The Smoky Moumtain Trip 2012

Tom

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2011
OK, so here’s the deal; if you’re expecting stories of mud-baths in far-flung jungles, crossing deep rivers using only a plastic fork and last week’s Sunday Times for tools or of rappelling down steep cliffs on a bike, you’ve come to the wrong post! What follows is the (partial) story of road-trip (the operative word here being road) that I did between 15th and 28th of March.

The initial plan for the trip was as follows; Phuket-Bangkok-Tak-Mae Sariang-Pai-Chiang Mai-Mae Sai-Nan-Tak-Kanchanaburi-Hua Hin-Phuket. However, no battle-plan survives first contact with the enemy, and this would prove to be no exception to that rule.

Also, as shall become abundantly evident later on, this is about the worst time of the year that you can set out to do what I was planning. However, before everyone starts chiming in about this, let me just make it clear that I was completely aware of this before I started. The reason for doing it when I did was quite simply that this was when I had the opportunity to do it. I can’t take off for this long whenever it tickles my fancy, so when a series of things all of a sudden fell into place I didn’t hesitate to pack my bike and take off, hoping for a spot of luck along the way with the conditions.

15th March – Day 1

The first day was basically just a ‘transport-stage’, meant to get me closer to the real object of the trip; doing a loop of the North. I decided to go to Bangkok on the first day, as I had a few things I wanted to do there, and I didn’t need to be in Tak before the 17th. I have done the trip to Bangkok and back on a bike several times before, but last time it nearly did me in. Not from any near misses, mind you, but from plain old heat exhaustion. I had started from Phuket at 05:00 and arrived on the outskirts of Bangkok at about 16:00, and the last 20 km took me an hour and a half. Let me tell you, the Dakar Rally’s got nothing on trying to wrestle a fully loaded Africa Twin through rush-hour traffic in Bangkok - in full kit, of course - on a blazing hot day. I shall spare you the details, suffice it to say that this time I was determined to do it differently. I set out to start at 08:00 and aimed for 12 hours to central Bangkok. The reason for starting later was to avoid the peak of the traffic and to get into the city when it was a bit cooler as well. This being Thailand, where it’s considered rude to be on time, I of course didn’t get going until 09:00.

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All dressed up

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Tah Chat Chai checkpoint, right before the Sarasin Bridge that takes you off the island. 835 km to go.

First you have to survive Phuket traffic (by far the most dangerous in Thailand, if you ask me) to get to the bridge. Then you get onto Hwy 4, which takes you first up to Ranong, and later on to Chumphon. The stretch between Phuket and Ranong is generally quite a pleasant ride, if not spectacular.

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Scenery from Hwy 4 between Phuket and Ranong

Then, once you’ve passed Ranong, the road gets rather twisty and there are a fair few mountains around, making life a bit more interesting. This goes on for quite a while, until you start getting near Chumphon, where things become more flat and straight.
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Hwy 4 between Ranong and Chumphon
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You never quite know what you might come across on a Thai road. This is a fishing boat overtaking me right before Chumphon.

Well, once I hit Chumphon, the road turned into the usual boring, straight highway. However, before I could embark on this stretch of particularly un-amusing road I had to negotiate a new on/off-ramp system they have made there, but which ESRI has yet to put in their map. Coming from North or South, it’s not a problem, you just follow the signs. However, coming from West, as I did, the signs are either confusing or simply not there, and the roads the GPS tell you to go on no longer exist. I ended up doing two loops of this system, before heading 2 km in the wrong direction (I knew this as I was doing it, but I had to try something different) and finally being able to turn around and pass through Chumphon.

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Hwy 4 to Bangkok, right after Chumphon. This is going to be boring!

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Near Petchaburi. What is it with Thais and birds anyway?

The remainder of the trip was rather uneventful. I got into Bangkok around 21:00, and the traffic was actually no worse than what I can find on Phuket on any given day. I arrived at the hotel a bit before 22:00, in considerably better shape than last time I did this.

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Inside Bangkok. My cunning plan worked and the traffic was quite light.

Route: 4, 32. Distance: 891 km.

