Is the road from Doi Inthanon to Khun Yuam the worst in Thailand?

[thaibeachlovers]

If this is the wrong forum, apologies.

Drove from Cham Thong to Khun Yuam, and while it was fine to the Doi Inthanon Park HQ, it became very windy after, and was pretty rugged till after Mae Cham where the 1088 changes to the 1263. Then the surface deteriorated to the point I would not take an ordinary car on it ( I was in a pickup ).

Not only was the road very bad, but it was almost totally devoid of any signage and there were no road number signs between Mae Cham and nearly to Khun Yuam. Had my wife not been with me to ask the way, we would have gone the wrong way several times. As it was, on one stretch of the 1263 we did go the wrong way due to lack of signage and with no people to ask we ended up on country road hell. Eventually we did find a village, and on being told that we had to go back, my wife burst into tears as it was such an attrocious road! "Never again" she cried, referring to the entire Cham Thong to Khun Yuam road, and I don't blame her. 6 hours of hell driving is no way to enjoy yourself.

One has to respect the people that actually live along it. It can't be easy.

[aveabeeror2]

How on earth cAn u expect anyone To have an answer to that? Bored?

[jackr]

Fabulous route, that. Haven't done it for a few years and it was ok then, but a lot better on a bike anyway. It is oe of the things I love about Thailand, being able to get 'out there', not knowing where you are and being well away from the rest of humanity.

If you really want rough and no signs, try the Samoeng-Pai route. Not for the faint of heart ;-)

[KittenKong]

So there really are people who drive on roads they dont know without using GPS? I thought it was just an urban myth.

[martijn12345]

Totally agree with Jackr. Those roads are awesome and part of the reason why I live chiangmai. If you don't like me, stick to the main roads.

How about checking a road map. A good one will tell you those roads are not very smooth.

[Mangkhut]

Fabulous route, that. Haven't done it for a few years and it was ok then, but a lot better on a bike anyway. It is oe of the things I love about Thailand, being able to get 'out there', not knowing where you are and being well away from the rest of humanity.

If you really want rough and no signs, try the Samoeng-Pai route. Not for the faint of heart ;-)

Its a nice and very scenic route indeed. I drove there a 2 months ago on a 250 ccm motorbike with a pillion. I used approx 2,5 hours from Khun Yuam to Mae Chaem. But the road itself is of course a little challenging, but the landscape and sights are fantastic.

The OP pity the people living along this route - he cant have been much around on the globe.

The route 1243 in Nan province will be a good ride for OP..... please use a motorbike ;-)

Edited December 20, 2013 by Mangkhut

[misterphil]

Good quality roads can be found on Koh Chang

[abhaya]

The "sort cut" from Samoeng to Pai was pretty nasty. I did it about 10 years ago on a Honda Wave and it took me almost 10 hours to do 90K. Going down hill in the "bull dust" was quite scary as it was like trying to drive on ice. If I hit the brakes I would just slide. I felt like I was in an episode of the "Twighlight Zone" and the road would never end.

Edited December 20, 2013 by abhaya

[lostmebike]

Have used this road before and agree, total nightmare!

Give the highways ( haha, f**king joke that is) around Phichit a try. Claimed many a life I'm quite sure. Absolutely diabolical!

[Trentham]

So there really are people who drive on roads they dont know without using GPS? I thought it was just an urban myth.

Using GPS is the lazy man's way of doing things. Where are your map reading skills and orienteering spirit?

[JamesAdm]

Without a doubt it is Mae Sariang to Mae Sot.

[beemer2]

The absolute worst road in Thailand is Highway 105, Sop Moei District, from Mae Moei National Park to the intersection with Highway 108.

Edited December 20, 2013 by beemer2

[tomtom47]

One of the worst has to be Hwy 33 going through Prachinburi. Hwy 33 goes from Saraburi all the way to the Cambodian border at Aranyaphatet. For most of the way, it's a pretty decent highway, especially when you consider that it is also considered Asia Highway 1. It's a nice multi laned divided highway until you get to Prachinburi. Here it becomes a very busy, narrow, two-laned highway with a lot of curves and plenty of inpatient truck drivers. It has been said that the reason it remains two laned is because someone of great importance liked the trees and didn't want them remove. I often wonder how many have died on this stretch of road because of someone's love for trees..

[NoshowJones]

Have used this road before and agree, total nightmare!

Give the highways ( haha, f**king joke that is) around Phichit a try. Claimed many a life I'm quite sure. Absolutely diabolical!

How right you are, there are roads, main roads that have never been fully repaired in the eight years I have been here, Yes Lostmebike, I am talking about Phichit Province. I could take to to a road, maybe about 1 kilo long, where they resurfaced the road, then about half way along, they stopped, missed out about 30 mts, then started again. This was a few years ago, the bit that was missed out is full of potholes and these potholes are filled in, then a few vehicles go over it and the potholes reappear. Only in Thailand.

[thaiguzzi]

No, the worst road in Thailand is outside my house.

[villagefarang]

The Khun Yuam to Mae Chaem road was the roughest section of our recent road trip but I always choose that section over the more boring alternative of going through Mae Sariang and Hot, and I love that steep climb up Inthanon.

