Bangkok To Surin

[Newguy70]

Has anyone gone this direction within the last 6 hours. Looking for any information regarding open roads that are not flooded, or areas/roads to avoid, as I am thinking of heading out by motorbike.

Jason

[SantiSuk]

You will not have any problem if you can reach the 304. No danger areas on the 304 or 24 (travelled it Tuesday form Si Saket to Jomtien and was alert to areas that might become dodgy; also the Google flood map* is still showing it clear). The issue is whether to take a risk on the 9, 305 and 33 (having headed out on the 7). The Google map is showing flooding on the 305 but passable - probably not by bike and this may have worsened anyway by now.

If you can get out of BKK on Highway 7 my best guess for m'bike safety would be to head down to Chachongsao area (highway 314 turn off at Bang Pakong and pick up the 304 extension down there. I doubt the Northern waters will have worked their way down there for another couple of days if at all.

*http://www.thaiflood.com/highwaymap/ (Useful - red means no go; green means flooded but passable. However I am not sure how up to date it is posted)

[BigBikeBKK]

You will not have any problem if you can reach the 304. No danger areas on the 304 or 24 (travelled it Tuesday form Si Saket to Jomtien and was alert to areas that might become dodgy; also the Google flood map* is still showing it clear). The issue is whether to take a risk on the 9, 305 and 33 (having headed out on the 7). The Google map is showing flooding on the 305 but passable - probably not by bike and this may have worsened anyway by now.

If you can get out of BKK on Highway 7 my best guess for m'bike safety would be to head down to Chachongsao area (highway 314 turn off at Bang Pakong and pick up the 304 extension down there. I doubt the Northern waters will have worked their way down there for another couple of days if at all.

*http://www.thaiflood.com/highwaymap/ (Useful - red means no go; green means flooded but passable. However I am not sure how up to date it is posted)

That's a cool map, but I'm not sure how accurate / up-to-date it is... For example that it's not showing all the closed roads in MinBuri, Nong Chok and Lad Krabang... I expect the 304 is fine as it's a high road all the way. Wonder if there's much flooding in Chacheongsao? Should be a great adventure! Have fun!

[drdaveperry]

So it should be good from Bangkok to Surin tomorrow....... But what about coming back to Bangkok on Sunday? What are the latest flood predictions for Highway 304 and 24?

http://maintenance.doh.go.th/test.html

Edited October 20, 2011 by drdaveperry

[norwaygeir]

don't know if this help, but went from bangkok to koh chang yesterday, driving 304 and 314?, no flodding at all on the roads, had a nice ride.

[SantiSuk]

So it should be good from Bangkok to Surin tomorrow....... But what about coming back to Bangkok on Sunday? What are the latest flood predictions for Highway 304 and 24?

http://maintenance.doh.go.th/test.html

24 and 304 will be no problem. Waters were not close to the road at any point and the floodwaters from the North go nowhere near this route. Rainfall has been heavy showers but not prolonged. Your problems will be around the BKK area if anywhere. You will be in the best position to judge the likelihood of problems if you are returning within 24 hours. Someone on another thread got through ok on the 7/9/305/33 today by the way, but I still suspect this will be an at risk route over the weekend if flood waters descend, particularly around Thanyaburi area.

If it was me on a bike instead of my Fortuner I would be taking the insurance of going a bit further south east before hitting the 304, at the cost of an extra 50 to 75 kilos. I suspect this will be signifiocantly less trafficked than the 305/33.

Edit: to avoid any confusion the above was describing aroute form BKK to Surin, not the other way around.

Edited October 21, 2011 by SantiSuk

[macknife]

I came back into BKK via 24 and 304 a few days ago on my bike. 304 Minburi is your problem. As BBB says the road is fairly high but a few days ago water was taking up the left lane on both sides in parts. I heard it was supposed to be getting worse not better. Santisuk wouldn't have had to go this way. Once you clear Minburi its plain sailing. The mountain area is a nice ride but watch out for some huge and i mean huge potholes (some were 4-6feet across and deep, just keep your eyes open and you should see them coming) and make sure you bring waterproofs as its very likely to rain.

[Newguy70]

Update.

Made it to Surin ok. Thnx guys for the road advice

Surin fun town to cruise around on a bike for about a day . I stayed about 30 km out of Surin city. Had a guy on a scooter get gilled on route just 4km out of Sikaewnaphoum, hoped i spelled that correct.

I did notice the same mentality of cagers on this road, which is if you are on 2 wheels then they do not see you. Really a number of times had I not moved out of the way of an oncoming car pasing in my lane, I would have been toast.

Kids driving without a license is ok, however they were stopped if no helmet . Not an assumption, as I had breakfast near the school and watched it occur. And numerous encounters of teens wanting to race during my stay, which i passed on.

Coming back, nothing to report other than phone 1111 which you can call to find out if a road is open or not is highly confused. I wanted to drive from Surin to Rangsit, however they noted you would need the tollway which motorcycles are not able to use.

Note: I counted about 30 scooters on my commute today on the tollway. Not counting the scooter taxi that were running people from the tolway down the flooded ramps.

[BigBikeBKK]

Update.

Made it to Surin ok. Thnx guys for the road advice

Surin fun town to cruise around on a bike for about a day . I stayed about 30 km out of Surin city. Had a guy on a scooter get gilled on route just 4km out of Sikaewnaphoum, hoped i spelled that correct.

I did notice the same mentality of cagers on this road, which is if you are on 2 wheels then they do not see you. Really a number of times had I not moved out of the way of an oncoming car pasing in my lane, I would have been toast.

Kids driving without a license is ok, however they were stopped if no helmet . Not an assumption, as I had breakfast near the school and watched it occur. And numerous encounters of teens wanting to race during my stay, which i passed on.

Coming back, nothing to report other than phone 1111 which you can call to find out if a road is open or not is highly confused. I wanted to drive from Surin to Rangsit, however they noted you would need the tollway which motorcycles are not able to use.

Note: I counted about 30 scooters on my commute today on the tollway. Not counting the scooter taxi that were running people from the tolway down the flooded ramps.

1111 is a useful tool, but only as good as the folks manning the phones. Since so many roads in Thailand have two or three names and sometimes more than one number there's always room for confusion.

FYI, bikes were allowed on tollroads through today (Nov 20th). From tomorrow they'll start collecting tolls again and bikes will no longer be tolerated on the tollways.

It was nice while it lasted!

ps. as of today the 304 (Suwintawong) is still closed at Minburi but water levels are falling rapidly. I expect it will be open soon.

T