16th March – Day 2

Today was a day of R&R in Bangkok. I had intended to buy a new helmet while I was there. Not that there’s much wrong with the one I have, a Uvex Enduro. However, they make a carbon fiber version of the same helmet, which weighs in at a mere 1.05 kg, not to mention that it comes in fashionable black. What’s not to like? So I called up MocycShop (as seen on mocyc.com), and asked whether they had this helmet. Now, here I have to admit that I had originally written a somewhat sarcastic comment regarding the “No hab! Only hab saport!” I was greeted with. It wasn’t until later in the evening that I realized that I had attributed the ad for the helmet I was after to the wrong shop! Doh! By then it was too late to do anything about it.
So, with no joy on a new lid (and we’re travelling back in time here), I proceeded with the next order of business, which was to go here
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to salivate over, and to some degree on, this

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Yamaha XT1200Z Super Tenere

My sincerest apologies for the naff paparazzi pictures, but they have a ‘No f#####g photo!’ policy in the shop. Anyways, I’m not shy to admit that I’ve been having wet dreams about this one. Probably just as well that I didn’t happen to have 690.000 Baht in my pocket, or else…

But I digress.

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Pizza Seafood Supreme at Pizza Hut: 310 Baht (sorry Captain, couldn’t help myself)

Route: None in particular. Distance: 0 km (by bike, anyway).

17th March – Day 3

The key to a smooth exit from Bangkok is to get up and get going before (most of) the Bangkokians. In the past I have left at 05:00 to 05:30, which works really well, but today I am once again unfashionably late and don’t get a move on until 06:20. I run into the first minor traffic jam about 100 m from the hotel where there’s already a market in full swing (sorry, no pictures from the first half hour of the trip, as I was too busy dodging traffic and navigating at the same time).

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32 to Nakhon Sawan

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On 309, which I thought looked interesting enough to warrant a bit of exploration (allright, I screwed up and missed an exit, which is why I ended up there rather than on 32), I saw this sign, pointing to a big guy.

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And sure enough, there’s the big guy.

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A flock of tastefully decorated busses. There must be a nest nearby.

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Note to self: Exercise greater caution when packing shaving cream (though for the rest of the trip, that backpack smelled fabulous).
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Hwy 1 to Tak. ‘Nuff said.

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Now we’re getting near Tak, and things begin to look a bit more rural.

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According to ESRI, this is a paved road. Oh, well.

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I think there’s an Al-Qaeda camp around here somewhere.

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More dirt/farm road.

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Irrefutable proof. I have been in the s@*t and I am now a hardcore adventure-rider!

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And for the KTMaholics out there (you know who you are): KTMs are orange. This is orange. Ergo, this is a KTM. QED.

If I was just going to Tak, I might have stayed on Hwy 1 all the way. However, I was looking in on the family who were up there visiting, which explains this detour into the countryside. This is also the reason why this day, at least as far as this story is concerned, ends rather abruptly right here.

Route: 32, 1 (wroooong!), 309 (correction of previous muck-up), 32, 1, 122, 1 and a bunch of back-roads in Tak. Distance: 483 km
 
18th March – Day 4

Today’s objective is to go from Tak to Mae Sariang via Mae Sot. I start off on Hwy 12 to Mae Sot, which at first looks somewhat dull.
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Having been on this road before, I know that it soon turns into this
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Getting into Mae Sot, I pass the border checkpoint
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and have a rest under the bridge. That’s Myanmar over there in the background.

Leaving Mae Sot I turn onto 105, which will take me all the way to Mae Sariang

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105 doesn’t look too interesting at first either, but it gets better.

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I come across this village along the road

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Don’t play with matches around here!

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An Africa Twin is always a crowd-pleaser

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Laundry day at the village

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I’m pretty sure this one was not on the test when I took my license

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There was a rumor of the haze clearing somewhere, so smoke-production was resumed

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A bit of scorched earth

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The Moei River – with and without AT – which forms the border with Myanmar (Burma) for quite a long stretch

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And then I come to this beautiful new road. I’m sure they must have known I was coming, because it’s so freshly made that there are still a bunch of big, yellow road-making dohickeys standing around next to it.

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105, all spruced up

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Oh, right, so that’s why the gizmotrons are still there…

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More adventure riding

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So I’m guessing this is what the 105 used to look like.

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Right after I’d put the camera away after taking this picture, the black boy-cow got frisky with one of the girl-cows. Right there in the middle of the road! I mean, what’s the world coming to…?

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More classic 105

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Found another freshly made patch on 105

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…and the 105 enduro training area

Right, the shadows are getting long, and I want to be in Mae Sariang before sundown. Time to ‘hoon’ for a while and give the camera a rest.

