Over the hills and far away

[bsacbob]

Day 1


After the adventures in Omkoi it was time to get back in the saddle and hit some dirt and when Dave Bailey and his wife Mai asked if i was up for a trip up and around the crashed Huey i was more than happy to step up.


The route

Nice easy trial along the Kok river from Chiang Rai heading up to Tha Ton, we had a great weather window and the scenery along the route was stunning.


New bridge across the Kok river before the old motorcycle suspension bridge.

The well known motorcycle bridge.

Road repairs on some of the steeper sections in preparation for the rainy season.

Beautiful sections of trail.

Don't know what this guy was smoking but he seamed happy about it.

Few puddles to play in.

One of the more tricky sections.

Friendly Yao lady dressed up for a visit from a film crew was all smiles.

Another happy smoker

After a great ride along the 1340 towards Ang Khang we headed down to Chiang Dao and onto the great 1322 stopping the night at the Cowboy Resort and bar in Wiang Haeng for the night for a well earned beer or two.

400 baht a night with Wifi, good food and entertainment.


N19.57188 E98.62833


View attachment Chiang Rai to Wiang Haeng heading along the Kok river.GPX


To be continued.

 

[KTMphil]

I can't believe in the middle of June how dry it is still!! Looks like it was a great trip Bob.

 

[2wheels]

Well done Bob.
Looking forward to next instalment.

 

[bsacbob]

Day 2


The route from Wiang Haeng to Pai via the crashed Huey.

Early start and grab and go breakfast at the local 7/11 and were off travelling south on the 1322 and turning off on the edge of town, today was a Sally day (nickname for my GPS) to prove to Dave it would route us to the Huey, travelling a short distance through a village Mai asked for directions to reassure Dave we would get us where we wanted to go. The road soon turned to dirt and wound it's way through a forest section (rutted sections almost the whole way through the forest until we reached the new fire road we would eventually ride back on the next day.


Felled tree almost blocking the trail.

One of the nicer sections.

Dave & Mai two-up

Nice views as we climbed up.

Exit of the trail meeting the new fire road.

Trail gets more interesting.

Edible flower.

Not sure what the round circular dish is for, Helipad wind sock in the distance.

More fun with ruts, most of these pictures are taken by Mai, where she would hop off on some of the more difficult sections.

The trail continued this way mixture of good and bad sections.

At this point we decided to take the right hand fork that was not shown on the map.

Not sure if we made the right choice it was steep and narrow.

Eventually the Huey was in view.

Now for the ride down to Pai and lots more fun in the ruts.

Interesting face along the way.

Nice cooling river crossing.

Finally got to Pai, stopped at the Pichai House, amazing value 240 baht a night.


N19.35697 E98.44001

View attachment Wiang Haeng to Pai via Huey.GPX

 

[2wheels]

Wonderful Bob!
Hey, after my UK ride I'll give you a liquid commission to escort me on that same route OK?

 

[bsacbob]

Day 3


After a night of beers and pizza in Pai it was a nice mostly easy ride on the fire road back to Wiang Haeng and to meet up with the junction that came out of the nasty woodland section and figure out where the road led us too.


The route

This left turn out of the village would take you up to the Huey.

Wat Prahat and wooden bridge crossing to it.

Junction to woodland trail bringing you back into the south side of Wiang Haeng is at.


N19.52030 E98.56290

The no entry sign is the track that would take you up towards the border.

A few more like this then it flattens out.

We hit the 1322 north of Wiang Haeng and then have a nice easy ride back to Riders Corner for Fish N Chips.


View attachment Pai - Wiang Heng.GPX

The Main Part of the route.

 

[KTMphil]

Bob -- was there anything new there that you did that wasn't on the North Thailand road & off-road GPS map?

 

[bsacbob]

Not really but at N19.66231 E98.39469 we made a loop right off the map which was not shown.

 

[Lone Rider]

Thanks Bob, very nice pictures which help me figuring out things for the map.

 

[bsacbob]

Some of you guy's noticed my passion for songs and lyrics in my post titles, here's the latest, sing along......might ask for it at the next Karaoke :kat


[video=youtube_share;0EVNeh9dasI]http://youtu.be/0EVNeh9dasI[/video]

 

[2wheels]

Hey, after my UK ride I'll give you a liquid commission to escort me on that same route OK?

No, I didn't mean water.

If you let the musician at 'Rest@MaeChan' hear this he will soon learn it then play live for ya.

 

[alexuk]

Great pictures Bob,and great music too

 

[bsacbob]

That would be no mean feat Ron, but i bet he could do it.

*Hey, after my UK ride I'll give you a liquid commission to escort me on that same route OK?"

I have never taken bribes but on this occasion...well maybe.

*Great pictures Bob,and great music too"

Thanks Alex, lots of fun to be had in that area for sure.

 

[The Bigfella]

Nice ride there Bob. Next trip I'd like to get up into that area

 

[2wheels]

... lots of fun to be had in that area for sure.

Indeed; within the entire area of Northern Thailand.

Ally and I were talking about that yesterday during a 'Birding' expedition.
i.e. how many of us, myself included, rave about other parts of SE Asia yet we have it all here at our doorsteps.

Well, maybe not the snow-capped peaks of Shangri La.

 

[KTMphil]

Was just looking at the latest north Thailand map that's just been compiled, the area north of Pai is looking pretty awesome for trail riding







Map Copyright RideAsia.net - All rights reserved

 

[skeedary]

What a great post Bob and so informative. Even some new places to stay and eat along the way. I now have all the detail thanks to you and it is definitely on my must do list. I need some help of how to construct a proper ride blog so hope to meet up with you soon.

 

[bsacbob]

Pleased to be of service my friend.