The Mae Sam Laep Road

[DavidFL]

Mae Sam Laep 1989

R1194 Mae Sarieng - Mae Sam Laep used to be a real work out. The last 15 kms followed the stream & it was 65 stream crossings in 15 kms.
It's all paved now & still one beautiful tight steep twisting road from Mae Sarieng to the Salaween River.

Mae Sam Laep used to be hive of activity whilst the Karen had control of the land on the Burmese side...
Indeed Mae Sarieng was a bit of a boom town in those days.

At the same the logs were coming out from Burma by the thousand. (Or illegally from the Salween Wildlife Sanctuary & floated downstream to MSL as if from Myanmar!)

 

[DavidFL]

Mae Sam Laep October 2014

 

[angkor1]

From Mae Kong Kha to Mae Sariang big adventure and wet boots.

 

[DavidFL]

In Mae Sarieng city there was a fabulous little cafe - Pan Bistro - that we used to hang out at for some fantastic food & cheap beers.

The Burmese massaman curry is still the best I've ever had in Thailand.

It was a super cool place down town in the main street centre of town.

 

[DavidFL]

Mae Sam Laep wasn't the only spot on the Salaween out from Mae Sarieng.
In those days there were also logging camps on the Salaween at Tha Ta Fang & Mae Sakoep, all upstream from Mae Sam Laep & both wild roads just as good as the Mae Sam Laep road.

Check out the GTR MHS Loop map which had the roads on there.

Some bulldust & road pics

Wild, great times exploring. No mobile phone. No GPS. No Google Earth Map. No hard copy map. But we heard there was a road out there, so let's go take a look & see how far we can get.

More to come....

 

[DavidFL]

The end of the road at Mae Sakoep / Tha Ta Fang. 1989.
I'm not 100% sure which one this was now. I think it maybe Mae Sakoep?

At Mae Sakoep there were no boats, so we high tailed it through the dust back to Mae Sarieng City.

The next ride was out to Mae Tha Fang where there boats, so we hired a boat & sailed down to Mae Sam Laep & rode back into Mae Sarieng city.

Unloading at Mae Sam Laep

A view to the Burmese side at Mae Sam Laep 1989

For those wondering. Mae Sakoep

18°09'08.5"N 97°40'45.4"E · Mae Khong, Mae Sariang District, Mae Hong Son 58110, Thailand

Mae Khong, Mae Sariang District, Mae Hong Son 58110, Thailand

goo.gl

Tha Ta Fang or Mae Kong Kha as it was called in those days.

หาà¸à¸à¸£à¸²à¸¢à¸ªà¸²à¸¡à¸«à¸à¸à¸ · 3MFM+JPG à¸à¹à¸²à¸à¸à¹à¸²à¸à¸²à¸à¸±à¹à¸ Mae Yuam, Mae Sariang District, Mae Hong Son 58110, Thailand

âââââ · Tourist attraction

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Old Tha Ta Fang Police Station · 3M9M+P2V, Mae Yuam, Mae Sariang District, Mae Hong Son 58110, Thailand

âââââ · Museum

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Salawin National Park Rangers Station (Ta Ta Fang) · 3M9R+49X, Mae Yuam, Mae Sariang District, Mae Hong Son 58110, Thailand

âââââ · Park

goo.gl

 

[DavidFL]

Some enterprising river transport

 

[ZCM]

Amazing photos. Would have felt like being on another planet, I can imagine!!

 

[DavidFL]

Amazing photos. Would have felt like being on another planet, I can imagine!!

Yes something like that, being right out there almost in "no man's land," the border was so porous & easy going in those days, friends on both sides. Lots of trading, but sadly politics has been shafting people living on the border nowadays.

 

[DavidFL]

1989. Mae Sakoep / Mae Khong Kha / Tha Ta Fang?

 

[Moor66]

Very nice to see pics of how people got there back then. When I am out riding, many times I think about how the road looked some 20-50 years ago. When did it get paved, is this the original route, or which route did people use before.