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Sun setting 10 km before Mae Sariang

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Thank you, thank you very much! (Please note the conveniently placed sunset behind the sign).

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I check the GPS for nearby hotels, and it suggests the Mit-A-Ree. They have 3 types of rooms; fan for 300 baht, A/C for 400 and VIP for 500. I decide to live it up and go for the VIP-room. The difference between that and the AC-room is apparently the too yen (fridge). They have covered parking on the grounds, which is good. Later I discover that there is a fair amount of road noise from outside, so I wouldn’t stay there again.

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The high-roller suite at the Mit-A-Ree Hotel.

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Bathroom electrics. Shocking, I tell you!

All in all, not a bad day. A bit of haze in places, but nothing serious, and some nice views along the border.

Route: 12, 105. Distance: 337 km
 
19th March – Day 5

If this day had an ‘undo’-button, I would push it. Repeatedly. With gusto! I left my luxurious hotel at 09:40, headed for Pai via Mae Hong Son.

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No, that is not morning mist. 09:40, remember?

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The 108, heading to Mae Hong Son. This is not looking good.

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By 11:00 the haze seems to have dissipated (very) slightly.

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By 12:00 it’s beginning to look almost(!) reasonable.

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But then, as I get close to Mae Hong Son, the haze returns with a vengeance!

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I had intended to stop for a bit in Mae Hong Son, but by now I’m so fed up with the situation that I just motor right through and head straight for Pai.

After Mae Hong Son it was onto 1095 to Pai. The road itself is quite interesting, but the scenery continues to be shite. I only took these two pictures between Mae Hong Son and Pai, simply to show why I didn’t take more. With nothing to look at it was ‘hoon’-time again and until I reached Pai I just concentrated on overtaking anything in front of me. Cars, mini-busses, bikes, they all got the treatment. A worthwhile pursuit in its own right, wouldn’t you agree?

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Breathtaking, isn’t it?

Rolling in to Pai I was trying to decide on whether to just pass through and head for Chiang Mai. However, since I was not due to meet up with the missus, the sprog and the outlaws until the next day, I decided I may as well stay. Cruising around a bit, I find this:

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Golden House, N19.35516 E98.44322. A/C room 600 baht, fan room 300 baht.

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Pai River

Pai is a really weird place, full of really weird people. You get your ubiquitous unwashed, bearded backpacker-types (and these are the girls I’m talking about! The guys are even worse!!) of course, as well as wannabe hippies, dopers, drop-outs, Captain Jack Sparrow (no, it’s true, he was there!) and assorted riff-raff. I even saw this clean cut, decently dressed and suspiciously normal looking guy walking down the middle of the road with his iThingie stuck firmly in his ears, when he suddenly stopped and started break-dancing (as one does). I didn’t have the heart to tell him that it went out of fashion over 20 years ago. A stroll after dinner brought me past a small roadside shop that looked like something out a 1001 Nights and from which smoke emanated that I’m pretty sure would be illegal in most countries.

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From a walk around town. Notice the red bike parked on the left. I thought it looked familiar, so when I got back to the ‘loom’ I had a look on the interweb, and sure enough, it’s that XR650R that’s been for sale.

Route: 108, 1095. Distance: 276 km
 
20th March – Day 6

Today’s trip started as the previous day’s had ended; lots of smoke and burnt scenery. Things are not looking good.

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Leaving Pai.

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A “view”-point right outside Pai. Today’s view has been cancelled due to lack of interest.

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Why did the buffaloes cross to 1095? To get to the other side, of course!

From here on in, it was a pretty good day of riding, and only the places with big views were a bit disappointing.

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The start of 1265

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Smoky, but nice road

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Well, most of it is nice, anyway…

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More 1265. Very little traffic on this road.

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Oh yeah?? Bring it on!!

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Now, some of the resident lunatics would of course have been down there like a shot, for no other reason than to get their bike to the other side. Me, I don’t have those urges. Nope. Uh-uh. Not even a twitch.

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1265 is quite kinky, but could do with a bit of TLC in places.

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Now that’s a proper turn!

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And this is where the 1265 gives way to 5032 rural road. This is going to be fun!

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Very rural.

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Fishing in the woods.

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Local bridge.

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5032 gets a bit bumpy in places (this was not the worst of it)

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Making sure we don’t run out of smoke.

