“A Back Road Tour to Cha-Am"

Story / Trip
My sister in law, Melanie, had just started working for the Alila and asked if I could organize a bike trip to the resort. I didn’t think much of it and thought I just get a few friends to ride down together. However, once I put the news out a lot of riders responded and by the end we had about 25 bikers registered for the trip. I figure since I was putting this thing together I mind as well make something out of it - so I invited Men Health magazine and MTV to tag along and cover the tour. What started as a friend get together ride, turned out to be quite a big project. It wasn’t easy putting this whole tour together; nevertheless, I was determine to have fun with it.

I just had a major accident a month ago and was unable to ride.  No way I was gonna be caught in a car while everyone else was on their bike! So, for the first time ever I would be riding as a passenger with a friend, Tia (aka Buffalo Soldier), at the wheel.  And so the trip begins!

DAY 1
We all met at the McDonalds by the Democracy Monument at 7:00 am in the morning.  Surprisingly, everyone was fairly on time despite the number of people involved.  After a short brief (I don’t think any one listen!) we set out at about 8:00 heading for The Scenery at Suan Phueng in Ratchaburi.  About an hour into the trip we already had two breakdowns, a BMW and a Ducati (best stick to the Japs and Brits bikes!)

The ride from Bangkok to the entrance into Suan Phueng (HW 3087) was quite straightforward.  Tia and I got to the intersection first and so we waited there and waved everybody in the right direction.  We arrived at the Scenery around 10:00 am and had lunch.  Some of the guys played around with the sheep’s that were grazing the grass.

We left the scenery around 11:30 am heading for Kaeng Krachan Dam.  The back road (HW 3313, 3206, 3349, 3204,3499) we took was stunning with yellow leaves & flowers blooming everywhere.  Obviously, most bikers had ridden down to Cha-Am/Hua Hin, usually taking the normal Phet Kasem HW 4 route.  A lot were surprised by the beauty and chill-ness of our alternative route.

We could have taken the back roads all the way to Kaeng Krachan; however, the pavement ran out for the last 20 km, turning into red dirt and gravel - it would have been a nightmare for the Harleys and Sport bikes.  We were forced to take a short detour on to the Phet Kasem HW before venturing back on to back road 3204 and 3499.  We used this opportunity for a pit stop at the gas station before continuing on the trip.

HW 3204 is a nice road that snakes along a klong, however, there’s a lot of intersection and you need to be careful of the traffic crisscrossing.  We arrived at Kaeng Krachan Dam around 3:00 pm and the view of the dam was stunning.  By now everyone was a bit tired and I was wondering if I was trying to squeeze too much into one ride.

We left KK Dam at 3:30 and headed on back road HW 3301 for Ban Nong Phlap where the Hua Hin Hill Vineyard was located. The 1 hour ride to the Vineyard was quite basic, however, the last 10 km was a bit bumpy - I was imagining the Harley & Sport guys cursing at me, yet, I was determine to win them over with the wine and cheese that awaited us at the vineyard!

We arrived at 4:30 pm and a group of 5-6 Beamers had gotten there earlier. By now it was approaching evening, the sun was coming down – it was nice sitting in the vineyard relaxing and taking in the beauty of the place. However, with in an hour we were back on the road heading for our final destination in Cha-Am. We arrived at the Alila resort around 7:00 pm – being dark I was surprised to find everyone made it without getting lost.

As I mentioned before, maybe I over did it. We have been on the road for almost 12 hours covering over 500 km. This was the style of riding I liked but maybe everyone wasn’t used to it. However, I knew the rooms at Alila were extremely comfortable and most riders would have forgotten how tired they were once in the comfort of their rooms.

We all met up in the lobby at 8:30 pm to head for dinner at the beach in Cha-Am. At first I was going to have everyone ride but knew all were butt-tired (including myself) so I rented a few vans to transport us back and forth between the hotel and restaurant. We had a nice seafood dinner by the ocean and were back at the Alila around 10:30 pm. After which everyone came to my room and stayed until 3:00 am partying into the night – surprisingly no one fell in the pool! I’m sure everyone slept well that night after a whole day of riding.

DAY 2
We had no schedule for today and everyone was free to go back whenever they wanted.  Most people conjured in the restaurant for breakfast between 9:00-11:00 am – some walked around the hotel, some took pictures, some never got up.

We met in the lobby at noon for check out.  Before leaving we took a few commemorative pictures, after which everyone bided farewell and headed back for Bangkok.

Conclusion
By the end of the tour I new I was trying to accomplish too much in too little time.  The riding was fun but we didn’t have enough time to truly enjoy all the places we were visiting.  Secondly, with so many bikes, it was difficult to keep everyone together – especially, with different style of bikes: Sport, Harleys, Beamers, Adventures….

The good thing was, despite not knowing each other; everyone got along and enjoyed themselves.  We didn’t want posers and prima donnas but we wanted riders who truly enjoy riding and we got that.

The concept of the Big Gorilla Tour was hardcore ridding while on the road and sleep & dine at the best - I believe we were able to accomplish that too.

In conclusion, if I were to organize one of these tours again I would learn from my mistake and improve upon it.

Meanwhile, I bunch of guys are already talking about organizing a trip to Luang Prabang, Laos at the end of the year.  Hopefully, I would heal by then – it is too exasperating watching everyone ride while I am succumb to ride in the passenger seat.  Having said that, it was a pleasure to have Buffalo Soldier as my Wingman.

“You can be my Wingman any day  BS.”
What movie does this quote come from?
Hint, Tom Cruise was in it.

“Live to Ride / Ride to Live”

Best and Ride Safe,
Sukie.

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