tough time packing Hope Too

my bike, named Hope Too, was finally being packed and crated today. mr thanit quoted me 11000B just for packing. lucky i did some homework from previous travellers. i insisted using other packing companies. i found PT Packing house. at first with that diamension, they quoted me 11000B also (indicating that they are using approved wood because im sending the product to nepal), after a few hours of phone calls and pusuation, they called me back and agree with my quote: 6000B.

PT did arrived and we were very satisfied with their job. i did a bit of admendment to the crate, which caused them to do extra work but the admendment save me about 18 cubic foot of space! i tipped the 3 of them 40B each. they are happy, i am happy, PT boss is happy, mr Thanit is happy. everyone is HAPPY!!!!

later in the afternoon, we took a bus ride to suthep's workshop at nonthaburi for some admin stuff. i only know how to get there on my motorbike. taking public transport is a challange to us. we been into the wrong bus, getting into the wrong route but we met many nice thais around that willingly showed us the direction.

taking bus and the mini bus were cheap. 15B odd for bus, 20B for the comfortable minibus that is only labelled in thai words. these are the cheap transport taken by the local. i found out that taking BTS(skytrain) and TukTuk is expensive in bangkok! for the 2 of us taking BTS cost us 35B each where the same journey and destination cost us about 10B each! as for TukTuk (cheap cheap), looks cheap but not! they only know how to go to tourist attraction places as compared to the taxi there, once got in, meter start 35B. the meter doesnt click so fierce like in singapore. depending on the time of travel, if at traffic jam hours, then u better take a BTS is you want to reach the destination on time. the taxi driver don't talk cock with you in their cabin. ask you where you want to go and that's it! everytime i take taxi, i would take out my GPS and make sure they don't Alibaba (to short change) me.

we went to the pantip plaza for IT window shopping.... very similar to sim lim. not bad.... and we found the long lost : A&W. not seen in spore and malaysia for long time!!!! yeh!

then walked down to the nearest BTS station: Rachathewi. there is a row of nice cosy pub with acostic singing. we have our dinner at the charcoal BBQ buffet, similar to the marina south type at 89B per person. good deal! as it was a charcoal type, the food turned out to be nice, just abit salty. what they are promoting is the beers there, as there are nice gals wearing tight skirts of the brand of beer they are promoting. we save cost: just have 2 bottles of plain water. it was something special for us because everyday we have been eating roadside thai food. enjoyed!!!

thank you for your donation!

thak you Ram Dev from charted semicon, your donation to us will be gladly used. it is an encouragement to us and will make us more determine! thank you!!!

some big earners in bangkok....

remember that day i reached bangkok?

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we arrived at the heart of bangkok, Patunam after a hard day's jam, at Bangkok City Inn. i approched the counter, they are fully booked!

i went out and i saw opposite a road that has a sign board indicating: tourisum autority thailand, that looked like this:

and it says: tourist infomation.



it has purple colour themed office that looked like thailand's offical tourism color.

not much office equipment, but a few desk for walk in enquiry.

walls are posted with tourism poster.

it does not have a offical TAT sticker or signage.

it has a licence number stating XXX/XX. i check out TAT website, can't retrieve any infomation regarding such licence number today.

out of desprerado, i booked a hotel room with their help. 1650B for one night. if i book 2 nights i can get 2900B. one night they do not have commission so they charge abit more.

i took up 2 nights and paid up as that police is still waiting for me outside, Samantha is waiting for me at the PJ hotel with all the luggage, both of us are shagged out and hungry, the bike is turning on the heater every meter i travelled.

after staying at the 2900B hotel, i realised that it was only 900B a night! wao... he made good $ on my booking. 1100B for one customer, thats about 60% mark up.we can consider doing this business mannn!!!

then, walking along the street, i noticed another 'TAT' office.

seems like Patunum is a place for tourist.... walking into those office....makes good $!

so where is the real TAT?

fellow singaporeans, the Patunum'ians' love singaporeans as they know that we are always afraid of $fine and the trouble about giving the autorituies our passports. they know that we are big 'carrots' flying into Bangkok.

so beware of such TAT places.

many nights in Bangkok.

hi folks!

we are at Asha Guest House. many blonde hair travellers. we are the only asian 'stayer'. 350B per night, it's like a normal thai HDB one room flat, shared toilet, no aircon. when u take off the shoe in the room your feet become black. I can say its very good for us as there is free internet, 10meters length swimming pool. free washing machine. private place to 'sun' your laundry. safe vehicle parking place as the carpark is enclosed! got 7-11. DVD and VCD room. can meet alot of travellers here. budget and Cosy!!!

check out this guest house. only that no night life, 10min walk to BTS. can take taxi as it is cheaper than tuk tuk and BTS for us.

if u got lap top u can surf wifi in the room.

near Weekend market.

