We knew from previous experience that big bike riding in northern Thailand can be unsurpassed fun.
There are unbelievably winding roads to find, with very little traffic and good pavement.
With this in mind, could we create something like the ultimate motorbike trip in northern Thailand?
A trip that you can’t find anywhere else in the world.
We started with some searching on the Golden Triangle Riders forum.
I found some old posts with recommendations on where to find the best roads.
We plotted these roads on the map and tried to connect them to one big round trip starting in Chiang Mai.
We planned to go riding for a week.
The trip as planned above, we put in our Garmin navigator and showed about 1800 kilometers long
We rented our bikes this time with Mr.Pop (who is actually a lady).
Her name is Khun Sue. An amiable lady who tries to answer all your questions and helps solve any problem.
She has top service, and she has top bikes in her collection.
We chose a Suzuki V Strom 650 and a Honda Transalp 750. Both were brand new bikes with less than 1000 km on the tacho.
These are superb bikes for the twisty roads you will encounter.
We started heading northeast out of Chiang Mai via the 118.
After 70 km, we turned right on the 1252.
This road starts the many thousands of bends and corners on this beautiful trip.
The road goes through the almost untouched Jeason National Park. The road is in good condition, albeit narrow compared to further roads.
At Bo Hin, we turned north on the 1035 towards Wang Nua. This 1035 is a typical ‘connection’ road, so it's not as winding but still lovely to ride and enjoy the countryside.
At the end of this road, we turned right towards Phayao on the 120. Here, started the twisting fun again.
Pass south of the city via the 1251, which guides you through some beautiful rice fields.
Ultimately, we picked up the twisting 1091, which would bring it to Nan.
We had planned to stay in Nan for two nights.
We stayed at Nan Seasons Resort. It is a beautiful place to relax and enjoy a perfect dinner. It has nice bungalows overlooking the rice fields.
The next day, we planned to enjoy the scenery around Nan. After a healthy breakfast, we went on the bikes again.
First northeast via the 1069 till the 1225 southbound till we could turn left on the 1257.
Which we found out was narrow and very twisty, so much so that we could hardly keep up with a small scooter with a local in front of us.
After around 50 kilometers, we went right on the 1081, a relief after this narrow winding 1257.
The 1081 is much wider and has perfect pavement.
Wide sweeping bends without end gave us the feeling of a biker's heaven.
The views on this road are fabulous as you drive on top of the mountains, giving you a new view of the mountainous area every time.
Breathtaking in many moments.
We went on till Bo Klua. We turned left on the 1256.
The 1091 spooled us a bit as the 1256 is a minor road but still perfect to ride and has an unbelievable number of bends.
Halfway, you have an excellent viewpoint at an elevation of 1715 meters.
At the end of this road at Pua, we turned left on the 1081 back direction, Nan.
The last part to Nan was via the 1169.
It was 260 kilometers of superb bike fun that day.
We planned to drive the next day to Chiang Kham, but the 1081 gave us so much joy that we wanted to do it again.
We took the 1069 out of Nan until it was followed by the 1081.
We stopped this time in Bo Klua for a coffee at the Bo Klua View Resort (Remember to take croissants with your coffee as they are mouth-watering here).
We went north via the same 1081 to the border crossing with Laos. This part of the 1081 gives some less specular views as the ride is more between the mountains and not over them like before. But it's still great to ride and plenty of cornering.
We needed to head southwest again from the Laos border crossing and took the 101 to Pua.
This 101 is a hardly used road they are building out to a four-lane highway. For what reason nobody knows as there is ample traffic. It is a complete waste of money and nature.
But opening the throttle to a speed you can make some distance was enjoyable again.
At Chiang Klang, we turned right on the 1097, bringing us to the 1148 and Chiang Kham.
Soon, we thought: “Are we dreaming, or is this real ?”
Did they make this road special for bikers like us?
There is almost no other traffic on the road, and boy, what a cornering.
Not one race track on the planet can keep up with this!
It felt like dancing with your bike.
With a bright smile, we arrived at Rico’s Resort just outside the town of Chiang Kham.
