Breezing Through South Thailand to Pailin – Cambodia.

I have ridden the south route five times now I think and there was not much new path for me to explore. East coast or west coast, almost all the route has been done twice now so there was not much point of lingering too long.

From Hatyai I was doing long distance riding nearly everyday making the route fairly fast for my pace but I know to other bikers opinion, the whole thing could be shortened to two days.

Ao Tho Li View Point of Phang Nga Bay 

The route north I took was :

Hat Yai – Krabi – Phuket (Always visiting Cuz to say Hello) – Laem Son National Park – Hua Hin – Bangkok

Swordfish Sculpture at Krabi 

The famous Patong Beach Nightlife in Phuket 

I could have skipped Krabi – Phuket & Laem Son going stright from Hat Yai to Hua Hin then Bangkok but I guess I was still a little nostalgic to go a slight detour once a while. Bangkok was also unintentional.

Laem Son National Park was a new detour and a simple one. A great place to see the sunset over a the local pier watching some locals sport fishing. This place might become my favarite stop in future going up or down from Malaysia for it was nowhere near the expensive tourist beach and I could use the stop to propel me further without needing to enter Ranong

Laem Son National Park

Laem Son National Park 

I also wanted to skip Bangkok entirely but somehow Bangkok sucked me into the city as my navigation goes haywire with one wrong turn and the redirected route forced me to go through Bangkok traffic. I gave up trying to cross over to Chon Buri within the same day and just stayed in Bangkok for the night.

From Bangkok it was a simple dash to Pailin with only one detour at Chao Lao Beach. In total it took me 8 days to get from Hat Yai to the Cambodian border. It used to take me at least three weeks to reach Cambodia but now I guess I was getting more seasoned to ride longer distance or more stop sleep go cycle.

Chao Lao Beach 

Traveled on: Mar 2024

Riding Through The South Of Thailand Betong & Yala

This was a new route that I had not taken before in Thailand. Very rare but usually the border crossing into Thailand was always through Bukit Kayu Hitam since there was always a rush of time to head north to allow more time spend in central part of Thailand.

This time round I had no rush to go north so instead I choose to do Betong, the southern most town and point in Thailand which also makes it the southern most border of Thailand. Betong had many trophy checkpoint for a traveler just because it was the southern most everything in Thailand.

Crossing into Thailand-Betong 

Betong Old Town

Betong Clock Tower 

The route however was beautiful. Raw nature immediately after leaving the border town, I could see that in the future, Betong could be a long weekend ride for my sanity when I need a break from work but cant go too far away. 

I spend the night in Betong and visited the famous marker of 0 km starting point but found out that it was actually built by a entrepreneur biker and not the Gov of Thailand.

Betong Route 410 - 0 km marker 

The marker became a novelty over time and now it was more like a pilgrimage for bikers and a cheeky checkpoint tourist destination in Betong. 

I had a good chat with the owner which was from Malaysia but had settle down in Betong for long time. When he found out that I was on my way to Central Asia, all the stickers that I was about to buy suddenly became a gift from him.

I spend the second night at a paid campsite in the outskirts of Betong so I could see the famous morning scenery of above the clouds in Betong and then it was slow ride through winding and curvy roads through the dense tropical jungle all the way to Yala.

The Tropical Landscape of Betong - Yala Province

Morning Cloud Mist of Betong 

Simple town Yala with barely any foreign tourist. It was one of those unknown places in Thailand that no tourist would go and only crazy travelers like me trying to find some niche hidden gems. 

Nothing really spectacular but with plenty of time in hand, sometimes these are the little simple gems of watching the normal lives of people flow by.

Yala

After Yala it was an easy ride to Hatyai where my mandatory stop to visit relative for a few days is always a welcome break.

Traveled on: Apr 2024

Route Info – From Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) to Laos (Boten)

This time round there was not much motivation for me to explore in Malaysia even though I had started the journey. I went straight for Cameron Highlands looking for cool weather retreat a few days and checked into a cosy hostel to run some routes and planning check again.

For some reason, I make plans and decision best on the road in unfamiliar hostel. I had always love Cameron Highlands for some reason. The mountains has a special call to me that just being there makes the soul smile. Beach are nice but mountains are nicer.

After a few days just lazing around going from one tea place to another it was time to move on. I packed up and went straight to the Thailand border. 

