Hi, first post on this site so thought I'd give a trip report on our first ever riding trip to Thailand (25-29 Jan 2010).
Been to Thailand before but it was an article featuring David in Bike magazine which made me think this was something I had to do. Luckily the wife is happy on the back and was up for it (we didn't tell her Mum though - riding, in Thailand = heart attack!).
Got into Chiang Mai on the Saturday and sorted the bike the next day. Went to Tony's Big Bikes, and got a Phantom. Thought that i would want something bigger but, as the trip wasn't about covering big distance, took a punt and enjoyed the mini-cruiser experience. Comfy for the missus and, although a bit more go would have been nice at times, quick enough 90% of the time. I am used to a 'little' more ground clearance though so the first time the pegs touched down was a bit of a shock!
Did a little of the Samoeng loop to get used to the bike on Sunday before heading out of Chiang Mai on Monday up to Pai.
Mae Yim
Got on the 1095 and, wow, truly wonderful. Decided to have a look at the viewpoint near Pha Hin so took a left and headed up.
Not the Phantoms home turf!
On a rather steep bit met a pickup coming down, in the rather delicate/desperate maneuvering that took place I made the mistake of stopping (yes I know, 'keep the power on'!). A cruiser, on a steep hill, rubbish grip and only the front brake on. As we slid backwards down the gravel and rock filled 'road' I was glad of the reasonable protective gear we were wearing as well as the credit card in my pocket for when we returned the bike! Thankfully we came to a stop, right way up, and exchanged smiles and laughs with the Thai driver.
Got to the top eventually (thought we may never come here again in our lives so not going to give up just yet) and got a great view of the countryside as well as meet some locals working up here.
Just on our way back down and met a military bloke on a dirt bike. Was a little worried at first as we had been taking pictures by a building festooned in satellites so thought 'crap'! But he took one look at us, one look at the bike, one look at the road we were about to ride down, and shook my hand whist repeatedly saying 'lucky'! My only regret is that we did not ask if we could take his picture, he was a nice bloke.
The way back down, this was a good bit...
We then continued on to Pai where we stayed at the Baan Pai Village.
Nice place, but had another run in with the 'Law' that evening....
Pai was busy, in a backpacker kinda way, but we quite liked it as we were just passing through. Found a nice place to eat called the 'Curry Shack'. Pretty much a bloke cooking curry in a shack! Great cheap Thai food.
Tuesday we headed off for Mae Hong Son.
Filled up on the way out. Riders are friendly the world over. Probably needed his bike the day before!
Some of the great roads, and views on the way.
We had booked two nights so we could just spend a day exploring the area around, we didn't know yet how helpful that was going to be!
Sang Tong Huts - great place if you are staying a while.
Fantastic roads again and stopped for a cigar, as you do.
Universal 'rabbit ears' deployed - Check
Took a detour up to Mae Lana and stopped for some food, think it was called the Garden Home Guest House? Had trouble communicating but managed to get the message across that we were looking for somewhere to eat. She motioned for us to sit down and then disappeared.....for about 20 minutes. We were just thinking that, as we hadn't been asked what we would actually want to eat, there had been a bit of a misunderstanding but, just then, she showed up with two plates of freshly prepared food. Now, I'm a carnivore, but this was the best vegetarian food I've ever tasted!
We were about to head of when it decided to rain...... a little!
But it gave the bike a good clean.
We headed off shortly after, treating the roads with a LOT of respect!
Traction control? ABS? I want my Mum......
We were maybe 15K from Mae Hong Son when the weather came back for seconds. At first when the wind picked up, although I knew what was coming, it was one of the most amazing things I've seen. The leaves (and soon to discover branches!) looked like a New York ticker tape parade, incredible. Then I got punched in the face by a fist, wrapped in an innocent looking leaf! The road was getting bloody dangerous so we pulled over and legged it to a hut in the middle of a field with our gear. The flaw in our cunning plan was soon evident as the hut had only a roof, no sides. Since when does the rain in Thailand fall only downwards!?! We sat there, trying to keep our kit dry, whilst getting hammered from rain travelling practically horizontally!
