Rented two XRs from Mr Mechanic and took my son (19) on his first Mae Hong Song loop tour and my first trip in nearly 20 years. Pai, the town, was simply unrecognizable and rather dreary apart from Farang watching. Upon David's recommendation we stayed at the Brookview, a very nice place that had me pondering why I was sharing a bed in such a romantic little bungalow with my son. We ate at the Indian food place across from the Blue something hotel, and regretted it, over priced and not paticularly tasty. I did find a nice little bar, across from the Israeli oriented traveler guest house in the center of town, owned by a Swede. You can always count on a Swede to pour an honest drink.
The second day was the highlight of the trip traveling from Pai to MHS and then down to Khun Yuam. Arrived in Khun Yuam around 2:00PM and looked eastward to see only a black sky over the mountains. But after an hour lunch stop at Baan Farang we went back to the intersection around 3:00PM and the skies were clear and so we took the road over to Mae Chaem. The ride along this road that did not even exist on my last trip to Khun Yuam was just outstanding. The road was being paved/repaved in various places along the first third of the way, but would not be any problem for a street bike or even a Dream as long as you went slow over the unpaved sections. But we had the XRs, the rain was an hour ahead of us which left the forests glistening but the road dry. With the sun getting a bit low, the colors and views were stupendous. There is no doubt in my mind that late afternoon, with the sun at your back is the time to drive this section eastwards. My only caveat is that this road, despite being a paved road, is fairly isolated with only a few Mong and Karen villages, and it had very, very little traffic so best not done solo or without Thai language skills. I would assume that during the dry season traffic would increase.
Next morning took a chilly ride to meet up with the Doi Inthanon Rd and from there back down to the main road but then looped around towards Samoeng, took off to the Rock Tower above Pong Yang (take road to Royal Project at Mong village of Nong Hoi) and then to the house for a quick shower. Driving the bikes back to Chiang Mai I ran out of gas directly in front of my local gas station. Further good fortune followed when I arrived back at Mr. Mechanic to return the rental bikes to see my good friend of over 20 years, Mr David himself, sitting in front of the Kafe as if waiting for our arrival. So after a few beers, and after appointing my son the designated driver, I sat on the back of our mighty Honda Dream as we putted back home.
My son is still trying to figure out words to describe the MHS loop road, with its infinite and never ending variety of hairpin and corkscrew turns to his young cycle pals in the US.
The second day was the highlight of the trip traveling from Pai to MHS and then down to Khun Yuam. Arrived in Khun Yuam around 2:00PM and looked eastward to see only a black sky over the mountains. But after an hour lunch stop at Baan Farang we went back to the intersection around 3:00PM and the skies were clear and so we took the road over to Mae Chaem. The ride along this road that did not even exist on my last trip to Khun Yuam was just outstanding. The road was being paved/repaved in various places along the first third of the way, but would not be any problem for a street bike or even a Dream as long as you went slow over the unpaved sections. But we had the XRs, the rain was an hour ahead of us which left the forests glistening but the road dry. With the sun getting a bit low, the colors and views were stupendous. There is no doubt in my mind that late afternoon, with the sun at your back is the time to drive this section eastwards. My only caveat is that this road, despite being a paved road, is fairly isolated with only a few Mong and Karen villages, and it had very, very little traffic so best not done solo or without Thai language skills. I would assume that during the dry season traffic would increase.
Next morning took a chilly ride to meet up with the Doi Inthanon Rd and from there back down to the main road but then looped around towards Samoeng, took off to the Rock Tower above Pong Yang (take road to Royal Project at Mong village of Nong Hoi) and then to the house for a quick shower. Driving the bikes back to Chiang Mai I ran out of gas directly in front of my local gas station. Further good fortune followed when I arrived back at Mr. Mechanic to return the rental bikes to see my good friend of over 20 years, Mr David himself, sitting in front of the Kafe as if waiting for our arrival. So after a few beers, and after appointing my son the designated driver, I sat on the back of our mighty Honda Dream as we putted back home.
My son is still trying to figure out words to describe the MHS loop road, with its infinite and never ending variety of hairpin and corkscrew turns to his young cycle pals in the US.
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