Eastern Loop - Chantaburi & Soi Dao

Today being "wan mair" (mum's day) I thought I'd take a quick spin down Jomtien beach road to watch all the day-trippers from the Big Mango playing the follow up game to the hugely popular family game "driving" that hit the country a few decades ago... this latest edition entitled "parking".

Oh my Buddha what a sight! Admittedly it would be far safer to walk 'n watch, but as there is such a long stretch of road with each 50 metres harbouring a side splitting "muppets manoeuvre of the day" possibility I use the 'ol shopping stepthru and can catch the whole cabaret in about 10 minutes flat! Forget jugglers, buskers and mime artists, this is really what is meant by "street entertainment!"

Last month I finally got around to doing what I call the "eastern loop" with some pals & gals from the Nagas Motorcycle Club. This is a 600 kilometer round trip which we decided to split over a weekend with an overnight stop in Soi Dao at the Fishing Park Resort.

The first part of the journey to Chantaburi is the same route I detailed in the Trader some months ago en route to Koh Chang, so I won't bore you... suffice to say we rode on highway 3 to Chantaburi but then instead of continuing south we turned left onto the 317 and headed north for about 55kms to Soi Dao. The route is fairly straightforward with some lovely scenery: the Khao Kitchakut National Park on your left and the flatlands leading to the Cambodian border only 20 kms or so away to your right.

The only hiccup was the sneakily placed police roadblocks which were always just around the blind side of a particularly nice corner for dropping a gear and powering out, only to find yourself confronted with one of those contraptions where the road block rails are just that wee bit too close together for a quick knee scrape left, right and out dodge.... well, maybe possible on a 2 stroke RD350 but definitely not on the cards for a fully dressed H-D!

The Fishing Park Resort is just before the town of Soi Dao: turn left down provincial route 3391 (which is also the road to take for the Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary and Falls, signposted in English) and about 500 metres down on the right you'll see it. First impression was "well, it looks a bit bloody basic" but it was actually quite a fun place to stay. The 20 or so bungalows are spaced around a small circular lake with the restaurant at the head, the place is only about 18 months old so building and landscaping are still ongoing but to our suprise we found the bungalows deceptively spacious with more than adequate air conditioning, hot showers, cable tv and the hardest mattress I've ever slept on!

The food at the restaurant was absolutely delicious if a wee bit slow in coming but with a plentiful supply of Heineken and Singha, who cares? Very inexpensive food, air-con bungalows at only 600 baht, right on the doorstep for a day exploring the 16 level Khao Soi Dao Waterfall... give mine host Khun Somjet a call on 01 912 0408 and book in!

The Sunday morning was spent "messing about on the river" at the falls for a few hours... we then met up with old pals Peter and Tam of the Pattaya Motorcycle Club who live in the area and who took us down the back roads toward the border and then along route 3395 toward Khlong Hat, passing some very impressive rock climbing country and the Khao Ta Ngok Caves. At Khlong Hat we turned westward once more and returned to highway 317, crossed over and headed back on provincial road 3259 which although not being a direct route home is a great ride through some lovely countryside, with long stretches of dead straight road over undulating hills through Tha Takiap to Sanam Chai Khet. Actually the only casualty of the weekend happened here when King met King... my Road King ran over a 1.5 metre King Cobra (or relative) and guess who came off worst: all I know is the missus reported hearing a loud "pop" and I'll tell you... it wasn't my rear tyre! Sorry snakey.

From Sanam Chai Khet we turned left onto highway 304 which then runs into the 331 and home: a great short weekend break with some terrific riding "off the beaten track", great company, food, drink, laughs... what a bike club! Drop me an e-mail or phone Yogi for more info, come along to a meet, see if we're your kind of people and join in!

By the time this Trader hits the street I'll be in Krabi for the "3 Nations Charity Ride." A group of about 15 of us will be leaving Pattaya on Sept 1st and travelling south to meet up with riders from Malaysia and Singapore, partying around Krabi for a few days and returning to Pattaya on the 6th, so more of that next month! Mind you the King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament is being held in Hua Hin from Sept 8-11th, so I might just delay my return home for a few days to take that in... wonder if I'd still be able to cut it astride one of those wonderful beasties!

The trip will be an excellent opportunity for me to start what promises to be a lasting relationship with my new "mia noi"... a beautiful 2003 H-D Road King supplied by Ross at Powerstation Motorsport Co., Bangkok (02 934 4855). I was actually the owner of a red 1998 Road King (registration 333) for 24 hours before a huge f**k up led me to the 2003 model, but that's another story! Suffice to say if you are offered the bike, phone Ross first!

Right, that's enough for now, hope you enjoy my monthly rambling... if not, don't read it! See you around town, and don't forget: the views expressed here are mine alone and not those of the club I ride with.