Day 3 South Thailand Ride Nov 2012 Surat Thani - Rajjaprapa Dam - Au Nang

It was a sunny morning and we went downstairs of our hotel waking up to the morning busy traffic or Surat Thani just outside our hotel.

It was around 8 am in the morning and we went across the hotel and ordered each a cup of coffee and we signal for some food to the cook who seems to be cooking some porridge for breakfast. Minutes later a waiter sent over 2 bowls of porridge for our consumption.

Breakfast was cheap here. Both of us paid less than 100 baht in total for the porridge and the coffee.

We went back to our room and got ready. The feeling today is slightly different as I think fatigue is starting to kick in. Once the helmet is on and engine started, I could fee the difference of energy level today. Still I am happy to be on the saddle.

We follow the route on our GPS and headed towards the Rajjaprapa Dam. There were several routes to get there and we choose to turn in to the 4100 from 401 at a small town Ban Tham Niap. The roads were scenic and surrounded by trees and greenery.

You do not get to ride in landscape like this every day. 

There were no cars in sight and we carried on. 

The view of the road on the 4247. 

The view of the mountains and forest here was simply breathtaking. We passed by a small village Khao Phang and ride pass about 20 minutes of gravel. After the short drive on gravel we return onto paved road to our first destination. 

We arrived at this majestic dam in Rajjaprapa with a view that was enough to make us hold our breath long enough to turn our face blue. 

There were some local tourists pass by waving at us. The Thais are really a friendly bunch.  

I am proud of my small 250 cc that could make it this far. 

We went up hill another 500 meters away to see the view from the top. 

We stopped by here to have lunch as there is a small eatery here serving some local food.  

They have some stalls selling some fried meat and noodles here. I had a coke and some meat here and we went on our way. 

Today was the third day of our ride and it seems that my luck have nearly ran out. As we were leaving the dam I could see rain was upon us. I put on the rain gear and then brave the rain in my Givi rain suit which Terry regards them as non breathable garbage bags. When I stopped and put on the gears he was just waiting on the bike as he was fully rain proof in his Gore-tex jacket, rain proof pants and shoes and US20 Kreiga dry bag.

The next 1 hour was a wet ride and the rain was so heavy I could hardly see the road. Thinking back, I should have decided to stop to wait the rain out.

We reached Ao Nang beach in about 4 pm in the afternoon after a couple of stops for coffee, fuel and confirming our direction where Terry started his relentless nagging at me advising me to invest in better quality rain proof riding gear which at the time sounded like a great idea.

Once arrive at our destination, we were outnumbered by thousands of tourists at the beach and getting on tourists jeep taxis. We decided to ride away from the tourist area and look for a less touristy area for a more competitively priced accommodation.

We checked in a hotel about 2 kilometers away from the beach Hasnah Palace. I could not find any link on google of the place to show you but this is the view from the room with our bikes parked just at the entrance.

We took separate rooms and it cost us 700 bath per room after some negotiation. The room was new, nice and clean so there was no complain.

After 2 nights of Thai food, Terry has decided to have some western food for a change for dinner. He pointed to a place out of town in a tourist brochure and both of us hop on to his W800 in search of this mysterious steak house in the middle of nowhere.

On the road in search of steak in Ao Nang. 

Enroute to Thara Steak House we see the tourist spot selling probably I heart Ao Nang T shirts. 

The cockpit view of the W800. 

Miles of riding and some wrong turns later we reached our destination. It was a small place and easily missed. 

Only pork shop was available that night. It was a bit of a disappointment for me.  

I hope the owner of the kitchen did not buy these souvenirs at the local tourist spots at cut throat prices.

However, after a few rounds of beers and I was a happy camper. 

After some discussion of our next destination tomorrow, we headed back to the hotel with night sky start to drizzle on us. Our plan of exploring the night spots was cancelled and replaced with an early good night sleep.

I decided to get some supper instead. This noodle pad thai was bought opposite the hotel.



See the GPS route below.

All pics taken with my Nikon D7000 and Samsung Galaxy S 2.