Sangkhla Buri, Kanchanaburi

[Gweiloman]

Has anyone ridden there from Bkk? What are the roads like? Nice twisties and in good condition?

[cbrer]

Yes, very nice.

Thong Pha Phum is a nice town to sleep in. Check out the road to Pilok too.

Hin Dat hotsprings on the way, as well. Don't forget to keep going until the 3 Pagoda Pass.

[BirdsandBooze]

I have a preference for this area over the much talked about North, especially as it doesn`t take me long to get there. The countryside is really nice.

[cbrer]

Yes, diving south from Kanchanaburi into Ratchaburi and up around the Burmese border area is great riding too.

[krbkk]

it is a very nice and excelent riding

Thong Pha Phum are about 300 km from Bangkok

from Thong Pha Phum you can go to Sankla Buri and to 3-Pagode Pass or turn left and use the more as 1000 Curve Road to Etong City (a small Baan with about 20 houses)

[krbkk]

one more

and if the weather very good, you can have a lock from view point to Andaman Sea in Burma

Edited January 6, 2013 by krbkk

[Gweiloman]

Thanks for all the feedback. Looks like it's a must do ride, once I get a whole free weekend!

[macknife]

Sounds good. What's Pilok like? Would/could you stay a night there, any accessible waterfalls nearby?

[Hili]

if you looking for a little Adventure you can drive from Kanchanaburi towards Sisawat then go into Erawan National Park and going trough it, passing Maekamin Waterfall until you hit 323 between Thong Pha Phum and Sangklhaburi. Trough Erawan mostly dirt roads but quite stable and not too many holes. Did it on a Er6N which was ok. Must be real fun on a Dirtbike/ Dtracker/ CRF. But only doable in dry season ;P

[rickgyles]

Hi if you come up pop in at Baan Ricky can give you some info about nice roads and spots around there.

Check us at Facebook "Baan Ricky" also if you want to do a bid trail Raiding Alan is at Baan Ricky all the time and happy to show you great Trails.

or check www.BaanRicky.com all petrol-heads welcome. ;-)

have a great time Rick and the Rest

[Gweiloman]

Hi if you come up pop in at Baan Ricky can give you some info about nice roads and spots around there.

Check us at Facebook "Baan Ricky" also if you want to do a bid trail Raiding Alan is at Baan Ricky all the time and happy to show you great Trails.

or check www.BaanRicky.com all petrol-heads welcome. ;-)

http://www.thaivisa....ss-kanjanaburi/

have a great time Rick and the Rest

What a coincidence Ricky. I was exchanging PM's with Brian_Bkk that I might try to pop in this Sunday to see you and Alan just for a look see as I'm keen to try off road / enduro riding. So if you see a couple of guys coming up the roads on a couple of Versys, you'll know it's us. Can't say for sure yet if we'll show up as we are still trying to finalise the itin but I sure hope to be able to take a look at your place.

[edwinchester]

if you looking for a little Adventure you can drive from Kanchanaburi towards Sisawat then go into Erawan National Park and going trough it, passing Maekamin Waterfall until you hit 323 between Thong Pha Phum and Sangklhaburi. Trough Erawan mostly dirt roads but quite stable and not too many holes. Did it on a Er6N which was ok. Must be real fun on a Dirtbike/ Dtracker/ CRF. But only doable in dry season ;P

The road from Erawan to Maekamin has recently had a new layer of asphalt put down. Fantastic road all the way to the National Park but dirt past it.

[macknife]

Hi if you come up pop in at Baan Ricky can give you some info about nice roads and spots around there.

Check us at Facebook "Baan Ricky" also if you want to do a bid trail Raiding Alan is at Baan Ricky all the time and happy to show you great Trails.

or check www.BaanRicky.com all petrol-heads welcome. ;-)

http://www.thaivisa....ss-kanjanaburi/

have a great time Rick and the Rest

Thanks for the info.

I'm gonna try and get down in a couple of weeks. I can't really do trail riding but I'll pop in and say hello.

[rene123]

if you looking for a little Adventure you can drive from Kanchanaburi towards Sisawat then go into Erawan National Park and going trough it, passing Maekamin Waterfall until you hit 323 between Thong Pha Phum and Sangklhaburi. Trough Erawan mostly dirt roads but quite stable and not too many holes. Did it on a Er6N which was ok. Must be real fun on a Dirtbike/ Dtracker/ CRF. But only doable in dry season ;P

That is an excellent trip. I did it just before Christmas. I found the last section from the ferry across the reservoir to Sisawat almost devoid of traffic along winding mountain roads beside the lake. In fact all the roads seemed in fairly good condition. I should have stayed at one of the resorts up there and explored even further.

[Gweiloman]

Hi if you come up pop in at Baan Ricky can give you some info about nice roads and spots around there.

Check us at Facebook "Baan Ricky" also if you want to do a bid trail Raiding Alan is at Baan Ricky all the time and happy to show you great Trails.

or check www.BaanRicky.com all petrol-heads welcome. ;-)

http://www.thaivisa....ss-kanjanaburi/

have a great time Rick and the Rest

Thanks for the info.

