I'm off again next week on my motorbike for another month or so to Thailand/Laos/Cambodia. If you've been following the Indochina series of blog postings it'll be fair to ask, "Didnt you just got back?" My last trip, I left on 19 Nov 2010 and came back on 8 January 2011, a solid 51 days of touring.
Why so soon?
Let me give a bit of historical brief leading up to the above. In 2008 I had planned to drive up all the way to Chiang Mai and pretty much tour Thailand within 14 days. Coincidently, that was in April as well, so that I'll be celebrating my birthday on the road. I wanted something new, a new experience, an adventure, though being the pussy that I am, I wanted it to be manageable. Weeks of preparation, mapping the route, researching accommodation, putting in the leave, battling anxiety and I was all geared up for it and guess what happened?
Riots broke out 2 days before I was supposed to leave. It pretty much crippled the country and closed of Suvarnabhumi airport. Shots were fired at protesters, a journalist was killed. Friends and of course family, very concerned requested that I not proceed with my plans and I conceded. Though disappointed, I tell myself that it was not meant to be. Though the thought was still there I never did pursue it in the same vigorous manner as I did before. No better way to describe it than, "memang potong stim abis".
Fast forward to 2010 and circumstances revolving around work(or lack of it) pushed the idea, that was long buried back up. I got myself a bike in July 2010 after not riding one for more than 10 years and the rest as they say is history. Cliche as it may be, the 51 days of touring was supposed to be my platform to discover myself and think about what next. Unfortunately, it was such an overwhelming experience that I forgot to do both haha. What I did discover though was that I felt free. I found peace of mind, a feeling I last felt when I was a student. A time when my only responsibility was to down 6 cans of Livita and cram as much as I can the night before an exam. So I'm off again to discover what I felt was real or fluke? Have I been bitten by the travel bug or was it one off?
What's new with this upcoming trip?
Why so soon?
Let me give a bit of historical brief leading up to the above. In 2008 I had planned to drive up all the way to Chiang Mai and pretty much tour Thailand within 14 days. Coincidently, that was in April as well, so that I'll be celebrating my birthday on the road. I wanted something new, a new experience, an adventure, though being the pussy that I am, I wanted it to be manageable. Weeks of preparation, mapping the route, researching accommodation, putting in the leave, battling anxiety and I was all geared up for it and guess what happened?
Riots broke out 2 days before I was supposed to leave. It pretty much crippled the country and closed of Suvarnabhumi airport. Shots were fired at protesters, a journalist was killed. Friends and of course family, very concerned requested that I not proceed with my plans and I conceded. Though disappointed, I tell myself that it was not meant to be. Though the thought was still there I never did pursue it in the same vigorous manner as I did before. No better way to describe it than, "memang potong stim abis".
Fast forward to 2010 and circumstances revolving around work(or lack of it) pushed the idea, that was long buried back up. I got myself a bike in July 2010 after not riding one for more than 10 years and the rest as they say is history. Cliche as it may be, the 51 days of touring was supposed to be my platform to discover myself and think about what next. Unfortunately, it was such an overwhelming experience that I forgot to do both haha. What I did discover though was that I felt free. I found peace of mind, a feeling I last felt when I was a student. A time when my only responsibility was to down 6 cans of Livita and cram as much as I can the night before an exam. So I'm off again to discover what I felt was real or fluke? Have I been bitten by the travel bug or was it one off?
What's new with this upcoming trip?
So what's different this time around? I'm still going to the same countries though there'll be new routes, new places to go, places that I missed last time around for one reason or another. I'll be updating the blog as I go along so you won't miss it.
There's gonna be 3 of us doing the entire loop, Capt Nik on a GS12, Ivan on a GSA and I on my trusty steed the 650GS. We're not gainfully employed(by choice I'd say but truthfully no company in their right mind would hire a serial slacker like me haha) at the moment hence the name "The Jobless Wanderers". Though I've not ridden long rides with them, the harmonics of the group seems good, an important element if we're to ride together for the next 30 days. One thing for sure, both of them being camera/photog buffs I'll have better pics for my blog....hehe. Maybe I can finally fulfill my secret ambition of being a camwhore.
We plan to cross the border on 6 April. Right now the weather is wrecking havoc over South Thailand with rain and flooding in many parts. We're hoping it clears up by the time we leave. Wish us luck and stay tuned for updates.
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