*MOTO TRIP* *DAY RIDE*: Chiang Mai > Mae Sai > Phayao > Chiang Mai. 640+ km

Conclusion (yes, im starting with a conclusion): Sore bum.
lol.

As a foreigner in Thailand, if you wish to stay for any length of time, you will usually get acquainted with visa trips. These can be frequent, depending on your visa type. For this particular trip i headed to the Thailand/Burma border (more info on how to do a border visa trip here). I decided, unwisely maybe, to set off early. Like 6:30am early.
Now i know that i am of Scottish blood, but i have lived in Thailand long enough to have acclimatized. I have also always hated the cold and been able to cope with the heat. So, at 6:30am riding in cool season temperatures, i did not find it fun. In fact, i had to slow my pace right down because the wind and cold was going straight through me. Wearing three layers, a jumper, a jacket with a windproof jacket on top, just didn't cut it and body was shivering so violently that i thought my bike was having issues! Really!

Thankfully there is a great little spot for warming up just before you hit the city of Chiang Rai. The Hot Springs at Mae Khachan. I parked up and nipped into the coffee shop where they pump in hot spring water into troughs. Here you can soak your feet, whilst drinking your coffee. My hands in particular reveled in the heat, as they had gone quite numb.

After warming up (wasting a good hour or so doing so), i carried on up to Mae Sai, the border town into Burma. Report on that here.Visa sorted i grabbed a bite to eat and started off back to Chiang Mai.
Except i didn't.

Now i didn't actually intend to head to Phayao, my plan was a quick trip up to the border and back again. However, me being me (aka - stupid), i missed the Chiang Mai road turn off and found myself heading towards Phayao. I decided i may as well just go into Phayao and make it a day trip.

Phayao itself is a pretty town. Some find it a little boring, but i find it peaceful. I love the Naga serphants on the water.

Ive done a couple of day trips to Phayao here and here (to be fixed) and also a bit of a dancing video at the Naga, which caused a few smiles. (I intend to do something with this video down the line. One day...one day..)

 
After a quick view i headed back to Chiang Mai, arriving a couple of hours later. 

Turned out to be a happy accident and enjoyed the trip :)

*MOTO TRIP* (Scooter): CM > Phu Chi Fa > Chiang Khong> Mae Sai > Chiang Rai > CM.

Setting off early on scooters, on the 118 to Chiang Rai, we took a right turn at Mae Khachan onto route 120 towards Phayao. We then took a left onto the main highway Route 1, and a few kms later a right turn onto the 1021 to Wiang Kiang. We continued on past Wiang Kiang on the 1155 which takes you to Phu Chi Fa.

On this particular trip my riding partner and I met with a couple of riding friends, one was riding a Lifan and the other a Honda Phantom. In all honesty I would much prefer to be on my brick-suspension Fino than a Honda Phantom..but maybe that's just me.

*Additionally* The rider of the Phantom confessed to me later that when he saw me on my Fino he was thinking it was going to be a slow ride. But it turned out that I left him for dust. Haha. "Don't Judge a Book by its Cover", comes to mind. Or in this case "Don't Judge a Rider by Their Bike". ;)

Phu Chi Fa was worth the ride. There is a steep climb up the famous viewpoint and then you are met with a wonderful scenic vision. You feel like you are right in the clouds, which you are really!

After Phu Chi Fa we all headed onto the 1020 to Chiang Khong. By the time we got there it was dark, but thankfully had pre-booked a room at (Arghh..i have to fill this in later, sorry, because i forget the name). As an aside, you can actually take a boat from Chiang Khong over to Huay Xai, Laos. 
 
That evening we all headed out to the river area for a bite to eat, and we found ourselves slap bang into a Loy Krathong Festival. There were fireworks and Krathongs (the floating items) and lanterns being lit and launched..everywhere!
So much so that a stray small firework cracker landed slap bang in my hair.... ! Seriously, I wonder at my luck sometimes. It was just a short while back that I had my accident and this was my first big ride since the accident, and now a firework is setting me on fire! Let me tell you one thing about this, that I'm glad i do not use hairspray! I knocked the firework out from my hair and patted it down, hoping I wouldn't find a bald spot..haha.

Anyway, dinner was lovely. The company was nice. It was an enjoyable evening. Headed back for a rest (and, as is normal in cheaper places, the walls were very thin, making it a little on the noisy side). The next morning we parted company with the other two riders, who were going off another way, and headed towards Mae Sai to do a visa border crossing.

Nearing Mae Sai my partners tire had a puncture. Thankfully he is pretty much "Mr. Fixit", and is never without tools, so as it was a slow puncture, he intermittently pumped up the tires until we got to a mechanic in Mae Sai. Turned out that just a small metal shard caused that drama. Anyway, crossed over the border, came back through into Thailand and headed for shelter when the heavens suddenly opened and torrential tropical rains came down. Never mind, the bikes were good to go and when the rain stopped, so were we.

Rode on the pretty boring stretch of the main highway route 1, until we got to Chiang Rai and stopped for the night. At Chiang Rai we stayed at the rather comical Red Rose motel. I say comical, because the Red Rose is a themed motel, and you can choose rooms such as "boxing ring room" (yes, your bed is a boxing ring..) and "Star Wars room".

We choose the Star Wars themed room. Now before you start thinking this place is family-friendly, it isn't really. These motels are geared towards "short time" stays, which basically means they are sex-motels. You can pay by the hour or by the night. Was certainly fun to stay there though. The room had a lot of chrome and space-ship style lighting and even a mirrored ceiling..haha.

In Chiang Rai we ate at a recommended Italian Restaurant, but i will need to find the name out of this later as well (sorry!). Was ok. Not the best ive ever eaten, but im a bit of a food snob sometimes.

After a good nights sleep we headed off back on Route 1 to Chiang Mai. Just a busy main highway, so nothing much to say about that really.

All in all a good trip and have been meaning to revisit Phu Chi Fa for some time now.

Happy Trails!

*MOTO TRIP* (Scooter) -One Hell of a Trip on a Fino: Chiang Mai > Fang > Mae Sa Long > Doi Tung > Mae Sai > Thaton > Doi Angkhan > Chiang Dao > Chiang Mai

My first big trip (well it seemed MASSIVE at the time) on a bike. 3 days and 2 nights.

I had only been riding for approximately 8 months or so, and I was riding a Yahama Fino 115cc.
If you know anything about this kind of scooter, you will know it merely chugs along on any kind of incline and has the suspension of a brick. So, basically you get thrown about on any uneven road etc.. and Thailand absolutely has its share of potholes, gravel, poor roads....

Regardless, this trip is firmly implanted as one of my most amazing trips of all time. Purely because i felt like i was on a mammoth adventure. I felt like a true explorer. At the time there were less foreign tourists in these zones also, so it felt like being from outer space..haha.

I loved every moment..even the mini crash i had, due to having no idea about how to break on gravel. Found myself on the ground with my bike on top of my ankle..which later on became the size of a small grapefruit. The perils of being a self-taught moto rider, with absolutely no idea....

Mae Salong. I couldnt believe how different this place was from the rest of the Thailand i knew. They speak Yunnanese. I felt like i was in a whole other country.


Thaton, which thankfully hasn't changed much over the years. The well-known Naga serpents had just been built.

 Doi Ang Khan

Doi Tung

 Ouch............

So...what was your first motorcycle trip? How did it feel?