GS tour of Thailand

[jonothan]

We've just returned from our tour of the beaches and islands of Southern Thailand, on the Discovery Mototours Eight Day Tour.

Myself, Mrs J and Master J rode and Miss J was pillion, myself on an R1200GS and the other two on F650GSs. This was our first experience of riding abroad and despite the 38°C heat, being on bikes increased the intensity of the smells and colours of this amazing country. We had two great Thai guides, Harry and Nat, who entertained us and took great pride in showing us around their country.

Going as a family was the best bit, sharing this experience.

Here are some photos you might like...

Mrs J and Master J as we were waiting for the ferry to Koh Lanta

 

[jonothan]

Myself and Mrs J riding off the ferry...

 

[jonothan]

Interestingly, we met this Thai guy on the ferry who got his cock out to show Mrs J.

He was very proud of it and he told us he had won prizes for his cock all over Thailand. Harry, our tour guide, told us that it was a very valuable cock, worth almost 500,000 Bhat (about £8,000).

 

[jonothan]

...oh, you might like to see a photo of his prize-winning cock...

 

[Aidan1150]

Keep it coming Jonothan, I'm looking forward to this.

 

[jonothan]

...crossing back from the mainland onto Phuket Island...

(Miss J was riding in the support vehicle at this point, she wasn't riding pillion dressed like this!)

 

[jonothan]

...Mrs J at a fuel stop...

 

[Monsieur]

Sounds a great trip - even more so when its your family sharing it

 

[jonothan]

---Master J at a lunch stop, Thai style.

The spit roast chicken was delicious. In fact all the Thai food was pretty amazing.

 

[Monsieur]

You sure it was chicken

 

[jonothan]

You sure it was chicken

Oh yes! They were spit roast with the heads on and the heads were removed when the chicken was jointed!

A great holiday - Discovery Mototours rock!

 

[garbo2]

trip

Jonothan did you hire the bikes or were there yours .It likes like you add a great time , would you do it again or would you go else where garbo

 

[nharrisn]

Did the same tour, loved every minute of it!

This is the moment of realisation the bike was dead and not going any further, luckily they bring along a spare bike...

 

[nharrisn]

Met five of these fabulous creatures on the road back...

 

[nharrisn]

Wherethefekrwe...

 

[nharrisn]

Finally, civilisation...

 

[nharrisn]

Let's check if i'm going to win the lottery, if I am i'll sign up now for Discovery Moto Tours 18 week round the world tour...

 

[jonothan]

Finally, civilisation...

Oh, we recognised that! Mr Kobi's bar on Naiyang beach behind the Indigo Pearl Hotel.

In answer to your questions, Garbo, were they our own bikes and would we do it again?

No, they were Discovery Mototours bikes. They were very good well-maintained machines. My only concern was the £950 excess on the insurance. If you're hiring one bike, that's probably OK. Hiring three bikes made it rather a big concern for me but we had no problems so I was worrying unnecessarily.

Would we do it again? Hmm, good question. The mileages were fine, the hotels were truly fantastic, and as everything barring drinks was included in the price, it was relatively good value for what we got. But riding in the intense heat and humidity was a bit wearing for relative novices like us. Ask me again in two weeks and I'll probably say yes. It was an experience and we knew it would be hard so there were no great surprises. Thai traffic can be rather chaotic at times but we managed just fine.

If anyone here is considering going with Discovery, I can highly recommend them.

J

 

[Deleted account 210609001]

Looks really good.

(I checked my lottery ticket from yesterday - I very rarely buy one - and lo and behold, it's a winner!)

 

[SteveBC]

Jonothan,
Good to hear that you and yours had a great time exploring the south of Thailand. I have lived here for the last 6 years and have been to every corner of this great country. If you do decide to do it again then give some thought to riding the north of Thailand, so many great things to see up there too. Also the weather can be much cooler depending on the time of the year.
Although i am English i have no problems with the heat here ( it is worse when trying to battle through Bangkok at about 4 / 5 pm ) but if i do get a bit hot i just pour some bottled water all over myself, it soon cools you down albeit for a short period.

Here is a link to some pic's of my travels

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24593178@N04/

Again, glad you enjoyed your time here .

Steve.