I've been a bit quiet of late. A combination of nursing a slow healing ankle injury and being busy money-making wise. Covid changed a lot of things for me (as it did for so many others), but I am grateful to not be in as bad a position as so many. I hope you are all doing ok. Anyway, I'll get on with a trip report because I finally got a ride day in and ended up being out for 12 hours (with around 5-6 hours in the saddle). I just wanted to milk the day for all it was worth. My ankle isn't happy, but I am!
A 12 hour ride day (with around 5 hours saddle time), riding first to the R3024 mountain route to the village of Muang Khong in Chiang Dao, then on to a cave temple and a huge surreal temple, before checking out a beautiful nature reserve and then heading over Mae Kuang suspension bridge to check out the progress made on the route. This ride took me through two national parks: SriLanna and Huai Nam Dang.The Ride: GOOGLE MAP ROUTE
With no particular set plan but a desire to ride, I headed out early (6 am) towards Chiang Dao. This was my first proper ride since an accident a couple of months back and my ankle was still feeling fragile. I just wanted to get in a good day ride but didn’t expect for it to become a twelve-hour ride (I ended up just wanting to drink more in). I headed north on the R107 to Chiang Dao, which is a rider favourite, but on my 250cc Kawasaki Dtracker it is not as much fun for me as the tighter twisty routes are. It was however, nice and quiet at this early hour. Once I turned on to the R3024 in Chiang Dao, I began to stop for photo ops. Rainy Season in Thailand creates some truly spectacular clouds!
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Once I arrived in Chiang Dao I took a quick detour to Wat Tham Chiang Dao just to see if it was open or not. It was still closed (due to Covid19).
Afterwards, I continued along the R3024 until I arrived in Muang Khong. The road was in perfect condition. Not a bump in sight. It was a fairly misty ride and maybe that is why I completely missed the lookout point at Doi Luang Chiang Dao, but I figured I would go there on the way back.
At Muang Khong I had a bit of ride around, including checking out a river area.
(As some of you may know, you can actually ride a loop from Muang Khong to Wiang Haeng, but still has off-road sections. I would like to ride it sometime but this particular ride was about getting my riding mojo back and not taking too many risks with my ankle. Plus my tyres were not suitable in any case.)
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The river ride area was dirt route and a bit muddy further down (plus a fast-flowing river crossing), so I lost my nerve to try further. Additionally, as someone who is not so competent on dirt, I couldn’t risk too much pressure on my ankle and I had little faith in my current tyres.
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Turning my bike around (easily – as shown in the video below), and afterwards a funny thing happened (next video)…
..all was good and then I was suddenly ambushed by a herd of cows! The farmer told me to ride on. I told him they can get past me. However, turns out they just wait in this situation and get frustrated! I rode to the side (thinking they were heading straight on) when it turned out they wanted to go the side I rode to. They ended up rushing past me like a whoosh of bullets. It was all a bit silly (and a little intimidating) but thankfully the farmer was friendly, which I was relieved about. He was lovely and had a chat with me. It is times like this that I wish I had my GoPro or 360 running.
I headed back on the same route towards Chiang Dao with a plan to a temple that I had been meaning to check out for some time. This route really is fab and scenic. I was low on fuel so turned off the engine for much of this return ride, coasting down the mountain route quietly. (For the record I am not recommending this. It is just something that I do.) For whatever reason, I yet again rode past the lookout at Doi Luang Chiang Dao, but no matter. Next time!
..all was good and then I was suddenly ambushed by a herd of cows! The farmer told me to ride on. I told him they can get past me. However, turns out they just wait in this situation and get frustrated! I rode to the side (thinking they were heading straight on) when it turned out they wanted to go the side I rode to. They ended up rushing past me like a whoosh of bullets. It was all a bit silly (and a little intimidating) but thankfully the farmer was friendly, which I was relieved about. He was lovely and had a chat with me. It is times like this that I wish I had my GoPro or 360 running.
