5th April 2014     1km Another ‘rest’ day, a non riding day, spent diving just off Koh Chang. It wasn’t bad, although visibility wasn’t great.  Dived on a US ship that was deliberately sunk a few years ago.  Now enjoying a cold beer and planning the next phase.  Cambodia beckons.  I’m only 120km from the border.   I’ve started taking a malaria prophylaxis, something I’ll now need to do every day for the next 50 days, until leaving the malaria risk areas of south east Asia and southern…

4th April 2014   35’C    458km Today was a great ride.  Lots of back roads with not too much traffic and beautiful scenery, passing great mountain ranges and intricately detailed temples. I had started out early from Ayutthaya, after saying goodbye to Jeeda, the lovely owner of Promtong Mansion. Just outside of town, and not long after filling up for fuel, I was stopped at a police checkpoint. One of those regular checkpoints in Thailand that usually only pay attention to trucks, but the cop saw the…

2nd-3rd April 2014    0km on the bike   39’C Bangkok.  What a city, full of contrasts. The smell of diesel, the cacophony of car horns, motorcycles, tuk tuks and people. Then the nasal conflict and sensory overload as the smell of drain, roadside culinary delights and cheap perfume all mix to form the unique blend that is, and can only be, Bangkok. After spending the previous day exploring Ayuthaya, I decided to leave the bike in the hotel and take a minivan for the 1.5hr trip into…

1st April 2014     170km    39’C Today was a tough ride.  It was stinking hot and humid.  The road was bad, very bumpy and alot of trucks.  It was not a whole lot of fun.  But what really got to me, was I was tired despite what I thought was a good sleep and I had naturally woken up at 530am. So after riding into Ayutthaya, I was completely flat. I’d hit the wall.  I pulled the bike into the second guesthouse that I saw, called…