This was my first overnight motorcycle trip. Although the distance itself can be covered in 1 day, the ferry to the island can add a significant amount of time, so I decided to stay there overnight.
I have been on this island with my family 6 times, but I always wanted to come here by motorcycle. I have prepared multiple trips over the years, but something always led to cancellation. This almost happened this time, too, but I persevered and kicked myself out of the house.
Day 1
The first 200km of the ride in Chachoengsao, Chonburi & Rayong provinces are boring industrial highways. I stopped only once for a coffee.
Espresso Frappe at Cafe Amazon, Nong Phai Kaeo
The last 100km in Chanthaburi and Trat are much better. I also met some fellow motorcyclists.
Fellow motorcyclists at Chanthaburi
Green and winding roads of Trat
The queue for the Ferry was long, but motorcycles are allowed to cut through & jump to the front of the queue.
Approaching Koh Chang on Ferry
Once on the island, I rode straight to my favourite view point, something I had been dreaming about for many years.
View Point, Koh Chang
The view alone made it worth it.
Day 2
On the way over, my crapy bungee setup snapped and sent my bag rolling on the highway (I had to circle back 2km to find it). This time I did a better bungee configuration to strap my bag under.
Bungee Cord configuration on Nightster 975
Riding through the empty streets of Koh Chang early morning was an incredible experience, smelling fresh geosmin on the way. I rode nice and slow till the ferry, enjoying every moment.
Streets of Koh Chang in the morning
On the ferry, I felt sad to be leaving this magical place.
Nightster 975 on Ferry back to mainland
The ride back was uneventful, I rode hard and was back in Bangkok by 13:30.
Nightster 975 in front of Our Lady of Fatima Church, Huai Khlum
On the way back, I had plans to stop at these caves, but as soon as I slowed down near the entrance, a gang of monkeys started chasing me, so I skedaddled.
Overall, a bit underwhelming compared to the last one, which I would love to do one more time.
Also, unfortunately, the weather was unbearably hot the entire time and there was no rain, which I enjoy riding through.
The route begins with the infamous Rama 2 road, leaving Bangkok. Nothing special, typical highway, where under-construction concrete can fall on you and squish you any time.
Soon, you turn on-to Highway 35, much less intimidating to motorcycles, who are actually allowed on the main highway, not only the frontage.
Nightster 975 on NH 35, Samut Songkhram
But the real fun starts once you turn off Highway 35 to Rural Highway 3349. Lush green countryside with very little traffic and winding roads.
Nightster 975 on highway 3349, Phetchaburi
The dam itself is beautiful, with a lake on one side and a reservoir and power plant on the other. Serene and with barely any visitors.
I spent 20 minutes here, enjoying the view and looking at the mountains across the border in Myanmar.
It was fun riding down the dam.
Nightster 975 on the way down Kaeng Krachan Dam
Soon it started to rain hard and I took shelter.
Taking shelter during the rain
However, soon, I realised that the rain wasn’t going to stop any time soon, so just kept riding. It was huge fun riding in the rain. I went through 3 cycles of getting soaked in the rain and being thawed by the sun by the time I reached home.
This was one of my favourite rides ever. Partly because of the lush green landscape and because the Nightster is a beast on the highway.
Looking forward to exploring the west of the country more, in the next few months.
Since it was a short trip, I left around 8 AM. What I did differently this time was I asked Siri AI to plot a scenic route and she disappointed me.
Chonlamakwithi bridge
The beginning part was the same as this trip and this trip, so nothing special. But then she took me over the Chonlamakwithi bridge, a scenic 6k long bridge over the sea. It was so nice riding over the sea and breathing in the fresh sea air.
There are even places to park and enjoy the sea.
Harley-Davidson Nightster on Chonlamakwithi Bridge
I reached the beach by 10:00 AM and had a nice coffee there.
Harley-Davidson Nightster at Bang Saen beach
On the trip back, I let it rip on the highway and was back by noon.
