What’s the best thing about traveling by motorbike?
Dia: It brings you closer to nature. You can feel the wind against your body, smell the dirt and the moisture from the ground. It’s refreshing in a way you don’t get when driving a car.
Nat: I was unwittingly shanghaied into joining Dia on a short trip to Suphanburi. It was hot and tiring. I didn’t want my face to be burnt by the sun, so we had to stop at every gas station so I could powder it. We didn’t take many trips after that, but eventually I decided to give it another try. I fell in love with it. Now I’m the one nagging him to go on another trip.
Why become a travel blogger?
Nat: I just love to read the feedback. I remember this young guy who said he wanted to go on a trip like us, but he wished he had a bigger bike. So we documented a trip riding a small bike to demonstrate that size doesn’t always matter. A bigger bike can offer you more speed, but sometimes you appreciate things more when you can only go slow.
How does documenting your trip affect the way you travel?
Dia: It makes us appreciate the journey more than before. We look for a specific angle to document our trips, which means we’ve developed more of an interest in the nature surrounding us. We start out with no script in mind and get inspiration from being on the road.
What’s with the helmets?
Nat: We are two normal people working the same office hours as anyone else. But the real reason we’re always wearing helmets in our videos is we want our audience to focus on the storyline not our looks.
What’s been your most memorable trip?
Dia: Papongpieng, Chiang Mai—the most stunning rice paddies in Thailand. It was rainy season and we were struggling to get there at night. The road wasn’t sealed, we crashed, and rolled into a ditch. We had to leave the bike at the national park office and hitch a ride.
Nat: Lovely people. We stayed at this guy’s house; he took care of us as though we were part of his family. It was dark and we didn’t have electricity, but he came to our hut, offered us food, Karen soup, made a bonfire and entertained us with music.
What’s your view of traveling within Thailand?
Dia: Tourism has changed the face of the country, both its environment and people’s way of life. People who were making B6,000 a year working in the field can now open their house up as a homestay and safely secure another B6,000 a month. The quality of life is improving, but the original charm is slowly fading.