It is a good, quiet hotel with an amiable owner. Minus point is that for dinner you need to drive to town.
Again, it was a perfect day with 260 kilometers on the tachometer.
The next day, after breakfast, we went further north along the Laos border via the 1093.
This road also goes mostly on top of the mountains, rewarding you with beautiful views.
As it was strawberry season, little stalls were everywhere alongside the road selling them.
And believe us, they tasted better than we had tasted ever before.
We arrived in Chiang Khong via the 1155, driving alongside the mighty Mekong River with on the other side Laos.
As we had planned to stay overnight in Mae Salong, we headed on via the 1290 / 1063 / 1098 and the 1016 towards Mae Salong.
Initially, this road started as a winding highway, but later, it became an ordinary highway with little to see.
We stayed overnight at the Katiliya Resort along the 1030 between the tea plantations. It's a bit pricy but still worth the money.
We know there are more beautiful roads to discover in that area of the Golden Triangle, but as we had planned a one-week trip, we needed to skip that this time.
Via the 1089 towards Fang the next day. We found this road a bit disappointing as it was described as winding, but to our luck, our Garmin GPS made an “adventurous “ route for us and let us turn right at Tha Ton on 1314.
Worth the detour. It goes very close to the Myanmar border. A bit bumpy and narrow.
You pass some small villages, which give an idea of
Thai farmers' lives. As it was rice harvesting season, we sometimes needed to divert as the rice dried on the road.
After this slight detour, we came back on the 1089 again.
After Fang, we turned left on then109. Again, cornering without end, but the pavement could be in better condition as this road is more used by other traffic.
At the end of the 109, we arrived in Mae Suai.
We turned right on the 118 towards Chiang Mai. A busy road with too much traffic.
Soon, we could turn right on the 1150 towards Phrao.
Through the Sri Lanna National Park. This 1150 is a winding road through the mountains.
We passed Phrao via the 1050 till we reached the 107. We planned to stay overnight in Chiang Dao, in the new hotel called The View.
It's worth the money with a stunning restaurant on the rooftop. A day with 250 kilometers on the clock.
The next day, we went south via the 107 till Mae Taeng, where we turned right to the famous 1095 direction Pai / Mae Hong Son.
It's probably the most winding road on our planet.
We had done this road a few times before, so we knew what to expect, but for the ones who drive this road for the first time, it’s hardly believable.
In the beginning, you think:” Is this all?”. But wait, this road will make you crazy, like all bike riders who have driven it before.
The saying goes that there are over 1000 bends in that 90 kilometers to Pai.
We didn’t count, as you need to keep your concentration to the max with such cornering.
We stayed a night in the charming Reverie Siam hotel.
The next day was our last day for this trip, and we needed to bring the bikes back to Mr Pop in Chiang Mai.
We needed to take the same 1095 back. But that did bring only a big smile on our faces again.
It has the same 1000 corners but is now downhill, making the ride different.
With some pain in our hearts, we headed back to Chiang Mai
What a fantastic trip we had.
Was this the ultimate bike trip?
Yes, we think so.
This area has more lovely roads, but more than one week is needed to ride more.
This trip turned out to be +/- 1750 kilometers long, and much more is hard to do in just one week with so much cornering.
Remember that you’re in second or third gear most of the time.
We returned the bikes to Khun Sue with a big thanks and told her: “We will be back as soon as possible.”
Can you lose your heart in this biker's paradise?
Yes, 100% for sure!
www.gt-rider.com
Mr Pop Chiang Mai
ที่พักน่าน | Hotel in Nan | Nan Thailand | Nan Seasons Boutique Resort
RICO RETREAT AMENITIES
Chiang Rai hotels | Katiliya Mountain Resort & Spa, | All Suites, Luxury hotel
The View Chiang Dao Hotel | WEBSITE
| Chiang Dao
www.reveriesiam.com
There are unbelievably winding roads to find, with very little traffic and good pavement.
With this in mind, could we create something like the ultimate motorbike trip in northern Thailand?
