Also lubed the chain. It’s been 1,000km since I last lubed it 2 days ago. Silly me – I took the can and just sprayed. Then I was wondering why the lube felt so thin. Looked at the bottle and it says “chain cleaner”. Silly me!
Took the opportunity to inflate the tires too. Quick job with my electric air compressor.
Noticed my left hand MIC fog light had rattled loose. Nothing some basic tools cannot fix. Got it done.
Did a very short test ride and all seem okay for now. No rattle. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Day 3’s route. Some 800km from Thale Noi to Ratchaburi.
Yes, I’ve broken every rule I made before I started the trip. No more than 500km a day after Malaysia. Broken. No riding in the dark. Broken.
I did a somewhat iron-butt distance of 800km. On Thailand roads. This is no Malaysia NSHW – where the road conditions are generally very, very good. In Thailand, you quickly get from smooth, recently paved tarmac to pot-holes filled roads – so full of them that it’s practically impossible to avoid. Speaking of which, pot-holes aren’t the only things to avoid on the roads. Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 3”
Today’s route – approximately 360km including the border crossing.
I made it to Thailand! Left Penang at 8am this morning and reached the Malaysia-Thailand border approximately around 10am. Border crossing was a lot easier than I expected. Easy, but definitely alot more disorganised than, say, the Singapore-Malaysia border. Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 2”
I slept really early last night. By 10pm, I was already in bed. I set my phone alarm to 0400h. I’m generally a morning person, so getting up early was not an issue. In fact, I wanted to beat the possible morning Causeway jam and also anticipated some delays as Malaysia was supposed to start implementing the VEP system today.
It was with mixed feelings of excitement and trepidation that I begun the trip. Is this trip even possible? What if the bike breaks down? Can I really reach Chiang Mai? I woke up before the alarm went off. 3:40am. And since most of my stuff were already packed, I left home at approximately 4:00am. The plan is to reach Penang by noon, and that will give me some time to roam the island and also to get withdraw some cash from the ATM machine there.
Singapore to Penang. Total time – approximately 9hrs. Distance covered – 720km
I don’t have a plan. Only a sketchy idea in my head. I just want to ride.
As I shared my plan to ride, most were surprised. Some were skeptical. Many thought I was just plain crazy. Yes, I intend to make a trip up north, quite very north.
“People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.”
Nope. Not a detailed plan. Just a sketchy idea of the route.
The Mae Hong Son loop near Chiang Mai, Thailand, is on every motorcycle enthusiast’s bucket list. With more than 1,800 turns and twists, it’s never a boring stretch. Ever since I’ve heard of the Mae Hong Son loop, I’ve been dreaming of doing it on a motorcycle – my own motorcycle. And now that I have some time on hand, I thought why not!
And since I’ll be up in Chiang Mai, I thought I’d also take the opportunity to tour the region. And so the crazy idea of doing a 5-country tour on the bike struck me. Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. I’m giving Myanmar, Vietnam and China a miss as my research suggests that trying to enter these countries on a foreign-registered motorcycle is, while not impossible, difficult and messy. It’ll involve applying for some pricey permits prior or hiring some mandatory escorts. No thanks. I’d rather be travelling on my own.
