We were in Doi Ang Khan recently and spotted a paved road going along the Burmese border all the way to Mae Ai.
Leaving from Doi Angkhan village you take the main road out passing the botanical garden on your left side, the road starts to wind up passing a nice resort also on the left hand side (used to be an Amari hotel) and then after about 1 kilomter you make a a sharp left and go further up.
From here the road keeps climbing and soon you have great views with Burma on the left and Thailand on the right, after about 15 km we reached the first Thai check point, we were allowed to pass but had to show indentification and our details were radioed to the next check point which was only about 3 km down the road as we were about the find out. I think the reason for the security measures is the fact that according to the gps you are right on the border, we were lucky to be in time as the check-pont only opens twice a day i.e. between 0700-1000 and 1600-1800 hrs.
After 'checking-out' from this first check point we followed the road and passed the small village of Mon Pin after the which the road again starts to climb to the border with Burma, soon you will be riding on a beautiful mountain ridge with great views on either side.
We kept going starting to feel confident that we would have another great 30km or so to go before reaching Mae Ai but alas, about 10 km after Mon Pin we hit another check point and this one was clearly not mend to pass, big barriers and barbed wire blocked the road and the Thai soldier was very clear, until here and no further!
Looking at the gps it was clear that we once again were right on the border and this time it seemed that the road actually is on the Burmese side of the border quite a few times.
We were left with no other option then to return to Mon Pin and from there further down the valley to Fang.
It's a shame as I am sure the last stretch to Mae Ai would have been very nice aswell, the next time I will try to approach the 2nd check-point from the eastern side, this would mean taking road 107 out of Fang eastwards and then turn left on the 1314, this road loops back towards the 1089 (which is continutaion of the 107) but halfway the 1314 you can keep left and ride towards the border again and see how far you get before hitting the other side of the check point.
Despite the disappointment of not making it all the way it is still a nice ride, the views a great and the altitudes of about 1500 meter mean its nice and cool.
Leaving from Doi Angkhan village you take the main road out passing the botanical garden on your left side, the road starts to wind up passing a nice resort also on the left hand side (used to be an Amari hotel) and then after about 1 kilomter you make a a sharp left and go further up.
From here the road keeps climbing and soon you have great views with Burma on the left and Thailand on the right, after about 15 km we reached the first Thai check point, we were allowed to pass but had to show indentification and our details were radioed to the next check point which was only about 3 km down the road as we were about the find out. I think the reason for the security measures is the fact that according to the gps you are right on the border, we were lucky to be in time as the check-pont only opens twice a day i.e. between 0700-1000 and 1600-1800 hrs.
After 'checking-out' from this first check point we followed the road and passed the small village of Mon Pin after the which the road again starts to climb to the border with Burma, soon you will be riding on a beautiful mountain ridge with great views on either side.
We kept going starting to feel confident that we would have another great 30km or so to go before reaching Mae Ai but alas, about 10 km after Mon Pin we hit another check point and this one was clearly not mend to pass, big barriers and barbed wire blocked the road and the Thai soldier was very clear, until here and no further!
Looking at the gps it was clear that we once again were right on the border and this time it seemed that the road actually is on the Burmese side of the border quite a few times.
We were left with no other option then to return to Mon Pin and from there further down the valley to Fang.
It's a shame as I am sure the last stretch to Mae Ai would have been very nice aswell, the next time I will try to approach the 2nd check-point from the eastern side, this would mean taking road 107 out of Fang eastwards and then turn left on the 1314, this road loops back towards the 1089 (which is continutaion of the 107) but halfway the 1314 you can keep left and ride towards the border again and see how far you get before hitting the other side of the check point.
Despite the disappointment of not making it all the way it is still a nice ride, the views a great and the altitudes of about 1500 meter mean its nice and cool.
