FROM TOP: A n alc ove of vill as with a
semi-private swimming pool at The
Elements in Krabi; when classic
sets of wheels meet up; riding
through Koh Yao Noi’s karst-filled
landscape on vintage motorbikes;
an estuary through a mangrove
forest near K hao L ak.thrill of taking corners on the winding roads keep
things from getting dull.
At one point, feeling peckish, we pull over
to the side of the road to a busy eatery where
talkative ladies in hijab knead and shape roti
dough into murtabak, the classic Muslim snack of
pan-fried folded flatbread stuffed with chicken,
mutton or egg. While we feast on deliciously oily
sections, Roberto and Eric tell me a little more
about how Royal Bike Tours started.
“I’m a long-term motorbike nut,” Roberto
admits. “A nd when I first came to ride here in
Thailand, I was immediately hooked.”
“We thought about the type of riding we
like to do—not off-road, but definitely off-the-
beaten-track—and found that there wasn’t that
much on offer,” chimes in Eric. “We thought that
if we did our research properly and added the
enticement of brand-new, well maintained and
regularly serviced Royal Enfields that we’d be
onto something.”
DAYS 3+4: KRABI TO KOH YAO NOI TO PHUKET
Our final full day on the bikes starts at a leisurely
crawl up the coastline, a consequence of a festive
evening out in Ao Nang Beach near Krabi, which
descended into a messy karaoke session. The
scenery eases any pain we might be feeling this,
the morning after the night before. As the road
swings away from the water for the first part of
the ride to Ao Thalane pier, we’re brought down
to size by giant limestone outcrops that this
landscape is Instagrammed for. Then we zip
through the cooler air of rubber plantations and
sleepy Muslim villages around the next bend. As
we near the pier, we catch tantalizing glimpses of
the sea before slowing even further to admire the
shimmering waters that come into view.
In fact, the slow pace causes us to narrowly
miss the car ferry from the mainland to Koh Yao