N 13 degree, 47.378'
E100degree, 33.156'

monday we will be going back to TAC to see the bike.they are requesting for quotation for wood crate for her. last quoted price was 12000B = SGD$600.00 for that WOOD!!! that exclude other charges.....

our cheapest airline to Nepal is 9700B = SGD$500.00 per person.

if burma is opened to travel with my bike, we can save alot.

that is to say my trip will start at Katmathu (Nepal).

going to bangkok for singaporean bikers are common already... the thing is can we tolerate the jam? esp when im with this big buffolo!!!

malayu saying: tak boleh tahan!!! panas!

then the bike's hair dryer has turned on.... makes you more fustrated!!!!

stay at Asha for a few days for self study... no place to go in BKK.

sorry. these few days got nt much advanture.

paiseh Agnes, came to bangkok for a stop over and we did not manage to meet up. c u back in singapore ok? then u bring me go to that pub to eat the.....

thanks!!!

my wife and i would like to thank

Mr Eel Keat Chiew


for his kind donation.
with his donation, it allow us to go extra miles to explore the unknown.

we would like to meet mr Eel when we return.

thank you Mr Eel.

Repack and Send in!!!

Mr Thani, helping me to ship my bike. my final product.
In the room, she is best in packing as i got not much patient.

first time taking a bike lift... other the lift i took in my HDB. the fuel must be drained off. my 43liters tank: left with about 15liters.... give away to the staff at TAC.
very hot... no mechnic to help me. do it the orang asli way.

first night at bangkok already shag out! after dinner we went back room to do repacking of the 3 boxes...

9am, 11 jan 2008, we reached TAC office. Mr Thani is handling our case.

great change of enviro...

the thai custom officer are great. they dont accept bribe or take advantage of u when u got 'special' case. i travelled from betong, 250km north to hatyai, the corners and road are amazing. it took me 5 - 6 hrs to cover this route. it took me 8 days to reach hatyai.... u try taking the route im taking. for more GPS infomation and the actual track that i have taken, please contact panther poh or sam leong.

9 jan, set off at 8am... reach a beach site, out of the highway 600km away. cool place. 300B for a night. chalet type. u can see your bike just out of reach of ur bed window. when the door open u can see the south china sea. the host is very village and dont care much where u come from or where u going or what bike you riding. they concerned about your stay, ur comfort and ur feelings.

10jan, moved to bangkok. took this big buffolo in this world known traffic jam happening place. i met Suthep. will be meeting him next week again before i fly to Nepal.
when i finally made my way to Bangkok City Inn, they said its full. opposite ticketing counter recommand me to stay a hotel named PJ something.... only 1100B. if walk in is 1600B and they have room now. im afraid i couldnt make it to that place because the jam has becoming jamer and jammer! i did not commit to that counter. we moved to see that PJ hotel. its cosy. safe bike parking space. walk in counter rate is 1600B. they only accept voucher purchase and reservation in advance. it's about 530pm. we were shag out. i decided to leave my wife and the 2 big boxes at that PJ hotel lobby for a rest while i ride back to that ticketing counter to buy the voucher. i moved out and stopped by the police. saying im travelling at the bus lane. i pretended not to understand thai language. he demanded to see my licence... which i left with my wife! he wanted to fine me for 500B without a recipt. u get what i mean? he can write the four letter word: F-I-N-E. then he say that fine is for not having a licence with me. he wanted to bring me to the station... not good i think because my wife and all the document are not with me and she is alone!!! not to engage into any trouble, i gave my biggest smile and friendly pat, showed my 500B note in my purse and his eyes were shining!!!! i requested him to escot me back to PJ and i need to talk to my wife, he escoted me. then he escoted me to the ticket office, then to the hotel. i think it is not right of him to do this. getting out of his post. he caught my minor mistake and they can make it troublesome. its at Patunum... that World Trade Center Stretch. near the 4 faced buddha...

Patunum, its not a good place for singaporean to stay around that place because Steve got fined once for throwing cigrette butt along the road for 2000B. when i go to that place with Steve again, he warned me again about his experience. we smoked and he extingush his butt in the soil and i followed. very quickly, that brown man tapped on our shoulder and followed him, handed a 2000B fine without a recipt. if we want a recipt, he would want us to hand over the passport and you don't know what he will do about it. they are always watching you... walking and waiting for you to do minor mistake because we are tourist!!!!

this is what Bangkok is made of. the hotel we are staying is about 1650B!!! about SGD $60-70. i cant take it! from that beautiful beach that cost S$12 to bangkok $60 plus a service charge from the police (S$22). what is happening to this world?!

im going to ship my bike tomorrow... see how it goes!

Picz taken on 1st jan 08 (C anyone familiar??!!)

Posted by: Yvette

Picz taken on 1st Jan (C anyone familiar??!!)

my family

stephen... great clementine neighbour: hey... last time want to buy your bike ley...
fellow seahorses... im glad sunray is here. the KING!!!

my child hood buddies... best@@!!!!

our senior bikers. when they started throttering, i was still playing lego!

crystal and song. thanks for sending us off.

54A and 54B. tango yankee.

best member of block 330.

Agnes, Yao and sister. naderay malekum.

my 54sierra and 54chalie.

