davidgtr

Here's my fave GT Rider Nan report

Return to Nan & Back To The Future

just about all you need is in there.

Enjoy.

come on guys....in one of the best places in the world to ride a motorbike no answers.....there has to be the spot to go to get a fair deal on a rental bike...????

Broaden your horizon & look here on GT Rider.

where can you buy GT-Rider maps in Chiang Mai?

Gecko Books of course.

This should be a help

Route 107 & Fang is at the left (west) end & Mae Suai is at the right (east) end.

Take a GT Rider Golden Loop map with you too as it has accurate kms for riding in that area.

Cnx P&P Travel for me too

Well presumably you are wearing a helmet when you ride your old africa twin. You are not carrying your wife and three year old kid, standing up between you on the seat.

Slow down..... I did. Make sure the message gets through to the bus and lorry drivers and pissed pick up drivers.

"Like it or lump it TIt". Sounds like Trink from a good few years ago. People evolve, society hopefully evolves and this is dumb.

So just to check that you think that throwing of water at motorcyles sometimes with ice in it is ok on fast moving roads? If yes then you are wrong.

Just today near Mae hia market a notorious black spot when motorbikes try and cross over the bridge towards the tesco express. theres a guy there on his own causing bikes to swerve into the path of the people who have caned it round the corner in their archaic suspended pick ups, because they can and want to show how brave, drunk, skillful they are. And are hammering towards the red light near Im pla plao.

People are dying now for this "FUN"

Its just plain stupid.

I agree it is very dangerous. People get killed through drunken stupidity. And it gets worse every year. My advice: it is best not to drive or ride during the Songkran water festival.

Scream as much as you want, but we as farang, will not be able to change it. So for me "like it or lump it."

Have a nice Songkran.

I swerved a couple of times today. I saw a lot of ambulances, body pickups on the road.

I thought the standard of driving today, which is normally pretty good, degenerated.

I drove through a place called wiang pao pau. (Steep hump back bridge on both sides) looked down and everyone having fun in the river. Around the water . Brilliant. My point is that on these major roads. The people who perhaps dont have the facility to go to a river, ie the poorest kids see this as possibly the best fun they can have all year. which is wrong on a lot of levels.

Today I rode my motorbike from Thoed Thai - Chiang Mai via Mae Chan & R108 did not think it was a serious problem.

The place with the river & the bumps either side of bridge is Mae Suai. 30kms north of Wiang Pa Pao, & yes there were hundreds enjoying the heat & school holidays in the river.

If you see kids beside the road or a wet road ahead S-L-O-W right down. As a farang put your hand up indicating no water please & 95% of the time it's "no problem". You drive / ride according to the conditions.

I also did not see anything wrong with the driving today & Ive done that run hundreds of times, perhaps you were in a hurry or were aggravated by the water throwing.

But yeah it is Songkran, people drink, throw water & generally misbehave like they normally don't do; but this is Songkran & that's how it is; & for many kids it is "possibly the best fun they can have all year." Like it or lump it I say - TIT.

The guy I use for "de-gunking.'

Dr Sukitt Auripibul.

8/2 Sri Dornchai Road.

Clinic hours: 5.00 – 8.00 pm, Monday – Friday.

I popped in a week ago to the service centre & was told they are "renovating" & going to re-open in a month at the same location, but there was certainly nothing going on in the retail outlet!

My wife and I joined the ride this year, after somehow missing it last.

We support the cause, and think the comittee members do a wonderful job.

I have fought with myself as to whether I should mention this, but what put a dampner on the day, for us, was the fact we, and a number of others got left behind.

I have taken part in the Hahndorf Toyride in Adelaide a number of years back, and they too advertise "Open to all bikes". It was confirmed when a good few thousand bikes all rode together in a pack at a nice slow pace, kind of like a parade, to the showground where the mountain of toys was created, and the kids and adults alike partied too.

My only criticism, and Im willing to get involved, so please dont flame me.... is that the ride itself seemed more like a big bike ride, with the scooters floundering at the back, and not getting the support of the police traffic stops, and turning to each other for directions. If the bike riders were a pack of like minded nice folk doing something good for charity, why didn't they stick together? I was doing 60 - 70 kmph with a small New scooter, and ultimately, ended up loosing the big boys.

I just feel, that big bike rides out are for one day. And a toyride should be about riding together, buffalo pack style (Whereby the pack moves as fast as its slowest member), for the public to see, and create awareness.

Once again, its not a complaint. Its merely a comment about why we felt a little left out.

We are happy we gave a number of big toys to the kids, and we applaud the organisers. I just thought I should try and be honest with this CONSTRUCTIVE criticism.

Overall a great day out.

Phil & Nokk

Phil & Nokk

Thanks for joining in on the toy ride & the constructive criticism.

I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, but sorry that you felt a bit left out with the ride.

One of the problems we have is setting a nice pace that is comfortable for all, and this is not exactly easy with such a variety of bikes.

The pace however is set by the traffic police who like to control things their way.

Riding at the front the pace was too slow for the bigger sport bikes & they were overheating until the run down the canal road.

According to my GPS track for the ride, the average moving speed was 16KPH, with a maximum of 79 KPH on the canal road; although a few riders on big bikes went faster for a few hundred metres to cool their engines down.

So it looks like the problem might be you guys at the back, getting caught at the intersections & hurrying to catch up? However I did not think this was happening with the 5 police bikes riding escort & supposedly marshalling everyone along “at the right pace”. Next year we will endeavour to rectify the problem for you & the riders on smaller bikes, as we want everyone to join in & be happy, no matter what sort of bike.

Thank you once again for your participation & comments.

For some photos of the event look on GT Rider here.

