Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Pukkie Diaries-Part II (Sangklaburi)

Since the last trip to Phurua and let’s the pain’d been sunk for a .
Puk: Pi Ek, wanna go biking again mai ja ?
Ek: Where’s about la ?
Puk: Sangklaburi, Kanjanaburi.
Ek: How’s the road condition?
Puk: How will I know la, don’t work for highway authority na.
Ek: Go and ask the resort around that area. Also asking Noke to join.
Puk: Again! Pi Noke will join us for sure. Now he even pee on his bike (oopse, so sorry for being rude). I will drive my car this time to make sure that I can go anywhere I’d like and anytime I want.
Together with nature, Sangklaburi has very strong culture. The town is located in most beautiful and serene place from lush mountains to tranquil rivers. You can enjoy rafting, riding elephant, kayaking, 4-wheel trip to jungle.
DAY 1
* Breakfast at Roslert, Pakgred.Remember! the one I mentioned from Phurua trip.This is the daughter of the one in Loei. Pracha wanna marry her or her sister. Please ask him why.
* Take ring road and enter route 346 to Bang Len.
* Still use route 346 from Bang Len to Kampaeng Saen and then Phanom Tuan (The road condition is bumpy and has 2 lanes). However, GS 1200 and Ducati 999s still going at 160 km/hr. My new car needed to be run in. Certainly, there is no waiting for me. I try my best to be the first in the row at every traffic light.
* From Phanom Tuan to Kanjanaburi(not sure about route no.but the road condition is good enough for all biker with 4 lanes)
* Arrive at Kanjanaburi. We stop and sip coffe at Srifa Bakery(quite nice but busy all the time, the coffee is very sweet).It’s near city’s shrine. You can ask any Kanjanaburian where it is.
* Descend Kanjanaburi to Thongphapoom follow route no. 323. You can fill in your tank just outside Kanjanaburi(so many big gas station)

It’s rained cats and dogs along the way but we still use our 160 km/hr speed. The road condition is great for biker. Despite the rain, the scenery is terrific with teak trees along the way, 4 lanes, lush mountain with fog.
- Lunch. It can be at Chonnabot restaurant on your right hand side , 5 km before Baan Phuthong or Khao Kaeng at Thongphapoom town adjacent to Yamaha bike shop.
-Coffee after lunch. There is one on your left hand side near Hin Dad hot spring aproximately km. 107.You can have toast with jam also ja.
It’s still rained heavily. The owner of Yamaha shop asked us not to bike to Sangklaburi cause it’s too dangerous. It’s rained day and night for 2 month already.What so? We park our bike and descend to Sangklaburi with me 330i.
* Arrive Banhuayulong resort at 15:00 but there’s huge flood coming from the stream. The flood’d never took place before. The resort’d to evacuate its mattresses and electricity appliances from the rooms.
We decided to move to Sangklaburi. It’s about 70 km from Thongphapoom. There is no gas station along the way. You have to fill up your tank before and there is only one PTT gas station in Sangklaburi, 50 meter from the main road on the way Dan Jedi Sam Ong. The road condition is the most dangerous in the country, very narrow, without paceway, surface’s gone and has many big hole. The cars from the other side even more dangerous. They will occupied half of your lane. Use your own discretion for biking along this road.
The scenery along the way is so stunning. The mountain, the river and the lake, what else could we ask from this world. Only 330 km from Bangkok, then you can live in another world. It’s the town between mountain and lake. It’s only competitor is Como!(just kidding, actually Como is far behind, no Rotee and minimart)
Nearly all the resort is fully occupied. Recommend you to book in advance if you want to be there during long weekend.
* Dinner at Pornpailin resort. You can see golden pagoda on the other side of the lake from here. Food at Sangkla is fish from the lake and fresh veggie. The room at new wing of this resort is best at it view.
There is small night market, you can finish walking in 10 minute. It’s still rain from now and then.
DAY 2
* Breakfast at the morning market(it’s the same as night one). You can see the vendor selling gigantic fresh water fish in the market.
* Back to Pornpailin resort to join elephant riding and rafting tour. Normally, the tour start at 8:30. Each resort has its own programe.
* The water is too strong to bamboo rafting. So, we had to ride elephant back. It’s very big, fat and tame elephant. Albeit, Khun Ek’s still dropped. Lucky him, only get dirt.
* Lunch at Samprasop resort. The restaurant here has the most gorgeous view in the town. The food is o.k. Please try Lon Kung(shrimp paste).
“Samprasop” is means three river which are Rantee, Klitee and Songkalia.
* After lunch, we set walk along the longest wooden bridge in Thailand linking Sangkla and Mon villages. The bridge overlooks a scenic of the three river and offer opportunity to see the cultural way of local people here.You can hire boat from the two side of the river to flooding temple at Baht 300 . It’s shown us that nothing is mortal.It’s a very mystery place and also an unseen Thailand.
* Visit the golden pagoda(Jedi Phuthakaya). There’s small shopping inside. Khun Ekachai bought the pop rock burmese cd.It’s sound like a Hong Kong’s singer. Khun Pracha took lots of picture of Sangkla town from the Jedi.
* Visit Wat Wangwiwekaram. This temple is constructed in an unusal mix of Thai, Indian and Burmese Budhist architectural styles, and the abbot “Luang Pho Uttama” is highly revered among Thai, tribal folk and Burmese
* Coffee at Somchai. The best view coffee shop in the west (for sure). The food here was not very impressive.
* Visit Dan Jedi Sam Ong(three pagoda) at the border. Very busy, very lively thriving border market, you can buy wooden furniture, candy and snack from China and wild plants and orchids(please do not support smugglers. It’s also violation of the law).Visitors are allowed to enter Burma from 6:00-18:00.
22 kms from Sangkla, the three miniature pagodas are memorials of an important route of the troops during the wartime.
* Visit Sawan Bandarn Cave , its is 1 km on the way back form Jedi Sam Ong, nice to see, not so difficult, has 4 chambers.Need to bring your own torch.
* Back to Sangkla.
DAY 3
* 8:30 : Join Samprasop Resort’s white water rafting programe. The Koeng Kra Wia river is on the way to Jedi Sam Ong. You have to climb up the mountain about an hour.
* 12:00 : Back to Samprasop Resort. Lunch at Somchai. Visit TISCO’S plantation area on the way to Wat Wangwiwekaram. Teak trees is about 2.5-3.0 meter tall now.
* 13:00 Descend Sangklaburi.
* 15:00 Relax at Hin Dad hot spring(km 107) near Thong Pha Poom. The fee is only 10 Baht. You can enjoy hot spring along the stream untill 20:00. There are many of small vendor selling Somtum and OTOP products in front of hot spring.
* 16:00 Coffee again at the coffee shop opposite hot spring entrance on the main highway.
After stay wet and dry for 3 days. I’d realized that rain used to add more fun when we were young. When does it become obstacle? Why do we let it wash away our life????
Important Informations:

