25 December 2010
Ho! Ho! Ho! Very the merry the x'mas to those celebrating it. As mentioned in the last post, me not flying solo anymore as Husref made his way up to Loei as we tour this fine country. I actually really like Loei, it's a small charming Thailand town, that's probably smaller than Kampar but it's well laid out and whatever you need as a visitor is nearby, which is basically lodging and food...hehe.
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| 2 bikes now |
We headed back to Nan as the South East of Thailand is relatively flat which equates to "boring" so back up North we go. Furthermore, I already came through those roads and I absolutely loved it and definitely don't mind doing it over and over again.
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| Breakfast of champions, ......champion membesarkan perut that is. |
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| Spotted in Loei...i "think" there's 11 bikes, not surprised if there's one in the front seat |
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| genius? or madness? |
I've decided that at the end of this trip I'll be producing a guidebook of some sort on the roads that I've taken so that it can be of use to others. There are videos as well so that you can see what it's like. I haven't sussed out the full details, guess I'll decide once I get to that.
One of the roads that we took was so good and quiet that we passed no one (except a herd of cows once) for a solid 40km of riding. On my own I didn't stop as I'm such a wimp but since there's company we stopped in the middle of bridge for a break. Yes that's right in the MIDDLE of a bridge.....so what do 2 bikers do when no one else is around? Goof around la...
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| started well and serious |
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| Mr. Miyagi would not be proud |
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| Hulkster rules! |
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| Ninja school dropout.....Waachaaa!!!! |
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| Circus boy |
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| ok....enuff...back to normal haha |
If you must know, this is the 1083 and I told Husref, it's like our fathers bought this road and gave it to us. Of course it sounds better in Malay, "Ni macam BAPAK kita punya jalan!" haha.
We've decided to keep our riding loose and flexible, with more than 2 weeks ahead of us, the main thing we decided on was 1. We're touring North of Thailand, 2. We're doing the Mae Hong Son, 3. We're gonna hit a beach. So other than that it's really a case of opening up the map and choosing a place to go, normally done over dinner or breakfast.
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| Have map will travel |
From Nan we went up to Chiang Kham taking the roads that hugs the border of Thailand and Laos. I can tell you this, this part of the ride we suffered. The roads are not good with gravel and potholes all over the place. This is also mountain roads, so you can imagine how it winds left and right with many hairpins thrown in, so just add gravel and potholes, let it simmer for backbreaking 5 hours and you have a great recipe for balls in throat cake.
I'm convinced the recent heavy rains and major flooding in early November did most of the damage to what would have been an otherwise fine biking roads. I'm sure this will all be fixed but just not sure when. It's a good thing the ride ended with the 1148 into Chiang Kham, as this is up there as one of the best biking roads ever.
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| The bridge is down |
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| What do we do? |
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| I don't know man..... |
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| Boohoohoo...I want my Mummy!!! |
Haha....we didn't have to go through the above, but it does illustrate what kind of damage the floods did. I was trying to convince Husref to jump over it Evel Knievel style, but he's not buying it....damnit! if not I'd really have something to write home about.
Leaving Chiang Kham we were looking for a place to have breakfast and stumbled across this chicken rice place....yes chicken rice for breakfast. What we didn't know was it seems this place is really famous in Chiang Kham. We met local tourists from Bangkok who were on their vacation as well telling us all about it. The owner was also happy to hear that we're from Malaysia and took out his photo album of his trip to KL. So it's kinda nice that we're there as though returning the favour by visiting his place in return.
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| Chalem Phrakiat, the other border crossing into Laos |
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| Children of the corn...anyone remember the movie? |
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| Just awesome |
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| Chiang Kham chicken rice |
We made our way to Mae Sai passing through Golden Triangle, an area that's famous for it's opium trade back then and "ehem, ehem" even now some say.
We're taking a break in Mae Sai as we plan to cross over to Burma, so I'll update that later, in the mean time I leave you with some more pics.
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| Rice served was in the shape of a bear....awwww so cute. |
Fuel consumption
1. Loei 233.5km 350 baht 10.16liter
2. Na Noi 310km 450baht 13liters
3. Chalerm Prakhiat 309.3km 450baht 12.10liters
4. Chiang Khong 216.6km 300baht 8.55liters
4 comments:
...and hears that foreign bikers aren't allowed to ride inland into Burma. The only two wheeled vehicle allowed is a bicycle.:) Good luck and cheerios!
yes...not with our bikes. we walked in, a short walk actually.
tolong tapaukan nasi bear satu..
Nasi bear is a well guarded secret it seems. You have to wrestle one to get it.
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