Ok..so, you will notice on a few of my blog posts that I've mentioned GT.Rider maps. These maps are a staple of most riders exploring the northern territory of Thailand and Laos regions.
David Unkovich aka Mr GT Rider, has been exploring Thailand for decades and his maps are well-respected guides. Teamed with GPS, these maps have got me back on track, and offer insightful and interesting routes. They also include recommended places to visit and to stay etc.
So, they are definitely something i advocate as part of your riding "gear".
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 :)
Route: Samoeng, route 1349 towards Yang Ha, continue onto Ban Wat Chan.Turn right on to 1265 to head to Pai.
The Rough Stuff: Resurfaced sections with intermittent rocky patchy stretches. Approx 60km between Yang Ha and Wat Chan the road gets progressively worse, with around 30km of bumpy dirt ridges. (see video )
Note: Im nervous on dirt and gravel. Particularly as i had a
terrible accident on gravel. So this was pretty much nerve-wrecking for
me in sections. I enjoyed the route, but the rough stuff took it out of
me, mainly because of my nerves. My body was stiff and i was sweating,
so it felt like a mammoth trip, when it really wasnt. It was good for me
to work on building up my experience and confidence on dirt and gravel.
The route to Pai:
Stunning scenery and wonderfully quiet from when you get out of Samoeng and head to Pai. At the time of this trip the main Pai route (the 1095) was a mess of construction, so this route seemed like an interesting alternative. I just wish i had done the trip with blogging in mind, because i would have been more accurate on the details etc.
Battery says no...
Unlike me, I hope you don't find yourself with a dead battery on this route. As if i wasn't nervous enough already! To cut a long story short, getting to Pai involved clutch starting the bike and then going without stopping until the battery gave up (which
was thankfully not too far from Pai). By then I was low on fuel
as I had decided to wing it..because if I stopped to fuel up, I may not have got the bike going again.
When i reached the outskirts of Pai i was towed into town by rope..lol! Ho Ho. Strangely I had no indication prior that the battery was about to pop it's clogs.
In Pai the mechanic shop then tried to put in a really small battery, and
after a bit of explaining, they went and found the correct sized one. Anyway...thankfully the situation didnt turn out as bad as it could have. Phew ^^
At Pai I was unable to stay at my usual place; Pairadise, as I had not booked in advance. So I went to a resort just down from them called Pailanna, which was ok. No big complaints and the food was really good in the restaurant there.
Had a really quiet night in Pai, had a coffee in the morning and a small ride around, then headed back on the main 1095 route back to Chiang Mai. At this point the construction was maybe around 80% complete, so the ride was pretty nice. Just a few sticky tarmac areas, but overall great..and looking forward to riding it when completely finished.
Road sections polished like pebble stones + oil residue + short but hard tropical rainstorm + mountain curves = lots of this.
I saw three accidents today at Doi Suthep; 2 motorcycles and this car. I didn't even go up the whole mountain. This was just a small section. Thankfully on all three, nobody was hurt.
Samoeng loop the last few days was like riding on an ice rink in
sections. My bike sliding, yet my tires are good. Lots of oil residue on
polished roads. Bad enough as is, but add a spot of heavy rain and it
can feel like an oil slick.
Mini Adventure Drama...with a magical twist. (...involving "homing pigeon" shoes, a beloved moto jacket, an orange shopping bag, and a dizzy female > me)
Day 1 (2 days ago):
Took a quick motorcycle trip around the Samoeng
loop, only to stupidly lose a bag i had (obviously) tied badly onto my
bike. In that bag was an awesome pair of beat up flip-flops and my
prized motorcycle jacket that fits me like a dream (we women of various
shapes and sizes don't find this easy to come by!). So..tracing back my route 3 times and finding nothing, i eventually gave up. Handed in
my number to a local policebox and returned home despondent.
