Road Trip- Where the Wind Blows me to...

[Lancelot]

Roads traveled:

107, 109, 1211, 1020, 1292, 1186, 1148, 1097, 10080, 1081, 1225, 1243- Dead End, 1162, 1026- Back tracked, no Ferry, 1083, 1241, 1268, 2195, 211, 212, 2267, 2230, 2096, 2350, 2025, 2, 2, 210, 2250, 2016, 2216, 203, 2005, 2331, 1143, 1246, 11.

17 Nights on the road.

Cities visited overnight: Chai Prakan, Phan, Bo Kluea, Na Muen, Chiang Khan, Nong Kai, Khon Kean, Udon Thani Lom Kao

Distance traveled: 2,835 kms.

I finally got off my duff and hit the road before the rainy season arrives

Started out with a breakfast at Sausage King, then headed north on 107 and spent the night at Chai Prakan. The next morning I headed east on 109.

109 not to far past the First Oil Well in Thailand.

A good argument for not traveling at night...

Its the burning season and of course hazy

GREAT curves, I think this was Rt 1020

[speedtripler]

did you pre book any of the accomodation online or just hope for the best when you arrived there ?

[Lancelot]

On 1148 I come up behind three kids, two maybe 14 or 15, and one around 10 years old on a Honda Wave. The driver was really skilled at taking the corners and I followed them for a few kms. They were looking back, checking to see if I was gaining on them- they were racing me! I passed them and gave them the thumbs up, which they returned along with 1,000 watt smiles. I'm sure they told every one they met how they blew away a farang on a CBR250, 555!

Did I make a wrong turn? am I in Laos?

I kept going to the nan Crossing to Laos at Huai Kon-Nam Ngoen, then I headed south on 1091, hoping to spend the night at Bo Kluea.

My 400 baht room at Bo Kluea. Nice and quiet and the owner gave me some delicious rice soup for breakfast

Great view from outside my room

A local tourist attraction, Ancient Salt Works

[Lancelot]

did you pre book any of the accomodation online or just hope for the best when you arrived there ?

No pre-booking because I wasn't sure where I would go- until I arrived there

And pre-booking wasn't necessary, I found vacancies every place I stopped...

[speedtripler]

did you pre book any of the accomodation online or just hope for the best when you arrived there ?

No pre-booking because I wasn't sure where I would go- until I arrived there

And pre-booking wasn't necessary, I found vacancies every place I stopped...

do you speak thai well ? id like to do something like this when i get the time but id be worried about arriving in a village at night

and not being able to find a place to stay (that includes safe parking for my bike )

im sure there are vacancies everywhere with the unstable political situation most countries have advised their tourists not to come

here but finding one in the dark with limited language skills might be a bit tricky for me

Edited March 19, 2014 by speedtripler

[Lancelot]

I want to follow the roads closest to the Thai-Lao border, so its 1243 through the Mae Charim National Park and the road is great- and almost zero traffic

But the good things never last. Now I know why there was hardly any traffic.

The pavement is great until I pass a border check point, then weeds are growing through cracks in the pavement, then no pavement, then its dirt bike country. No thanks. My paper map says 1243 turns into 1143, maybe its a miss print, but I can't even get a GPRS signal to check my location on Google Maps, so I cut my losses and turn around.

I back track to Wiang Sa, and head south on 1026. I stop for the night at Na Muen.

My brand new 500 baht bungalow just outside Na Muen. They even delivered a rice soup breakfast and coffee to my room

Edited March 19, 2014 by Lancelot

[Lancelot]

did you pre book any of the accomodation online or just hope for the best when you arrived there ?

No pre-booking because I wasn't sure where I would go- until I arrived there

And pre-booking wasn't necessary, I found vacancies every place I stopped...

do you speak thai well ? id like to do something like this when i get the time but id be worried about arriving in a village at night

and not being able to find a place to stay (that includes safe parking for my bike )

im sure there are vacancies everywhere with the unstable political situation most countries have advised their tourists not to come

here but finding one in the dark with limited language skills might be a bit tricky for me

Umm, I suppose my Thai is good enough I went for a couple of days speaking only Thai and it worked out OK for me

[Lancelot]

Guys I noticed a mistake in my introduction- I spent 11 nights on the road, NOT 17. Sorry

Next morning I'm up and roaring down 1026, enjoying some really fun curves and very smooth pavement. I get close to Queen Sirikit and the road ends at a cul de sac on the edge of the lake! Grrr! Again so signal, so I head back track on 1026 to Na Noi.I stop for a coffee at Na Noi and the lady tells me that there is a ferry that takes vehicles over the lake on 1026, but best I can understand her the ferry is closed. I sure didn't notice any ferry operating, but when I finally got a GPRS signal, there it is on Google Maps FERRY

From Na Noi I can cut over on 1083 and link up with the 1269 that runs close the Lao border.