I'm gonna try and get down in a couple of weeks. I can't really do trail riding but I'll pop in and say hello.

Make sure you fix your oil leak first. And bring along your GF to make sure she can't sneak away

[Gweiloman]

Just a quick note to say thanks to all the posters that have contributed to this thread. Mactao and I did this trip over the weekend. We left Bkk at possibly the worse time, around 12.30 pm (my fault) and the traffic to get out of Bkk was just horrendous. To cap it off, we were stopped by a couple of cops on one of the overpasses.

Mactao did a runner (he's French, not much regard for traffic laws or cops). I contemplated doing the same but high risk that I might clip one of the two cops so decided that prudence is the better part of valor. He was afraid I would do a runner as well so he actually reached over to switch off my ignition - luckily he didn't remove the key though. So I had to resort to grovelling and pleading (unable to force tears from my eyes but that was probably not necessary as I was already sweating from the heat. Apologised profusely, promising never to break the law again, wished him Happy New Year about a hundred times. After what must have been 5 minutes, he decided to let me go

The ride up to and past Kanchanaburi was fairly uneventful, mostly highways, not much to write home about. Approaching Sai Yok however was great. The landscape changed, mountains and trees, greenery everywhere! What fantastic views and scenery. Road conditions were good too, sadly not too much twisties.

We stopped at Baan Ricky's. We were very impressed with the size and scale of the operations and promised ourselves that some off road riding would be in the works fairly soon. Ricky and Alan were great hosts, taking time to have a drink with us in spite of the fact that they had a big group of customers on site at the same time. If we had known previously what we know now, we would have stayed there instead of having to continue on to Thong Pha Pum, if not for anything, just for the hospitality and cold beers!

Anyway, we continued on to TPP, can't say much about the ride as it was already dark. We had a bit of trouble finding the hotel but amazingly, in a place that we turned into to ask for directions, the guy actually got in his car and led us to the hotel. Even more amazingly, he was a cop!! Good thing he didn't know about Mactao's runner earlier in the day.

TPP is a nice place to stay at. We had dinner in a nice restaurant closeby, overlooking one of the numerous streams there. Good food and cheap too.

Next day, we set off to Sangkhla Buri and onto the Three Pagoda Pass. Again, a nice ride but inevitably spoilt by idiotic mini van, SUV and pick up drivers who have no decency and courtesy to other road users, particularly motorbikes. Never mind, they will probably come back in their next lives as cockroaches.

From the Three Pagoda Pass, we carried on to Erawan Waterfalls. GPS showed fastest way as backtracking to Thong Pha Pum and Sai Yok. However, there was also another route, turning left just before Chalae, Route 3087. The first few kms were fine, some cemented roads, some asphalt, some dirt roads. However, after about 20 km, it was all dirt roads. Stopped to ask a local, and he confirmed that it was dirt road all the way to the waterfalls (about 80 kms away).

With road tires and without having yet done Baan Ricky's course, we decided to turn back and stick to asphalt. For sure, we will tackle that road once we are properly prepared.

Rest of the journey was uneventful except for a few close calls with death (courtesy of buffaloes driving pickups and SUV's and minivans). Sadly, the waterfalls were closed by the time we got there (around 5 pm) so after a couple of coffees, we set off back to Bangkok.

All in all, a very enjoyable weekend break. Saw quite a lot of other big bikes on the roads, including a group of about 8 BMW GS's at the Three Pagoda Pass.

Once again, thanks to the posters who have recommended this places.

[krbkk]

you start at the very wrong time.

If I make this ride, I start in the morning at 6 o clock, it is beginning with day time and it is not so hot, and NO cops are on the road

I was riding the way via Thong Pa Phu to Etong City at one day, I come back at Bangkok at daytime at 18:00

Edited January 15, 2013 by krbkk

[Gweiloman]

you start at the very wrong time.

If I make this ride, I start in the morning at 6 o clock, it is beginning with day time and it is not so hot, and NO cops are on the road

I was riding the way via Thong Pa Phu to Etong City at one day, I come back at Bangkok at daytime at 18:00

Can't find this Etong city on google maps. Is it near Pilok?

[macknife]

I plan to do this trip at the weekend.

I'm now thinking to have a whole day Saturday, I'm going to have to leave BKK about 4PM friday. Yes I know Close to rush hour but I want to have the time on Saturday.

Basically, arrive in Thong Pha Phum friday evening and stay there. Hotel recommendations with a phone number would be nice.

Saturday, ride to Pilok, those mountain roads look good. Can anyone confirm if they are all paved?

Head back to Tong pha phum, maybe take in the hot springs, anyone know exactly where they are?

Sunday head back to BKK, maybe stopping at Sai yok waterfalls on the way.

[Gweiloman]

I plan to do this trip at the weekend.

I'm now thinking to have a whole day Saturday, I'm going to have to leave BKK about 4PM friday. Yes I know Close to rush hour but I want to have the time on Saturday.