Overall, I was pretty pleased with the performance of the motorcycle on the highway. like the Meteor, where I rarely went above 80 because of vibrations and engine stress, I was not even able to push the Nightster to its limits even when overtaking at quite high speeds.
I was not pleased with the riding position, because I had wrist and shoulder pain for a day after I returned. I must change it to a more upright riding position soon.
I went to watch Moana (2026) with very little expectation. The trailer suggested that it was a 1:1 remake of the original one & that this is a shameless cash grab for Disney (which it probably is). In the theatre, there were only 2 other people apart from us. But the movie surprised me.
It is true that the movie is an exact replica of the 2016 movie. Every scene is the same, every dialogue is the same; even the songs are exactly the same. There was actually no reason to make this movie. But it is slightly better than the original in every way.
Animation couldn’t do justice to the beauty of Hawaii and the Pacific Ocean. In the remake, they look gorgeous. The use of real actors and actresses also adds a layer of emotional connection to the whole movie. The acting is terrific, too.
All I can say is, don’t go to watch this movie expecting something new. However, if you planned on watching the original one for the 20th time (like us), then watch this one instead, it won’t disappoint.
Long time, no post. Life has been busy, lately. So, I sold my Meteor 350 and bought a Harley-Davidson Nightster, a 975cc, 90 bhp beast. I was not looking for such a powerful machine, but I wanted to experience a V-Twin & didn’t want a motorcycle engine with pushrods and this was the most practical choice.
I made the decision on a Saturday morning, applied for a bank loan the same day and got the motorcycle on Monday. No time to change my mind.
2026 Harley Davidson Nightster, stock
No long rides without the number plate, but I still clocked 300km on it in the last 2 weeks. These are my first impressions with it :
Things I like
The (90 bhp) power is mind-blowing (at least for me). It’s raw and un-filtered. It hits suddenly & feels never-ending across the rev range. It took me a while to get used to this much power. For context, my first car produced almost half the power and my last car produced just a bit more.
It’s not a high-revving sports bike, you can still feel the engine pulse. Eg, even at 100 kmph, the engine is only doing 3000 RPM.
Torque is impressive, so you don’t need to shift down very often.
Despite the hefty kerb weight (221kg), the motorcycle feels light and nimble because of a low centre of gravity.
Great presence on the streets. Among a sea of plastic scooters in Bangkok, it stands out on the road. People have been making way more often, now.
Beautiful gurgling V-Twin sound. Not too loud, not too muffled. People have been pestering me to change the exhaust for something louder, but I don’t feel like it.
Traction Control is impressive and has prevented me from spinning out in the first few days using the motorcycle.
Provision for plenty of electrical connections without stripping wires and voiding the warranty.
The clutch is quite light.
Things I don’t like
City riding is a bit of a pain.
Takes more than 1 lane on the road to make a U-turn.
The stock mirrors protrude outwards beyond the edges of the handles, making weaving in traffic difficult.
The gear shifting is hard and the lever peg is sharp.
The Engine heat is something else. Even on the highway, you can feel some of the heat on your legs. In traffic, the motorcycle actively punishes you by turning on the radiator fan, which blows hot air right up your trouser legs.
The stock handle is not very comfortable for long rides, results in a lean-forward stance.
The fuel tank is tiny (12l).
The motorcycle is a bit bare-bones; it doesn’t even come with a rear seat. You are expected to modify it and add things as you see fit. Sends you down a rabbit hole of modifications (Which will be the next topic I cover)
As I posted a few months ago, I am into weight training now. In this post, I wanted to document my experiences with different diets to support my goals.
Nutrition tracked using Cal AI. Workout tracked using Hevy.
I had tried weight training before, without any focus on diet. Consequently, I never did see much gains, probably because of not meeting calorific and protein requirements. So this time, I decided to track my diet closely and do it right. Soon, I realised that lifting is the easiest part when trying to gain muscle mass.
