Trip report - Back roads Bangkok to Ban Pong (CM)

[DualSportBiker]

I just got back from a four+ day ride to the north - happy to report to all those in Bangkok and further south that it is genuinely cool and fresh up there and worth the effort to get into the hills.

I had a visa run to do which I almost always do in Mae Sot - I know people in town and like the route I've plotted along backroads from Suphanburi all the way to Mae Sot. Nothing specific to report here, but as I left Bangkok at 14:10 on Thursday, I did not ride up to Mae Sot - I arrived in Wang Chao, just inside Tak province at 17:40. That road is busy at night, and any discipline applied in the day, is surprisingly absent at night.

On the road at 07:00 on Friday was chilly to say the least. I confess to recording my time up the hill from the 1108 to the roundabout. I've improved by several minutes each trip, but last Friday was cold enough to add 20 minutes to my time! There was noticeably more traffic around that on prior runs - could be the time of the day, or the holiday season - can't tell…. The road is in perfect condition now...

Visa sorted in 15 mins; exit stamp to seated back on my bike. Ate lunch with a buddy and hit the road to Mae Sariang by 13:10. Almost no traffic, a few Bangkok registered SUV driving in the middle of the road, but no heavy traffic. All in all, the road is not in good shape, several very steep sections in total disrepair, and many k.m. of road under repair. I knew by 16:00 I would not reach my destination before nightfall, and when I met two farang bikers from Phuket taking a tumble on a steep section of nothing but sand and large rocks, I knew I'd be riding at night in the hills around CM.

I'd estimate 30 k.m. of road works, and 15 k.m. of bad surface - 2nd-gear stuff for me. Most of the road works were rolled flat and kept wet - not much grip on Anakee 3… Safe and slow had me in Hot by 17:15 where I took a long rest before taking on the road from Hot to CM in the dark. Second confession; I love my LED! I took time to adjust them in Hot and ensure they gave maximum coverage - adjusted my main beam as well. Almost every vehicle in front of me gave way, and none attempted a u-turn as I approached so I made great time over the 87 k.m. to my final destination for a well-deserved adult beverage and great food at a BMW event at the Bulunburi resort.

The Bulunburi is a nice place to stay, 1,300 Baht for a twin room is a little pricey, but the view is excellent, the rooms are quaint, and the breakfast is pretty good. The coffee is terrible.

Saturday was not a real riding day - 50 k.m. between the resort, a farm shop, and a buddy's mountain retreat (can't call it a house - too large and too swanky). A great party fired up from late afternoon. Early-ish to bed for an 08:00 start down the hill to Li, Thoen, Tak, and Kamphaeng Phet, before crossing over to Lan Sak to reverse my route up. I arrived in Dan Chang at 17:00, was fairly tired, and not interested in attacking the flat and boring remaining route to Nonthaburi at night, so I stayed at a newly redone resort not far from the main market and hospital.

Around 600 k.m. per day for a total of 1,818 over which, according to my GPS, I averaged 88 km/h…

There is a new hotel, coffee shop and restaurant just north of Thoen which looks pretty nice. Coffee was good, noodles were fine, and the rooms looked excellent. At 800 per night, not too bad, but lots of competition nearby. One police checkpoint north of KP, no roadworks on the main roads, and nothing else to report of special note to a biker...

I don't take pictures, but I do take vdo, so I've posted clips from days 2 and 3 here. An hour to complete the upload at time of posting this...

Edited December 23, 2014 by DualSportBiker

[Shurup]

Great report! Do you know the North well? Will it be this cold second half of Jan? I'm going on a road trip up North and plan to do some random camping once in a while, not sure if it's a good time of the year for camping. Just don't want to take any extra gear if I can't use it.

[DualSportBiker]

Shurup - Hard to tell on the weather front. I use this to keep in eye on the wind which drives the cooler weather this time of the year. It was 9ºC overnight at Ban Pong and 12 the night before; I was in a tent in Ban Pong and had a great night. Camp if you can as you won't be able to in 6 weeks or there abouts...

I expect to do my most adventurous ride in January - West to Suang Phueng then head north and hug border from Mae Sot to Trat. 5,500 k.m. door to door. I will take my tent ++ even though I may only use it for a couple of days...

Enjoy.