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A local gas-station. I saw at least 3 of these along the 34-km dirt section on 5032.

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This is porn to me! I know; I should get out more….

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When you get out in the open – for the best part of this section you are just riding through the woods with no big views – you are reminded of the fires.

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5032 turns into a dual-carriageway dirt-road.

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Why do I get this craving for toast?

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First signs of road-work. Are they going to spoil 5032?

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Noooo, don’t do it!!

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Nearing the end of the dirt on 5032.

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And here is the new and improved 5032, though I prefer the original.

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And now we’re on 1096.

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The Samoeng viewpoint on 1096

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I have been here on a good day, and it’s not supposed to look like this.

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Beware of pachyderms

I go to our usual hotel in Mae Rim and meet up with the rest of the gang. The evening news on TV puts the final nail in the coffin on my original plan to head to Mae Sai. They seem to be really suffering up there, and the smog is quite bad. The rest of the day and all of day 7 is spent on family business, so the story continues on day 8.

Route: 1095, 1265, 5032, 1096. Distance: 182 km
 
22nd March – Day 8

For a refreshing change of pace I started the day on my new Honda XR 375 Africa Single (that’s what you get when one cylinder isn’t firing on an Africa Twin). A bit of mucking about and changing a spark-plug in this conveniently located and no doubt purpose-built roadside DIY MC-garage, and the evil twin was back.

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After finishing up some stuff related to the business from the day before, I end up here:
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Running into the proprietor, Phil, I quickly get confirmation that going to Mae Sai would be rather boring under the current circumstances. He suggests Nan instead, which is what I was already leaning towards anyway. Today’s visibility in Chiang Mai is tolerable at 5 km according to the Thai Meteorological Departments website, and Nan is even better (or less bad, if you will) at 6 km. Interestingly Mae Hong Son is now listed as 5 km as well, as opposed to when I passed through, at which time it was less than 1 km.

Distance: A mindboggling 38 km. A lesser man could not have done it…

23rd March – Day 9

This was the day where it all went horribly wrong! I left Rider’s Corner with the intention of going to Nan via the scenic route. I had planned a route that involved (amongst others) 4074, 4329, 1035 and a few that don’t even have a number.

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Leaving Chiang Mai.

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A couple of shots of Hwy 11 to Lampang.

And by now the astute reader will have asked him/herself: “Why is this numpty showing us pictures of Hwy 11, when he’s planning to take the small roads?!?” Excellent question and I’m so glad you asked it! To answer this, I will need to take you back to the day before (cue flashback). While I was staying in Chiang Mai, I took my GPS with me for a walk, as I am not yet up to speed on where everything is. Walking around with the GPS, as opposed to having it on the bike, you need to change it from Car/Motorcycle mode to Pedestrian, unless you like to walk the long way round. So far, so good. Fast forward to the next morning, and I forget to change the mode back before I take off. Before hurtling down any walking- and/or one-way-streets, I remember that the GPS is set to the wrong mode. I pull over, take the first picture of the day while I’m stopped anyway, and change the mode on the GPS back to Car/Motorcycle. And now comes the part where I just totally destroy the day’s ride. Because the routing between the waypoints I had made for this route had been calculated in the wrong mode, what do I do? I tell the GPS to re-calculate! Doh!! The worst thing is, I know not to do this (and don’t get cute and ask how I know this!). If you have planned a route that goes A-B-C-D, with B and C being waypoints that take you through the scenic areas, telling the GPS to re-calculate will make it go from your current location to D in the manner you have chosen – and mine was set to go the fastest way – completely ignoring B and C. So now, with me still not having cottoned on to it, the GPS has happily obliged by calculating the fastest way to Nan, which started out with Hwy 11 (and no doubt it was right too). I should of course have switched on a bit sooner, but I just thought it was the preamble before the fun began. Once I had reached Lampang, I knew something was not quite right. Looking around on the GPS, I suddenly realized what I had done and got that sinking feeling. I tried to activate the route I had actually wanted to take, but the projected ETA was now much too late; I would end up riding at least 2 hours in the dark on small, winding back-roads. Not only is it riskier, it also defeats the purpose to a certain extent, if you’re out to see the scenery. Contemplating my options I decided to pull the plug. I could have pushed on to Nan, but the reason for going there was the nice roads, not the town itself. Sitting on a highway all the way there, only to return on the same highway the next day – I was headed back to Tak – made no sense, and going to Tak from where I was would only be about 2 km more than going to Nan. So, I pulled a U-ie and headed down for a surprise visit with the family. This pretty much ended the trip and apart from the road I would take the next day, it was really just a matter of getting home, though I had 5 days to get there.