Day 2 (yesterday): With a renewed resolve of at least ATTEMPTING to
find my jacket, i made up some posters and flyers in English and Thai
(thanks to help from my friend Tik). I went back over the area and
painstakingly got on and off my bike on a hot day to hand people the
posters and flyers and explain the situation. I figured that if i didn't
at least try, i would end up kicking myself. Nothing ventured, nothing
gained. If i didn't get the bag back, it wasn't meant to be. The nice part
of the whole thing was that it forced me to interact with people (which
I'm normally quite reserved about), who all turned out to be lovely and
helpful. A bonus being some mahouts with baby elephants that i stopped
to chat with.
Day 3 (today): Well officially last night really. I
received a phone call around 7pm last night. My bag was found! I was to
meet at the local police box at 9am. I arrived at the box before 9am,
(and as is the way of Thailand in general haha), when I arrived, I was told that the lady who found it had gone to work and forgotten to bring the bag in. So, I had to ride back 80km or so home and wait to return later.
Around 2pm i received a call to say the bag was handed in and to make my
way back to the policebox.
I arrived to find all the contents intact! The
policeman (although not smiling in the photo) was lovely. I left
an envelope with a finders fee for the lady who found my bag, and a bag
of home made treats for the policeman. Really amazed and happy about
the outcome.
----- The magical twist...
..ok. The
flip-flops that were in the bag are really old beat up things that i
have had for approx 8 years. In that time they have been washed down a
fast flowing river and retrieved (which i actually have a comical video
of) ..fallen off on a road... fallen down a mountainside... and well, a
number of things. Yet, they somehow let themselves be found. Because of
these magical homing-pigeon flip-flops, my bag and jacket came back to
me. HAHAHA.
--- To end..
Most people do like to return
things. I could have made it easier for them to do so if i had put a
number in the pocket of the jacket or used a marker on it etc. Its a
good heads-up to me to do this to my motorcycle gear and anything
important to me. So...might be a good tip for you to do so too. ^.^
So i think its about time to learn more about fixing up my own bike. You know "just in case". ..and, because i enjoy it. ..and, because im Scottish (frugal is the word, frugal!) Anyway, there was an rather annoying ratting/vibrate sound coming from my bike. The longer i didnt do anything about it, the more the sound began to irritate me.
So... time to investigate. Turned out to be one small thing. A missing screw. Funny really. One small thing causing a whole lot of noise.
Talking of bike maintenance, i also finally did my first home oil change. Yes, i really havent done it myself before..>.< Pretty
vile what came out actually, and shockingly small amount. Feeling ashamed
that i let the oil get so low and so manky before changing.
Having heard that the Wiang Haeng loop was supposed to be a great loop and scenic, i thought it was worth a check-out.
Turned out to be, for me, more challenging than i had hoped, and not in a good way.
I had based myself for a few days in the beautiful area of Chiang Dao with
the intention of exploring the area, then got the notion to do the Wiang Haeng Loop.
For me the 1178 /1322 from Chiang Dao to Wiang Haeng, wasn't in the same league as the Chiang Dao zone in terms of scenic value. Initially the road itself was ok, if you want just road for riding sake. It was just ok, not great, but ok.
I confess I'm spoiled when it comes to beautiful and scenic roads in Thailand, so it's not one i thought was particularly special in terms of scenery.Wiang Haeng itself was just a simple rural town, with not a lot there.
After Wiang Haeng, continuing on the 1322, the road took a turn for the worse. Basically no road. Just rocks. Lots and lots of rocks. Big chunky rocks.
Thinking that it probably wont last for long, i pushed ahead, but alas the
broken up road lasted the whole of the rest of the trip, until i neared
the end of the loop and into Chiang Dao. Just rocks, big rocks, gravelly rocks, ditches and ravines, and red mud. Im not so confident on this kind of road (due to my accident) and i initially tested my mettle by standing up and letting the bike take the bounce. But after a while i grew weary, not just physically, by mentally from the concentration. Don't mind challenging myself, but not for such a lengthy period in one go.
Pretty knackered by the time i got back into Chiang Dao, and a little
frustrated by the additional time the trip took..especially as it wasnt particularly scenic or special..well, in comparison to the areas around Chiang Dao.
Wont be looping around Wiang Haeng again any time soon i recon...
Ok..so, you will notice on a few of my blog posts that I've mentioned GT.Rider maps. 
