An analogue motorgraphy journey through Thailand’s North.
Recently got back from my ride around Northern Thailand and this time I decided to do something different. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, however, since I currently have a serious fetish for vintage rangefinder cameras, I decided to take this opportunity to shoot them around Northern Thailand. So I packed two of my vintage rangefinders – 1972 Canonet QL17 GIII with a fixed 40mm f1.7 lens and 1952 Kiev 3 with a Jupiter-8 50mm f2.0 prime lens attached. And rolls of film of course. Using fixed focal length prime lenses obviously has its limitations but so be it as those are the type of lenses I enjoy most. I did give my CRF250L an oil change and new fork seals and oils as the front-end had a little leak on the right.
As you can see landscapes never really look that great on black and white and on film. Therefore, instead of shooting grey highways traversing through hazy barren black and white mountains I focused more photographing at destinations and rest stops. I did convert the route map screenshots into monochrome in order to have a uniform look for this ride report. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the somewhat retro look of this analogue journey through Thailand’s north on a motorcycle.
I did not ride every day as I had planned to spend extra days in many of the destinations and I had all the time I needed. Also, as Murphy’s Law requires, by the time I reached Fang the annual flu, virus, what-have-you had gotten better of me and I had to shut down for a while. Might as well have as it was the days leading to -and over new year’s period. So cretins were gaining hand and no doubt lunatics were out in numbers along the highways.
Accommodation used:
Nampat: Resort 100 metres south of PTT station with an entrance right next to the pedestrian overpass (the woman with a noodle shop underneath runs the place). Bungalows 350.- Aircon. Fan cheaper. Good value.
Pua: Hug Pua. Rooms 600.- without breakfast. Good rooms but the bed is very hard (and I don’t normally mind solid beds but this was real hard).
Chiang Kham: Chiang Ban Resort. Bungalows 400-500.- depending the size of room. All aircon.
Chiang Khong: Nam Khong Riverside. Rooms 950-1,100.- right by the river.
Ban Thoed Thai: Ratti Kanchana Resort. 600.- all aircon lovely bungalows. No reception here, just honk your horn couple times and the Shan lady will come and give you a room.
Fang: Auang Kham Hotel. 300/350.- Fan/Air basic bungalows and rooms in the centre of town.
Pai: The Heart of Pai Resort. Rooms 600/700/800.- depending when you visit.
Mae Hong Son: Piya Resort. 700.- bungalows right by the lake in town. Has a small pool too.
Mae Sariang: Mitaree 1 Hotel. 450.- all aircon. Good location and parking but getting slightly old.
Mae Sot: Werot Resort. 400.- all aircon. Very good value.
Phitsanulok: The Village. 450.- good new rooms next to the main highway through town.
It was good to meet some fellow bikers and other people along the way. Emmett Power, David Unkovich, Matthias U Jung, Joe Cummings and the lovely hosts of Rin Bar in Chiang Khong. Miss Lamduan’s cooking and the lovely Shan lady who always provides me with a spotless room in Ban Thoed Thai. The friendly people of Fang’s entertainment area and throughout the town. Johnson Lee (from Penang), Dave and Steve (from Northampton UK) doing the loop in Mae Hong Son. Rick Fellerhoff (Malacca/Germany), Pu Kikapu & Team Ching Ching Café and his mate Mac who fixed my gear shifter in Mae Sariang. Khun Manop and his mates in Mae Sot with a good rundown on all things Burma border and insurgency . Cheers. Ah, almost forgot, and Gery Wantens passed me twice between Na Haeo and Nam Pat without us even recognizing each other lol.
Loei – 21 – 2113 – Na Haew – 1268 – Phu Soi Dao – 1239. All great roads. The 1239 has couple rough sections but nothing to worry about on any bike. Just slow down a bit.
Phu Soi Dao along highway 1268.
Resort at Nampat 350.- Aircon bungalow.
Nampat – 117 (1047) – Fak Tha – 117 – 1083 – Na Noi – 1026 – Wiang Sa – 101 – Nan – 1169 – Santisuk – 1169 – 1081 – Pua. All great roads and 1026 north of Na Noi has some new dual carriageway blacktop to cruise on.
Along highway 1083
View along highway 1083 southwest of Na Noi.
Pua – 101 – Tha Wang Pha – 1148 – Chiang Kham. Well, we all now this bit and it’s still great.
Along highway 1148.
At the popular rest stop along highway 1148.
View along highway 1148.
At the 1148 rest stop.
Highway 1148.
Chiang Ban Resort in Chiang Kham. 400-500.- bungalows all aircon.
Chiang Kham – 1021 – 1155 – Wiang Kaen – 1020 – Chiang Khong. Very remote and scenic route over the mountains along 1155 with some serious steep switchbacks.
Ban Huai Xai, Laos across the Mekong.
Street view at Chiang Khong.
Chedi at Wat Phra Kaew Chiang Khong.
Mekong river, long may it live.
Midnight Ramblers at the Chiang Khong Music Fest
GG Band at the Music Fest
Our hosts at Rin Bar, Chiang Khong
Matthias U Jung, Joe Cummings and David Unkovich in a festive mood.
Saturday street market at Chiang Khong.
Outside Namkhong Riverside Hotel, Chiang Khong.
Chiang Khong – 1290 – 1063 – 1098 – 1016 – Mae Chan – 1130 – 4052 – Ban Thoed Thai. All good roads and especially scenic along 1130 and 4052.
Mae Kham river at Ban Thoet Thai.
Ratti Kanchana resort, 600.- all aircon bungalows.
Mae Kham river.
To be continued (part 2 still in Thoed Thai and onwards....)
