nice ride up past Songkhla and NST with the highway only a few meters from the sea.

The last 100k's of the Penang-Surat leg were rough. I tried to make the ferry at Don Sak for Samui (unaware they stopped running at 2pm) after passing Nakhon Sri Thammarat and ended up with a rather lengthy detour on my hands.

Entering Surat was a low point on this trip. Driving rain, poor visibility and rather tired after I think close to 600 k including the detour. Now I know why people buy touring bikes but they're not for me.

I stayed at the Saowaluk Thani on the main road. Not a bad room for 800 Baht. The 'oil massage' place in the basement would have come in handy for those sore, hard to reach places but after what had to be the worst Thai buffet I've had in 16 years in Thailand, I was off up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire, asap.

Writing this now, the rest is all a blur. The Indian curries from Penang finally caught up with me on the Surat-HH leg. Stopping off every 100 klms was a pain in more ways than one. I had a sphincter the size of a pinhole and some of those service station toilets resembled the one from the movie, 'Trainspotting'.

Lingering after effects were limited to a right hand that couldn't make a fully-closed fist for a day or so.

All in all a great experience regardless of the weather. I would do it again (I think!) but maybe not solo. And in the 'not-rainy but not that hot' season.

The ride would have been a lot easier if I had been a few years younger, a few pounds lighter and not on a sports bike.

Thanks to the Apple IPhone for the images and Google Maps for directions when in the middle of nowhere.

Total travelled 2,840 kilometers but with 'detours' closer to 3k I would guess.

FIN.

[Richard-BKK]

And a picture of the other side....

[BSJ]

HDRider: Hi, Not all drive slow on Harleys, day1, Phuket-Hua Hin. Day2 Hua Hin- Nakon Sawan. Day 3 Nakon Sawan- CM, and we was crusing

I wasn't trying to be critical dude, it's just that the only Harley riders I see going fast are usually outlaw bikers on a run and funnily enough the cops down here seem to be looking the other way at the time!

I have a soft spot for Electro Glides. Who in their right mind doesn't luv a full loaded Ultra Classic Electra Glide

The girly in the first Ducati pix has the look....oh yer!

Ps: Is she Malay?

[CroBiker]

Nah..she looks Chinese. Malay girls are not allowed to pose this way, social and religious prejudice.

[Carib]

Great trip, nice pics !!

[RusticCharm]

Nah..she looks Chinese. Malay girls are not allowed to pose this way, social and religious prejudice.

Yeah, some of those Malay girls were hot. As were the Chinese girls. The Indian girls...well..ahem!

While on the subject of race in Malaysia, strangely enough, all the bikers I saw were of Malay origin. No Chinese or Indians.

[CroBiker]

Yes, Malays are crazy about bikes and very friendly lot too.

Btw, very nice ride Rustic, hope we hook up sometime in future and ride down south together. Surprised you went alone to GP, how come nobody else from Thailand went with you?

[RusticCharm]

Btw, very nice ride Rustic, hope we hook up sometime in future and ride down south together.

Sure, I'll give you a shout if I'm ever down South again.

Surprised you went alone to GP, how come nobody else from Thailand went with you?

Very good question!

Work commitments, I guess. I heard from GT-Rider forum that a bunch from up North were putting their bikes on the train to Penang and then riding from there.

There was one poster from here who was apparently 'serious' about going and then suddenly stopped responing to the thread (http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Riding-Malaysian-Motogp-2008-t208399.html) or my PM's. Strange!

My last post in that thread sums up my feelings about that.

[BigBikeBKK]

Awesome report and pics Rustic! Thanks for sharing

[ScubaBuddha]

So who is riding to Malaysian MotoGP this year? I think me wants.

[fatbastard68]

Never read this report before, thanks for bringing it up, Awesome report Rustic,like the pics, are you thinking about going again this year?

I've got 2 questions though,what sort of speed are you going and any idea how much the whole trip cost?

[a_classic_cigar]

Btw, very nice ride Rustic, hope we hook up sometime in future and ride down south together.

Sure, I'll give you a shout if I'm ever down South again.

Surprised you went alone to GP, how come nobody else from Thailand went with you?

Very good question!

Work commitments, I guess. I heard from GT-Rider forum that a bunch from up North were putting their bikes on the train to Penang and then riding from there.

There was one poster from here who was apparently 'serious' about going and then suddenly stopped responing to the thread (http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Riding-Malaysian-Motogp-2008-t208399.html) or my PM's. Strange!

My last post in that thread sums up my feelings about that.

Hi Rustic,

Not sure if you received my PM's / emails etc... Have sent and can re send,, either way - sorry you were not happy about not hearing back as many of the community here know I do reply in a timely manner (time permitting, but always do reply..) I do have to say great report and sorry to hear about the trip down (stop)at Chumphon...floats?

What is your plan for this year and did you receive my PM's about the event in Kanchanaburi..

Ride safe!

Chris

[RusticCharm]

So who is riding to Malaysian MotoGP this year? I think me wants.

Yeah, I'd like to go again but not solo this time. Roughly the same route. Though dependent on work holiday schedule playing ball. Like to give Chumphon a miss this time.

I've got 2 questions though,what sort of speed are you going and any idea how much the whole trip cost?

Speed? Well, flexible on that depending on the group. Not too fast as constant wind noise can irritate. Open highway, not too slow 130++ but as I said, I'm flexible for sensible group riding.

