Umphang to Chiang Mai as off-road as possible!

KTMphil

KTMphil

Senior member
Joined
Jan 11, 2011
Location
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Bikes
2007 KTM 990 Adventure Suzuki DRZ 400
Managed to get some internet, we're off on a scouting, checking some trails (the most fun part of riding for me), poking around seeing what might go through to where, often wastes some time but has to be done.



P1000117_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




Not much spare time available, so it will only be one way - Umphang north, this looks like a gateway to trail heaven according to the data we have, so will be tomorrow's playground.



P1000105_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






One of the resettlement, Karen refugee camps on the way south to Umphang



P1000106_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Late when we get down there, managed to find a clean room in the dark in Umphang


P1000107_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





All ready for exploring the next day....




More to come....
 
7am start, we know where the trail head is, a little tarmac north, then R 1090 is under repair, a good warm up i suppose



P1000108_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




Gassing up, the Karen lady was shy and didn't what her photo taken


P1000109_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr



Even from the start, we could tell this was going to be good


G0020050_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





G0020051_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Even with some burning around the viz was pretty good, a great day to get out in the sticks



P1000110_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






.....More to come
 
Glad you enjoyed it Phil, I certainly did but there was only one gate to open when I rode it two years ago
 
This is the most southern trail we know of (from Colin), that leaves R 1090 so that you can head north on dirt trails. It's got some unusual, unique views


P1000120_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr
'



A scamper up the hill to get the best of this one



P1000124_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





The old trusty CRF 250 L is eating all this up without a problem



P1000127_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




Nothing like a trail you've never ridden before


P1000128_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






P1000130_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr
'




P1000132_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Pig pen in a small village 1/2 way through the trail


P1000133_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





This must be where we're headed
'

P1000136_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Fantastic trail, will do it again for sure, out onto the highway


P1000139_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





A new, amusing thing in Mae Sot (even more amusing because they can't spell "start" correctly) - The Magic Hill. One of those hills that looks like its up hill but actually a decline, quite fun when the bike does start rolling of its own accord


P1000141_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000142_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Nong Deere hadn't seen the Myanmar border post before, so we took a quick trip down there



P1000143_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




Looking across into Myanmar


P1000144_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Friendly Thai border control


P1000146_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





The dirt border trail


P1000147_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr
 
The next day we knew was going to be a big day - Mae Sot to Omkoi, with as much off-road as possible. We calculated it would be 250 ish KM, with off-road average speed this would take most of daylight hours.


Government workers clearing a dam before the rains start



P1000148_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




P1000149_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




A little bit of beautiful tarmac to get east and pick up the dirt trails



P1000150_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




500 meters of dirt and we're into the river crossings already


P1000151_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




Handguard bolt gone, time for the wire ties


P1000152_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Then up we go, no smoke around and its gorgeous



P1000153_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Then a little smoke!



P1000154_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Still looks pretty amazing


P1000159_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




P1000160_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000161_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Probably where we headed below


P1000162_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




Fueling up on the road link and a little air needed


P1000164_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




Keeping a close eye


P1000163_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




A remote village with no public electricity 1/3rd of the way north from Mae Sot


P1000165_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




P1000168_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






Nice bridge to get across here



P1000167_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






P1000169_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr
 
20km further north and look at this beaut



P1000171_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000175_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr



Locals gathering sand to make cement from the river bank



P1000176_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000177_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Not sure this Karen lady had seen many enduro bikes coming through here



P1000172_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




Out the other side and we can see the trail ahead


P1000179_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




Beautiful hill tribe village on the way north



P1000180_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Out the other side and back into the wilderness


P1000181_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Some of the steeper hills have been concreted


P1000182_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Nice, cliff viewpoint




P1000188_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr



P1000183_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




P1000184_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





The KTM 300 EXC 2 stroke running well



P1000185_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





10 km's more and some rice terraces



P1000186_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Back out on the rollercoaster of dirts, you cross a lot of mountains on this trail


P1000189_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000190_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





More rice terraces



P1000195_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr



P1000192_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Burning starting in some areas here



P1000194_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr



Every 30km or so there's another village. Fuel is generally available in most



P1000197_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






Nice mountain range'


P1000198_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000199_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






More rice terraces



P1000201_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






Then it gets real nasty



P1000203_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





But the views make up for it


P1000204_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






P1000205_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






Village and the trail ahead



P1000206_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






Lots of crushed limestone rock in this area, when it rains probably helps the water drain through



P1000207_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Another cool bridge



P1000208_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






& we make it all the way through to Omkoi, 9 1/2 hours of riding




P1000209_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr







..... more to come
 
Must be perspective.. Wouldnt have thought even a small one would fit through..

You had clearer skies than I got this week..
 
Omkoi was much chillier than everywhere else, maybe less concrete around and the cold air falling from the 1,500 meters surrounding mountains. Omkoi Resort is always a fantastic place.