This is corn country, I saw so many bamboo corn cribs and sacks of corn ready for market.

Road construction on the 2195 that parallels the Thai Lao border.

Mekong River just before Chiang Khan

Edited March 19, 2014 by Lancelot

[ll2]

did you pre book any of the accomodation online or just hope for the best when you arrived there ?

No pre-booking because I wasn't sure where I would go- until I arrived there

And pre-booking wasn't necessary, I found vacancies every place I stopped...

i never pre book as well.

i ride until dark and sleep at the first place i can get.

you get the taste of adventure more this way.

lancelot, i am jealous man

[DualSportBiker]

Awesome ride Lancelot! Envious...

Sent - how is not that important...

[Lucky33]

Great report and ride Lancelot!

[guzzi850m2]

Cool Lancelot, as always.

I myself don't like long rides alone but like to share the experience with orhers, either my wife on the rear seat or with fellow bikers.

[Gweiloman]

Last Songkran, I headed out for a 5 day trip all the way to Nan and back. Idea was to have some adventure, ride till dark and find a place to spend the night, wherever that may be (as LL2 suggested).

All was hunky dory till around 4 pm or so when you can tell that it's slowly but surely starting to get dark. Wasn't worried about not getting a room for the night, just didn't want to chance getting a room without hot water or horror of horrors, without a private toilet!!

Decided that the adventure can wait another day so pulled over at the next PTT for a coffee, whip out the iPad and browse straight to Agoda. By that time, I had has a fairly good idea where I would spend the night as I don't fancy riding till night falls so booked a place within about 60 km from where I was.

Repeated this over the next three nights till I got back to Bangkok. I guess I'll leave adventuring to some of you younger folks. I like a clean, comfortable room with air con, hot water shower and private toilet facilities, thank you very much

[moe666]

I always have a pre planned final destination usually 8 hours that's long enough and then just look for a hotel. A good thing to do is figure out the spelling for hotel in Thai that way if you are in the boonies you know what to look for

[zyphodb]

Nice trip, I'm planning on something similar only in the Chang Mai/hill tribes /Burma border direction once the burning finishes, starting from where I live in mid Isaan, should be interesting, on my Keyway superlight 200 though so a bit slower than you I suspect lol

[Lancelot]

Nice trip, I'm planning on something similar only in the Chang Mai/hill tribes /Burma border direction once the burning finishes, starting from where I live in mid Isaan, should be interesting, on my Keyway superlight 200 though so a bit slower than you I suspect lol

Thanks, but I really don't drive that fast. I like to cruise at 80 to 100 kmh, although I did flog her a bit on the last day -fast for me is 120- to get back to Chiang Mai

[Dave 74]

All very good.

But at least put up a google maps of it.

To most people this is equivilent to an enigma machine print out.

"107, 109, 1211, 1020, 1292, 1186, 1148, 1097, 10080, 1081, 1225, 1243- Dead End, 1162, 1026- Back tracked, no Ferry, 1083, 1241, 1268, 2195, 211, 212, 2267, 2230, 2096, 2350, 2025, 2, 2, 210, 2250, 2016, 2216, 203, 2005, 2331, 1143, 1246, 11."

Here, I've started it for you:

Google Maps Road Trip North Thailand.

[Lancelot]

Cruising on 211, along the Mekong was enjoyable and I encountered an amusing situation in the little town of Pakchom.