I headed back on the same route towards Chiang Dao with a plan to a temple that I had been meaning to check out for some time. This route really is fab and scenic. I was low on fuel so turned off the engine for much of this return ride, coasting down the mountain route quietly. (For the record I am not recommending this. It is just something that I do.) For whatever reason, I yet again rode past the lookout at Doi Luang Chiang Dao, but no matter. Next time!
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Nakha Charoen Tham Cave – Wat Tham Pakpiang
This cave temple is not as dramatic as the neighbouring famous Chiang Dao Wat Luang temple, but has two very interesting caves and is visually appealing. The monks were busy with what looked to be some event taking place soon, and there was some cleaning and construction work going on. I have a photo somewhere from a long time back when this temple entrance was first being built. I will try to find it and update this post.
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After spending time in the temple (including waiting for the rain to stop), I rode to Chiang Dao Nest in the hope of some great food. Unfortunately, they were still closed due to Covid. So, instead, I headed to another faithful: the Charm of Doi Luang, where I enjoyed some great Thai food in lovely surroundings. The serving was huge, so I had the remaining half bagged up and I packed it onto my bike for later.
Once back on the bike I debated where to go next. It was only midday. My first stop before debating anything though was the local PT Garage to fuel up. (Some time back the roof of this garage totally collapsed! I think it was last year during Rainy Season). After fuelling up I decided to head back down the R107, with the newly formed initial plan of heading on to the R1095 Pai route, then taking the back road home via Mork Fa Waterfall (like I did a few months ago on a previous ride), but first I stopped in at Silvicultural Nature Research Station.
Once back on the bike I debated where to go next. It was only midday. My first stop before debating anything though was the local PT Garage to fuel up. (Some time back the roof of this garage totally collapsed! I think it was last year during Rainy Season). After fuelling up I decided to head back down the R107, with the newly formed initial plan of heading on to the R1095 Pai route, then taking the back road home via Mork Fa Waterfall (like I did a few months ago on a previous ride), but first I stopped in at Silvicultural Nature Research Station.
Silvicultural Research Station
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Once back on the bike I had a sudden change of mind at the Mae Taeng intersection, so headed west on the R3038 instead. I noticed a sign for Wat Ban Den and feeling curious I decided to go visit. Turned out to be a very surreal and huge temple complex.
Wat Ban Din
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When I first went into Wat Ban Din, I wasn’t expecting it to be a surreal experience. This huge temple complex with its multiple temples, is strange and unusual. I am not yet even sure if I like it, but I am certainly impressed by it. A lot of work has gone into this temple.
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One temple on-site also contained a giant reclining Buddha.
Lots of styles, with some Chinese and Indian influences, mixed up in often strange ways and many areas were still to be completed.
Lots of styles, with some Chinese and Indian influences, mixed up in often strange ways and many areas were still to be completed.
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After Wat Ban Den I decided to go to Mae Kuang Dam and ride over the suspension bridge. I figured it would be good to see how much progress had been made on the route and if it was completed yet or not. I took the scenic R4031, enjoying the view and checking out a few things along the way, including stopping in at Bua Tong Sticky waterfalls to see if it was open at this time or not. I was surprised to see it was.
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The suspension bridge route was in great condition for the most part. Graded flattened dirt and ready for the next stage. The last section though was a bit of a mess. (It is very steep at this last part). Lots of deep grooves from bigger heavier vehicles and full of rocks. I wasn’t expecting that and suddenly I was overcome with fear and worry. I have ridden this route a few times now, but I guess with my recovering ankle fear got the better of me. I kept imagining my bike crushing it again. So, I inched my way down like a baby! The irony is that I set my 360 camera to record this whole route section, but I must have done something to the settings and it was recording on a loop (security/accident dashcam setting), so the first section where I was riding without issue got overwritten. You do however get the treat of seeing me ride down the last bit like a petrified child.
At the base of the bridge, all the little food and drink stalls were closed, but thankfully a small shop was open up near the viaduct. I stopped in for a cool soda.
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After the soda, it was time to head home.
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