A trip that you can’t find anywhere else in the world.
We started with some searching on the Golden Triangle Riders forum.
I found some old posts with recommendations on where to find the best roads.
We plotted these roads on the map and tried to connect them to one big round trip starting in Chiang Mai.
We planned to go riding for a week.
The trip as planned above, we put in our Garmin navigator and showed about 1800 kilometers long
We rented our bikes this time with Mr.Pop (who is actually a lady).
Her name is Khun Sue. An amiable lady who tries to answer all your questions and helps solve any problem.
She has top service, and she has top bikes in her collection.
We chose a Suzuki V Strom 650 and a Honda Transalp 750. Both were brand new bikes with less than 1000 km on the tacho.
These are superb bikes for the twisty roads you will encounter.
We started heading northeast out of Chiang Mai via the 118.
After 70 km, we turned right on the 1252.
This road starts the many thousands of bends and corners on this beautiful trip.
The road goes through the almost untouched Jeason National Park. The road is in good condition, albeit narrow compared to further roads.
At Bo Hin, we turned north on the 1035 towards Wang Nua. This 1035 is a typical ‘connection’ road, so it's not as winding but still lovely to ride and enjoy the countryside.
At the end of this road, we turned right towards Phayao on the 120. Here, started the twisting fun again.
Pass south of the city via the 1251, which guides you through some beautiful rice fields.
Ultimately, we picked up the twisting 1091, which would bring it to Nan.
We had planned to stay in Nan for two nights.
We stayed at Nan Seasons Resort. It is a beautiful place to relax and enjoy a perfect dinner. It has nice bungalows overlooking the rice fields.
The next day, we planned to enjoy the scenery around Nan. After a healthy breakfast, we went on the bikes again.
First northeast via the 1069 till the 1225 southbound till we could turn left on the 1257.
Which we found out was narrow and very twisty, so much so that we could hardly keep up with a small scooter with a local in front of us.
After around 50 kilometers, we went right on the 1081, a relief after this narrow winding 1257.
The 1081 is much wider and has perfect pavement.
Wide sweeping bends without end gave us the feeling of a biker's heaven.
The views on this road are fabulous as you drive on top of the mountains, giving you a new view of the mountainous area every time.
Breathtaking in many moments.
We went on till Bo Klua. We turned left on the 1256.
The 1091 spooled us a bit as the 1256 is a minor road but still perfect to ride and has an unbelievable number of bends.
Halfway, you have an excellent viewpoint at an elevation of 1715 meters.
At the end of this road at Pua, we turned left on the 1081 back direction, Nan.
The last part to Nan was via the 1169.
It was 260 kilometers of superb bike fun that day.
We planned to drive the next day to Chiang Kham, but the 1081 gave us so much joy that we wanted to do it again.
We took the 1069 out of Nan until it was followed by the 1081.
We stopped this time in Bo Klua for a coffee at the Bo Klua View Resort (Remember to take croissants with your coffee as they are mouth-watering here).
We went north via the same 1081 to the border crossing with Laos. This part of the 1081 gives some less specular views as the ride is more between the mountains and not over them like before. But it's still great to ride and plenty of cornering.
We needed to head southwest again from the Laos border crossing and took the 101 to Pua.
This 101 is a hardly used road they are building out to a four-lane highway. For what reason nobody knows as there is ample traffic. It is a complete waste of money and nature.
But opening the throttle to a speed you can make some distance was enjoyable again.
At Chiang Klang, we turned right on the 1097, bringing us to the 1148 and Chiang Kham.
Soon, we thought: “Are we dreaming, or is this real ?”
Did they make this road special for bikers like us?
There is almost no other traffic on the road, and boy, what a cornering.
Not one race track on the planet can keep up with this!
It felt like dancing with your bike.
With a bright smile, we arrived at Rico’s Resort just outside the town of Chiang Kham.
It is a good, quiet hotel with an amiable owner. Minus point is that for dinner you need to drive to town.
Again, it was a perfect day with 260 kilometers on the tachometer.
