North Thailand Road Trip With No Particular Place To go

[ChumphaeSteve]

Solo trip. No plan really, other than to stay on the twisties and take photos, lots of photos...







Day 1. (Loei to Phu Tubberk). Short day, set off at 2pm. Wanted to get to Phu Tubberk for sunset which was a dissapointment. Rooms up here are a hell of a price! First resort I came to had rooms that looked like 600B worth I laughed at the guy when he quoted 3,000!

They want 500 for a 2 man tent!



Eventually found somewhere for 800 which is not very nice at all.

Climbed over a fence to get a shot and smashed my phone which was in my back pocket. Bloody Chinese piece of shit didn't pass the ''Fat man sitting'' test The road up to the top is a LOT of fun but damaged due to substantial subsidence in many places.



Some shots of the day.

 

[bsacbob]

Nice Steve, looking forward to the rest of the trip.

 

[ChumphaeSteve]

Day 2. Up showered, packed and out before 6am to watch the sunrise at Phu Thap Boerk. All the Thai's in silly hats, pyjamas and romper suits, wrapped in blankets while taking selfies was much more interesting.






Was going to carry on through the park and head North but the guy on the gate insisted I have to pay 500B to ride the next 34km. That's not ever going to happen.




I changed plan, went back down the way I came up and headed for Phitsanulok as I needed a new phone. Apart from a 20km section of Highway 12 through Petchabun the rest of the days ride was boring.

Am now at one of the best value resorts I've ever found in Thailand. Very comfy room, quality mattress and great quality, pressed linen 400Baht!. First came here a couple of years ago and always use it when passing Ban Tak now. Link below... Ban Tak is a great little village with many wooden houses along the river. I really like it here.













There is a fantastic Cafe restaurant not far from here Milkman Greenhouse on Highway one, look for the old Ford. The owner is a biker and has a Triumph Scrambler.

Milkman Greenhouse

N17.05241° E99.07524°





By the way.... I'm right at the end of the 1175 Had a look on Kurvinger to plan a route. The 1175 isn't on it!!


Bussachat Homestay

N17.06257° E99.04917°







Maps of the day.

 

[2wheels]

More disgusting price discrimination, and outrageously so.

40 baht v 500 baht for adult
20 baht v 300 baht for child

Shameless.

 

[ChumphaeSteve]

Day 3. 1175 and 105 to Mae Sariang plus a couple of minor detours. First time I rode the 105 it was hard work due to the terrible surface but that was years ago. It's a lot of fun these days and I never get bored of it. Nearly came a cropper after forgetting to refuel in Ta Song Yang. Thankfully found a roadside, fuel vending machine which was a real relief.



































No visit to Mae Sariang is complete without stopping for BBQ pork & rice .

N18.16077° E97.94150°

 

[ChumphaeSteve]

Day 4. Promised myself I wasn't going to get into situations like this while riding alone but hey ho....

Wanted to make my way cross country from Mae Sariang to Doi Ithanon and beyond today. There is one 2km stretch marked as ''motorcycles only'' on the GT Rider map . Needs to be a smaller one than mine with knobblies!!





The pics don't show the steepness, they never do. I completely buggered it up and came to a halt, front brake wasn't holding it from sliding backwards. Put back brake on eased it off as I put power on but the back wheel just kept spinning. Turned engine off, put in gear and went to have a look around the next bend. Hopelessly steep! Had to inch backwards, engine off usuing clutch and back brake, far enough to turn around. What a pisser!







Had to change plan, back track 35km and headed for Mae Hong Song where I got a room 50m from crossroads bar for 300B! 90% of the country roads were in pretty bad shape. When I hit the 108 again, I rode like a man possessed. Great fun

Meeting up with Walter Fenske in Pai tomorrow night will have to plan some detours...



Was pleasantly surprised to see this in Mae Saiang yesterday. The original one burned down to the ground. Has been an eyesore for a while.






Some Thai style creative parking

Fully loaded with cabbages, much to much weight and too fast around a hairpin. I saw a double trailer lorry carrying gravel, on its side a bit further on. Crazy buggers!



My attempt at getting the clearest, sharpest night time picture I can.Taken at ISO64000 5 shots stacked to kill some ''noise''. All shots taken at f4 and 1/50th sec.

