Northern Thailand Trip, Part 1

[Lancelot]

The mountains are high and the (Bangkok) protests are far away

I fired up the trusty CBR250 and headed north on Route 107 from my home base in Chiang Mai. I really didn't have a route in mind; just needed to get out of Dodge for awhile.

First stop was for a steaming bowl of pork noodles (burmi moo.) A real bargain at 30 baht or about $0.95 US.

Rt. 107 is a good ride through the mountains, some nice curves and not much traffic. I stop near a school to check my location and hear "Hello, hello!" I student, about five years old is jabbering away, shakes my hand and then I'm mobbed by his buddies, all wanting to shake hands and impress each other with a few words of English. When one little guy starts revving the bike, I decide the visit has reached its climax, slowly let out the clutch and creep away. My 15 seconds of a "Hello Ambush" are over

I spend the night at Chai Prakan; day one was about 230 kilometers.

Day two and I'm on the road at about 0930; its a bit foggy and cool, around 15 C. Yeah, that's cool here in Thailand

I decide to make a side trip to Doi Ang Khang, a mountain on the Thai- Burmese border. Rt 1349 is a fun ride, some good switch backs (tight S curves) and the CBR is loving it.

I went all the way until the road was blocked. I also went to the Thai Army outpost, where we were free to roam around the riffle pits and look across to the Burmese entrenchments on the other side

I head back down the mountain and spend the night at Fang. I don't think I've traveled more than 100 kms.

Next day I'm on the road around 10ish. Still a bit cool and foggy but I enjoy the lack of traffic. Such a change from the congested roads in Chiang Mai city!

Fantastic scenery on Rt 1234. I could have stopped every 100 meters to take some pics

Memorial to the Old Soldiers of the 93rd Division

I'm now on Route 1089 and its a great mountain ride. I turn off to Rt 1234 to take me to Mae Salong or Santikhiri as its now known. There is a bit of history here: When it became apparent that the communist would prevail during the Chinese Civil War, the 93rd Division of the Kuomintang Army, General Chiang Kai-Shek's boys fought their way out of Yunnan Province, first settling in Burma, then finally in Thailand. Renown fighters, the Thais allowed them to remain in country in exchange for the Chinese soldiers promise to assist in guarding the border and fighting the insurgents of the Thai Communist Party.

Tea growing on the mountains.

Some road side chain maintenance; how about that paddock stand

I take some side roads with the goal of linking back up with Rt 1 and spending the night in Mae Sai. I get lost around Mae Fa Luang. Nice scenery anyway

Find my way back to the main road- Rts 1338 and 1149. Wow, the switch backs on 1338 are a blast, I didn't count them but I would say maybe six consecutive, tight switch back curves!

Finally get to a 350 baht bungalow type motel near Mae Sai

The motel has free coffee in the morning and I meet a friendly German guy riding a Honda Phantom. He is from Pattaya but he has ridden all over Thailand. His current bike has 70,000 kilometers and still using the original chain! What type of lube I ask? "SAE 90 gear oil, suggested in the Owners manual, of course..." I ask him how long he has been on this ride. German "One month." I ask him how much longer. He thinks for a send then says, "About six months I think..." Talk about enjoying the road!

[biker Bob]

Great report. It must be very cold up there now

[Lancelot]

Great report. It must be very cold up there now

Thanks!

Yeah Doi Ang Khan was especially "breezy" 555!

[ll2]

great story and write up lancelot.

I like up north as well and might go for a tour there soon.

[Lancelot]

The village of Mae Salong really has a Chinese flavor and I will return, maybe during warmer weather, hehe.

This is leads to a cave near a wat close to my room.

I take some side roads with the goal of linking back up with Rt 1 and spending the night in Mae Sai. I get lost around Mae Fa Luang. Nice scenery anyway

Tomorrow- The Golden Triangle!

[cornishcarlos]

Thanks for taking the time to report on your trip, nice writing. Love the pics too, nice mixture.

I hired a CBR250 up there at Xmas and it was a blast, perfect for me and Mrs Cornish to see the mountains.

Keep posting

[H1w4yR1da]

Yeah I did up North a few years back though the scenery wasn't that great. I want to do Ranong, Krabi, Songkhla next.

[guzzi850m2]

Ah Lancelot is at it again, good on you mate and great ride report as usual.

So you moved North, lucky you, my wife don't want to move from Pattaya so I guess we are stuck there (for now).

How do you find the CBR 250?

[DrAzTiK]

I also just came back from a nice northen Thailand roadtrip.

From Chiang Mai to MaeSalong, I wanted to try the road 3037. I have been very disappointed considering this lovely road got so much potholes : it was very unpleasant to ride on this road.

Around MaeSalong, the 1234,1130 is a very beautifull road.

A small golden triangle loop : Mae Sai to Chiang Saen (road 1290) and CHiang Saen Mae Chan (road1016). Again, some very nice roads.

I would like to ride along the mekong more next time..

Back to Chiang Mai, the road 120 ( Phayao to Mae Kachan) have been my favourite road : riding easily at 100-110 around beautifull hills and many light curves was really cool.

Did you see me and my friends? ( PCX150, CBR250 and me on RKV200) ha ha

Edited January 17, 2014 by DrAzTiK

[Lancelot]

Ah Lancelot is at it again, good on you mate and great ride report as usual.

So you moved North, lucky you, my wife don't want to move from Pattaya so I guess we are stuck there (for now).

How do you find the CBR 250?

Hi G!

I like my CBR250. Its easy to ride, corners well and enough power for me. I only want to own one bike, so its big enough to comfortably make road trips but agile enough to split lanes in city driving

My fuel economy is about 30-32 kpl

[Lancelot]

Ah Lancelot is at it again, good on you mate and great ride report as usual.

So you moved North, lucky you, my wife don't want to move from Pattaya so I guess we are stuck there (for now).

How do you find the CBR 250?

Hi G!

I like my CBR250. Its easy to ride, corners well and enough power for me. I only want to own one bike, so its big enough to comfortably make road trips but agile enough to split lanes in city driving

My fuel economy is about 30-32 kpl

[Lancelot]

I also just came back from a nice northen Thailand roadtrip.

From Chiang Mai to MaeSalong, I wanted to try the road 3037. I have been very disappointed considering this lovely road got so much potholes : it was very unpleasant to ride on this road.

Around MaeSalong, the 1234,1130 is a very beautifull road.

A small golden triangle loop : Mae Sai to Chiang Saen (road 1290) and CHiang Saen Mae Chan (road1016). Again, some very nice roads.

I would like to ride along the mekong more next time..

Back to Chiang Mai, the road 120 ( Phayao to Mae Kachan) have been my favourite road : riding easily at 100-110 around beautifull hills and many light curves was really cool.

Did you see me and my friends? ( PCX150, CBR250 and me on RKV200) ha ha

Sure! I waved to you guys but you didn't wave back

[DrAzTiK]

Really ? Shame on us!

[A1Str8]

70k with the same chain. That's impressive.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Lancelot]

70k with the same chain. That's impressive. Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Exactly! And there was still a lot of threads left on the adjustment bolts, indicating minimal wear.

Even more impressive was that he used relatively cheap SAE 90 gear oil. One quart of that would last for years