Once again we get seats in the grandstand. The layout of the stadium in Buriram is nice because you can see the entire track from here
All the vendors are setting up on Friday for the influx of spectators on Saturday and Sunday
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Quit our jobs, sold our home and everything in it, gone riding...
- Thread starter Lightcycle
- Start date
Once again we get seats in the grandstand. The layout of the stadium in Buriram is nice because you can see the entire track from here
All the vendors are setting up on Friday for the influx of spectators on Saturday and Sunday
We take shelter from the blistering heat of the midday sun under the thankful shade of the Chang Circuit Grandstand. From our seats we watch the racers take to the track, with each lap they are fine tuning their machines for this particular track in these specific weather conditions. So as promised, let's take a look at who's in the Sales Office in this year:
Nick Hayden is my favorite racing personality
In a sport littered with Europeans, especially Italians and Spaniards, it's unusual to see an American succeed at the highest levels. If I were to describe Nicky Hayden, the "Kentucky Kid", in one word, it would be "polite". When he gives interviews and talks about racing, the sport, his team and the fans, you can't help but think, "Wow, his parents really raised him right".
I've been a huge fan of his since watching him win the MotoGP World Championship back in 2006. In the modern MotoGP era, spanning the last 15 years, he is only one of four racers to take away a world championship from The GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), Valentino Rossi.
But that was his most successful year, and he hasn't won a race since 2006. This is his first year in WSBK, having lost his ride in MotoGP.
In the sales office, Nicky is like the salesperson who, despite being Mr Niceguy, had a blow-out year a few years ago, the best that anyone has ever seen. It surprised everyone because he just doesn't seem to have that killer instinct that a lot of the top salesguys exude. And since he's so nice, he never brings it up or brags about it.
Unfortunately, in sales, you're only as good as your last results and he's never achieved that kind of success ever since. Now a veteran of many years and with lots of experience, he's been demoted from the International HQ to the National branch and everyone in the office whispers, "Was it just a fluke?", "I could beat him this year"...
But his legend precedes him. Despite this being his first year in WSBK, he is one of the most popular riders in the paddock. Few MotoGP champions walk among us and fluke or not, Nicky Hayden is one of them.
Can he reclaim former glories and win again in WSBK? Will he be both a MotoGP *and* World Superbike Champion? I can't wait to find out!!!
Michael van der Mark, 2014 World Supersport (600cc) champion
On the opposite end of the spectrum, but on the same team is Michael van der Mark. Last year, Neda and I cheered on this rookie sensation and watched him take his first podium in his home race in Assen, Netherlands.
In the sales office, he's like the brilliant up-and-comer. He totally killed it in the Regional Office and now he's got a chance to prove his stuff at the National Office. Everyone has high expectations for him and he's doing solid numbers, but unfortunately he's assigned to the same desk as Nicky Hayden. Hard to get noticed when you're sitting next to an international superstar...
Nick Hayden is my favorite racing personality
In a sport littered with Europeans, especially Italians and Spaniards, it's unusual to see an American succeed at the highest levels. If I were to describe Nicky Hayden, the "Kentucky Kid", in one word, it would be "polite". When he gives interviews and talks about racing, the sport, his team and the fans, you can't help but think, "Wow, his parents really raised him right".
I've been a huge fan of his since watching him win the MotoGP World Championship back in 2006. In the modern MotoGP era, spanning the last 15 years, he is only one of four racers to take away a world championship from The GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), Valentino Rossi.
But that was his most successful year, and he hasn't won a race since 2006. This is his first year in WSBK, having lost his ride in MotoGP.
In the sales office, Nicky is like the salesperson who, despite being Mr Niceguy, had a blow-out year a few years ago, the best that anyone has ever seen. It surprised everyone because he just doesn't seem to have that killer instinct that a lot of the top salesguys exude. And since he's so nice, he never brings it up or brags about it.
Unfortunately, in sales, you're only as good as your last results and he's never achieved that kind of success ever since. Now a veteran of many years and with lots of experience, he's been demoted from the International HQ to the National branch and everyone in the office whispers, "Was it just a fluke?", "I could beat him this year"...
But his legend precedes him. Despite this being his first year in WSBK, he is one of the most popular riders in the paddock. Few MotoGP champions walk among us and fluke or not, Nicky Hayden is one of them.
Can he reclaim former glories and win again in WSBK? Will he be both a MotoGP *and* World Superbike Champion? I can't wait to find out!!!
