On the final day, I had no real idea how long I was going to be on the bike.

I set off from Surat Thani towards Ranong without thinking too much about distance or time. I couldn’t even tell you now how far it actually was. What I do remember is how good the ride was.

It felt like as rural as Thailand gets. Green everywhere. Trees, hills, rock faces. Roads cutting straight through it all. Like riding through the jungle, but on a proper main highway. It reminded me of a smaller version of Krabi. Honestly, it was probably the nicest stretch of road I’ve ever been on.

I think it was only about an hour or so from Surat Thani.

Somewhere along the way, I got waved down by two army guys. I remember thinking, what the fuck is this about? I pulled in, took my helmet off. One of them looked at me, smiled, and said, “Okay, okay,” then stepped aside and waved me through.

No explanation. No questions.

I wasn’t going to argue.

As I pulled away, I checked my mirrors and saw them pull the next car in behind me. That car was still there long after I’d disappeared around the corner. I’ve no idea what that was about. Maybe the border. Maybe just a checkpoint thing. Who knows.

Ranong itself was quiet.

I went to a temple there — probably my favourite of the whole trip, maybe apart from one in Kanchanaburi, but that’s another story. I was there on my own. One monk floating around somewhere. That was it.

I walked around the place slowly. Took my time. Went up into a viewing tower covered in gold and filigree. There was a breeze up there. Nothing but green in every direction. I could see Burma on one side of the border, and below me a small school with kids playing football.

That moment felt needed.

After all the driving, the noise, the focus — it was calm. Properly calm.

I headed back out and passed through the same checkpoint again. Same two army guys. Same wave-through.

At that point it was only around midday.

I remember thinking, I’ll be back in Hua Hin by four.

I was very wrong.

I had it in my head that I’d take a few more detours. I wanted to swing by Prachuap Khiri Khan, hit the beach there, chill out one last time before finishing the trip. That was the plan.

Instead, I took a few detours I absolutely shouldn’t have.

At one point I ended up somewhere I can’t even really describe. Not quite a village. Not quite a road. Just a dead end with people staring at me like they’d never seen this before — some lad on an adventure bike with a big bag strapped to the back.

They weren’t unfriendly. But they weren’t welcoming either.

I needed fuel. They had a fuel pump. I stopped, looked at it, and thought, nah, fuck this. Got back on the bike and left.

Eventually I found fuel again, maybe two hours out from Hua Hin. By then it was probably around four o’clock. I was tired. I just wanted to get there.

So I did what I’d been doing all week.

Music on full blast.
Two M150s down.
Throttle open.

As I got closer to Hua Hin, traffic picked up again. Trucks everywhere. Those jingling trucks with bells and chains hanging off them, making noise the whole way along. The closer I got, the busier it became.

Hua Hin was massive.

I’d been there before to get the bike, but coming back in from this direction felt different. Busy. Chaotic. I just wanted off the bike.

All in all, I think I’d been riding for about eight and a half hours.

I got to the hotel — Avengers themed, Iron Man everywhere. I’m an Avengers fan, so that gave me a laugh. Dumped my bags, showered, then lay on the bed for twenty minutes just staring at the ceiling.

Back sore. Legs sore. Everything sore.

Just replaying the trip in my head.

A lot more happened than what I’ve written here, but memory only gives you so much. I’d need to go back through the videos to catch it all properly.

After that, I went next door for food. Pizza and chips. Mojitos. Then somehow ended up in a small bar where the guy behind the counter was cooking on what looked like a campfire stove.

It was me, another woman, and one random guy.

We got absolutely hammered.

She had a bit of English. He had almost none. Didn’t matter. We drank, talked shit, laughed. After that, we went somewhere else, played pool, drank more. I think I left around two in the morning.

After riding all day, I couldn’t wait to get back.

I passed out as soon as I hit the bed.

Woke up around ten, maybe half ten. Completely wrecked. But satisfied.

It was a good way to finish the road trip.

The next day I had to head back to Bangkok — my coach was flying in for ONE Championship, and it was also the day before my birthday.

End of the road.