Long Distance Walking

[NotYetArahan]

Does anybody know about some routes for long distance walking, say 200 to 300 km? Or does anybody know of a nice route for walking? Walking along the highway is not my cup of tea. Furthermore the maps I have are so large scale that I can not plot any interesting walks.

Thanks

[anonymouse]

I was waiting for some better ideas from other TV members before I posted mine, but this topic has been hanging around with no takers for a while now so....

My recommendation would be to check out the books by the author Christian Goodden he has written four books on trekking around Northern Thailand, they include

Trek It Yourself in Northern Thailand: Twenty Five Solo Jungle Treks On Foot & Motorcycle

Around Lan-Na: A Guide To Thailand's Northern Border Region From Chiang Mai to Nan.

The walks can be combined to make some fairly hefty treks, they might be a bit out of date the last one 'Hinterlands' was written in 2001 the others in the nineties.

Try Gecko Books if anyone is stocking them it is likely to be him

Edited November 17, 2009 by anonymouse

[cm das]

You could also pick up some of the G-T Rider Maps (e.g. Mae Hong Son Loop, Golden Triangle). While they're geared towards motorcycle riders, they're generally a solid, thorough resource on the backroads of Northern Thailand. I can think of many dirt tracks I've ridden that would have been very nice walks.

[colinm]

How about CM-Samoeng-Wat Chan-Pai?

This might be of interest

http://www.escati.com/walking_for_thailand.htm

[Drew Aitch]

Sounds like you're really fit

I walk up the Doi a lot along the road (although there is a track), and it's certainly not a distance walk. From the bottom (Wat Sri Soda) to the steps of Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, it takes about 2 hours or just over. Bugger, i'm pretty knackered by the time i get there, so i take my hat off to anyone who can stroll along for 200 to 300 km.

Aitch

[Asmerom]

When you say, "walking along the highway is not my cup of tea" I assume your quest for long distance routes means cross country tracks on the model of the French Grand Routes

Randonne- like the GR7 along the Pyrenees and it sadly looks as if the answer to your question is "No", no one knows. Probably because they don't exist.

Part of the problem I think, is almost all the land lies below the tree line so it's all densely forested.Following what few country tracks there is round about Chiang Mai there's just nowhere to flop down, stretch out and take a rest; the land is so choked with flora and irritating fauna. In the Pyrenees or the Alps, once above the trees, the land is an inviting scene of mountain sides as close cropped as a golf green. Wonderful walking country. In Thailand its more like jungle country.

In the UK most of the land has been cleared for cultivation or pasture over many centuries so walking it is much easier. Not sure why the Thais haven't got around to doing a bit of slashing and burning on a grand scale. They've been here centuries haven't they?

Even so, its surprising that no enterprising organisation has tried to make use of Doi Suthep and forged a few well marked tracks up the mountain. Up Snowdon there's about six definite, well managed tracks attracting thousands of walkers every year to make the effort. It could be a great tourist attraction rather than just tuk tukking up to the Temple.

Then again, maybe Thais just don't like walking.

Edited November 17, 2009 by Asmerom

[femi fan]

I once saw a sign in mae hong son for a six or seven day trek through the mountains to pai. There'd obviously be a guide. I would imagine that there are trails that link pai with chiang mai. If that is so, then you have a trek of perhaps nearly two weeks through no doubt stunning views.

Maybe some older time travel agents in town would be able to organise it the other way round.

[cmsally]

I once saw a sign in mae hong son for a six or seven day trek through the mountains to pai. There'd obviously be a guide. I would imagine that there are trails that link pai with chiang mai. If that is so, then you have a trek of perhaps nearly two weeks through no doubt stunning views.

Maybe some older time travel agents in town would be able to organise it the other way round.

I actually walked from Pai to Mae Hong Son about 15yrs ago.

It's a pretty decent trek but you need to carry a lot of water with you.

You would need a guide to keep you pointed in the right direction. Although no one with us really had a clue , so maybe a compass and map would have sufficed.

We actually ended up beside the runway at Mae Hong Son Airport which was a bit odd and rather unexpected. But then of course that turns out to be "exactly right", to those who were supposed to know the way.