The route: 118, 2113, 1211, 1208, lots of dirt road, no name road and back home on the 1211, 1208 and the 118. Total distance 400 km+.
Having seen the pictures by Hellbob of the area west of Chiangrai we decided we needed to have a look also as we had not been there for ages. An early morning departure for the road which goes to the Khun Kon waterfall and along the way turn northwest to the Kok river and then back home via Wawi.
Brekkie at Charin and while sitting there we heard ambulances and the police passing by. A pick-up truck had wrapped itself around an electricity pole apparently due to the sudden rain. So watch out - yesterday we counted 3 cars having slid of asphalt road while last week on a quick trip to Chiang Khong we counted 7 of these mishaps probably because of the combination of sudden downpours and oily roads after the dry season.
The weather varied from sunny with nice views to clouds and rain with little visibility.
Along the way we asked about the road conditions to Wawi and were told that this would not be possible with a truck. There has been a lot of rain in that area and the water level has become too high for most trucks. So, a change of plans was needed and instead of Wawi we headed for Pong Nam Ron. Lots of royal projects in this area with all kinds of facilities like VIP guest houses and helicopter landing pads.
Today it was very quiet so we used the landing pad to park the truck and enjoy the views around it.
Lots of lychee plantations in these areas but the lychees seem to be quite small this year.
Most of the dirt roads have cement sections on the steeper parts so even in the rainy season 4WD is not really required. An exception is the dirt road which goes through the forest from Huay Keaw down to Pong Nam Ron. This track has some steep and badly rutted sections (sorry, no pics as the rain was pouring down). Emerging out of the forests, the rain stopped again and it was plain sailing down from there to Pong Nam Ron and home
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