 

[bsacbob]

If it's any consolation Steve the trail heading to the 1263 gets worse so you did well to turn around in that bulldust.

 

[ChumphaeSteve]

Day 5 1095 Mae Hong Song to Pai via the R4015. What can I say about the MHS loop that hasn't been said already? Such a blast!!! The R4015 is in complete contrast. Slow narrow road of 39km to a dead end with superb scenery, though most of it is in the first 25km. I'd turn back after that if I was to do it again.


















Going to Pai? I highly recommend this place for an amazing buffet breakfast. They cook you eggs of your choice and whatever you want with them and you get to help yourself to the incredible spread. 160B all in is an absolute bargain! The last pic here was taken early in the morning a few days ago. You can see its hazy but don't let it put you off.

 

[ChumphaeSteve]

Day 6 Pai to Ban Arunothai 1095,107,1322,1178. Started off the day (in the company of Walter Fenske and his customers from Siamenduro) with a MASSIVE breakfast in Pai at an all you can eat, gourmet buffet, for 160Baht!! Outstanding, had to skip lunch

Great riding and photo ops all day. The weather is fantastic, getting really hot in the afternoon. The smoke, especially on the loop is shocking, I've never seen it as bad as this before. The 1322 and 1178 loop is a real boneshaker. The surface, I'd say is 3% or less, perfect. 50% in need of repair with the rest in urgent need of repair. The amount of potholes reminded me of old ariel photos of the Somme. They are just everywhere. There's one short section that looks more like a dried up riverbed than a road. Was all good fun though and I wouldn't be put off doing it again. Wouldn't fancy it a sports bike though. Was aiming to get to Fang but it was getting dark by the time I got to Ban Arunthai. The place is a dump and I'm staying in an overpriced room above a 7/11.

These were part of a group of Thais who were all show and no go. Their lines were all over the place.

I took this picture last time I was here. This is the woman who runs the place. Called in today to give her the pic. She loved it.

 

[ChumphaeSteve]

Day 7. Got a bit sidetracked today,was engrossed in my landscape photography and have so many more shots to sort through. The unnamed road on the map really is a photographers dream ( the 3048). I must get back there at sun up when the skies are more interesting, later in the year... Found a cracker of a resort to stay in tonight. Link below... VERY comfy desiger rooms. There are 20 of them and it's empty except for me! New place. Swimming pool and gym. Very clean. Owner speaks English. Net page says 650B I was quoted 550.

He didn't have change of 1,000 so let me have it for 500. A right result! Diving in that pool at the end of a blistering afternoon was bliss! There's a crackin' restaurant over the road too .

 

[ChumphaeSteve]

Day 8 Was reluctant to leave the Palm Hug Resort (Link in comments below), very glad to have found this place especially since there is such a cool little place down the road selling excellent Pizzas and.

The GF is coming up to join me in a few days, will overnight here again on way back

took an indirect route to Chaing Rai, the 3023, a concrete twisty route was the best of it. Been this way a few times before, the reservoir is not looking its best, the lack of water and haze have made a big difference to the last time I was here.

Arrived in Chiang Rai, finished up at the same grotty place around the corner from Hangover corner, a great little biker bar with many falang riders. Can anyone recommend a better place to stay at or below the 600B mark.





















Had a REALLY superb Indian a 2min walk from there. The single photo I took from there shows what they bought just when I ordered Popadoms! You can see the guys cooking through glass windows which is great. You can see its clean

https://www.facebook.com/acchachiangrai/

 

[ChumphaeSteve]

Day 9. Short ride today, which took in one of the finest sections of road anywhere in Thailand for ''Sports'' riding

I had several bits of spirited riding on empty roads then kept turning back to photograph them to post here... I was playing around on this section of road for well over an hour and didn't see one other big bike which was a shame as I wanted to get some decent action shots. Am staying in the lovely Tamila guesthouse in Chiang Khan tonight.

 

[bsacbob]

Great pictures as always Steve, yes that route on the 1290 from Chiang Khong to Mae Sai has to be one of the fastest stretches in Thailand only to be outdone by route 12 to Mae Sot when it is finally finished.