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Two Wheels and a Pad Thai
  • Mark Sharp
  • Jane Robinson
  • Jane Robinson2
  • Mark Sharp
  • Jane Robinson
  • Jane Robinson2

Two Wheels and a Pad Thai

One week in Koh Kood to enjoy the nice beaches, warm sea and have fun on the little scooters, then up to Chiang Mai for 5 days. Meer informatie
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  • Het begin van de reis
    26 december 2025
  • Two Wheels and a Pad Thai

    Day 3: Canoe trip + fixing Jane’s phone

    29 december 2025, Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Had a nice paddle up into the mangrove forest today and then back down to the beach. Unfortunately our waterproof bag let water in and our phones and money were soaked. Jane’s phone has unfortunately now given up the ghost after that. Luckily she bought a spare Android device before we left the UK in case something like this happened. We are now just trying to get it set up! Job for tomorrow is to try and find out which New Year’s party we are going to.Meer informatie

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  • Two Wheels and a Pad Thai

    Day 4: Exploring Koh Kood

    30 december 2025, Thailand ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

    Fun day exploring Koh Kood on moped. Tried to do a walk around the peninsula but the path had grown over a long time ago so did beach things instead on Ao Phrao and Bang Bao beaches. Finished the day with a slice of Christmas Cake at sunset and a DIY meal in a steaming cauldron.
    PIZZAGATE UPDATE - 90 mins later - Mark's pizza has finally arrived!    Meer informatie

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    Day 5: New Years Eve

    31 december 2025, Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Waterfall walk and a zoom around the island on mopeds. Just off to the Black Bananas Restaurant for dinner before NYE Countdown on the beach.

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  • Two Wheels and a Pad Thai

    Day 6: Snorkelling off Koh Kood

    1 januari, Thailand ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

    A leisurely start following the late finish last night. Great fireworks - and we didn’t have to pay the extortionate amounts that most of the resorts were asking in order to enjoy their fireworks. Spent today on the dive boat. Visited 3 different snorkelling sites and saw a lot of different coral and some exotic fish. We are now on Huggy beach again and waiting for our food to be delivered. A live local band are playing tonight.Meer informatie

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  • Two Wheels and a Pad Thai

    Day 7: Meaow's Taxi Tour

    2 januari, Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Spent our last full day on Koh Kood doing a mystery tour of secret places around the island with Meaow, the local taxi driver (who thought Abi's name was Happy!).
    First stop was the 'big trees' and the Waterfall. Then went to the Organic Farm and Hornbill Release Centre, where we saw a Hornbill, and peppercorn, pineapple, coffee, mango, papaya, coconut plants/trees, etc.
    Finally stops were coffee at the Fishing Village, the swings at Secret Beach (Moana Resort) and coconut ice-cream at Mr and Mrs Coconut's.
    Now at Big Bear's Restaurant for our last meal on Koh Kood.    Meer informatie

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    Day 9 - Riding the twisties to Pai

    4 januari, Thailand ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    Well that was a long first day in Northern Thailand. We collected the bikes around midday. I was expecting slightly ropey 20 year old jobs but we have ended up with a brand new Honda Transalp 750 and an equally new Suzuki Vstrom 650.

    After the initial 20 miles out of the city it has been twisty all the way to Pai which is our overnight stop. A lot of the ride we did on back roads. Several 1:3 hills with very sharp hairpin bends. We have never done anything that technically challenging before.

    It was really busy back on the main route. We are hoping that tomorrow it is a bit quieter given that the long bank holiday in Thailand is over now,

    I think Jane wants to buy her bike because she got on so well with it.    Meer informatie

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  • Two Wheels and a Pad Thai
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    Day 10 - More twisties to Ban Rak Thai

    5 januari, Thailand ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Woke up to a slightly misty and chilly morning, reminding us that we are now up in the mountains. Our ride today was another 80 miles of twisty roads and steep hairpins, with stops at Pai Canyon and the Fish Cave. We are now staying in. Ban Rak Thai, a Chinese village on the border with Myanmar. Did the touristy thing and went for a boat trip on the lake but decided against dressing up in traditional chinese outfits for the occasion (which seems to be the thing to do). Now having a Chinese meal overlooking the lake. Mark's happy as he's got sausages. I've gone for fried tea leaves and pork, and chinese kale. The temperature is now 15 degrees and dropping quickly.

    History of Ban Rak Thai:

    Ban Rak Thai’s story is deeply tied to one of the most turbulent periods in Chinese history. The village was founded by Chinese Nationalist (Kuomintang) soldiers and civilians from Yunnan Province who fled China following the communist takeover in the mid-20th century. Seeking refuge, they crossed borders and eventually settled in the remote mountains of Northern Thailand.

