Thailand North 2009 Overview, some nice place

[helbob]

Thailand North 2009 Overview, Part 1

Hi,
This year i had a great trip about 4000 kilometers from chiang mai to wat chan and mae hong son. Then some tours around mae hong son. After the offroad trip to thaton and pai. Then the gib offroad to chiang rai. In chiang rai i go many tours near the river and to thaton, fang, doi chang, mae salong and more. Here some pics of the tour:

The first trip go to doi suthep and to the small village doi pui

Do you know this? This are Coffee beans. The mountains of thailand are a good place for plant coffee. One of the best is doi chang (more later.

Now on the way to huay ting tao, a offroad tour to this small lake

Huay ting dao. Lunch time. Good and cheap food. We eat the special „ Gung ten“ (dancing shrimp) because they are raw in a very spicy sauce

The next trip goes in the mountains near mae rim

Do you know this plants? It’s a dragon fruit plant

Now we are near Fang on the Mae Mao Dam, this area is very nice because many fruit plantage and nice landscape

This is the military road from Fang to Mae Ai on the border to burma. About 30 km in 1600 meters. At this time it was very cold. This part of the street looks like a big monster bite, but it’s land slide, only motorbike can drive the full way from Fang to Mae Ai.

The check point when i go down the mountain

On the way down some small villages

David, thank you for the new map named „The Golden Triangle Loop“, very good!!!
More will follow in the next days

 

[Marco]

Helbob

Nice one and very nice pictures also.

You will find out that it's very nice riding in that area and many many roads and ridgelines to ride

 

[helbob]

Hello Captain,
do you remeber me?
I saw you when i go to the Doi Inthanon. We speak together on the traffic lights and in Sanpatong (near chiang Mai). You gave me some Information for the trip. I was the guy with the green Kawasaki enduro.

 

[helbob]

Thailand North 2009 Overview, Part 2

Hey, we going the same way . Small village near Mae Rim on Happy New Year.

Many cows on the dirt roads, be carefully!

The dirt road from the suspension bridge to Lorcha (1089)

Monthathan Falls on the way to the Doi Suthep

On the Samoeng Loop, in a small village

On the way to Doi Chang

On the dirt road Chiang Mai to Wat Chan

Temple on the mountain in Mae Hong Son in the evening. On the happy new year week every guesthouse is full because many thais here.

The temple on the lake in Mae Hong Son

On the top of the mountain temple in Mae Hong Son, great view.

 

[Marco]

Helbob

Bice 2nd part and great pictures,,keep'em coming

 

[Ally]

Congratulations Helbob on those pics.

You even caught the big guy in the first one !

Ally

 

[Moto-Rex]

Great job helbob.

Love the photos of Mae Hong Son, which is one of my favorite little towns.

Thanks for the report.

Rex

 

[helbob]

Thank you!
@Moto-Rex
It's one of my favorite too, but this time so many people there :? But we had lucky because the german lady in Sang Thong Huts gave us a storage room for one night, one next day we got a bungalow. Sang Thong Huts is a very nice resort with bungalows about 1100-2000 Baht. Everyone is with a nice big bathroom.
Attention: Never go to Pai and Mae Hong Son in the weeks between 22. dec and 5.jan.

Thailand North 2009 Overview, Part 3

A nice coffe restaurant on the way to tham lot cave (near Soppong)

The way to Pai

One of my favorit place but this time the wether was not so fine. It’s the way to Doi Ang Khang (near fang)

Same place other view

Doi Ang Khang

Now on the border (Nor Lae), the very nice way from Doi Ang Khang to Fang

50 meters up there i good view

200 meters on the road a army camp

Thaton the way to the temples

Outlook from the temple-mountain

 

[Marco]

Helbob

What a fantastic picture that last one looking over the mountain.

Congratts for nice report and hope you will continue your journey around thailand

 

[BignTall]

Hellbob - Awesome pics, thanks for posting.

What month were you on this trip?

Cheers.

 

[helbob]

Thailand North 2009 Overview, Part 4

Temple in Thaton

Thaton

On the dirt road from Thaton to Chiang Rai on the river, great views

Everytime when i come to Chiang Rai i stay in this guesthouse named Ben Guesthouse. Now it’s i new owner, the sister of Patrick bought it and make something new. Good service, nice staff.

The suspension bridge near My Dream Guesthouse about 25 kilometers from Chiang Rai

River crossing, very funny, sometimes deep because much water this year.

One of the best and quiet place in Chiang Rai but you have to walk up about 300 bad steps to the Doi Khong Khao

Huay Keaw Waterfall near Chiang Rai on the river

I nice place on the dirt road near Wawi (about 30 km west of Chiang Rai)

Not far from the place before, a river crossing with a small motorbike is not so easy..

