Sisaket (TH) to Singapore – Ep 15

Thailand – Songkhla to Su-ngai Kolok

Su-ngai Kolok is a border town to Malaysia where we want to cross to Malaysia and we planned to ride to there on mostly small roads.

The day started early at 05.30 am and we left with no breakfast or coffee at 06.30 am.

Lucky that we started early, even at this time the traffic was horrible. There is no other choice to pass by Hat Yai than as on big roads and the ride on Hwy 4 was a pain in the butt.
I have the feeling that the people there drive and ride way more selfish even that in Bangkok.

South of Hat Yai we turned left on Hwy 4243 and there the fun started. Only local traffic, great road conditions and a lot of twists. Riders paradise!
Also great, the lung and brain got fresh air again after the time in the city with a lot of pollution.

Shortly visited the Khao Nam Khang Historical Tunnel but too lazy to walk the 1 km through the tunnel with all the motorbike gear. So we just took a photo from outside.

Located in the area of Khao Nam Khang, Mu 1, Tambon Khlong Kwang. In the past, this area was a communist village. Tunnels were built in the mountains to provide housing and shelter, but after almost 40 years of fighting with the government, the Communist Party declared an end to the fighting and joined as a co-developer of the Thai nation in 1987. The tunnel is made of clay and is the largest and longest tunnel in Thailand. With the excavating by the labourers, it took about 2 years to complete. The interior is divided into three channels three levels deep. There are 16 entrances-exits with a staircase connecting each level. The length of the winding up and down tunnel is 1 kilometre. The interior of the tunnel is divided into rooms, e.g., meeting room, hospital, radio room, kitchen, shooting range, etc. There are also herbal medicines for sale. The tunnel is open daily, and the admission fee is 50 Baht.

The ride on small roads along the Malaysian border is great. Very quiet, lots of oxygen in the air and no traffic.

Along Hwy 410 you pass by the Yilapan Iron Bridge, a relict from World War II. Width is 6 m, length 50 m. The bridge was used by the Japanese military to transport soldiers and supplies for the war against Myanmar.

After some coffee and tea and nice ride in the mountains we arrived in a junction where you can decide go the shorter cut to Sukhirin or follow the road along the Malaysian border.

The only issue we had at this time, was too find fuel. In the morning we tried to fill up at a Shell gas station. The motorbike is high and the worker was short and rejected any help from my side.
So we ended up with an 80 % full tank.
60 km to go and 90 km range somewhere in the middle of no where… better find fuel.
In the villages where they sell fuel in the bottles, it was not really clear what kind of quality is sold. „From Malaysia“ was the answer when we asked.
Lucky that we found this „gas station“.

95 should be in there but I am really not sure if its true or not. Anyways, the motorbike worked with that stuff.

The road along the border is Narathiwat Hwy 4062. Very nice scenery even that the road is small.

But it got really more funny and challenging. We arrived at a gate and the guy there asked us where we want to go. Su-ngai Kolok was the answer and he opened the gate with a big smile.

The road was wet and slippery at the beginning. No problem at all but – after some time up and down in the mountains we arrived at a part with no tarmac anymore and washed out from the rain.

Steep uphill with gravel and bigger stones – I would almost call this technical off-road riding.

The following photos I took after that off-road part…keep the momentum and not stop for taking photos is the rule.

After all it was fun and we not dropped the bike…lol.

Arrived at Su-ngai Kolok soaking wet from sweat. Found a great hotel with private roof covered parking. Check out „The Sekret Hotel“ if you arrive here. Big and clean room for 630 Baht.

All in all a great riding day, 407 km mostly in the mountains. Appreciate that a lot.

Find the detailed trip in the Calimoto link.

Time for shower, food and chill.

Ride safe guy‘s and enjoy yourself!

#dustysocks