In town Rt. 211 is a wide two lane road but of course with double parking and food vendors lining the shoulder, the width is reduced. Several vehicles ahead of me a Honda Accord is traveling very slow, around 10 kph and there is no reason for it because no one is in front of him. I'm about to pass on the right when it goes down- the Honda stops smack in the middle of the road for the most important reason in Thailand, to buy food A Nissan March in the right lane (on coming traffic) stops as well, even though there is a good four feet on either side to continue driving through. I sit and observe for a few minutes and a nice little traffic jam is building up, one that was completely avoidable. Its amusing to see the reactions, no one says a word, we just sit. I let out on the clutch and slowly weave between cars and when I arrive at the culprit that caused the chaos, he is laughing anf joking with the food venders and completely oblivious to his fellow travelers. The driver of the March is a girl and has the "Deer in the Head Lights Look" she is paralyzed and can not move forward. I ride on and observe from my rear view mirrors that the Honda finally moves forward, the March ever so slowly continues on and the jam begins to unsnarl itself. Another triumph for Thainess

I continue on and spend the night at Nong Kai and reward my self with a few Beer Laos and watch the river go by

The next day I head east on 212 -best avoided, construction- then cut south on a series of " Four Digit Roads" My paper map identifies Route 2 as a one digit road, 22 as a two digit, etc I spend the night at Khon Kaen, then head north to Udon Thani in the morning.

I just broke 7,000 Kms, so its time to change the oil and filter. I stop at a modern, newish dealership and pull in to the service department. There is a CBR150 in the show room so I'm thinking they will be familiar with some thing besides a Wave. Boy was I wrong! The service manager asks me how many liters the bike hold and I tell him 1.6 (two .8L bottles) He comes back with a .8 liter container of 10W-30 Honda oil and tells me the oil is 400 baht per bottle, because its from Japan. He also tell me the bike does not have an oil filter, so I thank him very much and ride on, 555!

Long story short, I do not find competent mechanics until I go the fourth dealership! Oil and filter change costs 420 baht, so I'm good.

End up spending three nights at Udon, then head east, again on three and four digit roads, finally spending the night at Lom Sak.

I eat dinner at a friendly little Thai restaurant, when suddenly a Swedish guy turns up. The bamboo telegraph disclosed my location- the owners of the restaurant called his wife and said, "Hey, a farang just walked in, tell your husband!" The swede was a nice guy and told me he was the first foreigner to build a house in this particular area, but new arrivals were settling in all the time.

The next morning I'm on the road at 8 sharp and push on for Uttaradit.

Oil Change

Really twisty and fun road, 1143 at Kaeng Chet Khwae National Park.

At the next national Park, Nam Tok Chat Trakan I saw the funniest sign (sorry no pic) It read "Air Raid Shelter!" 555! OK, but why have air raid shelters in a national park? Yeah, I know, farang can not understand

I am making very good time, so I decide to push on, taking Rt 11 to Chiang Mai.

I think there was a bulls eye on my jacket, because on three occasions cars pulled out slowly in front of me, crossing both lanes and causing me to brake and maneuver sharply. On the last one I lost it, I laid on the horn and gave the driver the bird. Yeah I know its a big no no, but the moron nearly ran me off the road- and there was absolutely no traffic behind me! Grrr, Jai yen yen...

I arrived at Chiang Mai at 5:50 and finished my epic trip with a cheese burger at Sausage King!

Really fun 11 nights on the road

[Shurup]

I'm jealous, seriously! I need to find a riding buddy like you.

Do you have pics of your bike setup while you travel? I'm getting rid of my cruiser and will be buying another (bigger) sports bike and will be doing some touring, so no more enormous saddle bags, want to see a sports bike setup.

[Dutchbike]

Nice Ride, nice story and pics

[Lancelot]

I'm jealous, seriously! I need to find a riding buddy like you.

Do you have pics of your bike setup while you travel? I'm getting rid of my cruiser and will be buying another (bigger) sports bike and will be doing some touring, so no more enormous saddle bags, want to see a sports bike setup.

I travel super light, can of chain lube, the clothes I'm wearing, two spare shirts, a change of under wear and shorts- just something to wear when I wash my main gear

I use bungee cords to lash my small back pack to the pilon-rack. Super simple set up

[Lancelot]

A few more eclectic pics

Gee, I wonder why its hazy? Seriously, I saw fires every where, mostly burning off under growth along rights of ways and mountain sides...