 

[helbob]

@David
Your new map "Golden Triangle" is very good, but the scale 1:360.000 is too small for the dirt roads. I think a good scale is 1:150.000 or 1:100.000. A question what i want to ask you a long time: How you make the maps?

Thailand North 2009 Overview, Part 5

My Dream Guesthouse, the best place for stop and relaxing on the river in the middle of all the dirt roads. The owner Anan work in Ben Guesthouse 10 years ago. Now he make some offroad tours and is a very good guide. The nice wood bungalows in the green garden cost 250 baht for the small one and 400 baht for the big one.

Doi Khong Khao in the evening

Khun Kon Waterfall, south-west of Chiang Rai. But there is a funny dirt road to go there. First the way on the river to Huay Keaw Waterfall. On the teaplantage left up a hard dirt road and then follow the way.

Sweet Mae Salong Coffee, a good place with excellent coffe

In the outback of Mae Salong the goverment make a new street to the border. Here a farmer and hunter

Outback of Mae Salong

Mae Salong, the best motorbike for fun on the dirt roads

Mae Salong from the temple

This is a hidden path from a small village near Mae Salong to the 1089, best view!

Small village

 

[carmima]

Great report and pics - thanks

 

[helbob]

Thailand North 2009 Overview, Part 6

Do you know this plant??? It’s a small tabacco plant near the Wiang Kaew Tabacco Station (near Golden Triangle)

Wood from Burma near Mae Sai, big business.

You look for a guesthouse in Mai Sai? Maybe this? No, it’s a ruine, named Mae Sai Plaza Guesthouse

The way to Doi Tung near Mae Sai

The way to Doi Tung on the mountain-border

Doi Tung Temple

A lake/river between Wawi and Doi Chang

The way Wawi to Fang, about 20km to Fang

 

[DavidFL]

Helbob
Thanks for continuing your trip report. You certainly got some beautiful photos & had a great time. Did you wear out the GT Rider Golden Triangle guide map in the process?

 

[Marco]

Helbob

as im not camera expert,how do you make that nice look on waterfall pictures, water looks like a smoke,,,really nice

 

[helbob]

@marco
water is always in motion. with a short shutter speed is held a moment, with a long shutter speed will be many moments together. The waterfall pictures in this posts had a shutter speed between 1/3 second to 1/20 second.
A sample:

@david
i used the 3 maps of you: Mae Sa Valley, The Golden Triangle Loop and Mae Hong Son.
In Chiang Rai i have a old map (8 Years old) named "Guide Map of Chiang Rai" from V. Hongsombud. In this map are very good streets and good scale.
Many time this year i (we) drive only with the Garmin Oregon 200 GPS, then i found many new streets.

 

[saxonator]

Supergeiler Bericht und rattenscharfe Fotos. Vielen Dank!
....und weiter so.

Ciao Rudi aka saxonator

 

[Marco]

helbob wrote: @marco
water is always in motion. with a short shutter speed is held a moment, with a long shutter speed will be many moments together. The waterfall pictures in this posts had a shutter speed between 1/3 second to 1/20 second.
A sample:

Helbob

Thanx again from great report and explanation about waterfall pictures,, i will put it in use next time it rains here,,,LOL..

 

[Idaho Rider]

Hel, those are some of the most fantastic photos I have seen of our riding in the North! Been to a lot of the same places but my pics look like, well, they look like crap compared to yours! What kind of camera are you using.

Excellent pics and thanks for posting. I am going to show the Female Navigation Unit the whole thread right after dinner.

Ride on....

 

[Ally]

Idaho - Perhaps you should hand your camera to your navigator and get her to learn Photoshop too! :twisted:

Ally

 

[helbob]

Hi,
the camera is a panasonic G1 with the same chip as a olympus E520. But the new panasonic is very small because is not a real dslr.

 

[TonyBKK]

Absolutely beautiful pictures! Thank you for sharing!
Happy Trails,
Tony

 

[helbob]

Ben Guesthouse in Chiang Rai have a new building and a swimming pool. The room rates goes up: The 300 baht room in the new building is now 600 baht and the 250 baht room is 400 baht but everything ery nice and with bathroom/hot shower. The vip room in the brand new building is 1500 baht.
On the homepage you can see something:
http://www.benguesthousechiangrai.com/

BEN Guesthouse in Chiang Rai with the old building and the new swimming pool

BEN Guesthouse in Chiang Rai with the new building and the new swimming pool

 

[Jurgen]

I am reading the post nearly a year later! Fortunately nice pictures never fade out. I am also touring that region again and do some research ... always useful to have reports from colleagues.