My Mae Hong Son Loop... kinda...

[WarProfiteer]

Just wanted to share a few of my misadventures. As I am now in the process of looking for work, it means I'll be leaving again soon. I'm starting to realize that my time here is indeed a special opportunity that not many guys my age get. It's a unique time and place in my life... a place that's brought me back from a pretty dark headspace... somehow I've now forgotten about the warzone years... and let go of the anger and the ugliness. The she-wok has much to do with this. But so does my own new-found wandering... if you're continually curious about what's over the next horizon, it's hard to hang on to old pain.

If you're human I can promise ya this though... eventually, somewhere, at some time, there will be pain. No one escapes it. And the best one can do is distract themselves. I've done that with a lot of negative things, but lately it's been with riding and exploring this fascinating little corner of the world I'm in... which I'd file under "positive"... and right now, this moment, it's the Mae Hong Son Loop...

Today we set out on our metal steeds, just me and a friend, to wander up through the mountain passes and eventually hit the border with Burma near Mae Hong Son. That's day 1... roughly 1000 turns of varying degrees, up to and including multiple hairpins back-to-back, on sharply rising and falling roads. Gotta admit, the Honda CB500X's have been the perfect bike for this trip...

Some of the places we stopped quickly to snap a pic...

Rice fields... lots and lots of rice field villages in the mountains....

Honestly... no explanation can touch the real sense of wandering up through these mountains, seeing these things, interacting with these people who are fascinated at my white skin, my height, my size... village children waving... "nam pao, khup" we say- thinking to have a quick drink and be away, but within 5 minutes the village children are crowding around and staring at the big bikes and big westerners, unsure how to engage us, but very curious. Honestly, it's been years since I felt this alive... when on the bike and doing my best through the tough twisty roads... when struggling to communicate with locals who only mostly only speak Karen... who the fcuk knows what it all means, but I know it brings me a peace and a feeling I've seen and done something most of my friends and family from back home never will.

Thailand can mean madness and carnal chaos at all hours, but it can also mean unequaled beauty and total tranquility and much needed healing.

I dont lie to myself about all of this though... this a crest... something not meant to last... but goddamn does it feel amazing while I'm up here...

 

[KTMphil]

Looks like you've really been bitten Kevin - Enjoy!

 

[WarProfiteer]

Finally made it to Mae Hong Son and chose our place of lodging... it's not The Hilton, but it has western toilets, hot water in the shower and aircon, so it checks all the boxes. Reasonably priced at 800 baht/night.

After a quick shower and snacks, my friend wanted to explore some of the small roads that supposedly lead up to the Burmese border... sure, why not?

Well, for one, they dont stay paved for long... and for another, they often have streams that run right across the goddamn road. They can be difficult to cross.

Notice; this is the proper way...

These streams have been here for years, and the algea has grown and settled across the bottom... it's slicker than wet ice + WD40... so when taking a motorcycle across it is important to never (1) brake, (2) accelerate, (3) change direction or (4) change any damn thing! If you try, you are quite likely to end up like this...

Oh well, if one is going to have an accident and drop the bike, it's far better to do it at 5 mph than 50. Nothing hurt and I even had the quick wits to shout to my friend "hey man, take a picture of this shit!!!"

The locals found it all quite amusing. I'm sure I will be the subject of many a villager's laughter up in the wild hills tonight. Fine. So be it. Call it my brand of diplomacy. There were 2 locals behind us, a young guy and his girlfriend, then another 2 guys in front of us on a single 125CC bike. To their credit, everyone stopped and wanted to know if I was OK... when I gave the big thumbs up and waited for my buddy to snap the pic, laughter was the universal sign that we all understood each other... top notch experience, in my book!

Anyway, we wandered up through the hill tribe village, waved as people smiled and stared. Kids enthusiastically kept repeating the only english word they knew... "heeeelllllooooo!"... we eventually left the houses and people behind, looking for some marker or sign that said we'd made it out of Thailand and into Burma along some unmanned route... didn't happen of course, but after a while we started thinking "we gotta fekkin be in Burma by now!"... this is my 'I dont know what country I'm in' pose...

Eventually we stopped at some pseudo-structure we sagely decided was an obvious Burmese military border post... it just lacked walls or any military markings. But this was definitely a Burmese structure. We felt sure that modern science could prove it easily. Some truths are self evident. And besides, the dirt roads were starting to become too tough to navigate with my unseasoned abilities. One drop in a day is more than enough, eh?

So this is as far as we went... the Burmese military building that time forgot...