Small river before the Mekong marking the border between Thailand and Laos. I think it would be super easy to cross -illegally- and there were a ton of check points on the roads. They never stopped me but when a bus pulled up, the guards were on it in a flash...

A 30 baht cappuccino on Rt 211 heading to Nong Kai. Man, that girl was really cute!

The river front at Nong Kai

Love those curves

Thanks for all the kind remarks and reading my humble trip report.

Tag, your it! Post your reports guys

[Gweiloman]

I'm jealous, seriously! I need to find a riding buddy like you.

Do you have pics of your bike setup while you travel? I'm getting rid of my cruiser and will be buying another (bigger) sports bike and will be doing some touring, so no more enormous saddle bags, want to see a sports bike setup.

This is my setup when I travel 2 up

[Overandout]

A nice read, especially for me who will never be able to do this until my kids grow up and get lost... I mean leave home!

Thanks for sharing it.

[zyphodb]

great read & pics,thanks for posting it

[Lancelot]

I'm jealous, seriously! I need to find a riding buddy like you.

Do you have pics of your bike setup while you travel? I'm getting rid of my cruiser and will be buying another (bigger) sports bike and will be doing some touring, so no more enormous saddle bags, want to see a sports bike setup.

This is my setup when I travel 2 up

20121227_145940.JPG

Very nice bike and well equipped. Compliments!

[Gweiloman]

Very nice bike and well equipped. Compliments!

Thanks. I have a different setup when I travel solo

Hopefully, some of us here on TVF will get to ride together one day. I'm up for it assuming the following rules are respected:

- no egos

- no reckless driving or overtaking

- no racing

- everyone stays behind the designated leader for that segment of the ride

- no segments shorter than 45 mins and no longer than 1 hr 15 minutes (I need my coffee and cigarette breaks haha)

- cruising speeds on highways between 100 - 140 kmh, slower through twisties and through villages

What do you think?

[speedtripler]

Very nice bike and well equipped. Compliments!

Thanks. I have a different setup when I travel solo

photo (21).jpg

Hopefully, some of us here on TVF will get to ride together one day. I'm up for it assuming the following rules are respected:

- no egos

- no reckless driving or overtaking

- no racing

- everyone stays behind the designated leader for that segment of the ride

- no segments shorter than 45 mins and no longer than 1 hr 15 minutes (I need my coffee and cigarette breaks haha)

- cruising speeds on highways between 100 - 140 kmh, slower through twisties and through villages

What do you think?

140 is plenty fast enough for crusing on highways

more than that is a bit wreckless in thailand as people tend to change lane without using indicators/ signal etc

and large slow vehicles have a habit of pulling out in front of everything and if your doing 200+ your probably dead

i could live with those rules

[Dave 74]

Very nice bike and well equipped. Compliments!

Thanks. I have a different setup when I travel solo

photo (21).jpg

Hopefully, some of us here on TVF will get to ride together one day. I'm up for it assuming the following rules are respected:

- no egos

- no reckless driving or overtaking

- no racing

- everyone stays behind the designated leader for that segment of the ride

- no segments shorter than 45 mins and no longer than 1 hr 15 minutes (I need my coffee and cigarette breaks haha)

- cruising speeds on highways between 100 - 140 kmh, slower through twisties and through villages

What do you think?

- no egos

- no reckless driving or overtaking

Make sure to invite the 'I can keep up with a 1000cc superbike on my little 500 twin commuter' gang.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/689391-my-near-death-experience-today/

[ll2]

Very nice bike and well equipped. Compliments!

Thanks. I have a different setup when I travel solo

photo (21).jpg

Hopefully, some of us here on TVF will get to ride together one day. I'm up for it assuming the following rules are respected:

- no egos

- no reckless driving or overtaking

- no racing

- everyone stays behind the designated leader for that segment of the ride

- no segments shorter than 45 mins and no longer than 1 hr 15 minutes (I need my coffee and cigarette breaks haha)

- cruising speeds on highways between 100 - 140 kmh, slower through twisties and through villages

What do you think?

- no egos

- no reckless driving or overtaking

Make sure to invite the 'I can keep up with a 1000cc superbike on my little 500 twin commuter' gang.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/689391-my-near-death-experience-today/

it looks like you are the one exploding your ego in the night.

or maybe you dont how to ride?