Basically, arrive in Thong Pha Phum friday evening and stay there. Hotel recommendations with a phone number would be nice.

Saturday, ride to Pilok, those mountain roads look good. Can anyone confirm if they are all paved?

Head back to Tong pha phum, maybe take in the hot springs, anyone know exactly where they are?

Sunday head back to BKK, maybe stopping at Sai yok waterfalls on the way.

I stayed at the Puprai Tarnnarm Resort, 081 854 8274. Booked via Agoda. The resort is lovely but the rooms are fairly basic. I booked it because it was the cheapest available I wouldn't dare to try and ride around looking for something on the spot as it would be already dark by the time you reach Phong Pha Pum and doesn't have a main street where the resorts are all clustered together, if you know what I mean. They are spread quite far apart and also not so well indicated or signposted.

Don't know about the road to Pilok, they look great on google map, I would love to do that as well and also Si Sawat. The hot springs seems to be fairly well signposted though we didn't go ourselves. If you haven't been before, I would also recommend riding up to Sangkhla Buri and onto the Three Pagoda Pass

[krbkk]

"Can't find this Etong city on google maps. Is it near Pilok? "

have a look on my inserted map, left side on Boder to Burma, End of the road 3272

the Problem here in Thailand are the different writing of names.

In Garmin-Map the Name is I-tong

the GPS-Data ist N14.68104 E98.36287

Edited January 16, 2013 by krbkk

[krbkk]

here a new map

[Gweiloman]

"Can't find this Etong city on google maps. Is it near Pilok? "

have a look on my inserted map, left side on Boder to Burma, End of the road 3272

the Problem here in Thailand are the different writing of names.

In Garmin-Map the Name is I-tong

the GPS-Data ist N14.68104 E98.36287

Ah yes, i'ts located just down the road from Pilok. The road there looks really interesting, lots of twisties and going over the mountains. Do you know if it's paved all the way or just a dirt track?

[macknife]

"Can't find this Etong city on google maps. Is it near Pilok? "

have a look on my inserted map, left side on Boder to Burma, End of the road 3272

the Problem here in Thailand are the different writing of names.

In Garmin-Map the Name is I-tong

the GPS-Data ist N14.68104 E98.36287

Ah yes, i'ts located just down the road from Pilok. The road there looks really interesting, lots of twisties and going over the mountains. Do you know if it's paved all the way or just a dirt track?

I went there at the weekend. The road through the mountains isn't as good as it looks on google maps. Don't get me wrong, it was good fun and a lot of beauty, but the road itself is not in great condition. You definitely won't be getting your knee down. It's quite narrow with lot's of loose gravel around and shallow potholes, good fun though. I rarely got out of 2nd gear for 20kms. That e tong village was rubbish IMO, kinda cool though was the little border crossing into Burma. A Thai border soldier stops you just to let you know you're leaving Thailand. What caught me out was as soon as i crossed the border there were a couple of motorbikes heading straight at me, i was cursing them in my mind, then I realised they drive on the right in Burma. You reach a view point with some Burmese soldiers guarding there. There was a road leading off into Burma and I could easily have headed off in that direction. There were no passports or Thai ID cards needed. Edited January 20, 2013 by macknife

[cbrer]

^ Adventure riding.

[macknife]

^ Adventure riding.

Absolutely, the road through the mountains gives a new meaning to the word 'twisties'.. You can barely ride 30metres before you have to turn again, almost constant U-turns. Putting your knee down with all the gravel and potholes around, is just asking for trouble. Going off the road here means a very large drop off the top of a mountainside or slamming into a cliff. I met a couple of Thai guys here, that had travelled down from China on Kawa KSR110cc's, respect where it's due. I was on a new CBR150. Good fun and the GF loved it.

[Gweiloman]

^ Adventure riding.

Absolutely, the road through the mountains gives a new meaning to the word 'twisties'.. You can barely ride 30metres before you have to turn again, almost constant U-turns. Putting your knee down with all the gravel and potholes around, is just asking for trouble. Going off the road here means a very large drop off the top of a mountainside or slamming into a cliff. I met a couple of Thai guys here, that had travelled down from China on Kawa KSR110cc's, respect where it's due. I was on a new CBR150. Good fun and the GF loved it.

Thanks for the info. However, with what you said, I guess it won't be too much fun on a bigger bike like a Versys. Might try it out if and when I get a KLX.

[macknife]

^ Adventure riding.

Absolutely, the road through the mountains gives a new meaning to the word 'twisties'.. You can barely ride 30metres before you have to turn again, almost constant U-turns. Putting your knee down with all the gravel and potholes around, is just asking for trouble. Going off the road here means a very large drop off the top of a mountainside or slamming into a cliff. I met a couple of Thai guys here, that had travelled down from China on Kawa KSR110cc's, respect where it's due. I was on a new CBR150. Good fun and the GF loved it.

Thanks for the info. However, with what you said, I guess it won't be too much fun on a bigger bike like a Versys. Might try it out if and when I get a KLX.

To be fair, I did see some big BMWs etc doing it, I dont know if they had much fun though.