This time around I would cross into Betong a new part of Thailand which I had yet to explore which makes it a great starting and warm up breaking the monotonous ride up north through mostly places that I had visited before.

The route I took this time round was almost 70% a repeat of the previous journey in 2018 with Bluey but there were some new spots along the way.

Route Info - Malaysia to Thailand to Cambodia to Thailand to Laos to China 

Betong to Yala to Hatyai
- A New Route on the most southern part of Thailand

Hatyai to Krabi to Phuket
- A repeated route always to visit cuz in Phuket

Phuket to Laem Son National Park to Hua Hin
- A new National Park to explore but mostly a mad dash covering crazy distance all the way to Hua Hin

Hua Hin
- Usual pit stop to service bike on the way up

Hua Hin to Bangkok
- A repeated route along the coast and salt farms

Bangkok to Chantaburi (Chao Lao Beach)
- Going Through more simple uninteresting roads to skip Chon Buri & Rayong

Chao Lao Beach to Pailin (Cambodia)
- Another mindless dash to the Border so I can Gamble at the Border Casino for a few days

Pailin to Siam Reap to O’Smach
- A repeated route chilling and passing time in Cambodia

O’Smach to Roi Et to Phetchabun
- New Road but Repeated Destination

Phetchabun to Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park to Pa Daeng Sub District
- New Route through remote nature.

Pa Daeng Sub District to Lamphang to Chaing Mai
- New Route & New Destination and for the purpose of celebrating Thailand New Year (Songkran) in Chaing Mai

Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son Loop (Salawin River Detour + Ban Rak Thai Detour )
- Another run at Mae Hong Son Loop but this time through the north burning season which was horrible

Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong
- A repeated route with familiar destination revisiting same tourist sights.

Chiang Khong to Huay Xai to Luang Namtha to Boten
- A regular route to China

Staying Still

Do you ever feel that moment sometimes when you sit down and do nothing, a glass of water on the table, mind empty and relax thinking of how to reorganize thoughts for things to be done next. 

That blank state for a brief moment where you dont know where to start and yet there is nothing in the thought process pipeline.

My mind was drifting everywhere after that brief moment, plans and route to budget and gadgets to banking apps to managing bills and any other infrastructure while on the road. 

I realized after awhile that all the required items that needed me to be physically here at home (Malaysia) was done and now it was just a matter of waiting for the right time to set off.

Push off too early and I would have to deal with timing the Visa carefully hopping through Thailand and Cambodia before entering Laos. Push off too late and it would be a rush to the border. 

Ideally I had to stay still for at least two more week before push off but staying still doing nothing is harder than one could imagine.

Most times people assume that during my travels, I am in a relax state doing nothing just enjoying the world. Reality is that while I am enjoying the world, doing nothing is rarely the case. 

Constant planning and revising the plan base on new information obtained from hostels, or locals or even passing travelers will constantly disturb and force me to re-evaluate the plans.

So staying still at home alone thinking of when would be the ideal time to set off took me a good long day. A whole day in fact while I go around cooking, packing and just plain scrolling Instagram. 

It hit me somewhere at 2am in the morning while I was watching some TV series. If there was nothing else to do, staying still at home and staying still on the road makes no difference.

Next morning I packed my bags at a leisurely pace, see the blue skies and decided it was a good day to start this journey.

Pushing off - Starting the Journey. 

Traveled on: Mar 2024

My General Info on Motorcycle Travel in Central Asia

If one read all my post on this blog, you will find most of the information but I guess most people would not read everything on this blog anyway. 

It is in a way a personal blog and not tailored for information mongering like other travel blog. Still sometimes I would be oblige to write some specific post such as this one for I feel the information should be shared just because .... just because

Malaysia Customs Country Code = 458

I as a traveler would have love to read something like this before going to Central Asia hence I feel obliged to write one.