Michael van der Mark, 2014 World Supersport (600cc) champion
On the opposite end of the spectrum, but on the same team is Michael van der Mark. Last year, Neda and I cheered on this rookie sensation and watched him take his first podium in his home race in Assen, Netherlands.
In the sales office, he's like the brilliant up-and-comer. He totally killed it in the Regional Office and now he's got a chance to prove his stuff at the National Office. Everyone has high expectations for him and he's doing solid numbers, but unfortunately he's assigned to the same desk as Nicky Hayden. Hard to get noticed when you're sitting next to an international superstar...
Jonathan Rae is the reigning WSBK Champion
Jonathan Rae is the guy in the sales office that came out of nowhere. For years he did good numbers, but his name was never at the top of the list. Then he got moved to a booming territory and given good leads and now he's the number one salesguy by a long shot. Nobody even came close last year. At first, everyone in the office scratched their head and asked themselves, "How did that happen?" But now they know: he was always an excellent salesguy, he was just given a really crappy patch and had poor support.
Speaking with a bit of an Irish lilt, he comes across in interviews as a really nice and humble guy. The kind of guy who you feel good about him winning. My second-favorite rider in the paddock.
This year, JRay is facing a bit of a challenge. There's an upturn in the economy and the rest of the guys in the office now also have good territories and are getting excellent support. Everyone is a lot more competitive and they're all gunning for him. Can he defend his spot as #1 salesguy in the office?
No one is gunning for JRay harder than his team-mate, Tom Sykes
In the office, Tom Sykes is exactly what you think of when you envision a typical sales guy. An Ends-Justify-The-Means guy, an intense focus with a Machiavellian streak in his approach, he doesn't seem fazed that his team mate is more popular than he is, he's just ****** off that he's being beaten by him.
Tom was the #1 sales guy in the office back a couple of years ago when Jonathan had the crappy territory and was doing poor numbers. But now that they're on the same team, with the same patch and the same support, it's obvious to everyone who the better salesguy is. Tom is no slouch though. He is still one of the best in closing quick deals (dropping back into racing terms - his single-lap qualifying times are blisteringly fast, the best on the grid), but his focus is too much on the short-term gain. He lacks the planning for the long game and that's where he's losing out to his team mate.
There is no love lost between the two of them, and the rivalry between the two make for high drama!
This year, Tom seems to have matured, having adapted his approach and focusing more on the larger picture in dealing with his fellow salesguys and his team mate, in particular. Will it work out for him?
Unlike Formula 1, there is no ship-to-shore communications between the teams and the riders. Pit boards are updated every lap to convey information. Unfortunately, Tom Sykes' pit board broadcasts a common theme: P2 = Second Position
The next day, we show up at Chang International Circuit and the place is hopping! Whereas we were one of the few bikes that showed up in the parking lot, now we have to thread our way past motorcycles, big and small, to find a spot to park. Wow! Motorcycle racing is popular in Thailand!
Bikes parked against the fence in front of the Yamaha pavilion
To beat the heat, Neda buys a beer from the company sponsoring the circuit. Because she's so thirsty, she chugs the whole thing! Neda is not really a big drinker, so I'm very impressed...
The air-conditioned trailers where the racers hang out between track outings. The only reason why nobody is stealing their leathers is because it's so freakin' hot out right now!!!
Neda looks over the Honda pavilion. Now that we're Big Red riders, we could have totally parked here if we had known!
We are meeting up with a couple more motorcycle travelers today, Sheldon and Eva from Australia and Poland, as well as Wayne and Ohmmy from England and Thailand are here. We grab our seats beside them and start talking bikes.
Here's a picture of us! We're in the bottom right hand corner!
Hey there's a Malaysian rider in the Supersport race. This is Zulfahmi Khairuddin. He's wearing the national flag on his helmet. Malaysia Boleh!!!
While the crowd waits in between the lower-tier support races, a stunt rider comes out on track to entertain us
He wrings his bike so hard, in the end it's leaking fluid from the bottom.
This picture is pretty representative of my experience on this trip: My R1200GS leaking drive shaft oil everywhere with me in the air, falling off the bike...
Sheldon scored us some pit passes!
It's been so long since we've done a pit walk. We used to get pit passes for MotoGP all the time. That was when the funds were a lot freer...
I've always been a bigger fan of the Ducati Superbikes over their MotoGP counterparts. These Panigales look and sound sweet!
