Mae Hong Son Music Festival, May 2012.

Sep 19, 2006
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Well the First Mae Hong Son Music Festival has come and gone so here is a little report on My Trip to join it!.
We meet up in Town at the Kafe on Friday Morning 4th of May. Richard and Robert both on Versys and My Friend Geoff who came up after ANZAC Day on a POP Rental, 2012 ER6n. I took the Harley Fat Bob for a Ride to see how it would go on the MHS Loop? We left around 10am and took our time suffering the Traffic through Town till We got south of Hang Dong where it cleared up a little. Once We got onto the more open Road We had a good Pace and had a Great Ride down to Mae Sarieng. I really enjoyed it!
Fueled up then stopped for Lunch at the Riverhouse.
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Nice spot to sit overlooking the River and a Chance to top up on the Fluids as it was quite Warm!
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Back on the Road and straight up to MHS. We had a Fantastic time on this section with the Great Flowing Roads. Top Stuff! It was close to 4pm by the time We actually arrived after the Multiple stops We had along the way to Savor the moment on these great Roads!
We checked into the Piya Guesthouse, Showered and out for the Evening. I meet up with David and Our first call of Duty was to go and Pay our Respects to Mates TJ & Simon! Gone but not forgotten We spent a while with them and both Myself and David made a Donation to the Temple for upkeep which is a bit of a Tradition for those of Us who knew the Guys! Wish they could have been there in Person to enjoy the evening but I am sure they were with Us in Spirit!
The GT-Rider with TJ & Simon's Memorial Plaque's
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Time for the More Serious Business of Partying! The Guys were busy setting up their Gear.
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The Sky looked Menacingly Dark and sure enough they had No sooner started when the Heavens opened up and it Poured down! Beating a Hasty retreat We all Piled into the Restaurant and waited for it to stop which was a couple of Hours later! Luckily there was a few People to entertain Us including one Long Neck Lady!
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Once the Rain finished it was Back to the Main Stage and everyone outside again! Fortunately there was No Problem with the well Insulated Electrical System?
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The Switch & Mixer Board.
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There was an Enthusiast Crowd with lots of People I knew from Chiang Mai but not that many Locals which given the Weather I suppose wasn't surprising? I don't know the Numbers but here are a few Pictures of the People who were enjoying the Festival.
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The Aussie John Experience Band put on a hell of a Great Show, Well Done Guys. Top Stuff as Usual!
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I am not sure what Time I actually called it a Night but I am sure everyone was suitably Happy!
Saturday Morning people started rising at different times and mingling around outside. A Bit Dull with a few Spots of Rain but at least it wasn't to Hot! So We set off again and headed for Chiang Mai Via Pai!
Stopped at the Lookout before Soppong and snapped a Photo of Robert & Richard!
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Off We went again on another fantastic Ride till We got up to The Lookout before Pai and a Big Group of the Chiang Mai Riders were stopped there so We stopped for a Chat and a Drink with them.
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After here We all set off back to Chiang Mai, Rode through Pai but it looked pretty quiet and as we weren't really Hungry decided to just Carry on Back Home! Another Fantastic Ride. The Road is a Bit chopped up in Places but No Major complaints and I was suitably impressed with the Harley and enjoyed every Minute of the Ride! A Great MHS Loop Bike! Bring on the next Festival! I will see You there!
 
Jul 25, 2010
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What a brilliant event this was despite the best efforts of the weather to dampen things at the start.
Davidfl and I rode up on the Thursday with a hot weather start but cool through Doi Inthanon on route to Mae Chaem, where we stopped for coffee at Luang Dang coffee shop. Its located right in between the fork of the roads to Doi Intanon and Hot, heading out of Mae Chaem

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Great cool spot for a break

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Arriving at MHS a day early, we had the time to take a small trip up to Rak Thai on Friday am and were joined by Phil and Mark who had come up from Hua Hin and Eric from CNX. Beautiful day for this but the weather closed in just as we arrived at this lovely little village.
Good when we got there

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and then it howled down

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giving us a chance to witness the ubiquitous inside out umbrella trick

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Still it cleared for the run back to MHS and what a lovely little ride that road is.
My pics from the event showed evidence of beer focus, so in the bin but the evening was a heap of fun with top music on the side of the lake.
Many thanks to George from the Sunflower and Davidfl for taking the time and effort to get this show on the road. May there be many more to come:thumbup:
 

Rod Page

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"Beer focus" indeed! Bungy's shots had a certain blurr at times also, so clearly it was a top night.
Love the long-neck shot bungy!
 