Phase 1: Dirty Bulk (Months 1-4)
I used some online Calorie Calculators to estimate my calorie intake for lean muscle gain and most of them gave me around 3250 Kcal a day. However, the mistake I made was, I used AI calorie tracking apps like Cal AI to track my meals. Although such apps are excellent for identifying the food I am eating, they are extremely poor in estimating portion size.
Calories : 3150-3350 Kcal Protein : 135g Starting Composition: 68.5kg (14.6% body fat) Ending Composition: 76.8kg (20.4% body fat)
Dirty bulk 4 month weight gain trend
No wonder, my weight quickly shot up. I gained almost 5kg in 5 weeks. Even when I realised I was probably eating way too much, it took me very long to slowly cut out all the extra food and by the 4 month mark, was almost 9kg heavier. I guess out of that, 2kg was water & glycogen retention, 2-3kg was lean muscle mass, and the remaining 5-6kg was body fat.
Dirty Bulk Days 1-45 body fat % trend
The first few weeks were hell, it seemed like I was eating all the time, force feeding myself. I lost all interest in food and eating became a chore. Still, I (erroneously) chose to believe in an app rather on what my body was trying to tell me.
My T-shirts started feeling tighter around the waist especially when sitting. Eventually, I realised I had been eating much more than I needed to and aborted this diet. I was extremely depressed and disappointed by what happened.
Luckily, at least my exercise volume went up steadily during this time.
Dirty Bulk Workout volume Months 1-4 Trend
Phase 2: Cut (Month 5)
I had 2 ways forward after realising my error:
Correct my diet and start a lean bulk going forward (Keeping existing fat)
Do a cut and lose some of the excess fat I gained (Losing some muscle mass in the process, too)
I chose Option 2, just because I felt so disgusted with my new paunch. I got rid of the shitty AI apps and started eating by feel, tracking only protein intake roughly in my head.
Calories : 2150-2350Kcal Protein : 145g Starting Composition: 76.8kg (20.4% body fat) Ending Composition: 73.3kg (16% body fat)
Cut 1 month weight trend
It was such a relief to go back to eating normally and skipping breakfast again (what a chore it was). It took me 2 full weeks before I started seeing weight loss.
In the gym, I didn’t feel anything different for the first few weeks, in fact without the heavy breakfast, I felt much more energetic. However, my lifting volume stalled and even started going down a bit in the last week.
I also suffered a lower back injury on the leg press at this time, which made me re-think many of my exercises and completely stalled leg progress.
Cut workout volume Month 5 Trend
The last couple of weeks, I was hungry all the time, sometimes not able to sleep at night. I also started dreaming about food.
Phase 3: Lean bulk (Month 6 onwards)
Having realised what a mistake I had made, I decided to be more mindful of what I eat going forward, depending purely on eating by feel. Eating enough to not be hungry, but never force feeding. Hope my strength rises again, at the gym.
I detailed my struggles with UPI AutoPay mandates in this previous posts. The only way I could get UPI to work again was to move from Google Pay to BHIM, NPCI’s flagship app for UPI. Now, BHIM, being a government built app is supposed to be bad, but I found it quite nice. Soon, I waste find out why BHIM sucks balls.
Custom UPI ID doesn’t work
I was surprised to see that BHIM allows you to create custom UPI IDs.
Custom UPI ID on BHIM
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work. Payment requests to this UPI ID do arrive at the BHIM app, but promptly fail.
If anyone tries to send me money on this ID, it simply says the ID doesn’t exist.
Cannot Pay Bills
One of the main reasons I use UPI is to pay bills. Bu for some reason, only for me, bill payments don’t work.
When I try to pay bills, the account selection dropdown is empty and doesn’t show my accounts.
BHIM Bill Payment doesn’t show any Bank Accounts
I contacted BHIM customer care via the in-app support option and all they do is send a generic email without reading about my issue and close the case. I tried this 8 different times, went through the same script each time.
Generic email from BHIM customer care
Frustrated, I reached out to NPCI about the issue. No response.
