2018 Northern Thailand Ride Part 1

I'm back at Thailand again for a 7 days tour around the northern region, as one always does.

Overview of my tour:

Trip itinerary:

Chiang Mai - Tha Song Yang - Pang Mapha - Thaton - Chiang Khong - Nan - Nan - Chiang Mai

Useful information:
Cool season Nov-Feb, great cool weather and no rain.
Hot season Mar-Jun, gets really hot and uncomfortable.
Wet season Jul-Oct, you wouldn't want to be on a bike.

THB1000 = USD 30.50 = EUR26.67
Street food costs less than THB50 per meal.
Regular restaurants cost around THB100 per meal.
Hostels generally cost THB300 and below and are of great value and standard.
Sim card for 7 days of unlimited internet costs THB250.
Get AIS for widest coverage especially in the north.
Road condition is among the best in Southeast Asia, road signs are good and very easy to navigate.
Try to ride less than 350km each day if not taking highways as the pace is generally slower.


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Day 0

After touching down at Chiang Mai in the evening I was greeted with pleasant cool weather that reminded me of why I love this place so much. Airport taxi to town costs THB150 flat fare which is not expensive although the city is only 10-15 minutes' drive away.

Checked into the lovely HAB40 hostel as my plan was to rent the bike from C&P rental nearby. The hostel was clean and new, with privacy curtain, air conditioning and everything you expect a good hostel to have. Great price too at THB300 per night. I've never experienced a bad hostel in Thailand, which can't be said for other southeast Asian countries. The hostel even have bicycles for rent as well. But I'm not here for cycling.

After checking in I went to the night market to find some comfortable long pants to no avail (too pricey for its quality). Funny how these cheap made in China items that probably cost $0.50 are inflated beyond imagination to sell to tourists. Anyway I was eager to rest early to prepare for the ride tomorrow so didn't linger.

Day 1

Small issue. C&P rental did not have bike available for rent- they're all fully booked. That's for me doubting the high season when I checked into the relatively empty hostel last night. For those who have not heard of C&P, they are a relatively new big bike rental shop in Chiang Mai that only have good reviews so far. Google street view taken in May 2018 show that they had not even existed back then. From what I can see all their bikes appears to be quite new and in great condition, though they do not have a huge inventory when compared to other rental shops. Anyway, a quick Grab ride (south east Asian version of Uber) to POP Rider later I managed to get a relatively new and good condition Honda CB500X.

Beautiful Royal Enfield at POP Rider.

This is the bike that I've seen frequently on the streets on Singapore in its 400cc variant (CB400X, due to Singapore's tiered licensing system). It is a mid capacity adventure style bike with 17" wheels and road biased tyres so definitely more tarmac touring than off-road riding. There's a new version that was just released at EICMA with 19" front wheels and longer suspension travel that will be a more adventurous machine for sure.

My CB500X.

Anyway after prepping the bike and securing the luggage it's time to hit the road. And what boring highways are there out of Chiang Mai: flat and uninteresting highway 11 and highway 1. I have never tried earplugs before and did the whole of highway 11 without one. The difference after putting it on riding highway 1 was night and day. It's really earplugs all the way from now on. If only I can get a comfortable and fitting one...

In terms of highway riding the bike can cruise around 120kmh without issues but beyond that the vibration becomes more pronounced. After about 4 hours of droning and buzzing my hands numb I was so relieved when it's time for lunch in a small town at the start of route 1175. Weather was really hot now, much more than what I was expecting- I thought it was cool season? Although the weather forecast showed a high of 32C and low of 18C, I'm sure that from 12-4pm it was definitely more than 30C.

Thankfully 1175 goes through thick forest so it was cool after awhile. The road surface was great and and it was very twisty going through lots of farmland and a national park. Reaching Tha Song Yang late afternoon I was struggling a little to find accommodation as there were only a few small hotels and many of them were full. I had no idea but this region seems relatively popular with bikers and local tourists on 4 wheel drives. Thankfully BP resort had a room so I promptly checked in to one of its interesting huts above a pond.

