South of Thailand – Thung Song & Kiriwong

First service in Hat Yai

After almost 1.000 km riding it was time for the first service of the BMW R1250 GS Adventure.
From Pattani to Hat Yai is not far. Nevertheless we started early to escape the heat and the traffic in Hat Yai.

06.30 am to 08.00 am was the riding time, we needed to wait until BMW take care us and the motorbike. Better wait in the cool show room was the idea than stuck in the traffic jam.
Mission accomplished!

It took almost all day long for the service and for add some Accessoires we ordered to the bike. At BMW Millennium Auto, Hat Yai the people are great. Super friendly and professional.
If you ever buy a BMW, the trip to Hat Yai for a good service is worth it.

In the evening we invited our sales guy Mr. Samit and his boss Mr. White for dinner to say thank you for the good service. Those two guys did way more that they needed to do and really good take care us.

Hat Yai to Thung Song, Nakhon Si Thammarat

After a not so quiet night – thanks to some kids in the hotel who won’t like to sleep, we started at 06.30 am.
At this time of the day, the way out of Hat Yai was easy without traffic jam.
The plan was to visit Koh Khon located in the Thalai Noi. We should probably have some nice views there?!

The ride in the country side was fantastic. Small roads, no traffic, lots of shadow – what a difference to the city life we had the last couple of days.

At the dead end of Kho Khop, the view was not like we expected. You see almost zero due to trees.
On the way back we passed by a temple (Wat Kho Cob), the view was much better.

Out of the island, we took the Hwy 408 along the coast up North. Sang wanted to visit the elevated road along the Thalai Noi again. Really a nice place – this time of the year with less water.
Anyways – still great to visit.

Thung Song – Nakhon Si Thammarat

Thung Song is the second largest city in the district of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. Thung Song is located on the central part of Southern part of Thailand, and has played a crucial role as the logistic hub of Nakhon Si Thammarat province and Southern of Thailand. This city is known historically for its strategic location. During the rule of King Rama V, the railway of Thailand was extended to the south. At that time Thung Song was chosen to become the junction station to the Andaman line – the location of the most important port; the Kantang Port of Trang province. In recent history Thung Song has been developed to be a intersection of the south. This city is also a link to Krabi, Trang, Phatthalung, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani province.

We found a great place to stay here in Thung Song, the Suan Hin Villa Resort – roof covered parking, super clean room, friendly owners for 690 Baht. Perfect and recommended.

Thung Song itself offers not much to see.
There is a very big market (should be big for 150.000 people living here).

You can visit the Charoen Phrakiat Public Park.

Thung Song clock tower.

The Thung Song junction.

And that’s it for the city. In total a 5 km walk. Do it in the morning, it might get too hot otherwise.

Find the details of the trip Hat Yai to Thung Song in the Calimoto link.

Kiriwong Village

Friends recommended to visit the Kiriwong Village.
According to the internet, this village is known as the best ozone area in Thailand. The village is surrounded by mountains.

So we stayed one more night in Thung Song.
Let’s get up early, go for a ride and get some fresh air in the mountains. That was the plan.

The ride in the morning on winding roads was great.

When arriving in Kiriwong, we found out that all the informations are just “marketing”.
Or let’s say it clear, for us it’s not nice there. Maybe that’s because we know the North of Thailand and some other great spots in the South.

In Kiriwong you find a market, when you arrive early, go for a coffee and some food.

Then there are 3 bridges, one wood bridge and two concrete ones.
The village is full of dirt bikes used by the farmers to transport rubber and other products produced up there in the mountains.

Don’t try to go deeper into the mountains even there is a road shown on the map. It’s not allowed for tourists to go.

As I mentioned before, the ride itself from Thung Song to Kiriwong is great. Decide by yourself if the destination is worth to go.

Find the details of the trip in the Calimoto link.

That’s it for this time – stay tuned and enjoy yourself!!

#dustysocks