And then this happened...!
Nicky Hayden was in the pits signing autographs! I knew we weren't going to be carrying any signed posters with us all over the world, so I just asked for a quick picture. COOL!
Unfortunately a few minutes before, Michael van der Mark was also at the same table. But as soon as Nicky came out, everyone started pushing and jostling to get a picture with him, and poor Michael was forced out of the table by Hayden fans.
I felt so bad for him, he's doing so well this year. He's even qualified on pole position this weekend, but he's been so overlooked now that he's sharing a garage with the MotoGP champion. I wanted to get a picture with him as well, but he bailed as soon as the Nicky Hayden fans rushed the table.
We take our seats and wait for the big race to start
The reigning world champion, Jonathan Rea, preparing for Race 1 in Thailand
Nicky Hayden on the third row on the grid. He's going to need some time to get used to racing Superbikes coming from the power and grip of MotoGP bike
The red lights go out, and twenty-five superbikes jump off the line and hurtle towards the first turn! It sounds like a billion bees buzzing in the air.
After a couple of eventful laps, it's a familiar sight. Tom Sykes takes the early lead with JRay close behind him stalking him
This is how it's played out the whole of last year. Sykes in front early, JRay biding his time until few laps before the end where he pounces on and takes over to win the race. Will this time be different?
Oh yeah, this reminds me of our trip too. Me on the ground and Neda rushing over to help me get my bike back up again...
Speaking of which, I look over towards Neda but she's nowhere to be found. A few laps later, she returns to her seat, a bit paler in the face. It turns out that she drunk that Chang beer a bit too fast earlier and felt nauseous because of it. She almost threw up the washroom... But enough about Neda... Back to the race!
Lap by lap, Jonathan Rea paces Tom Sykes. You can tell how comfortable a racer is by how tight his lines are and how much his bike is moving underneath him. I think Tom Sykes has once again mismanaged his pace and his tires are going away from him. Rea is looking way more comfortable than his team mate and it's only a matter of time before...
History repeats itself. The world champion passes his team mate...
... and goes on to win the race! But by only half a second though...
And good for Michael van der Mark, he came third!
Our fourth salesguy in the office, Nicky Hayden, finished in 8th. But this is not bad considering it's his second weekend on this new and unfamiliar bike. I think he's going to go on to do good things later on this season.
So awesome getting to see some live motorcycle racing again!
And in the evening, our AirBnB hosts invite the whole motorcycle gang out for a dinner at the local Korean BBQ restaurant
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/291.html
We had a great weekend in Buriram watching the races and being shown around the city by our AirBnB hosts, Jinny and Pea Jim. But now it's time to hit the road again. Our route today takes us further south into Thailand.
On the road by 7AM to beat the heat
Jinny and Pea Jim told us about some fantastic ruins just south of Buriram, so we head down there.
Some monks also had the same idea
To get to the Prasat Hin Phanom Rung temple, you have to walk down a 160m processional walkway.
Quite the buildup watching the temple get bigger and bigger as you get closer.
Phanom Rung is a Khmer temple built in the 10th century. With its Hindu shrines dedicated to Shiva, it looked very different from the Buddhist temples that we saw in the north. It reminded me that the geo-political borders on the world map are both arbitrary and temporary and these Cambodian temples in Thailand are a great example of that. There are only five Khmer temples in Thailand and we've seen two of them already!
We had a great weekend in Buriram watching the races and being shown around the city by our AirBnB hosts, Jinny and Pea Jim. But now it's time to hit the road again. Our route today takes us further south into Thailand.
On the road by 7AM to beat the heat
Jinny and Pea Jim told us about some fantastic ruins just south of Buriram, so we head down there.
Some monks also had the same idea
To get to the Prasat Hin Phanom Rung temple, you have to walk down a 160m processional walkway.
Quite the buildup watching the temple get bigger and bigger as you get closer.
Phanom Rung is a Khmer temple built in the 10th century. With its Hindu shrines dedicated to Shiva, it looked very different from the Buddhist temples that we saw in the north. It reminded me that the geo-political borders on the world map are both arbitrary and temporary and these Cambodian temples in Thailand are a great example of that. There are only five Khmer temples in Thailand and we've seen two of them already!