Overlooking Myanmar with its white stupas.

After exploring the town a little and some local dinner later I headed back to my room and rested for the night.

Day 2

When I woke up in the morning the whole area was covered in fog. It was beautiful, the air was cool and crisp, and I couldn't wait to ride. Setting off at 7:30am I rode through gentle flowing roads in the fog. It was like riding in a dream, through a misty forest with occasional glimpses of the nearby peaks of Myanmar adjacent to the river separating the two countries. The sun occasionally pierced through the fog and the scenery lit up and stopped me in my track so many times.

Dreamy morning around my hut.

After about an hour I reached the village of Ban Tha Song Yang (not to be confused with Tha Song Yang, the town that I stayed last night). I rode to the lovely riverside where locals from both sides of the countries cross the river via small boats. Numerous white stupas stood by the river in front of a steep hill and it was picture perfect. Easily finished a roll of film there.

I was really itching to go to the other side...

Funny how humans always find ways to separate each other though. If a person alien to the concept of nation and boundaries were to come to this place, it'll seem to him like an ordinary river and nothing else. Yet if he were to sneak past the Thai border guards and cross the river 'illegally' he'd be arrested and sent back or even to prison. That said I did see quite a few Burmese locals going back and forth without any identification. Guess that has always been the way since centuries ago.

Myanmar, always so alluring.

 Border patrol.

Before continuing my journey I put on my earplugs. I did not put them on before setting off today because well, it's curvy roads and how fast can it be? Turns out hitting 80-90kmh was pretty easy and even at slower speeds the difference in noise level and the fatigue it brings were remarkable.

The hills are alive with the sound of my moto.

After Ban Tha Song Yang this upper section of route 105 was one of my favourite ride. It was the combination of great roads, great scenery, great weather and no traffic that made it so memorable. I was going up down left right through forests and mountains, reaching above 1200m and having so much fun. The ride was perfect and it continued all the way for 2 hours to Mae Sariang. After Mae Sariang where the Mae Hong Son loop joins (it becomes route 108) there were less elevation changes although the roads were still twisty and great fun all the way to Khun Yuam.

At one point before Mae Sariang on a right bend, I saw a snake crossing the road from the opposite side. It obviously saw me too and stopped halfway for me to pass, just like humans do. I immediately remembered that video of a rider who was almost bitten by a snake in this part of Thailand:

I reached Khun Yuam and had lunch around 1:30pm. Weather was scorching hot now, so after a dose of Red Bull from 7-11 I continued by journey to Mae Hong Son, the provincial capital and the namesake of the famous MHS loop.

Ban Huai Pong. I was here at this exact spot 3 years ago.

The lovely lakeside temple of Mae Hong Son.

Hilltop stupas of Wat Phrathat Doi Kongmu.

Beautiful Mae Hong Son.

After riding past the lovely lake and visiting the hilltop stupas of Doi Khongmu I headed to get my MHS loop certificate at the coffee shop opposite the town's post office. The certificate was legitimate and produced by the Mae Hong Son Chamber of Commerce. THB60 baht apiece, there's a few designs to choose from as well, and it seems like the whole world has been here to get their certificates judging by the number of bike group stickers on the glass door.

Unfortunately I could not stay longer at this lovely town of Mae Hong Son as I was aiming to reach Soppong (Pang Mapha) before sunset. Mental note to visit MHS again and stay for at least a night. Out of town the road becomes route 1095 and up down several mountains later I checked into the comfortable Soppong River Inn where I stayed 3 years ago. Still so pleasant with a small river flowing by a small gorge just beside the resort.

Viewpoint before Soppong. 

Had some nice Burmese style dish at the guesthouse and bought some beer and snacks at 7-11 (they're everywhere and they're awesome). Then it was sitting by the balcony under the cool night listening to the sound of river, critters and bats while editing photos and typing up this post:

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Continued in part 2.

LY