We spent a few days in Bangkok getting measured up for suits for Matt’s wedding and organizing motorcycles, which turned out to be no easy feat. There were several places to check out around the city, but most required pre-booking just to visit. It turns out that, over here, shops aren’t always open when Google says they are.

After a few false starts, we managed to rent some fantastic bikes from RTT Thailand — Honda NX500s. They felt incredibly comfortable right from the start and filled us with confidence that we’d be fine sitting on them for hours, weaving through winding roads, and feeling stable along the way.

We took off on our journey on the 17th of September. Our first destination was a motorcycle chop shop I’ve followed for years — Zeus Custom Motorcycles. It was incredible to see how far Mooyong, the owner, had come since I last saw his shop. We chatted about all things motorcycles, road trips, and custom gear, all while sweating through jeans and jackets in the Bangkok heat.

Outside Zeus Customs, we spotted a crocodile wandering across the road — no joke. The shop was located in a swampy, grassy area that was clearly prime real estate for crocodiles.

After our pit stop at Zeus Customs, we headed southeast toward Pattaya. Despite all my time in Thailand, I’d never been there before — or anywhere east of Bangkok, for that matter. It was fascinating to see more of the country as we rode in.

We stayed at the Mandarin Eastville Hotel, a rather nice spot where we based ourselves for a couple of nights to explore the city. Our first night out in Pattaya was eye-opening, to say the least. We cruised the streets on our bikes, taking in the neon spectacle of what can only be described as an intense adult playground — catering to people with certain… needs and desires.

Matt and I were more interested in finding a solid meal and having an early night. We were always keen to seek out good places to eat. Both local food or forigen food, this particular evening we settled on Italian. Trattoria Pizzeria. 4.3 star rating on google, must be good? We were greeted by the most enthusiastic Italian man I have ever met. He was a salesman through and through. He made us feel like we were about to have the best meal of our lives! He perhaps.. should have been less over the top, the food filled a void and with that we were off home.

The next day we hit the beach for some much-needed sun — though we weren’t quite prepared for how strong it was. With our pale white Kiwi skin fresh out of winter, we got absolutely cooked in no time.

That morning, I’d trained in a small gym with no air conditioning. It was about 32 degrees inside, and I think I may have blown a gasket during my workout because, for the next week or so, I developed a nasty rash that spread across my body. Not ideal.

To add to our collective ailments, Matt came down with the flu — probably from finally slowing down after an intense stretch of work before the trip.

When we’d recovered enough, we hit the road again, heading for Rayong, a coastal town further south. The weather was overcast and a bit windy, but that didn’t stop us from lounging on the beach for a while. Rayong felt like a transition town — the kind of place you stop to rest your head between adventures. That night we found a night market with great food and easy vibes before heading out the next morning.

Our next stop was Ko Chang Island. We loaded the bikes onto the car ferry and found a great little spot right on the beach. Being off-season, the island was quiet, which suited us perfectly. We could explore freely and easily find good restaurants — one of our favourites was El Greco, a Greek place serving surprisingly good food.

Riding on Ko Chang was a real trip, especially at night. There were no street lights for long stretches, and the roads were steep, twisty, and unpredictable — the kind where you have to stay sharp.

The pace of the island was exactly what we needed. After the chaos of Bangkok and the sensory overload of Pattaya, Ko Chang felt like a place to finally exhale. I think we were still decompressing from the months leading up to the trip, and island life suited us just fine.

After a couple of very cruisy days on Ko Chang we made a beeline up country to a small country town just south of Khao Yai National park. It was a decent stretch on the bikes that day. My poor skin got a hell-ov-a lot worse with a rash spreading up my legs, hands and arms. Matt was still feeling crook, we were such a lovely site. So when we happened to stumble accross a KFC in a lovely big mall whilst buying some medicine for our various ailments, we thought it would be rude not to.

Khao Yai National Park and more in the next post!