Phanom Rung sits on the summit of an extinct volcano
Maybe I'm getting tired of all the lotus blossom temples in Thailand, but Phanom Rung was a great change and a seriously impressive complex. I'm looking forward to seeing the larger Khmer temples in Cambodia, like Angkor Watt. However, by the time we arrived, the temperatures had already started to rise and the grounds were so extensive we had to find shade several times to escape the heat. And yet, we saw monks walking around with woolen caps!
Beautiful dragon motifs
Even the temple dogs were hogging all the shade at Phanom Rung to escape the heat
A bunch of school kids on a field trip. Some of them were wearing jackets. *SMH*
Water lilies on the temple grounds
Tons of bats inside the temple! Stuck to the wall ready to fly out at you and get stuck in your hair!
Monks checking out the view. Pretty Phehom-enal, isn't it?
After a couple of hours at Phenom Rung, we walked back to our motorcycles. We should have parked under some shade because the seats were blisteringly hot from the overhead sun. On our BMWs, there's a game we like to play called, "Hey, who turned on my heated grips?" when the bikes are parked. Actually, it's only me who likes to play that game. When I touched the grips on the CRFs, I thought Neda was getting me back. Then I remembered. We don't have heated grips on the CRFs.
So hot out here....!
There's not a lot of good motorcycling in the province of Issan. It's flat and the roads go through either urban sprawl or uninteresting farmland. However as we near the Cambodian border, we hit the Ta Phraya National Park.
It's like an oasis of greenery and we soak it up
But it's short-lived and we find ourselves back on the boring highway again, headed westwards
We are stopping for gas so often. I hate the teeny tiny tanks on these CRFs!
There are some curious habits that the Thai drivers have when they're parked at gas stations. We see them lift up their hoods when they're stopped, presumably to cool the engines faster? Does that really work? Also, when they're parked for a long time, they lift their windshield wipers off the glass. I've read that it stops the rubber from sticking to the glass or warping because it's so hot. Kind of like what Canadians do in the wintertime for the exact opposite reason! 555!
It's like an oasis of greenery and we soak it up
But it's short-lived and we find ourselves back on the boring highway again, headed westwards
We are stopping for gas so often. I hate the teeny tiny tanks on these CRFs!
There are some curious habits that the Thai drivers have when they're parked at gas stations. We see them lift up their hoods when they're stopped, presumably to cool the engines faster? Does that really work? Also, when they're parked for a long time, they lift their windshield wipers off the glass. I've read that it stops the rubber from sticking to the glass or warping because it's so hot. Kind of like what Canadians do in the wintertime for the exact opposite reason! 555!
At another gas stop we stop and chat to these two farang bikers!
We saw these guys as we were heading into Bangkok, we were all riding in formation at one point and then we all turned into the same gas station to fill up. Neda and I sat down to have a drink under the shade to cool down and I saw the tall guy looking over at us, so I walked over to say hi.
It turns out they recognized us from the WSBK races on the weekend! They were Turkish and their English wasn't very good, but we were still able to communicate a little bit. The taller guy has been touring around Thailand for a few weeks on his CBR250, and the shorter guy was his friend visiting from Turkey. They were so open and super friendly. When I told them about our trip, the taller guy beamed and told me that was his dream, just to live on his bike all the time. Then he hugged me in joy. That was funny. Two grown, sweaty men celebrating motorcycle freedom in a gas station in rural Thailand!
The tall guy was very proud of his friend who was visiting him. He bragged that the shorter guy was very rich and owned several race bikes that he took out on the track. Then we started talking about racing and I asked them if they were cheering for Kenan Sofuoglu, the Turkish rider in the lower World Supersport class.
Their eyes bugged: "You know about Kenan Sofuoglu? He is #1! Kenan Sofuoglu!"
I replied, "Yes, Kenan Superglue!" His last name rhymes with Superglue so people call him that. They looked at me with confusion and corrected me: "Kenan Sofuoglu". I guess people in Turkey don't call him "Superglue"...
The shorter guy took out his smartphone and showed me a picture of him and Kenan taken at some black-tie event. "Kenan is very nice. Very nice man".
I smiled and said, "Maybe he is a nice guy off the track, but on the track he's not very nice..." Superglue has a bad reputation for unsportsman-like behaviour when racing.
When I said that, both Turkish men grew silent and glared at me. Uh oh... Then a couple of seconds later they both broke out in huge laughs and clapped me on the back. "Yes, Kenan not so nice on the track!!! That's why he's #1! HAHAHA!!!"
