Burapa celebrates 10th anniversary with Pattaya Bike Week
Mark Beales
Thousands of Harleys, Vespas and choppers roared into Pattaya for a major motorbike festival this past week.
The event, which was held from February 16-18, included a rally through the streets of Pattaya, where locals and tourists had a chance to admire some of the amazing machines.
The Burapa Pattaya Bike Week attracted riders from many various countries. Bikers from Indonesia, Malaysia, and even Europe came and enjoyed an array of activities.
This year is the 10th anniversary of the Burapa Pattaya bikers’ club, and one of its members, Swede Orjan Frederiksson, thought this show was one of the best.
He said, “People like the way Burapa works with people for peace and friendship. Motorcycle club members from everywhere can come along, and this is the place where you can see the most motorcycle groups in the world where everyone is getting on and there are no problems.”
Frederiksson added, “Last year was very good because it was the club’s 9th anniversary, and nine is a very lucky number in Thailand. But this year there are even more groups, and next year they have promised to bring even more people from Indonesia.”
Held at the Eastern Sports Centre, the show hit top gear on Saturday night with a performance by famous Thai singer Karabao. The first night of the show hit top gear with a fire show, horse parade and performance by singer Tom Dundee.
Dozens of stalls filled out the ground and included tattoo artists, the Harley Owners Group - Thailand Chapter, the Sriracha Chopper Club, and even a foot massage tent for those who had endured a long ride to get to the event.
One of the more unusual stalls was run by Viking Motor Sports, which runs adventure trips for bikers and four-wheel drive fans. It has been to the base camp of Everest and is running a trip to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in April - one of the first times the big bikes have been allowed into the country.
One of the highlights of the Pattaya bike show was a parade, which left the arena at 4 p.m. on Saturday and headed onto Sukhumvit, down to Beach Road, Central Pattaya, and along to Jomtien.
The Burapa club performs many events for charity, including helping at a centre for babies born with HIV.

Pattaya Mail