Skool boy error!
We were also joined by a Thai rider and a western girl pillion. He was typical Thai; smiles, waves, laughs. She didn't talk, or even look at us once. How can you come to a place like this, meet people like this, and still behave as if you've got a broom stuck up your a**e???
The roads afterwards weren't great but it was amazing to see how quickly everyone was out clearing them up.
We got into Mae Hong Son and were then glad of the extra night so we could get our gear dry. Next day we popped into the town and got some fuel to go exploring.
Meditation - Human and Dog techniques.
And in the UK, you get shouted at if you dare to use a mobile within 50 yards of a petrol pump! The Health & Safety police would have a coronary.
We headed to Rak Thai near the boarder. Nice town, especially if you like your tea!
Then onto Pang Ung.
Good fun and quality twisty on the way.
We hit rush hour.
You can see why it's popular with the locals.
Then back to Mae Hong Son. Was nice to have a 'lazy' day where there was really no set plan.
Talking about plans, we were going to ride down to Mae Sarieng and then back to Chiang Mai the day after but decided that the distance could be a little too much so did a 180 and headed back to Pai.
Roads like this meant I didn't mind riding back the way we came.
Lunch in Soppong.
Nam Lod cave, was worth the visit.
Each to their own........
Peddle power.
Harley power.
As we approached Chiang Mai, we had some time so took a turn off and followed our noses. The signs stopped displaying English and it was a great way to finish, going through tiny Thai villages, before the relative madness of Chiang Mai.
Route 3010 (I think?)
Well, it was only a few days and we barely scratched the surface but it was fantastic! I remember riding along a particularly beautiful road, not technically challenging, at about a quarter of the speed that I do in the UK, wife on the back, and feeling completely content. For just that one moment alone, it was all worth it.
Thanks to David for this great website (and the Bike mag interview which started it all); Tony's Big Bikes, the Phantom didn't miss a beat. I hope to definitely return and will do my best to say hello at the Kafe.
Dave M
Been to Thailand before but it was an article featuring David in Bike magazine which made me think this was something I had to do. Luckily the wife is happy on the back and was up for it (we didn't tell her Mum though - riding, in Thailand = heart attack!).
Got into Chiang Mai on the Saturday and sorted the bike the next day. Went to Tony's Big Bikes, and got a Phantom. Thought that i would want something bigger but, as the trip wasn't about covering big distance, took a punt and enjoyed the mini-cruiser experience. Comfy for the missus and, although a bit more go would have been nice at times, quick enough 90% of the time. I am used to a 'little' more ground clearance though so the first time the pegs touched down was a bit of a shock!
Did a little of the Samoeng loop to get used to the bike on Sunday before heading out of Chiang Mai on Monday up to Pai.
Mae Yim
Got on the 1095 and, wow, truly wonderful. Decided to have a look at the viewpoint near Pha Hin so took a left and headed up.
Not the Phantoms home turf!
On a rather steep bit met a pickup coming down, in the rather delicate/desperate maneuvering that took place I made the mistake of stopping (yes I know, 'keep the power on'!). A cruiser, on a steep hill, rubbish grip and only the front brake on. As we slid backwards down the gravel and rock filled 'road' I was glad of the reasonable protective gear we were wearing as well as the credit card in my pocket for when we returned the bike! Thankfully we came to a stop, right way up, and exchanged smiles and laughs with the Thai driver.
Got to the top eventually (thought we may never come here again in our lives so not going to give up just yet) and got a great view of the countryside as well as meet some locals working up here.
Just on our way back down and met a military bloke on a dirt bike. Was a little worried at first as we had been taking pictures by a building festooned in satellites so thought 'crap'! But he took one look at us, one look at the bike, one look at the road we were about to ride down, and shook my hand whist repeatedly saying 'lucky'! My only regret is that we did not ask if we could take his picture, he was a nice bloke.
The way back down, this was a good bit...