The next day, after breakfast, we went further north along the Laos border via the 1093.
This road also goes mostly on top of the mountains, rewarding you with beautiful views.
As it was strawberry season, little stalls were everywhere alongside the road selling them.
And believe us, they tasted better than we had tasted ever before.
We arrived in Chiang Khong via the 1155, driving alongside the mighty Mekong River with on the other side Laos.
As we had planned to stay overnight in Mae Salong, we headed on via the 1290 / 1063 / 1098 and the 1016 towards Mae Salong.
Initially, this road started as a winding highway, but later, it became an ordinary highway with little to see.
We stayed overnight at the Katiliya Resort along the 1030 between the tea plantations. It's a bit pricy but still worth the money.
We know there are more beautiful roads to discover in that area of the Golden Triangle, but as we had planned a one-week trip, we needed to skip that this time.
Via the 1089 towards Fang the next day. We found this road a bit disappointing as it was described as winding, but to our luck, our Garmin GPS made an “adventurous “ route for us and let us turn right at Tha Ton on 1314.
Worth the detour. It goes very close to the Myanmar border. A bit bumpy and narrow.
Thai farmers' lives. As it was rice harvesting season, we sometimes needed to divert as the rice dried on the road.
After this slight detour, we came back on the 1089 again.
After Fang, we turned left on then109. Again, cornering without end, but the pavement could be in better condition as this road is more used by other traffic.
At the end of the 109, we arrived in Mae Suai.
We turned right on the 118 towards Chiang Mai. A busy road with too much traffic.
Soon, we could turn right on the 1150 towards Phrao.
Through the Sri Lanna National Park. This 1150 is a winding road through the mountains.
We passed Phrao via the 1050 till we reached the 107. We planned to stay overnight in Chiang Dao, in the new hotel called The View.
It's worth the money with a stunning restaurant on the rooftop. A day with 250 kilometers on the clock.
The next day, we went south via the 107 till Mae Taeng, where we turned right to the famous 1095 direction Pai / Mae Hong Son.
It's probably the most winding road on our planet.
We had done this road a few times before, so we knew what to expect, but for the ones who drive this road for the first time, it’s hardly believable.
In the beginning, you think:” Is this all?”. But wait, this road will make you crazy, like all bike riders who have driven it before.
The saying goes that there are over 1000 bends in that 90 kilometers to Pai.
We didn’t count, as you need to keep your concentration to the max with such cornering.
We stayed a night in the charming Reverie Siam hotel.
The next day was our last day for this trip, and we needed to bring the bikes back to Mr Pop in Chiang Mai.
We needed to take the same 1095 back. But that did bring only a big smile on our faces again.
It has the same 1000 corners but is now downhill, making the ride different.
With some pain in our hearts, we headed back to Chiang Mai
What a fantastic trip we had.
Was this the ultimate bike trip?
Yes, we think so.
This area has more lovely roads, but more than one week is needed to ride more.
This trip turned out to be +/- 1750 kilometers long, and much more is hard to do in just one week with so much cornering.
Remember that you’re in second or third gear most of the time.
We returned the bikes to Khun Sue with a big thanks and told her: “We will be back as soon as possible.”
Can you lose your heart in this biker's paradise?
Yes, 100% for sure!
GT-Rider Motorcycle Forums
The S.E Asia Motorcycle Touring Forums provide trip reports, trip planning and general information relating to motorcycle touring in South East Asia
www.gt-rider.com
Mr Pop Chiang Mai
ที่พักน่าน | Hotel in Nan | Nan Thailand | Nan Seasons Boutique Resort
RICO RETREAT AMENITIES
Chiang Rai hotels | Katiliya Mountain Resort & Spa, | All Suites, Luxury hotel
The View Chiang Dao Hotel | WEBSITE
| Chiang Dao
Reverie Siam - Concept Resort inspired by the cultural fusion.
Inspired by the colonial architecture and cultural fusion of South East Asia in the early 20th Century, Reverie Siam is an oasis of daydreams and nostalgia for a bygone era of romance and elegance.
www.reveriesiam.com
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