DavidFL

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Indeed it was a good fun night plus we had a good ride.

Thanks go to John Gooding for rounding up riders, plus of course Aussie John& his Aussie Experience band + mates, with whom there would be no show of course.

Thanks too to George at the Sunflower Restaurant & The MHS Guides Association who had everything organised pretty well in MHS, despite the short time to prepare.

The thunderstorm at 6.30PM & subsequent lengthy power failure (a tree down across the power lines 4kms out of town) certainly had a few people nervous but once the show got under way everyone relaxed & had a good time. The MHS locals & visitors were well satisfied with the event.

Anyway a few pix from me..

My riding buddy for the outward journey was Ron Webb & we rode over to MHS via the scenic way Cnx - Doi Inthanon - Mae Chaem - Mae Na Chon - Khun Yuam- MHS.
Our first stop was Mae Klang waterfall for me to get some breakfast & top up the fluids for the hot ride.

2nd Stop was Lung Dang Coffee shop in Mae Chaem to pick up Miss Aom who wanted to go to MHS for the event, plus take a break for her coffee shop in MC.
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Route 1088 Mae Chaem - Mae Na Chon has now been resurfaced & is generally ok. Although it does not appear to be a very thick layer of asphalt & may not last more than 1 wet seaason.

Route 1263 Mae Na Chon is a super road & has some of the best scenery & forest cover in the North, but at the Mae Na Chon end you would not think that.
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growing corn for pig feed & ethanol is seriously taking it's toll on the environment. Progress - a sign of the times??

3rd stop was a fluid stop in Khun Yuam at the Yont store & hotel, but sorry no pix.

4th stop was an obligatory view point pic for Aom...
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Arrival time in MHS was just on 5PM & time for a short thunderstorm.
It was a lazy evening, relaxing at the Sunflower with George & the MHS IMN organizer team.
Somehow a guitar came out & the beer flowed until late
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DavidFL

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Day 2 was a rest day, sort of....
Some of the Aussie John Experience Band went out to Hua Sua Tao to meet the long neck stars & jam; & I understand they had a ripper time & want to go back to hang out with the long necks.

A few others went for a ride out to Rak Thai / Mae Aw. The riders: Phil & Mike from Hua Hin, Eric Pee, plus Ron Webb, Miss Aom & David Unk.
Rak Thai / Mae Aw is 40 kms North of Mae Hong Son on the Burma border. It is also 1,000 metres up.

It was hot climbing up out of the valley, but once up on the plateau it is nice & cool.
Beside the lake we managed a series of photos, courtesy of the tea shop assistant
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and a few minutes later the rain bucketed down
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after numerous cups of free tea Miss Aom ventured outside for a n obligatory tourist snap.
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one of the free tea types we tasted was absolutely superb Dok Moei? & Aom purchased a few packs. 2 days later back home in Mae Chaem it most definitely tasted like crap compared to what we had in the tea shop. "We'd" been had. Still we had a delightful time hanging out ionthe tea shop chit chatting.
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Aom is not the biggest woman in the world & riding on the back of your bike it's hard to tell if she is still on the bike & not blown off with a bit of speed.

In Na Na Paek village there is a sweet coffee shop Coffee Camp
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The set up is extremely sweet & very tastefully done.
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Perhaps something you would not normally expect in a Hmong village, but times have moved on.
Coffee Camp has camping grounds & is building 2 earthen bungalows for rent.
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The Rak Thai road is as sexy as it gets
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Back in MHS at 3PM it was hot, but clear
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promising a good night, so we thought.

Piya Guesthouse was filled up with riders & bikes for the event & it's a long time since Ive seen K Nang looking so happy & smiley.
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Rod Page

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I've greatly enjoyed each of the posts on this thread in turn - all showing the comraderie of a group of mates out for an enjoyable ride. Half your luck fellas!
 

DavidFL

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Now for the show....as this was a first in MHS we did not quite know what to expect.

It was all conceived in just a couple of months after Sunflower George & I had a few lakeside beers discussing what to do to help MHS in the low season. In low season the guides in MHS have no work, plus there's nothing to do & the only fairs organised in MHS are the same old official traditional ones that everyone has seen a thousand times with nothing new. :idea: Bingo - the Aussie John Experience band, I thought? Why not have a farang band play by the lake & bring people into the centre of town for a night out. It would be something very new - the first time in MHS - & will both attract the locals & give them something different; & we can pull in a few motorcyclists to ride to MHS & do the legendary loop. And so the idea was born (& all it took was a couple of Leos on a hot night. Ha. Ha.)

