LAST DAY IN PATTAYA

Atan had arranged for us to drop off the Chevvy at yet another bike shop he knew of. It was the premises of Jumin, the guy responsible for the “Big Bike Peace, NO WAR” movement in Thailand. There was no sign outside his tidy workshop, just a big banner proclaiming “BURAPA MC Established 1997”. His place was nicely laid out, and, as usual, they worked on the floor. There were several bikes under construction, and it turned out we’d bumped into Jumin at a filling station on the way up from Phuket earlier in the week. His shop seemed to do everything from Chops, routine servicing and maintenance, to used bike sales. He appeared to have quite a nice little setup.

His living quarters were above the shop, and on the flat roof, he’d built a “Clubroom”. Another one was also under construction. His spares department was also on the roof, and, like all the other shops, his scrapheap outside would have had people killing for a rummage over here in England. People were coming and going all day. This was a busy little place. I bought some bits for my Indian. When I asked him how much, he merely shrugged and told me to give him what I thought they were worth. I had to put my money-head into Thai gear, and walked away with a brand new Harley petrol tap and a fully chromed double rose jointed brake anchor rod, for £4. He seemed well chuffed. I know I was.

The sun was well up and it was boiling hot, so it was nice when the ice-cream salesman turned up on his tricycle ringing his bell. Myles treated the whole shop and all the customers to cornets. He was really pushing the boat out, as it cost him nearly a quid! Even the local bike cop turned up for a natter, because that’s all they seemed to do. Having said that, Jumin is a mean bike budda……oops, builder, as we were to see when he pulled his orange chop out. A beautiful, radical Honda CB750, with a fully race-tuned motor. It had a pretty neat Magneto conversion, and he rides it flat-out everywhere.

As we were taking pictures, Atan kept appearing on other weird creations Jumin had built. A rather nice little chop he’d built for his son, and even a Penny Farthing! There was a home-made Paraglider in the workshop….the type where you strap an engine on your back and hang from a parachute. Jumin would fly it regularly. Damn clever, these Thai’s!

BIG BIKE PEACE
Let me explain about “Big Bike Peace”. Jumin couldn’t explain, due to the language barrier, so Atan did his best with his broken English and sign language. This is how it came across to me, and I think it’s pretty accurate.
Years ago, there was a lot of inter-club rivalry. There are a hell of a lot of bike clubs in Thailand.  People were getting killed. Backpatch rivalry and all that. Bad attitudes. Going to a show was risky business. So, a group of them rallied together and decided there should be no more war. Unbelievably, all the other clubs wanted a peaceful life too, but never made it clear. Jumin and his mates pulled off the impossible, and peace prevailed. There was no more war. Now all the clubs party together, and at the Phuket show, I reckon I counted 20-30 different clubs, all with full backpatches, and all partying together instead of huddling in groups. In the latest “Ride Thailand” magazine, there are no less than 2 full pages illustrating patches, unheard of over here!

The flour covered Chevvy was collected, and we found out we could have hired an elephant from him for the same price! The owner was unconcerned at the mess it was in, but now we had no transport. We’d asked the geezer if he could arrange a lift back to Bangkok for us. Whilst waiting, Jumin took us up to the roof to sit in the clubhouse. Lovely place, and the walls were covered with pictures and greetings from all over the world. Any biker staying in Pattaya can have a bed for the night/week or however long they want to stay, for free.
After a couple of hours, a Volvo turned up, and me, Myles and Atan piled in. Our luggage seemed to have doubled over the last week, and we were virtually sitting on each other’s knees.

With embraces and firm handshakes, we said farewell to Jumin and his lads. What a warm welcome he’d given us, you’d never get that at a shop in England! So, it was farewell to the Burapa MC and farewell to Pattaya. We were off back to Bangkok, and the chap in the Volvo charged us £20 for his 5 hour drive there and 5 hours back on his own…..including petrol. We’ve decided we HAVE to go back there next year. We only saw a small part of the bike scene!

Next part. Back in Bangkok, we find a city centre Hotel for £3 a night, and visit the shop and workshops of Infinity Bikes, get even more hospitality, and eat a REAL spicy Thai dinner that’s so hot I actually have water running out of my eyes!

FOOTNOTE;
At the bottom of this page is an advert for the last Pattaya Bike Show, organised by Jumin. There are four pages showing various Thai Backpatches, and this advert just goes to show the unity and brotherhood they now enjoy.