*Phew*
These guys were so nice and friendly. If they're representative of all Turkish people, I can't wait to visit Turkey! They were headed for the beaches in Pattaya, so after another round of sweaty man-hugs (haha, so awesome!), we wished each other well and continued on our separate ways.
Looking back, the Phenom Rung temples were nice and all, but what stuck out in my mind for the day was chatting to these two enthusiastic Turkish bikers.
Battling the terrible congestion in Bangkok. But not for our bikes!
It's so nice to have tiny motorcycles. We weaved in and out of stopped traffic as if it was a metal labyrinthe of cars and trucks. I may have smacked a couple of SUV mirrors while doing so... Oh well.
We parked our bikes and grabbed our stuff off of them and hailed a taxi to Bangkok International Airport. Our trip is going to take yet another tangent...
Riceburner
Well-known member
Good prediction.
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/292.html
It was bound to happen. After 18 years together, 12 years married and almost 4 years on the road joined at the hip for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week...
Neda and I hardly talk to each other any more.
At least not in any language that resembles English! There's lots of of communication. How can you not, when there are border crossings, accommodations, groceries, laundromats to seek out in new and foreign places. How can you not convey to each other the wonder, the beauty... and yes, even the frustrations of roaming the earth, free-form style on motorcycles?
But in all that time, we've developed a kind of marital shorthand between us, which involves dropping pronouns (and a lot of nouns and verbs as well), using made up words, which in our case is a mix of Croatian, Spanish and half-made up words. Sometimes I grunt and wave my hands. No, not sometimes. I actually do that a lot. It's like we're little kids that have our own secret language that nobody else eavesdropping would understand.
We even complete each other's sentences, or just leave out the second half, trailing off after the first few words - relying mainly on telepathy. Which works most of the time. And when it doesn't... Well, that's how the fight started, your honour...
Sure, we can fake speaking English when we're out for the evening with other people. But at the end of the night, our minds and tongues relax and we revert back into the gibberish-spouting infants that we really are.
It's gotten even worse in Thailand. For the last four months we don't even put our English-speaking skills to use in public anymore. Instead we speak the simplified, pigeon English so the locals can understand us, and we pepper it with the only two Thai phrases we know:
"Sawatdee khrap. Pad Thai. One. Kob khun khrap."
So it's with a mixture of anticipation and dread that we're going to spend a couple of weeks with our friends from Canada who are flying in to Thailand to visit us!
Can we pretend to be literate human beings for that long? On top of this, Neda also reminds me that we have to watch our behaviour, and not do the things that we normally do when we're only in each other's company. For me, that's making sure I wear pants inside the house.
OMG, so much pressure not to screw up!
We're going to visit the Islands!
Ordinarily, we would have ridden anywhere in Thailand to meet up with Anton and Mel. But because we had to be in Buriram for the motorcycle race last weekend, it didn't give us enough time to ride all the way down to the islands, where we were planning to meet up.
We greeted our friends at Bangkok International. It was so good to see familiar faces again! But I warned them almost immediately, "English not good. No speak good. No practice. So sorry, okay?"
Anton smirked and replied, "Dude, I'm Tamil. I speak Immigrant real good".
I grunted in relief and waved my hands a little bit. And then I looked down. I'm wearing pants. The trip is going very well so far.
Getting all Namaste in the lobby of our very swanky resort/hotel
It's a short one hour flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui, but when we stepped out of the airplane, we were greeted with a warm, pleasant island breeze. It's the same temperature as Bangkok, but because of the constant airflow, there's very little humidity and it's so comfortable. The air is a lot less hazy than Northern Thailand as well. So nice to have escaped the clutches of the Burning Season.
It was bound to happen. After 18 years together, 12 years married and almost 4 years on the road joined at the hip for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week...
Neda and I hardly talk to each other any more.
At least not in any language that resembles English! There's lots of of communication. How can you not, when there are border crossings, accommodations, groceries, laundromats to seek out in new and foreign places. How can you not convey to each other the wonder, the beauty... and yes, even the frustrations of roaming the earth, free-form style on motorcycles?
But in all that time, we've developed a kind of marital shorthand between us, which involves dropping pronouns (and a lot of nouns and verbs as well), using made up words, which in our case is a mix of Croatian, Spanish and half-made up words. Sometimes I grunt and wave my hands. No, not sometimes. I actually do that a lot. It's like we're little kids that have our own secret language that nobody else eavesdropping would understand.
