Here
it was, the famous Mae Hong Son loop, people have told me there are better
rides through the forest surrounding Chang Mai but there certainly weren’t any
that were better known, I was keen to sink my teeth into the 1864 turns that
the ride promised. My first day saw me do the section from Chang Mai to Pai,
this is arguably the best section of riding on the loop, boasting 762 corners,
and although there were roadworks along the stretch of road it was still an
absolute dream to ride. I arrived at Pai all too quickly, I was enjoying myself
that much I could have kept riding for the rest of the day but nonetheless I
found a comfortable little bungalow overlooking the river and settled in to
explore the area for a few days. Pai is a quaint little hippie town that definitely
has a live free feel to it, the streets are full of cafes, bars and guesthouses
all surrounded by lush forrest. If you’re looking for a genuine mountain
village experience you won’t find it in Pai, it is definitely a town geared
toward alternative lifestyle tourism, the town is overflowing with character
and also interesting characters and it is easy so see why people fall in love
with the place. It was handy to have the bike in Pai because many of the
attractions are quite spread out, especially the many waterfalls that surround
the town, I also paid a visit to the local hot springs which was a delightful
way to spend half a day. Most days were spent either exploring the little town
or exploring the local waterfalls and most nights were spent enjoying a drink
and listening to live music at the local bars with the other travellers I had
met, sometimes we would be lucky enough to have some of the students from the
local circus school turn up and do impromptu performances.
3 days was enough to get a taste of Pai but I could quite
easily have slipped into the chilled out way of life and got lost here for a
few weeks or months, it was a good time to jump on the bike and keep moving.
The next leg took me toward the town of Mae Hong Son, before I reached the town
I turned north and headed to the hills to visit the village of Ban Raum Thail, there
was a large lake just outside the village that was a perfect place to camp. As
I arrived I stopped at a very small roadside restaurant to have dinner and buy
some supplies for my short camping experience, the restaurant owner’s daughter
chatted to me in English as I ate and then asked if I would like to join her
later to help teach some local school children English. I’d never taught before
and I was definitely out of my comfort zone but new experiences was what this
trip was about so I said yes. I organised to meet later at the school and
headed to the lake to set up my tent, it was a stunning location but I
certainly wasn’t able to relax and enjoy the view because I was thinking about
my upcoming teaching assignment. I arrived at the school and was introduced to
the head teacher, whose name was Ben, he was originally from Myanmar and
explained that he ran the school after hours so the kids could have the chance
to improve their English skills on top of their normal studies. They told me
that the kids could speak quite good English but they needed new people to talk
to improve their confidence, all I had to do was chat with them, this was a
relief and seemed much easier than I imagined. We walked into the class room,
Ben introduced me, walked to the back of the class while I stood at the front,
he looked at me, smiled and said “Ok Ray, teach”. I was a little lost at that
point but once I told the kids about my motorcycle trip they opened up and it
ended up being a great experience spending the evening talking to them, one
which I hope to do again. I spent 2 days camping at the lake, on the second day
I headed a few km further north and visited the village of Ban Rak Thai, The
picture perfect village surrounds a small lake and the buildings all have a
Chinese influence, best known for its selection of fine tea it was the perfect
spot to stay for lunch.
The next morning I rode back along the small track to
re-join the main road and continue to the town of Mae Hong Son. I took the
opportunity to visit the immigration office while I was there to organise a
visa extension and then took a ride through the town. Mae Hong Son is a nice
town but I’m glad I chose to spend the last few days camping by the lake
instead of staying in the city, I stopped for lunch and then continued the loop
toward Doi Inthanon, Thailands highest mountain. As the altitude climbed the
temperature dropped and I was soon riding through a thin veil of fog as I made
my way to the summit. My original plan was to hike to the summit and camp on
the mountain but it turned out that the road went to within a few hundred
meters from the highest point so I simply left my bike in the car park and
walked to the top in my riding gear for the photo. I had a few hours of day
light up my sleeve so I headed down the hill and found a guest house for the
night. The following morning I made my way back to Chang Mai and met 2 Dutch
guys who had completed the loop on scooters, we rode the last section together,
we had left the wonderful twists and turns behind and instead of negotiating
fast paced bends we were negotiating traffic. All in all the Mae Hong Son loop
lived up to the hype, it was an amazing road to ride and it took me through
some really stunning scenery and towns, it definitely is a must for any rider
passing through Thailand.
I returned to Jaidii guesthouse for a few days,
packed the bike and then headed to Bangkok, I took the scenic route, which
headed west toward the Myanmar border then I followed the border south for 2
days until I reached the town of Mai Sot. Much of the time riding along the border
I would be looking across into Myanmar, dotted along the way were camps where
Myanmar minorities lived hoping to get work in Thailand on one of the trucks
that would arrive daily looking for workers to use as cheap labour, the beauty
of the last few days riding was marred when I saw the grim reality faced by
these poor people on a daily basis. From Mae Sot I headed East and was soon on
the highway once again dealing with Thai traffic, the city of Ayuthaya was a
welcome break. Once the Siamese capital, Ayuthaya Is home to many temples
complexes and it was an interesting day walking through the ruins of the
historic old city. This was my last stop before Bangkok and I soaked up the
serenity of the ancient ruins as much as possible before I headed back to the
nations bustling capital. Bangkok traffic is never fun and it is worse after
you’ve spent the last few weeks enjoying winding stretches of forest roads, I
sucked it up and made my way to my favourite hostel in Bangkok, Oasis
backpackers hostel, where I knew I would have a warm welcome and a cold beer waiting for me when I arrived.
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