We then continued on to Pai where we stayed at the Baan Pai Village.
Nice place, but had another run in with the 'Law' that evening....
Pai was busy, in a backpacker kinda way, but we quite liked it as we were just passing through. Found a nice place to eat called the 'Curry Shack'. Pretty much a bloke cooking curry in a shack! Great cheap Thai food.
Tuesday we headed off for Mae Hong Son.
Filled up on the way out. Riders are friendly the world over. Probably needed his bike the day before!
Some of the great roads, and views on the way.
We had booked two nights so we could just spend a day exploring the area around, we didn't know yet how helpful that was going to be!
Sang Tong Huts - great place if you are staying a while.
Fantastic roads again and stopped for a cigar, as you do.
Universal 'rabbit ears' deployed - Check
Took a detour up to Mae Lana and stopped for some food, think it was called the Garden Home Guest House? Had trouble communicating but managed to get the message across that we were looking for somewhere to eat. She motioned for us to sit down and then disappeared.....for about 20 minutes. We were just thinking that, as we hadn't been asked what we would actually want to eat, there had been a bit of a misunderstanding but, just then, she showed up with two plates of freshly prepared food. Now, I'm a carnivore, but this was the best vegetarian food I've ever tasted!
We were about to head of when it decided to rain...... a little!
But it gave the bike a good clean.
We headed off shortly after, treating the roads with a LOT of respect!
Traction control? ABS? I want my Mum......
We were maybe 15K from Mae Hong Son when the weather came back for seconds. At first when the wind picked up, although I knew what was coming, it was one of the most amazing things I've seen. The leaves (and soon to discover branches!) looked like a New York ticker tape parade, incredible. Then I got punched in the face by a fist, wrapped in an innocent looking leaf! The road was getting bloody dangerous so we pulled over and legged it to a hut in the middle of a field with our gear. The flaw in our cunning plan was soon evident as the hut had only a roof, no sides. Since when does the rain in Thailand fall only downwards!?! We sat there, trying to keep our kit dry, whilst getting hammered from rain travelling practically horizontally!
Skool boy error!
We were also joined by a Thai rider and a western girl pillion. He was typical Thai; smiles, waves, laughs. She didn't talk, or even look at us once. How can you come to a place like this, meet people like this, and still behave as if you've got a broom stuck up your a**e???
The roads afterwards weren't great but it was amazing to see how quickly everyone was out clearing them up.
We got into Mae Hong Son and were then glad of the extra night so we could get our gear dry. Next day we popped into the town and got some fuel to go exploring.
Meditation - Human and Dog techniques.
And in the UK, you get shouted at if you dare to use a mobile within 50 yards of a petrol pump! The Health & Safety police would have a coronary.
We headed to Rak Thai near the boarder. Nice town, especially if you like your tea!
Then onto Pang Ung.
Good fun and quality twisty on the way.
We hit rush hour.
You can see why it's popular with the locals.
Then back to Mae Hong Son. Was nice to have a 'lazy' day where there was really no set plan.
Talking about plans, we were going to ride down to Mae Sarieng and then back to Chiang Mai the day after but decided that the distance could be a little too much so did a 180 and headed back to Pai.
Roads like this meant I didn't mind riding back the way we came.
Lunch in Soppong.
Nam Lod cave, was worth the visit.
Each to their own........
Peddle power.
Harley power.
As we approached Chiang Mai, we had some time so took a turn off and followed our noses. The signs stopped displaying English and it was a great way to finish, going through tiny Thai villages, before the relative madness of Chiang Mai.
Route 3010 (I think?)
Well, it was only a few days and we barely scratched the surface but it was fantastic! I remember riding along a particularly beautiful road, not technically challenging, at about a quarter of the speed that I do in the UK, wife on the back, and feeling completely content. For just that one moment alone, it was all worth it.
Thanks to David for this great website (and the Bike mag interview which started it all); Tony's Big Bikes, the Phantom didn't miss a beat. I hope to definitely return and will do my best to say hello at the Kafe.
Dave M