 Thailand ride to Bang Sare and Sattahip
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Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 115
Adjunct
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OP
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Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 115 |
My friend Cocoa Puffs (he looks like Cocoa Puffs character from the old cereal commercial) is learning how to ride a motorcycle, so he wanted to get some miles after his belt. As this was the Thai King's birthday, a national holiday, we decided to take a ride to a small fishing village called Bang Sare and a Naval base town called Sattahip. The US navy makes a port call and conducts joint exercises with Thai Navy at Sattahip three times a year. So, Cocoa Puffs and I geared up and we headed South to visit the towns. Cocoa Puffs  Yours Truly  At Sattahip, we came across a naval parade in honor of the King's birthday.  We also got to see an old Navy ship parked very close to the shore.  Otherwise, life was pretty quiet there, as people got to enjoy the holiday, hang out by the pier, eat and just have a good time.   Looking South at Sattahip    We had our dinner and we took a ride to Bang Sare. Bang Sare is a functioning fishing village and we caught the fishing junks as they were waiting for the seas to calm a bit before heading out. Restaurants and houses on stilts at Bang Sare  Fishing junks all ready to go  Go West, young man  Looking towards the shore from the pier at Bang Sare  Thai fisherman putting the finishing touches before heading out   Thai kid looking towards the shore  We returned to Pattaya late at night. Cocoa Puffs had a blast, riding the bike. He was ecstatic and wants to take another ride very soon.
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Re: Thailand ride to Bang Sare and Sattahip
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 950
Banned
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Banned
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 950 |
It is very beautiful there.Thx for the pics.
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Re: Thailand ride to Bang Sare and Sattahip
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Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 115
Adjunct
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OP
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Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 115 |
Thanks man. There's a lot more to Thailand than ping-pong shows. 
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Re: Thailand ride to Bang Sare and Sattahip
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,354
Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,354 |
Having spent quite a bit of time in the Land of Smiles for the past 14+ years (now working on building a house in Nakhon Pathom), I would never, ever ride a bike in Thailand. Between the questionable road surfaces, crazy drivers and my desire to wear full gear (I like my face and skin as they are), it's just not for me. There are not many ambulances in Thailand (seen them sometimes in Bangkok, but driver's don't give them the right of way). If you go down, you might get lucky and have a song taew (pickup truck with two wooden seats in the rear to carry passengers) come by and he might be willing to take you to a hospital. Plus, the gov't charges a premium on large-engine bikes. You'll see a lot of little Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, etc 125-250 cc bikes buzzing around (some carrying the whole family), but very rarely do I see anything bigger. I know you can rent H-D's but you pay a lot for that privilege. It's ironic that Triumph builds the bikes there, but they don't/can't sell them there. I think there was talk, at one time, to open a dealer in Bangkok & Pattaya. With all that said, and I know others have differing opinions on gear and stuff, the pics are great. Dee mark-mark.
Blue/White 2007 TBA, Thruxton needles, Unifilter, AI removed, Polaris Bellmouth, Bubs, Nology Coils/wires, Lightbar, Ricor Intiminators, Hagon Nitros, Tall Sissy Bar w/luggage rack, Dart flyscreen & Lowers. 130 Mains, TrueGel Battery MG12-BS.
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Re: Thailand ride to Bang Sare and Sattahip
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Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 115
Adjunct
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OP
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Joined: Oct 2010
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Quote:
Having spent quite a bit of time in the Land of Smiles for the past 14+ years (now working on building a house in Nakhon Pathom), I would never, ever ride a bike in Thailand. Between the questionable road surfaces, crazy drivers and my desire to wear full gear (I like my face and skin as they are), it's just not for me.
My experience has been considerably different (except for the crazy drivers). I find the roads to be quite good. In fact, I'd say they're surprisingly good. You'll very rarely see pot holes.
I make it a point to wear gear as you can see in the pic. I got a Fieldsheer tour mesh jacket which breathes quite well, so you don't get hot in it, a full face helmet, gloves and Joe Rocker meteor boots so I feel pretty good with what I got.
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There are not many ambulances in Thailand (seen them sometimes in Bangkok, but driver's don't give them the right of way). If you go down, you might get lucky and have a song taew (pickup truck with two wooden seats in the rear to carry passengers) come by and he might be willing to take you to a hospital.
Once again, not my experience. My friend Stew came down to visit me and he fell off the bike the second day he was here. Broke his ankle and fractured his shoulder. The ambulance was right there, they took care of him and brought him to the hospital. They were pretty good. Furthermore, people passing by will always stop and take you to a hospital. They're pretty nice that way.
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Plus, the gov't charges a premium on large-engine bikes. You'll see a lot of little Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, etc 125-250 cc bikes buzzing around (some carrying the whole family), but very rarely do I see anything bigger. I know you can rent H-D's but you pay a lot for that privilege.
This is true. It gets pretty expensive, pretty fast to buy a large displacement bike. However, there are plenty of 400cc offerings out there (my Honda Steed being one of them). There are plenty of Harleys for sale and there's a Kawasaki store where you can buy any of their offerings. However, you will pay a premium and anything over 600cc gets VERY expensive. BTW, I picked up my bike used for $3k. It's a bit more than what I would have paid for the comparable bike in the US, but not outrageously so. The bike is in very good condition and I haven't had any trouble with it.
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It's ironic that Triumph builds the bikes there, but they don't/can't sell them there. I think there was talk, at one time, to open a dealer in Bangkok & Pattaya.
With all that said, and I know others have differing opinions on gear and stuff, the pics are great. Dee mark-mark.
BTW, I mentioned it in another post that I saw a used Triumph Bonneville T-100 here. I didn't find out the price, but I sat on the bike and it was the most comfortable bike I've ever been on! Holy crap, I want it! 
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