An 09:20am leisurely start to the day with mileage at 4,553km, temperature of 29°C and relative humidity of 68%. Departed via the familiar Talat river ferry crossing and was on the road by about 10:00am. I reached Pattaya at 12:10pm after stopping twice, once for petrol and a second time for coffee and hot dog at a PTT Jiffy convenience store. The ride was pleasant and uneventful. Traffic was quite heavy on route 3 with many trucks (it seems Thailand's economy is booming if measured by the number of trucks on the road), route 7 was also quite busy but the last 20 or so kilometers from the Rayong junction to Pattaya were lovely with little traffic.
I went straight to the Kawasaki big bike dealer in Pattaya who have a good selection of both new motorcycles and accessories for sale. Whilst there, I was delighted to see someone taking delivery of new yellow Versys – looked very nice.
I took the opportunity to have the oil and oil filter changed (Agip semi synthetic oil). This is now the third oil and filter change – the mileage was 4,703km. I also bought a Scoyco tank bag that attaches to the petrol tank with magnets and a strap around the tank front, and a MotoGP “Bum Bag”.
I arrived and checked in to the hotel at about 2:30pm and rested until about 6:00pm when I left to walk to a pub for dinner (I had seen an advertisement for an English pub in Soi 7 that seemed to have good food). 200 meters from the hotel I felt ill and returned to rest.
Never got to finish my breakfast
The next morning, while at breakfast, I had a mild heart attack and spent the next 48 hours in Pattaya Bangkok Hospital. I was given an angiogram and one artery was found to be blocked in three places (95%, 80% and 70%). I had a stent (balloon) inserted. Hopefully, I am now on the way to a full recovery but, sadly, I have been advised not to ride my motorcycle for a while. Accordingly I arranged for a neighbor (nicknamed the “Transporter”) to bring my motorcycle back to Bangkok. It arrived safe and sound at 7:00pm Wednesday, 21 September 2011 with a mileage of 4,869km. The Transporter assured me he did not ride over 100km/h. My motorcycle and I will have a rest for a while.
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