Overall, the app is very clean and functional. Just that it doesn’t work.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an Indian instant payment system and protocol developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2016. The interface facilitates inter-bank peer-to-peer (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions. It is used on mobile devices to instantly transfer funds between two bank accounts using only a unique UPI ID. My complaint is about UPI AutoPay mandates, which seem to have a fundamental flaw.
UPI AutoPay mandates basically let you set up recurring transactions to merchants. This is extremely useful for subscriptions and I have been using this feature for years. I had more than 25 AutoPay mandates with 7-8 merchants set up on Google Pay, my preferred UPI app.
Google disables my account & kills Google Pay
It all started when I changed the email address of my Google Account and some algorithm in Google’s systems found this suspicious and disabled my account.
Google disables my account
I was able to submit an appeal and get back access to my account, but for some reason, it erased all my Google pay data. When I try registering my accounts on Google Pay now, it says this.
Cannot register accounts in Google Pay because of existing AutoPay mandates
Basically, it has detached itself from my old Google Pay data and won’t let me continue unless my existing AutoPay mandates from (what it thinks are another account) are cancelled.
Google Pay India customer support
I contacted Google Pay India’s customer support via chat, assuming I would be able to explain the problem easily and get it fixed. Wrong!
The Level 1 chat and phone technical support couldn’t even understand the problem. They kept asking me to “go into my other google account” and delete my autopay mandates. I kept crying that there is no other account, it was the same account with a different email address, but they refused to understand.
I found a contact for Level 2 support on their website and contacted them and this was their response.
Google Pay cannot cancel my UPI AutoPay mandates, setup via Google Pay
Basically, Google Pay cannot cancel mandates which I had created via Google Pay.
I escalated to Google Pay’s Nodal officer, but he didn’t even bother responding to me.
Axis Bank Customer support
All my Google Pay mandates were linked to my Axis Bank account. Surely, Axis Bank can control who takes money from my account and stop it, right? Not so!
Calls to their regular customer care went in vain. Basically, they kept instructing me on how I can cancel Axis Bank UPI mandates done via the Axis Bank app. I kept crying the mandates were via a 3rd party UPI app, but they refused to understand.
Eventually, I reached out to the Axis Bank nodal officer, and they said this.
Axis Bank cannot cancel my UPI mandates
I really don’t understand how Axis Bank cannot stop someone from taking money from my own account. Never mind, I decided to do this via National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) .
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
Luckily, NPCI provides a portal where you can login and do exactly what I was trying to do.
First of all, the website doesn’t work out of India without a VPN. So much for making UPI global, yes?
With a VPN, I was elated to see all my mandates with a “Cancel” button next to them. This should be easy now, yes? Not at all.
UPI Help showing my AutoPay mandates
Clicking cancel fails spectacularly. It’s not even a one time error. I tried this over many weeks with the same results.
UPI Help won’t let me cancel the mandates
Why even advertise a feature which doesn’t work? Either ways, it at least confirmed to me that NPCI has control over my UPI AutoPay Mandates. So next, I reached out to their customer care via email.
One email, 2 email, 3 emails, no response. They ghosted me for weeks not even bothering to respond.
One thing is clear, UPI AutoPay mandates are not well thought out, there’s no clear accountability between the bank, the app and NPCI. Never using them again!
This movie is based on Project Hail Mary, the book by Andy Weir, is one of my favourite books ever, so I had high expectations for this movie, and luckily, it didn’t disappoint.
Ryan Gosling plays the bumbling teacher Dr. Ryland Grace who is sent on a mission to save humanity, crying and moaning. The movie is a faithful adaptation of the book, although some changes have been made to fit the large screen. The movie switches back-and-forth between the space sequences and the flashbacks back at earth which feels very nice.
There are a few jump scares throughout the movie. The scene where they are collecting samples from Tau Ceti e was very well done. The overall visuals were very eye-catching, something not easy to recreate from the descriptions in the book.
Rocky is an extremely adorable alien character, although giving off “pet” vibes, rather than an equal, like in the book.
