Jomtien to Phetchabun, Sat 25th Oct 2008

Gung and I departed Jomtien Beach for Gung's mother's house in Phetchabun at seven am on Saturday 25th October 2008 (2551 according to the Buddhist calendar). Phetchabun lies on the border between the northern and northeastern regions of Thailand (the northeast is commonly referred to as “Isan” and is pronounced “eesan”). We were riding my "Honda Phantom" which is the smallest of the Honda "chopper" motorbikes; its larger cousins being the Steed and Shadow. Although only having an engine size of 200cc, the Phantom is an excellent bike for long distances. It is comfortable, holds the road well and does many miles to the gallon! My bike was already used to long journeys having come all the way from Phuket Island which is nearly 1000 km away in the south of the country. The bike has a touring speed of a little over 80 km/h (50 mph) which is fast enough for the Thai roads what with potholes, kamikaze bus drivers and Thai motorists to contend with. Some people, especially tourists, consider the Thai style of driving to somehow work in Thailand even though it is so very different to that practiced in their home country - I am afraid that I do not consider this to be the case!

We had attempted to leave the previous afternoon, but rain stopped play. By leaving early(ish) in the morning we hoped to get as far as possible prior to the onset of the afternoon showers/thunder storms. The weather forecast was good (obtained from http://www.accuweather.com) and we hoped to get at least as far as Khao Yai National Park, which is about half way to Phetchabun, before the rain started. I would like to point out that towards the end of October there should be a noticeable decline in rainfall, but not this year.

Sunrise at View Talay 1A looking towards 2B with Thepprasit Road in the foreground.

In order to avoid the volume of traffic associated with Bangkok, or Krung Thep as it is known in Thailand, I decided to cut across to highway 331 and then onto route 319 heading due north towards the city of Nakhon Nayok which lies just to the southwest of the beautiful Khao Yai National Park. Khao Yai means “Large Mountain” and is located in the adjacent province, or “Jangwat”, of Nakhon Ratchasima (aka “Khorat”) in Issan. There are many national and marine parks located all around Thailand; most tend to be relatively expensive places to stay, especially for foreigners, as will be explained later. However, there are often Thai style resorts dotted around and even though these are outside of the park proper they are still set within fabulous tropical surroundings.

In this particular case we decided to chance the weather - Gung was understandably keen to see her mum and there was always the return journey for places to stop and visit. Bypassing Nakhon Nayok, with the jungle covered mountains in the distance to the northeast, we continued on route 33 and then onto route 21 linked by a short stretch of motorway (the M1!). This road would then take us north to Phetchabun where we finally arrived, rather tired and saddle sore, at seven thirty in the evening - exactly twelve hours after leaving Jomtien and covering a distance of nearly 500 km (about 300 miles). That may not sound all that great when compared with driving in the UK, but over here I consider it to be quite an achievement. There is at least one company, based in the south, that offers tours of Thailand using Honda Phantoms. However, relatively few people attempt these trips and one still gets a real sense of adventure; what makes it even more fun when asked where you have come from or where you are heading is that my bike is registered in Phuket - as shown on the number plate - a combined distance of nearly a 1350 km (850 miles)!

The roundabout in Phetchabun city centre.

It was already dark by the time we arrived and I was made to feel most welcome by Gung’s mother who rents a quite substantial and most pleasant house near the centre of the city - see photo below. For the reader’s information, the rent for this house - the only criticism of which that I could make is the fact that it does not have a garden but does have an outside seating area - is 3,500 Baht per month; a comparable residence in or around Jomtien would cost at least 15 ,000 Baht. Her husband, who sadly passed away three years ago, was a Major in the Thai army serving during the Vietnam War period and in the associated fighting that took place between them and the Chinese backed Communist insurgents crossing over from Laos. She kindly loaned me some photographs, taken during the 1970’s and early 80’s, which I intend to scan and place on this blog as a separated post.

Gung’s seventeen year old son Pet lives with his grandmother and is presently in his last year at high school. Her two daughters were also visiting for the weekend; eighteen year old Phun (as in “typhoon”) who is sitting her entrance examinations to study medicine at university and Gang who is studying architecture at Narasawan University in the adjacent larger city of Phitsanulok also in the northern region of Thailand.