Feb 23-24 2023 |
Though 36 hours into a maximum food poisoning incident, I pushed myself to hit the road, enter Malaysia and finish the final chunks of my trip. The ride from Pattani to the border was fairly meh, the highlight (lowlight actually) being massive wind gusts, almost to the point of making the ride questionable. Using Google Maps, I was directed to the nearest border crossing, a ferry across a river at Tak Bai. But when I got there it was closed, so I needed to ride for about 1 hr to the Sungai Kolok crossing. I needed to pay a 10,000 baht overstay fee for my bike as I kept it in Thailand for more than the allotted 30 days, which incurs a 1,000 baht per day fine, up to a maximum of 10,000 (long story why I ended up doing this). Once I got that trauma out of the way, it was easy to re-enter Malaysia. Then another 60-minute ride to Kota Bahru, aka Kelantan.
I had been to Kota Bahru in the past, and I wasn't exactly enamored then - nor on this trip. It kind of had a ghost town ambiance to it, looking a bit worse for wear. There is a nice wooden palace, and many dilapidated old wooden houses and shops. A highlight was a good Arabic dinner, something that is prevalent in Malaysia - always good - as well as possibly my favorite breakfast, Roti Chanai. The hotel I stayed at was the worst so far on my 4-month trip, grungy, and really noisy, with no muffler motorbikes roaring by all night.
Another low light (more whingeing...) was the fact my bike was leaking coolant. Obviously not a good thing, and the last type of issue I wanted to have (for the second time), especially as I was getting so close to home. I couldn't find a shop to look at my bike so had little choice other than to keep riding, monitoring my temperature and coolant levels.
Ride: 167km | 5 hrs
Stay: ?
Comentários