Roslert Coffee and Breakfast : near Wat Cholpratarn,Moo Baan Popsuk, Pakkred, Nonthaburi Tel : 02-9603099(asking Khun Pracha how to get there)
Green World Golf Club and Hot Spring : Thongphapoom.
Tel 034-531382-3
Ban Huay Ulong resort : 281/3 Moo 4, Tah Kanoon, Thong Pha Poom, Kanjanaburi.71180 Tel 02-8656173,01-821-2621 www.banhuayulong.com
Pornpailin Resort : 134 Moo 3, Nong Loo, Sangklaburi.
Tel 034-595355, 034-595322
Samprasop Resort : 122 Moo 3, Nong Loo, Sangklaburi.
Tel 034-595050
www.samprasob.com
Somchai Coffee : 25/13 Moo 2, Nong Loo, Sangklaburi.
Tel 09-5291675,01-74559634
Coffee near Hin Dad Hot Spring : Km 107 on route 323 on your left hand side(from BKK) opposite Hin Dad Hot Spring Junction.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Bike in the Drink

















Some of our biker friends, Noke and Ek & Co., are searching the rapids in Khao Yai for the Ducati that flew into the water!

Monday, August 08, 2005

Pookie's Motocycle Garage -Khao Yai

Ekachai on Ducati 999S



















These are our bikers with their bikes:-

James - Ducati 998R with full carbon body part, Moto Corse full system tail
pipe.
Giulio - Buell 12 XR
Fabio - Yamaha ZZR 1300
Massimo - Honda VFR 800
Ek - Ducati 999s

From Ek



















Dear Puk and our bikers,

Yesterday our bikers are exploring a new site for a barbecue lunch
somewhere not too far from Bangkok for our next biking trip.
Place where we bikers can ride back within 1.5-2 hours after italian food &
wine, massage and siesta.!!

Chef Fabio from Giusto, Sukhumvit 23 and chef Massimo (from Venice) who now
work at Primavera, Siam city hotel were exploring the place and tasting
ingredients (herbs from Puk's house) for our next outing around
Khaoyai/Pasak area. Chef Luca from Sukhothai hotel cannot join this time
around.

Weather until mid afternoon was almost too perfect. Cloudy with cool
breeze.
Our ride from Bangkok to Khaoyai and Lam ta Kong reservior is so nice even
better than winter. Lunch at Memosa italian restuarant was nice and simple.
Good pasta, good steak, decent wine. What more can we expect!
Only when we decend from Khaoyai on Prachinburi that the rain caught us and
have to park the bikes at the park office until the rain calm down.

We will let you know when is our next trip. In the meantime ENJOY.

Cheers. Ek
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