George agreed to organise the MHS end & GT Rider was to bring over some motorcyclists.
I went off to Vientiane Laos to supervise delivery of the 5th edition GT Rider Laos guide map & John Gooding helped round up bikers from the community in Chiang Mai= a big thank you John.
Ian Bungy organised a few guys as did Schackster - thanks to you guys as well.
And wasn't it good riding over to MHS with your own little groups of friends to all meet up in MHS & swap stories about the different ride over?

By the time I got back from Laos, George had been busy & a long neck triop / duo, a Thai band & A Shan band were all to play. It sounded good & on the night what happened?

It rained. A heavy thunderstorm started 40 minutes before kick off time.
The rain stopped & the power went off - a tree was down across the lines 4 kms out of town.

WTF we thought.

Everyone was crowded into the Sunflower Restaurant, anxiously waiting. A couple of us were really nervous.

Power was restored & it started to rain again, so we could not go outside yet.
So the long neck ladies got up & started to pay in the Sunflower. A round of applause went up & it was underway.
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Speedy Buffalo rode up from Pattaya with some Thai friends.
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Nolan Yusof & his mates came from Malaysia on their Versys.
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Phil & Mike (Kawa Ninja 650 & Versys) from Hua Hin popped in on their way home from a North Thailand tour.
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some of the happy Thai contingent
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DavidFL

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Eventually & thankfully the rain petered out & both the bands & audience move outside.

First a local MHS band
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Photo by Khun Nettie

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Photo by K Nettie

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Photo by K Nettie

Then the main event The Aussie John Experience
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The locals in MHs were highly impressed with the live farang band
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Beer Chang PGs
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and a sample of the AJE Band playing in MHS by the lake.

Thanks again guys. It was a good night, despite the wet start; but in the end that made it more enjoyable.
 
Apr 23, 2006
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Pleased to read it was such a success! Hope it becomes a regular event. Obviously a lot of organisation required, so congratulations to all those involved!
 
Nov 2, 2008
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Was a great night and thank you to all those that organized it.

Also hope this continues and becomes a regular event. Know many parents with farang teens, and pre teens, who too often complain of a lack of enjoyable things to do as a family over the weekend. An event such as this with, local singers and classic rock (thank you Aussie John experience), would be an great choice. These families don't want to sit in the mud by the lake listening to overpowered something something music, but an event like this many parents agreed it would be entertaining. Even a couple of teens responded with a grunted "uh, sounds ok", and for a teen that is a downright jumping for joy agreement to participate.

:)
 
Dec 27, 2007
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Wow, looks like a fantastic weekend!

So glad to see that not even the rain and power outage could ruin this event.

Hope it will become an annual event and that I can join you guys next year.

Bravo! :happy1:
 
May 5, 2012
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as already said, well done to all who organised and participated in the even,, looks like a good time was had by all and if it becomes a regular event it would certainly be one i will be looking to attend in the future..

well done guys..
 

DavidFL

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Indeed it was a good night. We drank all the Leo beer, & ran the Chang right down.
Quite a few guys staggered off back to their various accommodations.
I sauntered off around 1AM & the AJE band cooled down until 4am.

I know it was a good night because the next morning when I set off I put my helmet on first & then tried to put my balaclava on after. Oops.

The early risers & healthy(ier) riders leaving
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My return was again via the scenic way to Khun Yuam - Mae Na Chon - Mae Chaem, but this time with Jurgen ahead, Ron W with me & Eric Pee behind.
Jurgen got to MC first, Eric caught up with Ron W & I for a coffee in Mae Na Chon,

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The Mae Na Chon Coffee & Homestay is a delightful spot for a break, immediately south of Mae Na Chon
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& if you're looking for a room they have some nice little bungalows
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Eric got into an environmental conversation with the owners & Ron W & I headed onto MC to drop off Miss Aom at the Lung Dang Coffee, before retiring in the rain. Eric caught up in MC again, then continued onto Cnx in the rain I believe.