I never use GPS, preferring to read the signs and ask questions. I find it much more interesting than having some canned voice yelling at me to turn left in 300 meters. Just slow down and enjoy the ride.

Earlier in the year we found the road between Na Haeo and Chiang Khan, along the river, to be quite rough but remote and beautiful in its own way.

[pbfisher]

Any road in Nakhon Sawan city! I have never been in a place with such poorly maintained roads.

[amse]

Crossroad at the Central Plaza in Phuket.

[8OA8]

Without a doubt it is Mae Sariang to Mae Sot.

The worst yes agreed, but only for the first 50kms. Then it's the very best for a good bit...was on it less than a week ago.

[KittenKong]

So there really are people who drive on roads they dont know without using GPS? I thought it was just an urban myth.

Using GPS is the lazy man's way of doing things.

I'm lazy so that's just about right for me. I go driving for the view, not the thrill of the chase.

Where are your map reading skills and orienteering spirit?

In the same place as my quill pen and ink, and all the other things that went out of fashion decades ago.

[timber]

Does a road map or electoral map give you the best answer on quality of roads

[Otis]

And after the bridge on Koh Chang, on the way to "The Tree House" hotel, it gets very scenic. And a bit challenging. The beach at the end does give one the feeling of being on the far side of the world.

There is a new hotel there so, bungalow in pic is not truely today's "Tree House" hotel. Didn't make it to the new hotel. Was running low on gas and adrenaline. Chewitdee, Otis C

[Showbags]

Are there bungalows up on Inthanon to stay in inside the Park ?

[Johpa]

Oh please, the Khun Yuam to Mae Chaem (1263) has a few rough spots currently, drivers do need to be paying attention, but the road is not in that bad of condition. The 105 from Mae Sariang to Mae Sot is indeed rather rough right now, and the stretch south of Sop Moei had been a bit rough for years. But all these roads suffer from deterioration over time and need to be repaved about once every five years. These are diificult roads to maintain, running through very steep terrain that endures torrential rainfalls annually. The Thais now do a decent job at mantaining these roads given the budget and endemic corruption, but there will always be that last year before repavement when you probably do not want to take your city slicker sedan driven by your city slicker arse along these roads. Just be thankful that most years you get to drive along roadways up north with worldclass scenery. By the way, the Samoeng to Wat Chan (to Pai) road still has sections that have never been paved and that road is not for passenger cars.

[ultimate weapon]

Why is such a thread allowed in the general forum? Is such a road even well known among foreigners? Which province is that in? I read chiang mai from another poster who in the hell even knows what's the in chiang mai when it's the capital and then like 69 other provinces. That's like posting in a US forum hey do you know how sesame street is like this and that like everyone even knows the area.

[thaibeachlovers]

How on earth cAn u expect anyone To have an answer to that? Bored?

Why did you waste pixels replying to a thread u have no interest in answering? Bored?

[thaibeachlovers]

Totally agree with Jackr. Those roads are awesome and part of the reason why I live chiangmai. If you don't like me, stick to the main roads.

How about checking a road map. A good one will tell you those roads are not very smooth.

<How about checking a road map.>

I did. A good interactive one, but even that didn't have some of the rural roads on it

<A good one will tell you those roads are not very smooth>

The road would have been really good when it was surfaced many years ago. So what map would tell me the present condition of every road in Thailand?

[thaibeachlovers]

So there really are people who drive on roads they dont know without using GPS? I thought it was just an urban myth.

I don't have a "smart" ( moron ) phone either.

[thaibeachlovers]

Fabulous route, that. Haven't done it for a few years and it was ok then, but a lot better on a bike anyway. It is oe of the things I love about Thailand, being able to get 'out there', not knowing where you are and being well away from the rest of humanity.

If you really want rough and no signs, try the Samoeng-Pai route. Not for the faint of heart ;-)

Its a nice and very scenic route indeed. I drove there a 2 months ago on a 250 ccm motorbike with a pillion. I used approx 2,5 hours from Khun Yuam to Mae Chaem. But the road itself is of course a little challenging, but the landscape and sights are fantastic.

The OP pity the people living along this route - he cant have been much around on the globe.

The route 1243 in Nan province will be a good ride for OP..... please use a motorbike ;-)

<The OP pity the people living along this route - he cant have been much around on the globe.>

I said "One has to respect the people that actually live along it. It can't be easy". Where is "pity" in that sentence? It's true I haven't driven in Afghanistan, but I have driven in many challenging areas around the world.

[thaibeachlovers]

And after the bridge on Koh Chang, on the way to "The Tree House" hotel, it gets very scenic. And a bit challenging. The beach at the end does give one the feeling of being on the far side of the world.

There is a new hotel there so, bungalow in pic is not truely today's "Tree House" hotel. Didn't make it to the new hotel. Was running low on gas and adrenaline. Chewitdee, Otis C

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Apologies, I should have added MAIN before road in my thread title.

The actual worst road I have been on in Thailand, on reflection, was the road to Tong Nai Pan from the turnoff to Than Sadet, but of course that was not used by many people.