Fred! he had inspired me to go such trip. he had surprised me by attending my sending off. i look forward him into touring. thanks fred. u inspired me!

HADI and LEON!!!! u guys gave me good result in school! motivator!
this is me, panther (organizer), my dad, and my wife.

Andvin, young entrepreneur. he took care of my customer. any landscape enquries can call him at 97484700.

my mentor for arboriculture work. he taught me alot on tree inspection and tree surgery. we can see Derek Yap as the best tree doctor in singapore! 98381751. hi girlfriend willingly helped me to search for potential sponsors also! they sponsored my wife an all weather windbreaker that cost S$300++. and also gave me a S$400++ winter wear!

Twee Kiang, my senior biker when i was at poly days. he took care of the junior bikers in the band. taught me many things also!

min liang, thanks for coming! u represented the Tanglin Secondary Band (AKA TTMB). ur attandance alone made me feel worthy. thank you!

Teo Landscape & Maintenance.

Mr Steve Chia. your attandance to us made the journey more meaningful!

thank you.

thank you all

thank you all very much!

first day in thailand.

on 6th Jan... we took the griek highway from kuala kangsar to betong. long and clean road. it would be nice if im riding a kawa ZX600. beautiful greenery, not much overtakings. new road.

we set off from cameron at 11am. Joyce and Joe were giving us place to stay and food to eat. getting their company sticker on my bike is all i can think off... bring their company around the world.

along 600km from my first refill, the carburator stalled. time to switch to 1st reserve. confidently, i stopped, switch on my first 'on' on my right tank. i proceed with another 20km, it stalled again. What the hell... i switched my right tank to reserved. that's my last burst of fire.

i travelled at 90km/hr along NS highway to preserve fuel usage.

just a few km, petronas is ahead.

this afrcian twin has 43liters (600km) compared to my previous stolen afrcian twin 36 liters (600km).
ISN'T IT LOUSY CONSUMSION>!?!?!?

this is the first time i travel on this bike, which the furthest i took is only clementi to changi. 1st jan 2008 i am taking this bike for 18 months?! am i kidding?! i do not have confident on this bike. the load is too heavy. the handlebar wobble whenever i try to brake at slow speed. the chassis may brake anytime due to the weight. previous owner use it many times to travel off road. its a 9years old bike. my wife ass is breaking like mine. we loved the previous bike's seat, but it was stolen as a set meal with the bike. we do not have enough time to prepare for the bike.

my wife was incharged of all document. one of the most important document was missing, my bike registration detail!!!!!!

i have all the document with me at Betong border except for that log card. when i got my first bike 12years ago, i remembered there is a red log book. then when i get my Honda ST11 in 1998 and my 1st African twin in 2005, there is a long strip of bike registration card with proper letterhead. such document are able to convince any custom officer. now the LTA (Land transport autority) issue a paperless card?!?! everything retrive from internet. when this old buffalo was transfered to me at LTA, they did not pass me any log card! just a letter saying that this buffalo with .... number is transfer to my name. I cant believe that is my log card or so call vehicle ownership detail document. for some, they say when u produce the piece of print out from the internet that indicate about the vehicle ownership and show it to the officer, if the officer do not convince about that print out they can check with LTA(singapore) from internet and retrieve the document online using our Singpass. It was at Betong, i remote place where internet service from the office is not as good as shenton way. if i was at india custom, they can just simply ask me to F off and dont try to bluff them with a computer self type print out. the LTA system does not encourage travellers like me but only for the convinance of singaporean at home. try email or call the 1800 line, takes u 3 days to reply... opps. i mean 3 working days.

both of us have cleared the immigration at betong 430pm singapore time but not the vehicle custom. the border close at 5pm. the officer can simply ask me to leave my bike at the custom and come back tomorrow to do the document and they knock off. He was very very kind and polite. they treat me like a retail customer and help me solve problem. of course i do not take advantage of their kindness. i was allowed to enter thailand without the documents and come back next day with all the stuff.

NOW CARNET.... IS NOT RECONISED IN THAILAND!

day 2 in betong... smooth with Sam Leong's help in singapore.

i went to the look for the officer in the morning without any proper document.

i had my carnet with me and some relavent documents. he checked with bankok airport custom for my export of bike from Bangkok to Nepal, what neccessery document to be produce for me to proceed. he gave me the usual vehicle declaration document, escorted me to another headquaters where the Generel's office is. i looked at the Generel, reminds me of my RSM. Garang! he was in smart shirt and pants. i looked at the picture he took with the big shots makes me go nervous. we greeted each other and he offer me to sit in his office. i declined as i prefer to sit at the normal seat outside. a cold drink was served to me and they were smiling to me, treating me like a guest in a restruant. something not right in my mind. they are custom officer.... army generel. i looked outside, they have just captured an illigel import of cigrettes. they displayed it on the main hall and all the big shot came out to take picture by the TV3.
they kept smiling at me and bow at me. my documents are still with them.........

N 05degree 46.273'
E 101degree 04.385'
elevation 280m