We even complete each other's sentences, or just leave out the second half, trailing off after the first few words - relying mainly on telepathy. Which works most of the time. And when it doesn't... Well, that's how the fight started, your honour...
Sure, we can fake speaking English when we're out for the evening with other people. But at the end of the night, our minds and tongues relax and we revert back into the gibberish-spouting infants that we really are.
It's gotten even worse in Thailand. For the last four months we don't even put our English-speaking skills to use in public anymore. Instead we speak the simplified, pigeon English so the locals can understand us, and we pepper it with the only two Thai phrases we know:
"Sawatdee khrap. Pad Thai. One. Kob khun khrap."
So it's with a mixture of anticipation and dread that we're going to spend a couple of weeks with our friends from Canada who are flying in to Thailand to visit us!
Can we pretend to be literate human beings for that long? On top of this, Neda also reminds me that we have to watch our behaviour, and not do the things that we normally do when we're only in each other's company. For me, that's making sure I wear pants inside the house.
OMG, so much pressure not to screw up!
We're going to visit the Islands!
Ordinarily, we would have ridden anywhere in Thailand to meet up with Anton and Mel. But because we had to be in Buriram for the motorcycle race last weekend, it didn't give us enough time to ride all the way down to the islands, where we were planning to meet up.
We greeted our friends at Bangkok International. It was so good to see familiar faces again! But I warned them almost immediately, "English not good. No speak good. No practice. So sorry, okay?"
Anton smirked and replied, "Dude, I'm Tamil. I speak Immigrant real good".
I grunted in relief and waved my hands a little bit. And then I looked down. I'm wearing pants. The trip is going very well so far.
Getting all Namaste in the lobby of our very swanky resort/hotel
It's a short one hour flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui, but when we stepped out of the airplane, we were greeted with a warm, pleasant island breeze. It's the same temperature as Bangkok, but because of the constant airflow, there's very little humidity and it's so comfortable. The air is a lot less hazy than Northern Thailand as well. So nice to have escaped the clutches of the Burning Season.
Anton and Mel are treating us to a few days stay at the Renaissance Hotel and when we pulled up in the taxi, Neda and I were wowed by the opulence and luxury. After living in tents, hostels, friends couches and AirBnBs for the last four years, our eyes bugged at how nice everything was!
This was our room! I cried when I saw that the nightlights that lit up the path to the bathroom were little tea candles...
Hmmm, shall we hang out at this pool just outside our rooms....?
Or head down to the beach and drink some beers while sitting in the warm waters of the Gulf of Thailand?
Even with my lack of verbal skills, I was able to make a new friend down at the second pool
This was our room! I cried when I saw that the nightlights that lit up the path to the bathroom were little tea candles...
Hmmm, shall we hang out at this pool just outside our rooms....?
Or head down to the beach and drink some beers while sitting in the warm waters of the Gulf of Thailand?
Even with my lack of verbal skills, I was able to make a new friend down at the second pool
The beach by our hotel
Sun, sand and suds. This is the life!
This is what Thailand is famous for and after four months, we've finally experienced it. What a difference from the mountains in the north. We love it here!
Screw Chiang Mai. We're going to live here instead!
We just have to figure out how we're going to be able to afford this very lavish lifestyle...
Vendors sell gasoline by the bottle. Are there no gas stations here?
For the evening, we decide to head down to Lamai Beach to check out the action. It's about a couple of kms away from the resort and we took our time and walked all the way there, chatting about all the peculiarities of Thai culture that Anton and Mel had discovered in their short time here. Although we're definitely not old hands here yet, it was still interesting seeing Thailand from a brand new set of eyes!
Also, it was nice speaking English again. And joking around in English. I really miss that. A lot.
The main strip of Lamai Beach. So touristy!
The strip is littered with restaurants, pubs and of course, go-go bars. This one was called The Sexy Sex. I wonder what goes on in there...?
After seeing so much of Thailand, it's unfortunate that this is what farangs know about the country.
We head down to the beach for a seafood dinner. Anton is picking out the crabs and fish we'll be eating. I sense that Neda is hungry...
We gorge on so much crab and red snapper! SOOO GOOOD!
Good food with great company! It's so nice when friends visit us while we're on the road. This is Mel's second time coming to see us. She rode out to Nova Scotia way back at the beginning of our trip to ride the east coast of Canada with us!
Another beautiful day hanging out at our hotel
They had a mixer at the hotel bar. With free massages and cocktails!
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