Tomorrow's ride is a long one... from here down to Mae Sot. We're changing the usual route. We're going all the way south to the refugee camps... home to 50K people who've fled Burma over the last few years. Should be a unique experience indeed. Then we'll probably cut over east to stay the night in Tak. Stay tuned...

 

[WarProfiteer]

So today was the long day... first Mae Hong Son to Mae Sariang, then down south running parallel along the border to Mae Sot, where the main refugee camps are. It was about 9 total hours of travel time, but we took breaks about every 90 minutes (ok, so it was every 60 minutes by the end of it)... and as we saw no attractive hotels in the border town, we decided to head inland an hour to the bigger-ish city of Tak.

The road was absolutely fantastic in some parts...

And it was non-existent in others... unfortunately we were too busy holding on and trying not to mame ourselves to take any pix on the worst sections... this was the "good" part of the 'no road' drive today... all the loose sand had me pretty nervous after yesterday's tumble... pucker factor was about a +7...

Anyway, we did the usual thing... drive along through the snaking roads up, down, around and over the mountains... some made for incredible riding and others were so overgrown it was like it was down to one lane...

Still, what a joy to just be out riding and exploring...

Note; that's the road winding along the left hand side of this pic...

 

[WarProfiteer]

We eventually hit a few refugee camps... smaller ones along the route, not the big one in Mae Sot. I found it a depressing experience, although the kids were much like kids anywhere, smiling, waving and taking joy in anything they could... these little ones seemed to be very proud of their teddy bear (sleeping on the blanket) and brightly colored toy car. Probably given to them by some NGO... the little girl's shirt was absolute irony.

The camps themselves really arent all that different than the houses one might expect to find in the poorer rice farming parts of this country (Isaan), with the exception that they are tightly packed. Just basic bamboo & thatch places built by hand, no power or running water, little paths and steps leading up between all the little huts. I wondered for a minute what it must be like to endure daily life there, but shuddered and decided not to sour my own mood by dwelling on it. Hell, just walking over that mountain (background) between the countries must've been brutal...

After witnessing a stump-legged old lady hobbling along in front of me, the obvious victim of the many land mines, I decided I really didn't want to see the big refugee camp after all. So instead we just hit the official border crossing at Mae Sot, which was, of course, packed solely with Burmese standing in line, in the heat, for hours and hours, trying to get into Thailand. They're fenced in and monitored until they are called to talk with an immigration official. Makes what I go through with Chiang Mai Immigration look like cake. Once again, I found this all very disheartening and decided I didnt want to spend too much time in such a negative place... theirs is a harder life than any of us will ever know.

So it was back to the open road... over to Tak... a high speed, but very twisty road with only a few construction spots & police stops to slow us down... and of course, a few scenic spots to pull over and snap a quick pic...

Can you imagine a life spent in this village? Working the hillsides and never knowing things like the internet, movies, air conditioning, hot showers, etc?

Finally, one last stop at a scenic place with cold drinks & a lookout deck... then onward to Tak, the hotel, a warm (kinda) shower, hot food from the street vendors outside, beer from 7-11 and soon... a much deserved sleep.

Tomorrow's ride will take us back to Mae Sariang via a different route, but from there we will then ride back to Chiang Mai, thus earning the honor of having ridden the Mae Hong Son Loop... plus an extra side trip. I plan on buying a Mae Hong Son Loop shirt at Rider's Corner in Chiang Mai to celebrate...

 

[WarProfiteer]

An easy ride home today... just up the 1 to Thoen, then up the 106 to CM... didn't back trace all the way to Mae Sariang... made for a quick ride though... even with a few stops it took just 4 hours. Only a few fun parts to road... mostly just high speed, straight stuff with some traffic. I may go out at some point and ride south to Mae Sariang along the 108, just to say I did it. Anyone know what that particular road is like? (possible day ride, Keld?)

As for the bike, I can honestly say that the CB500X is a very comfortable bike for multi-day trips. We averaged about 60 mpg, despite the advertised mileage being 70+. Sorry, I converted that and I'm too lazy to work the numbers backwards. Top speed we could get was about 164kph... I only got mine to 157... guess the extra weight has an effect. I also didnt peg it and hold it for long, I just got it up where the numbers were climbing veeeerrrryyy sloooowwwwly... so I backed off and figured that was about all it had. Still, honestly, you never even remotely NEED to go that fast anywhere in Thailand. It cruises just fine at 100-120, which is probably about what ya should be doing usually.