    Thailand allowed these refugees to stay, and over time they built a permanent community while retaining much of their cultural identity. That legacy remains strong today. The architecture, food, language, and customs in Ban Rak Thai are distinctly Yunnanese, preserving a snapshot of “old China” that has largely disappeared elsewhere.    Meer informatie

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    Burmese borderOur very chinese breakfast.

    Day 11 - Back to Pai

    6 januari, Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Started off the day with a bit of a chill today. Ban Rak Thai is located at quite an elevation. It did warm up around 9:00 and we then went for a tea plantation walk followed by some tea tasting.

    After leaving at 12:00 we have retraced our steps over the twisty roads. No sign of the snake that we almost ran over yesterday so it looks like he got away.

    A great trip and now back in Pai.    Meer informatie

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    Day 12 - Back towards Chiang Mai

    7 januari, Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Today was our longest day - 180kms, 4.5 hrs riding (which shows how twisty the roads are), and 5000m of ascent and descent along the route.
    Our plan had been to arrive at our destination early to enjoy the nice hotel we'd booked, but we got distracted by detours along tbe route - both down narrow, tricky roads.
    The first was to the bamboo walkway through the rice fields, which was quite touristy but very nice.
    The second involved a random decision to follow a signpost to a hot springs. This was very much off the beaten track and we were very surprised to find a big large area of hot springs (with minimal health and safety measures) where you could pay 30 baht (75p) to walk across the rocks boil a basket of eggs in 100 degrees water - a very novel experience.
    The rest of the route was much quieter than the previous few days except for a very speedy girl on scooter (wearing flip flops) who was right on our tail for about 40mins. It's amazing what the little scooters can do!
    Saw lots of strawberry plant terraces along the way which was surprising.
    Had to fix Mark's motorcycle boots on tbe way as he was in danger of losing the sole - see pictures.
    Our hotel tonight is a big complex on the side of the mountain. It must be about 200m from top to bottom. We were meeting at the gate by a golf cart that zoomed us up to our room.    Meer informatie

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    Day 13 - View over Chiang Mai

    8 januari, Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    The final day of motorcycle started with clear blue skies and a nice breakfast at our posh resort. A bit of a shame that we were only there for one day as we couldn’t take advantage of the archery, cookery courses and other facilities.

    The ride to Chiang Mai was quiet but things picked up as we headed into the mountains overlooking the town. The roads were packed and became progressively narrower as we approached the summit. We did have to beep on a number of blind hairpins as there was only room for one vehicle. Once near the top we found a nice walk and were able to look a mile down onto Chiang Mai.

    We got the bikes back in one piece and on time to the shop and then headed off to collect our luggage, get a bite to eat and grab a shower. We really did well out of that hotel accommodation!

    Final part of the day was booking into our first class sleeper for the final leg to Bangkok. So far everything is looking good. I hope we are able to sleep well tonight!

    ** 9pm - Early night tonight. The train attendant has been trying to make up our beds since 7:30! It feels a bit rocky up on the top bunk.    Meer informatie

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  • Two Wheels and a Pad Thai

    Day 14 - A hair-raising experience

    9 januari, Thailand ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    We arrived in Bangkok at 06:45 , after our 05:30 wake-up call. Despite it being a very bumpy train ride we both got a reasonable amount of sleep. By 08:30 we were in our hotel having breakfast.
    Activities for the rest of the day included:
    - a walk around old Bangkok visiting the Giant Swing (which was missing an actual swing), browsing the huge display of guns for sale in the 'gun quarter', and chatting with a local in the park;
    - catching up with Abi and Mike on their few days in Cambodia,
    - a visit to Lumphini Park to see the monitor lizards;
    - drinks at the sky park on top of the Dusit Shopping Centre;
    - a river cruise with dinner; and
    - a hair-raising ride in a tuk-tuk back to our hotel with the fastest tuk-tuk driver in Bangkok.
    It's been a fun last full day in Thailand.    Meer informatie

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    1Quick walk around the rain forest walkway at KL airport.

    Day 15 - The final day in Thailand!

    10 januari, Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Got up a little later today and went to see the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Some parts were closed as the kings mother was lying in state. Today was the final ceremony for her before her actual funeral.

    It was a good, but very hot final walk across town. We did have a final chance to stop off for a Pad Thai on the river though and to see the monitor lizards.

    Now just on the way to the airport and the long trek back home. 5:30 arrival planned into Heathrow tomorrow morning.    Meer informatie

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  • Two Wheels and a Pad Thai

    Day 16 - Back home

    11 januari, Engeland ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C

    07:00 - We're back home after our 16 hour flight. The cold temperature is a bit of a shock!
    Thanks for following our blog. It's been a great trip and we've enjoyed reading the various comments. Until next time...

    (If you want to get an idea of the scenery on our motorcycle trip, search on YouTube for Sean and Emily, RTW, S5 Ep 10 and 11).    Meer informatie

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    Het einde van de reis
    11 januari 2026
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