A few photos....

Some kids at the start

It was a great day & there were some extremely happy kids out there.

Thank you very much to all the Chiang Mai Toy Ride sponsors, supporters & people came on the day.

For more photos look on GT Rider here.

i don't know what to more to say. i did it. and its well worth it. If you like the adventure and the missions then this is the thing to do. its free (apart from motorbike rental and petrol) and it takes up the whole day, when i come back to Thailand, this is going to be one of the first things i do again. and yes it does get cold at the top. especially riding a motorbike so take jeans and jumper!ANY QUESTIONS, EMAIL RICHARDPWILLS @ GOOGLEMAIL.COM

Well done Richard, the ride to Doi Inthanon is a beauty, but you might want to add wear a helmet on a 200 kms trip, just to be "safe."

How did you go with wind & sunburn after the ride?

Here's an interesting recent report about a ride in the Cardamon Mountains.

Make sure you know where you're going & who is leading you.

Know the place Rai Saeng Arun.......beautiful and would be perfect, but with 2 kids, and needing 2 bungalows, it's not in the budget this year. Have had a couple of great lunches there and met the owner from BKK and got the royal tour. It is indeed a great place, but looking for something a little more mid-price range.

thanks so far, let's keep trying.....

My real favourite is the Tammila Guesthouse in Chiang Khong.

Watchara put in some new aircon / cable TV rooms earlier this year.

Price was 600 baht a night. The brekky at the Tammila is real good.

Don't know how old the kids are, but Tammila has bicycles for rent, plus there is a gate straight onto the riverside "boulevard", where the kids can play / run up & down.

Well worth checking out.

The Rai Saeng Arun is a gem of a place on the Khong, but it's upmarket & not back packer price.

Location on route R4007, the river road between Chiang Khong & Chiang Saen.

Captain Slash has ridden all over Thailand on his Honda Wave 125 on 2004-5.

Then repeated it on a Phantom , then on a BMW650 & now on a Phantom for the 3rd time.

The bike is never the problem, only the rider.

And the best bike Slash reckons is the Phantom, but you can do it on whatever you fancy riding - big or small.

The Sunflowers at Mae U-Khor are out

Photo by Captain Slash. Look here for more.

Why should they hold your passport?

So you bring the bike back. Simple.

Just in from Mae Hong Son & supposedly November 15 is Sunflower Festival day at both Mae Ho near Mae Sarieng & Mae U-Khor near Khun Yuam.

I was at Ban Farang a couple of weeks ago - ok, it was off season. There are no farangs or English-speaking people on staff, you can only communicate in Thai. They were making faces when I asked about the restaurant (it was open but they couldn't be arsed to actually cook), and they were generally very very unhelpful, one of my worst experiences in Thailand in 8 years.

They may get their act together for the high season, but I was wondering, why do they bother.

The thing is, I guess there aren't many other options in Khun Yuam.

Firelily

Wow! Disappointing news there about Ban Farang, as my experience there has always been acceptably good; however I'm quite decent with the local language so don't really bother about the English. Sometimes in low season if they don't have any customers staying there I don't expect anything much from the kitchen either. But the lack of English is not an uncommon problem when you are out in the boonies & us farang are in a very small minority.

Now if Ban Farang is so bad I wonder what your next recommendation for the area would be, & would they speak English good enough for someone who has been in Thailand 8 years & can't communicate in Thai???

For a couple of reports with photos of the sunflowers look here

1. Sunflower Season Mae U-Khor.

2. Mae Sarieng Sunflowers

The Sunflowers bloom at Mae U-Khor Forest Park, approximately 24 kms from Khun Yuam.

If you have a GT Rider Mae Hong Son Loop map the place is clearly shown on the map, east of Khun Yuam.

The Thais like to camp out there for the experience.

The "nearest best accommodation" is in Khun Yuam at Ban Farang. Telephone 053622086 & 081386081.

At a wild guess I’d say mid-late November should be the time to go. But check with Ban Farang or the TAT in Mae Hong Son. It all depends on the weather = when the rain stops & the sun stays out & the flowers bloom.

Sometimes the flowers are blooming & a late heavy rainstorm hits & wipes out all the petals & bye bye sunflowers, so that when you arrive there is not much left to see.

There's a list of Chiang Mai Bike Shops here.

With dams planned for Pak Beng & Pak Ou, this fantastic Mekong boat trip will eventually disappear & just be a cruise on a lake. The waters from the dam at Pak Beng will back up 90 kms to near Pak Ing, just south of Chiang Khong.

One of the most depressing things I've heard in a long time. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of villages will end up being replaced by concrete boxes

wherever the locals are displaced to. Still, at least they'll have electric lighting.

When is this travesty planned to take place?

For more info go to Save The Mekong

And sign the petition here.

The plan for the Don Sahong dam by the Khone Phapheng Falls is horrific!

So sail the Mekong while you can!

The best way to go - get your own group & rent a whole boat for yourself, & do Houei Xai - Luang Prabang in a day.

Overnight in Houei Xai & stay at the Oudom Phone Guesthouse.

Mekong Boat Trip

Notes on the roads

Houei Xai - Luang Namtha is all asphalt now, although it may not be in very good condition right now after the season.

The road from Na Toei - Oudom Xai is the pits after the wet & under re-construction.

Oudom Xai - Pak Mong is "ok" & asphalt.

Pak Mong - Luang Prabang is "perfect" winding asphalt.

With dams planned for Pak Beng & Pak Ou, this fantastic Mekong boat trip will eventually disappear & just be a cruise on a lake. The waters from the dam at Pak Beng will back up 90 kms to near Pak Ing, just south of Chiang Khong.