Cost? I think I included hotel prices in my OP (Oops! No I didn't. Just checked. That was the Northern tour ) but budget on around 1k THB a night. Obviously cheaper places can be found. Though more in Malaysia, around 1.7k for a decent place. The biggest expense is nightlife. Penang and KL, not so much but Hat Yai, Hua Hin etc...

As for the cost of the whole trip, no idea but I think you could manage it on 2k THB a day, minus beer and nightlife that is. I wouldn't recommend the trip if you're on a tight budget.

Not sure if you received my PM's / emails etc... Have sent and can re send,, either way - sorry you were not happy about not hearing back as many of the community here know I do reply in a timely manner (time permitting, but always do reply..)

What is your plan for this year and did you receive my PM's about the event in Kanchanaburi..

That was a 'no' on both counts. A simple 'Can't make it this time' reply to the thread would've been appreciated though.

But anyway that's in the past. A group ride for this would be good. A perfect scenario would be with one rider who's a mechanic, another who speaks Malay and also a support vehicle in tow. 

A rough schedule would be-

Bangkok-Hua Hin 18/10 Sunday

Hua Hin- _ _?_ _ 19/10

_ _?_ _-Krabi or Surat 20/10

Krabi or Surat-Hat Yai 21/10

Hat Yai-Penang 22/10

Penang-KL 23/10

3 nights in KL (Fri, Sat, Sun) Race Day 25/10 Sunday

Depart KL Monday 26th October

[fatbastard68]

Thanks Rustic,

I'm still up for it !!, sounds like a good route, obviously can't confirm just yet, but really interested

BTW Really liked your Northern Thailand ride/report

[ScubaBuddha]

I would like to make every effort to go, just so long rusticcharm and a_classic_cigar aren't shouting; "Did too!" "Did Not!" All the way down. "Hey, don't make me turn this motorcycle around!

I will keep my fingers crossed as to when delivery of said ER6f will take place.

[a_classic_cigar]

I would like to make every effort to go, just so long rusticcharm and a_classic_cigar aren't shouting; "Did too!" "Did Not!" All the way down. "Hey, don't make me turn this motorcycle around!

I will keep my fingers crossed as to when delivery of said ER6f will take place.

Nice one Scubabuddha! Nah, as Rustic said in the past... Looks like it will be a good group this time and again thanks to Rustic for the report...

Can make this one - unless the work thing goes down the sh*%$er...

Rustic you mentioned before that you ordered the tickets / passes /etc.. 1 month prior?

[samran]

if you have to stay in chumpon, the novotel there is a great pitstop and dirt cheap. Stayed there on our road trip to Malaysia:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Driving-Malaysia-t184695.html

[RusticCharm]

Rustic you mentioned before that you ordered the tickets / passes /etc.. 1 month prior?

Yeah. Turned out to be a waste of time as the Malay MotoGP is never anywhere close to selling out, so tickets are readily avaliable on the day.

The ticket I bought from the MotoGP website was about 1500 Bt. Only 80 Malay Ringgit (800 Bt) on the day, so the website is a rippoff. But it was hand delivered by DHL!  And if I do go again, I'll have to find a hotel with parking in KL.

How about we all continue this on Scubabuddha's thread- http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Riding-Malay...09-t276894.html

There's less stuff to scroll through. The tread title's more relevent and we can start compiling a list of riders who are interested, however tentatively.

[ScubaBuddha]

Rustic you mentioned before that you ordered the tickets / passes /etc.. 1 month prior?

Yeah. Turned out to be a waste of time as the Malay MotoGP is never anywhere close to selling out, so tickets are readily avaliable on the day.

The ticket I bought from the MotoGP website was about 1500 Bt. Only 80 Malay Ringgit (800 Bt) on the day, so the website is a rippoff. But it was hand delivered by DHL! And if I do go again, I'll have to find a hotel with parking in KL.

How about we all continue this on Scubabuddha's thread- http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Riding-Malay...09-t276894.html

There's less stuff to scroll through. The tread title's more relevent and we can start compiling a list of riders who are interested, however tentatively.

Yeah good idea.

Sorry I posted new topics/replies in 3 or 4 places...including Phuket.info and fireblades.org. I wanted to get the word out as widely as possible.

Continued here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Riding-Malay...09-t276894.html

[harleyclarkey]

Nice one....well done! I hope you have a nice set of 52-55mm Termignoni sticking out the back...I can just imagine the deep growl as you back off on the overrun or stick on the power!! Not a sound often heard in Thailand. Your 200 a day is not bad considering the roads and the riding position. I have a MH900e and got a set of pipes made that are pure music.

I have just finished phase 3 of my American adventure with a trip of 16,000 kilometres, through 7 states in 5 weeks. At the end of it I wasn't at all fazed.....but then it is a Road King Classic....magic cruiser.

Well done again!

[DaleBlue]

Envy you with your Ducati. They are so sexy, and I love riding them down to Sattahip and Rayong.

There are a few here in Pattaya. All the owners treat their Ducati better that they girl friend / wife. Occasionally I got to ride them, but not until I get them drunk first, before they are willing to part with their keys.

[soundman]

Numerous posts have been removed.

Please keep it civil guys.

[BigBikeBKK]

^ Aw, what did I miss?

[ScubaBuddha]

^ Aw, what did I miss?

Someone was inexplicably accusing Rusticcharm, via several nonsensical and accusatory posts, of faking the trip because there was no picture of his Monster.