OK so some general info. I traveled the following countries in Central Asia and this information is base on my own first hand experience

Country Traveled - Summer 2024
1. Kyrgyzstan
2. Tajikistan
3. Uzbekistan
4. Kazakhstan

Money Matters

1. Kyrgyzstan

- Most Banks ATM only accepts 4 digit pin
- Some Optima Bank ATM accepts 6 Digit pin (the newer ones) however they have a limit of 2000som per withdrawal. I tried and that small withdrawal of SGD 33 cost me a bank transaction fee of SGD 5 per withdrawal. A whooping 15% fee on top of bad exchange rate.
- Demir Bank ATM dispense USD currency but only at ATM that are attached to the bank itself and possibly only during office hours of the bank. Successful USD withdrawal at the following ATM location below
- https://maps.app.goo.gl/nG4dqnD6dKQEziLH7 – Naryn
- https://maps.app.goo.gl/ASSBbSap5uEmoUfT8 – Osh
- Credit Card works at larger establishment but its a 50% hit and miss

2. Tajikistan

- Most Bank ATM only accepts 4 digit pin
- For those going from East to West, entering from Kyzyl-Art Pass, there is no ATM from Murghab to Eskashem. We had to change USD to Tajik Som for the duration of the journey.
- Credit Card is almost useless unless in Dushanbe.

3. Uzbekistan

- Credit Card usage is widely accepted but they will add a surcharge to the bill.
- ATM withdrawal will incur ATM fee of 15,000 som for 1,000,000som. If withdrawing 2,000,000 will incur 20,000som etc.

4. Kazakhstan

- Credit Card is accepted everywhere almost to a point where cash is not required. There is also no surchage for using credit card so you pay what is shown on the bill.
- ATM accepts 4 digit & 6 digit pin

Tourist Visa
1. Kyrgyzstan
- Malaysian Visa Free :)

2. Tajikistan
- Malaysian Visa Free :)
- However if staying beyond 10 days in Tajikistan, one will need to further register at OVIR for a fee of USD 25

3. Uzbekistan
- Malaysian Visa Free :)

4. Kazakhstan
- Malaysian Visa Free :)

Miscellaneous Permits
1. Kyrgyzstan
- Kyzyl-Art Border Exit / Entry Permit is required in advance for crossing this particular border. I obtained it through a travel agency called Destination Pamir which is based in Osh. Cost of Permit USD 20
- Border Zone Permit. Only required if one is visiting special area near border zone. I did not use.

2. Tajikistan
- GBAO Permit. Required for travelling the Pamir Region. I obtained it through a travel agency called Destination Pamir which is based in Osh.

3. Uzbekistan
- Hotel Registration Slip. Every day a registration slip is printed and given from the hotels in Uzbekistan. This may or may not be checked upon exit. Possibility of fine if not comply. I had everything in order and immigration never even asked for it.

4. Kazakhstan
-NIL

Temporary Vehicle Import Permit for Motorcycle
1. Kyrgyzstan
- Validity of Temporary Vehicle Import Permit is one year. Free
- Temporary Vehicle Import Permit issued at Torugart Border (Entry)
- Temporary Vehicle Import Permit not issued nor retrived at Bishkek Border . Only keyed into system (Entry & Exit)
- Temporary Vehicle Import Permit was retrieved at Kyzyl-Art Border (Exit)

2. Tajikistan
- Validity of Temporary Vehicle Import Permit is 30 days (Need to request else they will issue a 15 days permit)
- Temporary Vehicle Import Permit issued at Kyzyl-Art Border (Entry) – Cost USD 10
- Temporary Vehicle Import Permit not retrieved at Panjakant Border (Exit). Only key into system for exit.

3. Uzbekistan
- No papers for Temporary Vehicle Import Permit. Only keyed into system for entry and exit.

4. Kazakhstan
- Temporary Vehicle Import Permit not issued nor retrieved at Korday Border. Only keyed into system (Entry & Exit)
- Temporary Vehicle Import Permit issued at Shymkent Border (Entry)

Vehicle Insurance
1. Kyrgyzstan
- Mandatory but not enforced.
- Purchase at Bishkek under Jubilee Insurance

2. Tajikistan
- Did not purchase.

3. Uzbekistan
- Did not purchase.

4. Kazakhstan
- Mandatory, partially enforced.
- Purchased at Almaty from Nomad Insurance

Petrol

1. Kyrgyzstan
- 95 Octane at bigger cities otherwise 92 Octane in small towns

2. Tajikistan
- Forget about 95 Octane petrol. 92 Octane is unavoidable.

3. Uzbekistan
- 95 Octane in main cities only and bigger stations. 92 Octane in small towns. Be wary of 91 Octane and 80 Octane.

4. Kazakhstan
- 95 Octane, 98 Octane ... No Fear in Kazakhstan for petrol other than long distance between points with desolated landscape.

Well that's the short summary. Check out the border crossing post if you want to know how it went. Or message me if you need some specific questions and I’ll try my best to answer them.

Traveled on: Summer 2024