It rained all night in MC & again the next day.
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It was NOT a pleasant sight getting up in the morning.
Ron W & Jurgen were not worried as they had rain gear, but not me. Just the liner for my Alpinestars mesh jacket & when I'm on the AT it is not that great a problem because of the superior fairing - I can handle it; but the Versys is a lot different.

So off we went slowly.
Both Ron W & I had black visors on, so that made it even more interesting.
On R108 east of Hot there is road works all the way to Chomthong, with lots of dirt over the road for a nice film to be over your face & inside the helmet.

After Chomthong we were hanging out for a nice coffee, but every place with a coffee signboard out front was closed - must have been too wet.
The rain got really heavy & visibility was very poor. Several times we rode into huge puddles across the road, & I noted how much lower the Versys was to the ground & how much water came up over you.

The garbage trucks from Chiang Mai went past heading to Hot to dump their smelly refuse, & the stench of the soggy trash hang in the wet air before & after, such that I can still smell it in my helmet. It was disgusting & I felt like puking.

Eventually we found a PTT & 7-11 for that desperate last pit stop & a slash before the final run home along the canal road.
Ron W turned off south of the airport & Jurgen & I battled on only to encounter he heaviest rain in Mae Rim, where we live. Ho Hum. It was one of the rides...
 

Jurgen

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Thank you David for the nice memories. It was of course a great time in MHS and I am sure that more bikers will join for the next venues. I am still drying my wet cloth as even in Maerim the sun was quite sparse in the last days.
 

Jurgen

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A small contribution to this colorfull and already well illustrated venue.

Around the lake

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A Padaung singer from Huay Sua Tao

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John Nash band

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The organisers

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Colors and smiles

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May 8, 2012
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Thanks David for the trip up to Ruk Thai, something we would not have seen otherwise.

Mike and I headed of about 10 for Tak, nice ride except for the last hour in rain. Next day was still pissing rain so stayed in Tak another night, as Mike didn't have any rain gear.

Monday we hit the highway for a quick track home to Hua Hin from Tak.

Hope to see you all next year.

Phil.
 

HHMike

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May 10, 2012
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I will Thank you too David, as Phil says we wouldn't have found Rak Thai on our own, and hope to see you next year or other rides.....

It was a great show even with the bumps with electricity and the weather, we still enjoyed it, and our riding of up north.

And Phil, sure blame me for not wanting to ride without rain gear, I think you didn't want to ride with it......
 
May 8, 2012
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HHMike;278938 wrote: I will Thank you too David, as Phil says we wouldn't have found Rak Thai on our own, and hope to see you next year or other rides.....

It was a great show even with the bumps with electricity and the weather, we still enjoyed it, and our riding of up north.

And Phil, sure blame me for not wanting to ride without rain gear, I think you didn't want to ride with it......
Your not wrong, it was pissing down.
 

ianyonok

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Congrats to the guys organising the event. Looked and sounded great. Some marvellous rides to get there and back too. I'll have to make that one next year....
 
Nov 2, 2008
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Anybody have a count of how many Versys attended?

This was a cool Kawasaki rendezvous, I met 3 250 KLX owners that evening with over 80,000 km's plus each (I have 8k more to top 80k). :smile1: :cool:

Too early to know the date of the next MHS Music night?
 
Jan 14, 2010
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For once I'll be in town at the right time :eek: I'm In.

Will you be doing a group booking at Piya David? If so, I'll be in that too.
 

DavidFL

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Captain Wally;281213 wrote: For once I'll be in town at the right time :eek: I'm In.

Will you be doing a group booking at Piya David? If so, I'll be in that too.

Some rooms have already been booked at the Piya
9 November 2012 = 6 rooms for the band.
10 November 2012 = 6 rooms for the band + David Unk (1) + Ian Bungy (1) + Captain Wally (1).
11 November 2012 = 6 rooms for the band.

If you intend to go & want to book a room, consider any of these options

1. Piya Guesthouse: 053 611260

2. Palm House: 053 614022

3. Rom Thai: Tel: 053 612437
http://www.maehongson-romtai.com/index.html

4. Panorama: Tel: 053 611757. Mobile: 0813098894
http://www.panorama.8m.com/index.html

5. Ngam Tha: http://ngamta.com/hotel-home-2-1/Ngamta-Hotel-053-612-793-4/

6. Pana huts
www.panahuts.com

7. Sang Tong Huts
http://www.sangtonghuts.com/
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Some others
https://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorcycle-forum/showthread.php/33014-Mae-Hong-Son-Accommodation