I'll take it back in the morning and work out the damage charge... probably looking at one slider and one brake lever. He could probably just bang the slider back into place as it's barely off, but it's a pretty new bike so I'll understand if he wants a new slider. We bent back the brake lever and it's totally usable, but it's obvious that it's been bent... def didnt come from the factory looking like that. My guess right now is 1500 baht for everything, thus making my algae slide a $50 spill. Oh well, these are the ways in which one learns...

 

[WarProfiteer]

The last pix of the last day... all good things must come to an end, as they say...

Where we stayed in Tak... honestly, wouldnt really recommend it... water in the shower could only get to 'luke-warm'... not good for those of us who shave their noggin in the steamy, hot shower at home... not badly priced at 800 baht/night, but in need of updating and absolutely no real restaurants anywhere nearby. Hit the market & 7-11 to cover dinner.

I will say this though... it had a very nice view of the river outside. That said, how much time do you really hang out in your room looking out the window?

After an hour's worth of straight, boring roads, we got into some mountain twistys that were indeed fun...

And eventually pulled over for a roadside bathroom break... when in Thailand and all that jazz... we were having fun, going a bit quick, but hugging the insides of turns... and thank god/buddha, had a double-truck come around a blind bend in our lane, with 2 vehiclees behind it leaning out further into our lane to see when they could pass... really it was blind to both sides... we were on the inside and there were honestly no close calls, but we pulled over at the next level spot to reflect on how that could've easily been a very, very bad situation. Took 10 minutes to relax, snapped a quick pic, then back on the road...

And finally the last stop of the tour... a quick bit of food & drink at Chez 7-11 (notice the sign, far right)... fine dining at it's best. I want to support local businesses, but it's hard when ya know 7-11 or BTT is going to have everything ya need...

Anyway, as previously stated... got home, unpacked and relaxed for about 2 hours... then took the she-wok out & around to get her impressions of riding on the back of the CB500X. She liked the higher seating position (she could see) of the 500X and said the seat was very comfortable. Overall, she said it was a tie between it and the ER6N, but both were 1000% better than riding on the ninja, which she now admits she didn't like at all. We went up to Doi Suthep as well, just practicing my much improved (deeper) leaning and while not even pushing it I was easily passing everything... and doing so safely and smoothly... even the gonzo songteau guys were left behind effortlessly... not a single scare and I was up and back down in literally no time. My riding has much improved over the last few days... time in the saddle counts for a lot... definitely grateful I took the trip...

Fin...

 

[2wheels]

Well done Kevin.
Good bikes, nice pics and story and great riding roads.

But ...

The road was absolutely fantastic in some parts...

Those 'parts' being on the wrong side of the road?!

Still, honestly, you never even remotely NEED to go that fast anywhere in Thailand.

Agree.
Smell the roses.

 

[2wheels]

... fine dining at it's best ...

Never before read that in relation to 7-11 !

 

[WarProfiteer]

Well done Kevin.
Good bikes, nice pics and story and great riding roads.

But ...



View attachment 17469

Those 'parts' being on the wrong side of the road?!

Agree.
Smell the roses.

Obviously pulling off the road to have a bit of a break. My buddy had pushed ahead and grabbed the camera so he could snap the pic...

(also, we're American... that's the proper side of the road to be on for us!)

 

[WarProfiteer]

Injustice! Wanted my Mae Hong Son shirt (now that I'd done it), but they only had 2XL in white... wanted the black ones... that's all ya see hanging on the wall to display... didnt even know they had white.

Anyway, had some pool, had a chat/advice talk with a newbie friend, had some grub and of course two of of those goddamn ciders that Sef has addicted me to... damn Brits and their wicked drink!

As the she-wok is off tomorrow, I'm thinking about dropping the CB500X off, then grabbing a CB500F for the day... not sure exactly where I'll ride if I do... or, I may just wake up lazy and do nothing... it happens...

 

[Ally]

Good stuff, nice trip

Ally

 

[KTMphil]

So many rider's have slipped and fallen on that viaduct crossing towards the long neck village, its treacherous! Sorry about the MHS T-shirt, we sell so many so fast, Som sometimes can't keep up with having them printed (the staff sell out of a size without telling her), I've emailed her to get some more 2XL's printed, this was a great read Kevin.

Wanted my Mae Hong Son shirt (now that I'd done it), but they only had 2XL in white... wanted the black ones... that's all ya see hanging on the wall to display... didnt even know they had white

 

[WarProfiteer]

It really was no problem, Phil... it just gives me yet another excuse to return to Riders and have another Natch or two... hahaaa...

 

[The Bigfella]

Good report Kevin. Thanks.

Let's have a chat about the refugee camps next time you are in. I spent a week in Nu Pho last year. Its further south - about a 6 hour ride south of Mae Sot. A fascinating place