Has Anyone Been To North Thailand?

ianyonok

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I would guess that not many people have....

One way to get there is by taking a small road NE out of Mae Sai...
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It is clear that you are on the border
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It seemed no 4 wheel traffic had been to North Thailand for a while..
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Then it was obvious why. The Sai river had eaten half of the road.
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But then the dirt changed to tarmac closer to The North
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The entranceway..... a gap in the razor wire...
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A lonely boundary marker in a rice field
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Nearly there....... a cleared area...
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A smashed concrete marker....
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An overgrown rock bank reinforcement wall
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.... and a smashed glass flagon..
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Here we are.. exactly at The North of Thailand.... and it is marked by......... a clump of long grass!
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The view is the Sai river, to the left, coming up from Mae Sai to the southwest, joining the Ruak river, coming down from the north, out of Burma and flowing southeast to Sop Ruak and the Khong.
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Looking up the Ruak river, Burma on both sides.
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The only river traffic...... a lounge settee.....
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Looking down the Ruak river between Thailand and Burma
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There is one more boundary marker, back closer to the road.
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Looking down the road to the east and back towards Sop Ruak.
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So, that is what the North of Thailand looks like..... amazingly uninspiring...

No coffee shops..... or restaurants.... or temple..... or shopping area...... so perhaps no reason for most Thais to visit.

I have a feeling that it won't stay like this for long..... in fact it's quite astonishing that such a significant geographic point is marked by... well.... just about nothing......
 

ZCM

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Yes! I have! Well, the upper part..the 1149 border route up to Mae Sai.
Soldiers took photos of me and took my ID before i was allowed to go through (sensitive border zone).
It was dry when I did it though..and less rough than your section.
Your section looks to be the the real rough stuff though and the no mans land of the border.
I took the less rough stuff in drier times..so big difference to your route for sure.
Was pretty amazing though. I have a video here (but the road number is incorrect on the video .The route number in the video should be 1134 and not 1334. ).
October 2016:
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ianyonok

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ZCM, Yes, wonderful route you took there. The Burma border road over Doi Chang Moob is always a cracker.

I forgot to say, North Thailand is at; 20.46457 deg N, 99.95566 deg E.
 
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ZCM

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ZCM, Yes, wonderful route you took there. The Burma border road over Doi Chang Moob is always a cracker.

I forgot to say, North Thailand is at; 20.46457 deg N, 99.95566 deg E.
I am just now learning about the whole GPS markers thing.. i seem to be of the dinosaur age of mapping..haha.
For sure my route seems to be the more scenic and less hardcore of the two (especially as you did it in the wet!)
I am not sure i would want to trace your route though, as from what you say, it doesnt offer so much in terms of scenic value, right?
Still..even though I didnt do the serious hardcore dirt part you did, I feel a sense of achievement that I could say "Yes! Ive done some of this!" Haha! :D
 
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DavidFL

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Nice one Ian.
That's all prime smuggling area eh& you have to wonder how open the border is for people to drift in & out as they please for nefarious activities.

I did ride along here a long time ago, but cant find my photos or any report.