Recently got back from my ride around Northern Thailand and this time I decided to do something different. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, however, since I currently have a serious fetish for vintage rangefinder cameras, I decided to take this opportunity to shoot them around Northern Thailand. So I packed two of my vintage rangefinders – 1972 Canonet QL17 GIII with a fixed 40mm f1.7 lens and 1952 Kiev 3 with a Jupiter-8 50mm f2.0 prime lens attached. And rolls of film of course. Using fixed focal length prime lenses obviously has its limitations but so be it as those are the type of lenses I enjoy most. I did give my CRF250L an oil change and new fork seals and oils as the front-end had a little leak on the right.
As you can see landscapes never really look that great on black and white and on film. Therefore, instead of shooting grey highways traversing through hazy barren black and white mountains I focused more photographing at destinations and rest stops. I did convert the route map screenshots into monochrome in order to have a uniform look for this ride report. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the somewhat retro look of this analogue journey through Thailand’s north on a motorcycle.
I did not ride every day as I had planned to spend extra days in many of the destinations and I had all the time I needed. Also, as Murphy’s Law requires, by the time I reached Fang the annual flu, virus, what-have-you had gotten better of me and I had to shut down for a while. Might as well have as it was the days leading to -and over new year’s period. So cretins were gaining hand and no doubt lunatics were out in numbers along the highways.
Accommodation used:
Nampat: Resort 100 metres south of PTT station with an entrance right next to the pedestrian overpass (the woman with a noodle shop underneath runs the place). Bungalows 350.- Aircon. Fan cheaper. Good value.
Pua: Hug Pua. Rooms 600.- without breakfast. Good rooms but the bed is very hard (and I don’t normally mind solid beds but this was real hard).
Chiang Kham: Chiang Ban Resort. Bungalows 400-500.- depending the size of room. All aircon.
Chiang Khong: Nam Khong Riverside. Rooms 950-1,100.- right by the river.
Ban Thoed Thai: Ratti Kanchana Resort. 600.- all aircon lovely bungalows. No reception here, just honk your horn couple times and the Shan lady will come and give you a room.
Fang: Auang Kham Hotel. 300/350.- Fan/Air basic bungalows and rooms in the centre of town.
Pai: The Heart of Pai Resort. Rooms 600/700/800.- depending when you visit.
Mae Hong Son: Piya Resort. 700.- bungalows right by the lake in town. Has a small pool too.
Mae Sariang: Mitaree 1 Hotel. 450.- all aircon. Good location and parking but getting slightly old.
Mae Sot: Werot Resort. 400.- all aircon. Very good value.
Phitsanulok: The Village. 450.- good new rooms next to the main highway through town.
It was good to meet some fellow bikers and other people along the way. Emmett Power, David Unkovich, Matthias U Jung, Joe Cummings and the lovely hosts of Rin Bar in Chiang Khong. Miss Lamduan’s cooking and the lovely Shan lady who always provides me with a spotless room in Ban Thoed Thai. The friendly people of Fang’s entertainment area and throughout the town. Johnson Lee (from Penang), Dave and Steve (from Northampton UK) doing the loop in Mae Hong Son. Rick Fellerhoff (Malacca/Germany), Pu Kikapu & Team Ching Ching Café and his mate Mac who fixed my gear shifter in Mae Sariang. Khun Manop and his mates in Mae Sot with a good rundown on all things Burma border and insurgency . Cheers. Ah, almost forgot, and Gery Wantens passed me twice between Na Haeo and Nam Pat without us even recognizing each other lol.
Loei – 21 – 2113 – Na Haew – 1268 – Phu Soi Dao – 1239. All great roads. The 1239 has couple rough sections but nothing to worry about on any bike. Just slow down a bit.
Phu Soi Dao along highway 1268.
Resort at Nampat 350.- Aircon bungalow.
Nampat – 117 (1047) – Fak Tha – 117 – 1083 – Na Noi – 1026 – Wiang Sa – 101 – Nan – 1169 – Santisuk – 1169 – 1081 – Pua. All great roads and 1026 north of Na Noi has some new dual carriageway blacktop to cruise on.
Along highway 1083
View along highway 1083 southwest of Na Noi.
Pua – 101 – Tha Wang Pha – 1148 – Chiang Kham. Well, we all now this bit and it’s still great.
Along highway 1148.
At the popular rest stop along highway 1148.
View along highway 1148.
At the 1148 rest stop.
Highway 1148.
Chiang Ban Resort in Chiang Kham. 400-500.- bungalows all aircon.
Chiang Kham – 1021 – 1155 – Wiang Kaen – 1020 – Chiang Khong. Very remote and scenic route over the mountains along 1155 with some serious steep switchbacks.
Ban Huai Xai, Laos across the Mekong.
Street view at Chiang Khong.
Chedi at Wat Phra Kaew Chiang Khong.
Mekong river, long may it live.
Midnight Ramblers at the Chiang Khong Music Fest
GG Band at the Music Fest
Our hosts at Rin Bar, Chiang Khong
Matthias U Jung, Joe Cummings and David Unkovich in a festive mood.
Saturday street market at Chiang Khong.
Outside Namkhong Riverside Hotel, Chiang Khong.
Chiang Khong – 1290 – 1063 – 1098 – 1016 – Mae Chan – 1130 – 4052 – Ban Thoed Thai. All good roads and especially scenic along 1130 and 4052.
Mae Kham river at Ban Thoet Thai.
Ratti Kanchana resort, 600.- all aircon bungalows.
Mae Kham river.
To be continued (part 2 still in Thoed Thai and onwards....)