2014 4x4 Thai Adventure: 01 KL - Surat Thani

"Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do..." - Benjamin Spock

(An adventure trip with our 4x4)

Day 1: 5 September 2014 (Friday)

Route: KL - Surat Thani

Distance: 847 km

Early in the morning before 07:00hrs, Rozlan came to Bidara House after his night duty to flag us off. We did last minute packing and went to fetch Hayami and his wife, Siti from their quarters in Hospital Selayang. Hayami and Siti will be accompanying us to Chiang Mai in our 4x4 Ford Ranger. In Chiang Mai we will meet up with four others, Shawal, Shanaz, Rozlan and Hj Din who would be flying direct from KL on Monday.

The bikers planned to rent a bike each and will ride the thousand corners to Pai and Mae Hong Son. Hubby and I will, for the first time, be the support vehicle and drive the same route with our 4x4.

(Clear blue sky early in the morning)

(Dark clouds on the horizon)

By 07:30 we started our journey via Latar highway through Guthrie highway then entered Plus highway north bound. We stopped at Rawang R&R for breakfast then drove to Changlun with one brief stop in between for toilet break in R&R Sg Perak.

(It rained quite heavily along the way)

(The rain cleared when we reached the border)

In Changlun we bought vehicle insurance and filled in arrival/departure cards. We had kambing bakar lunch at one of the stall next to the T Hotel and performed our prayers at Changlun R&R. Border clearance at both Malaysian and Thailand Immigration was smooth.

We drove north towards Surat Thani and stopped for a short break at Amazon Cafe in Patthalung. The weather was fine with intermittent showers here and there along the way.

(A must stop at Cafe' Amazon)

(Driving direct to Surat Thani on Highway 41)

We reached Surat Thani around 20:30hrs and headed straight to Aji Restaurant situated by the Tapi River. Although the restaurant was opened, unfortunately there was no food left. With the assistance of the restaurant owner, he showed us the way to the night market where we bought packed rice and fried chicken from one of the halal stalls.

(A beautiful sunset when we approached town)

(A snap shot by the Tapi River)

Tonight we stayed at the Grand Tara Hotel for b550/night complete with a complimentary breakfast.

(Spacious and clean)

2014 4x4 Adventure: 01 Kanchanaburi, Thailand👉

2014 4x4 Thai Adventure: 02 Surat Thani - Kanchanaburi

"When some things go wrong, be thankful for all the other things that are still going right..."

(Mus, Mun, Siti and Hayami with our Blackfoot)

Day 2 : 6 September 2014 (Saturday)

Route: Surat Thani - Kanchanaburi

Distance: 664 km

(Varieties of local delicacies)

(Aji's son, now the owner of the restaurant)

Around 07:00 we were ready to check out. Although there was a complimentary breakfast in the hotel we decided to have roti canai breakfast at Aji Restaurant instead. After a few photo shots by the Tapi River we started our journey towards Kanchanaburi.

(Fishing is a favorite past time here)

(Cool calm morning by the Tapi River)

(Siti and me, still energetic, ready for the long-haul journey)

It rained quite heavily on the way. Before we reached Chumphon, we detoured to locate the narrowest point of the Ithmus of Kra without the use of the GPS. The route was quite winding and rough at some places but we managed to trace our route out to the main highway after reaching the designated area. However we did not manage to take a photo shot at the signage.

(Confusing road junctions)

(Looking out for the right route)

(Making reference to someone's blog for GPS)

(A small road leading to the Ithmus of Kra)

(Reaching the end of the road)

(A natural lake in the middle of nowhere)

(Tracing back to the Asia Highway 41)

It was already noon when we had a light lunch of burger and prawn wantan soup at Amazon Cafe in Chumphon. We continued driving north and again detoured to Cha-Am to have a late lunch at Restaurant Mariam where we also performed our prayers there too.

(Steaming hot halal wantan soup)

(Halal black-pepper chicken burger)

(It started raining again)

(Long-eared cow roaming the street) 

(Entering the town of Cha-Am)

(No lorries and motorbikes on the Super-highway leading to Bangkok)

(A welcoming signage to Kanchanaburi)

(Workers going back home after a hard day's work)

It was raining quite heavily along the way but it stopped when we reached Kanchanaburi around 19:45hrs. Initially we wanted to stop at the night market but it was not opened yet. We drove on to the Luxury Hotel and checked-in for the night at the rate of b600/night.

As we were quite full, tonight we had a light dinner in the hotel room.

(Entering Kanchanaburi in the twilight)

(Our favorite hotel in Kanchanaburi)

           2014 4x4 Adventure: 03 Chiang Mai, Thailand👉

👈2014 4x4 Adventure: 01 Surat Thani, Thailand

2014 4x4 Thai Adventure: 03 Kanchanaburi - Chiang Mai

"The hardest step is often the starting step..."

(A homely cozy hotel)

Day 3 : 7 September 2014 (Sunday)

Route: Kanchanaburi - Chiang Mai

Distance: 699 km

We had breakfast of toast and eggs in the hotel cafe for b100/person. After we checked out we drove to the bridge over the River Kwai for some photo shots and bought some souvenirs and t-shirts. We started driving out of Kanchanaburi and had to make a few detours as the GPS led us into a longer alternative route. Once we got to the main road we headed towards Chiang Mai via AH2 and route 1.

(Passing by the War Cemetery)

(The way to the historical bridge over the River Kwai)

(The replica of the death railway)

(A group of monks ready to offer their blessings)

(The famous bridge at the background)

(A floating sea-food restaurant)

(The rail track is still functioning)

By noon we reached Nakhon Sawan and looked for a Muslim Restaurant. With the assistance of a student we managed to locate one by the lake side and had a good lunch of rice and soup.

We continued our journey and stopped at Masjid Al-Fattah at Tak to perform our prayers. We met with Hj Kasim bin Hj Hassan, the Imam Besar of the mosque.

(By-passing the town of Suphan Buri)

(Heading towards Nakhon Sawan) 

(A Muslim Restaurant by the lake)

(Hot beef soup and rice)

(The river water is rising fast flooding the banks)

(Dark clouds overhead)

(The entrance of al-Fattah Mosque)

(Arrived safely in front of the mosque)

(Lower praying hall)

(A photo session with the Imam Besar) 

(A stern warning)

(A deserted road leading north)

(A huge mile stone in Tak)

(Driving on a winding road to Chiang Mai)

(The sun was shining direct into our eyes) 

(Approaching the city of Chiang Mai)

From Tak we drove direct to Chiang Mai and reached Pornping Tower Hotel around 19:30. After we checked-in, we walked to Restaurant Sophia situated near the mosque and had nasi goreng and tom yam for dinner. We also sent dirty laundry which cost us b50/kg.

After dinner we went for an hour of foot, head and shoulder massage for b200/hr. We visited the night market which is not as busy as it used to be.

(In front of the Grand Mosque)

(An hour of foot massage)

(Life performance every night)

         2014 4x4 Adventure: 04 Chiang Mai, Thailand👉

👈2014 4x4 Adventure: 02 Surat Thani, Thailand