Route: Let’s not go there! Distance: Mind your own business!

The Remainder of the trip:

24th March – Day 10

Went from Tak to Kanchanaburi, going along all the small(!!) roads. Not a bad day, but as by this time I had actually decided not to bother with a trip report, I didn’t stop to take any pictures. This was also the day when a monk tried to catch a ride with me (recounted elsewhere).

Distance: 469 km.

25th March – Day 11

Left Kanchanaburi and went back to Bangkok. On the way out I stopped by the famous Bridge over the River Kwai, with the intention of taking a couple of pictures. That turned out to be a complete waste of time. Don’t get me wrong, I am not belittling the historical significance of the place and the events that took place there, but when it’s crawling with sheep in multicolored shirts and windbreakers, fresh out of their air-conditioned busses and surrounded by hawkers under garish umbrellas, it just isn’t worth my time. I got into Bangkok in the middle of the day, not in peak hour, but it was still pretty tough going to get to the hotel. The following day was spent in Bangkok.

Distance: 142 km.

27th March – Day 13

Went from Bangkok to Hua Hin, which was complicated by my GPS getting creative. It was set to calculate the shortest route, which unfortunately involved some rather slow “shortcuts” and ending in a U-turn, which, by the looks of it, had been cemented off years ago. After a rather frustrating detour in heavy traffic I decided to just ignore the GPS and go by the road-signs instead and I arrived at Hua Hin in the middle of the afternoon.

Distance: 212 km.

28th March – Day 14

Left Hua Hin at 06:30 and headed back down towards Phuket, with a stop planned n Ranong. I got to Ranong shortly after 11:00, and was planning to do a visa-run while I was there. However, the guy at the immigration-counter told me that I would actually not get any more days than I already had, so that meant going across was pointless. The highlight of my brief stay in Ranong was planting my boot firmly in a pile of fairly fresh dog-poo when I stopped to park the bike.
The only stop I made between Ranong and home was in Takua Pa, 140 km before Phuket, which was my last fuel-stop. At the gas-station I met a couple of German guys on rented Versys’s who had been up North as well, though about a week before me. They had turned around and gone South again due to smoke as well and now they were just hanging around in the vicinity of Kao Sok National Park.
I arrived in front of my house at exactly 16:00. Ten minutes later it started raining!

Distance: 698 km. Total for the trip: 4128 km.

To sum it all up, I would say that It was something to do, but I certainly wouldn’t do it again at this time of the year. Some parts were nice, like the ride from Tak to Mae Sariang, and the ride from Pai to Chiang Mai, but I could do without all the highway involved in getting from South to North. I also learned exactly how much time it actually takes to stop and take all the pictures needed for a decent trip-report (hat’s off to Captain_Slash and others).

The End
 
Tom -- great report full of detail, I know how long these take to do & appreciate you taking the hours to do it , great in-depth report. Sorry to see you didn't make Nan, which is one of the best riding regions in south east Asia. Very interesting that you took the Wat Chan, back route over to Chiang Mai ( R 5032) via Samoeng, not many riders do that route on their own initiative.



Great seeing you in Chiang Mai, this photo is marvelous


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Thanks Tom. A great read and enjoyed the photos. Like Phil I take my hat off to you because when I do a trip I just don't stop often enough to get the kind of pics you have here.
Cheers! :DD
 
Thanks Tom.
I agree with you that the long highway 4 from BKK to Phuket is boring.
I did many times in the past to get to Issan or Chiang Mai when I lived on Phuket and it was by far the most hated thing on each trip.
 
KTMphil said:
Very interesting that you took the Wat Chan, back route over to Chiang Mai ( R 5032) via Samoeng, not many riders do that route on their own initiative.
Well, that one came about by looking for the most curvy route from Pai to Mae Rim and then putting a waypoint right smack in the middle of it to make sure I went the right way. I could have stayed on the 1095 for most of the way and gone south for a bit on 107, but it would actually have been a bit too short and have been over too quickly . The route including 1265 and 5032 just looked more interesting and was a suitable length for a half-day ride. I would definitely recommend it, especially on a good (read: smoke-free) day.

