Mud and greenery around the Kok river

ianyonok

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Dec 9, 2008
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The sun was shining and the countryside was calling. Down to Chiang Rai and off northwest along the south side of the Kok river. Dropped in to Don's cafe for lunch. 78 year old Don has been here over 35 years I think.
Then off on the side road loop southwest to Bahn Pong Nam Ron and the Huay Gaew waterfall. The road is concrete with just a couple of dodgy sections under repair at present.

Came across the Giant Tree and it sure is a big beauty.

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Just bamboo....... but I tried to put both hands around one of these stalks and still had a 6" gap...... ernormous stuff.

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Nam Tok Huay Gaew in full flow.

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Landslides in various places and the concrete road supported by bamboo and sand bags.

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Back to the main road alongside the river and the hot springs.

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Up at the "motorcycle bridge".

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I concluded that the path along the north side of the river out to Thaton would be better than along the south side....

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It's much better than last time I crossed, as handrails have now been fitted.

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All easy stuff so far.

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But then realised the path doesn't go all the way along the river to Thaton because another river flows into the Kok from the north and there is no bridge....

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So it was over the Dois.............................

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...........and into the mud............ This is on a steep slope up.... and I'm going nowhere....

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Had to get a push from locals about three times, but only dropped the bike twice. Helped push a 4x4 as well, that was stuck. The best option to tackle Lanna mud appears to be "snow" chains, like some of the locals use. 2 hours of sweat and exercise and I was over the top, down to glorious tarmac and a raging thirst, just before dark....

another brilliant day out....:think:
 
Mar 30, 2010
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ianyonok;281912 wrote: but only dropped the bike twice.
I like that.. Sounds like it could have been a lot more.. Bet you were glad you were not going down that mud.. LOL..

Lovely pictures..

Cheers
Brian
 

ianyonok

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Hi Brian,
Well, I went over this route about 2 years ago with a mate, I dropped the bike about 12 times and he did about 16 times. There are down slopes like this and several up in the same state.
Which just goes to show that you can learn that getting a push is the answer but didn't learn to avoid the Dois in rainy season.
 
Apr 23, 2006
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Good photos Ian & glad you survived! Pleased to see you are enjoying the Kwak but hope the 'Classics' have not been made redundant.
 

ianyonok

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Thanks guys, I was wondering if I was boring anyone, as I dont see many reports from other people.............
It is a wonderful time of year to be out and about in the beautiful scenery with waterfalls and rivers in full flow. Such a huge area too, will take the rest of my life to scratch the surface....

Don't worry David, the classics still come first, but not the best machines in the mud........ The '59 Thunderbird is undergoing a de-coke at present, as it was getting difficult to start and losing power. May take as few weeks to sort fully. Currently looking for some high temperature primer and black paint for the barrel and head.
 
Jul 25, 2010
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The colors are wonderful Ian, especially the intensity of the green rice fields. Its a great time to be running around the countryside and shortly the fragrance of the jasmine rice will come to the fore, topping off the whole experience. Its heaven.