20150225_173602.jpg by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




This is how my spare bed always ends up in the bamboo bungalow there


18420_10153675056398345_1360309794893157547_n.jpg






Chilly morning too in Omkoi, time to say a quick hello to the birds



P1000210_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr



Sad to see them tied up, but amazing animals


P1000215_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000214_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000213_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr
 
Back out on the trails, now west of Omkoi, hopefully headed to Mae Sariang


P1000216_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





More hilltribe villages with no public electricity


P1000217_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




They seemed pretty content in their village


P1000218_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




Kind of confused why we were there for sure


P1000219_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





This trail area south and west of Omkoi offers some of the best trail riding in Thailand


P1000223_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






P1000224_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




The limestone trail we just did


P1000227_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




P1000228_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




Off westwards


P1000229_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Hmong village gate to keep out the evil spirits

P1000230_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




P1000231_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Westwards to some rice terraces


P1000232_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




Pretty awesome


P1000234_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




P1000235_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000237_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




P1000239_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000243_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




Huge bamboo


P1000244_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




Laundry time


P1000247_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr
 
The sound of the loud exhausts and they came running


P1000249_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






P1000251_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr







P1000252_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr







Might be my favorite shot of the trip, shows how delicious ahead will be


P1000258_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






P1000254_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000255_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






More hilltribe villages



P1000257_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






They'd been fishing and caught some big fish



P1000260_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000261_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr
 
Video of some of the superb offroad riding west of Omkoi

This is south west of Omkoi, it is some of the best riding in Thailand



 
The hilltribe village we just came through


P1000262_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






P1000263_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Views in the Omkoi area are some of the best out there


P1000264_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000265_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000267_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000268_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Into Mae Sariang & this might be my favorite restaurants in Thailand. Bricks of lean, BBQ'd pork



P1000269_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




P1000273_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000270_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Home made spicy sausage

P1000271_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr


Pork with some fat, its all here


P1000272_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr
 
High season, we lucked out. the Good View GH wasnt full, its got great views


P1000274_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Great rooms


P1000275_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000276_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000277_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




Next day, some new trails out of Mae Sariang, looking good so far, looks like autumn in the west



P1000278_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





A rush to get the concrete down before the SW Monsoon


P1000279_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





A little tarmac here and there


P1000280_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Cabbage harvest


P1000284_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr



More smoke from the burning

P1000285_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000286_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






P1000289_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Time to look for some fuel


P1000291_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




We're told there's some here

P1000292_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






Then off northbound


P1000293_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000294_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000296_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Into Ban Houy Phun Mae for lunch and fuel




P1000306_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




P1000304_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000302_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






Tradition Hmong attire is everywhere


P1000299_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




Some not quite so traditional


P1000297_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000298_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000305_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





They even make their own ice cream there




P1000303_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Into Mae Hong Son for the night, this Chinese registered Smart car had driven 7,000 km from Beijing



P1000307_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000309_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Presume that was a fold out luggage rack on the back??



P1000308_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Salaween River Restaurant in MHS does the best food in MHS, its always packed



20150227_204323.jpg by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





20150227_201041.jpg by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






Nong Deere had some Thai food there he said it was excellent


20150227_194509.jpg by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






.......more to come
 
Getting a little lost

Getting a little lost, not really lost, but not where we were supposed to be.



[video=youtube_share;gyUQciA1rkQ]http://youtu.be/gyUQciA1rkQ[/video]
 
Last day & the famous Elephant Trail from Mae Hong Son to Chiang Mai


P1000311_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Pretty dusty out there, we had to ride at least 500 meters apart


P1000312_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Plenty of sign posts on the way through


P1000313_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






Even with some concrete here and there its a nice trail


P1000315_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






P1000317_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Real smokey as we get 1/2 way

P1000319_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000320_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Lunch in Wat Chan, there's several choices


P1000321_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000322_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






P1000323_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr







7 thats about it --- a really great off-road trip.
 
Fantastic Phil, next week you get to do it all again
 
KTMphil said:
The hilltribe village we just came through


P1000262_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr






P1000263_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Views in the Omkoi area are some of the best out there


P1000264_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000265_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000267_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000268_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Into Mae Sariang & this might be my favorite restaurants in Thailand. Bricks of lean, BBQ'd pork



P1000269_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr




P1000273_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





P1000270_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr





Home made spicy sausage

P1000271_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr


Pork with some fat, its all here


P1000272_edited by Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr
Click to expand...


I am visiting Mae Sariang - Umphang next month. Can I have the name of this restaurant? It is my 5th visit here and usually I just go either Inthira / Redwood. These BBQ looks good.

Liew
 
The BBQ place is located at N18.16072° E97.94148° it opposite the newly rebuilt museum near the 105-108 junction, just look for the smoke !!

The Intira still has the best priced food in town IMHO or try the Sawaddee at N18.16186° E97.92962° but it can be hit and miss when it's open
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
The Bigfella Phayao - a luncheon ride from Chiang Mai Thailand Ride Reports 0
KTMphil REVISITED - The Missing Link- Sangkhlaburi to Umphang - Myanmar border jungle trail Thailand Ride Reports 83
H Sangkhlaburi - Umphang two-up (2013.04.05-2013.04.07) Thailand Ride Reports 26
H Hot spring west of Umphang Thailand Ride Reports 3
H Road east from Umphang Kii village Thailand Ride Reports 5
Similar threads
Phayao - a luncheon ride from Chiang Mai
REVISITED - The Missing Link- Sangkhlaburi to Umphang - Myanmar border jungle trail
Sangkhlaburi - Umphang two-up (2013.04.05-2013.04.07)
Hot spring west of Umphang
Road east from Umphang Kii village
Back
Top Bottom