Lightemup said:
I agree with you that the long highway 4 from BKK to Phuket is boring..
It is, isn't it? In the past I used to go through Phang-Nga and Surat Thani, but that way is even more boring. At least the section after Ranong and until you get near Chumphon is a bit more interesting (though there's a lot of road-work going on there at the moment. Looks like they're widening it).
 
I like your style Tom.
Fun story and some great pics; thank you.
By the way, we have identical bikes. Good, aren't they?

It's worth giving The North another try during more pleasant months; say, November.
 
Beautiful - both the pictures and the story. Somehow missed this post but thanks to 2Wheels who "bumped" it I could still enjoy it
 
Thank you ,gentlemen, we aim to please...

2wheels said:
By the way, we have identical bikes. Good, aren't they?.
Actually, the first time I saw your avatar (which I believe was on another forum), I thought you might have been a previous owner of my current bike.

2wheels said:
It's worth giving The North another try during more pleasant months; say, November.
Yes, I know. Unfortunately I have to go when opportunity presents itself, so I don't know if I will get the chance when the conditions are optimal.
 
Thanks for taking the time to post your journey Tom, it makes good reading & the pictures are ideal.

As others have said, the timing of your visit up north didn't give you a brilliant impression of the views but if you get the chance, try a mid year visit, the countryside transforms into green lush & is more appealing especially after July when the rice crop has been planted.

:DD

Ally
 
Ally said:
...try a mid year visit, the countryside transforms into green lush & is more appealing especially after July when the rice crop has been planted.
Isn't it a bit wet at that time of the year? 2Wheels was recommending November, which seems to tie in well with TMD's average expected rain-fall (actually December might even be better). Are there any other things to consider between those two times of the year? Any difference in scenery? I mean, it should still be well before any fires start, but is it still nice and green then?
 
Tom said:
Ally said:
...try a mid year visit, the countryside transforms into green lush & is more appealing especially after July when the rice crop has been planted.
Isn't it a bit wet at that time of the year? 2Wheels was recommending November, which seems to tie in well with TMD's average expected rain-fall (actually December might even be better). Are there any other things to consider between those two times of the year? Any difference in scenery? I mean, it should still be well before any fires start, but is it still nice and green then?

Hi again Tom

Well that is indeed the dilema, weather.

Typically rains peter out in October and the green rice paddies turn to yellow before the harvest in November.

Fires start late January in earnest. When you say it is 'wet' in July, there is a good chance there could be a shower during the day, it can last 10 mins or could last a couple of hours & often overnight anyway. So it's not like Europe, miserable cold drizzle for days on end, it rains, then the sun returns, it gets hot & drys out. But more importantly sky's are very much clearer & vegitation greener.

Hope that is useful.

Ally
 
Hi Tom, great write up. The end bit reminds me of my trip to Pai via Samoeng but G'maps show the road I took as the 1349. Looks the same though and was rougher than I was expecting on CBR250. I got a bit worried as it was my first time in the middle of nowhere and I seemed to be making no progress at all and thought I might have to stop in a tiny village and make sleepy signs and wave some baht about if it got dark.
I was planning to spend three months in CM to get away from the GB winter because of asthma and sinus trouble but seeing this and some other posts about the smog problem I had better have a slight rethink. Still, flights booked, commited to a couple of months anyway.
All the best, Tim.
 
Hi Tom, great write up. The end bit reminds me of my trip to Pai via Samoeng but G'maps show the road I took as the 1349. Looks the same though and was rougher than I was expecting on CBR250. I got a bit worried as it was my first time in the middle of nowhere and I seemed to be making no progress at all and thought I might have to stop in a tiny village and make sleepy signs and wave some baht about if it got dark.
I was planning to spend three months in CM to get away from the GB winter because of asthma and sinus trouble but seeing this and some other posts about the smog problem I had better have a slight rethink. Still, flights booked, commited to a couple of months anyway.
All the best, Tim.
Hi Tim, what months were you planning to come ? Smog generally starts late Janary but really kicks in during February until the rains quench the air in April.

Ally
 
Hi Ally
I arrive at the start of December and was planning to get a 3 month rental. That still might be the best bet and just use it as a base when it gets smoggy and travel to cleaner bits of Thailand towards the end. I hope to get to Laos but from what I have seen it's just as bad there so could go South. I thought about the islands but that's not really my thing unless I'm sailing.
Regards, Tim.
 
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