Hi all! I'm a newbie and just wanted to share a TR about my trip. Regards, BB
“Oh, you’ll need a big bike to ride from Pattaya to Chiang Mai…”
Oh yeah?
Well, only one thing to do with a challenge like that-hit the road Jack
I fueled my Honda 110 CZ-I, AKN “The Mini Beast” up with gasohol 91 and headed north. I thrashed the mini beast up Highway 131, then 331 before entering Chachoengsa on 315. After exiting 131, the roads were two lane, scenic and bordered on either side by lush rice paddies (well, a few were green, lol.)
Leaving C town, I hit 319 to Prachinburi, then 33 to Rt. 1 and cooled my heels in a hotel at Saraburi. On the road the next dayat 0900, I roared (indulge me, OK?) up Highway 1 to Nakhon Sawan. Great four lane roads and fairly light traffic. I mostly stayed on the left side margin but a few times I ventured into the right lanes to pass trucks. Continuing north, I noticed the heat intensifying near Tak. It felt like a blast furnace but I motored on. My little Honda likes to cruise at 80 to 90 kph. I had her at 100 a few times, but its wide open throttle and seems to punish the engine. Maybe a rear sprocket with a couple less teeth would add some top end speed.
I got a wild hair and decided to push on, so I pulled into Lampang and missed my turn to Chiang Mai. For some reason I got turned around at Lampang, an spent about 15 minutes before I got back to the Highway 11 turn off to Chiang Mai.
Ridding up HW 11 at night was eerie, the hill sides were ablaze and it truly was a scene out of Dante’s Inferno. I read in the BKK Post that the “pollution” was from neighboring Lao and Cambodia, but I say bull sh*t, I saw the fires with my own eyes (February 27.) I was wearing light tan cargo pants and a long sleeve white shirt. The pollution/truck diesel fumes was so bad that I looked like a bum that had not changed clothes for a month. I was becoming ashamed to go into 7-11 for my hourly coffee break, 555!
I made Chiang Mai at 2230 and crashed in a B300 fan room at Top North Guest House.
Well, I didn’t get back on the beast for a couple of days… I got my iron butt back to normal by walking the streets of CM and chilling out.
But you can’t keep a good bike down…
Three days later I was back on the road, heading north on Rt. 107 to Mae Sai. It’s a wonderful ride, twisty mountain roads and hardly any traffic. North of Fang, it looks like rural Lao, little villages hugging the road, people staring, then waving at the farang ridding by.
Pulled into Mae Sai at dusk and got a B250 fan room within walking distance to the border. Walked across the next day, just to say I’d been to Burma and avoid a 90 day report back in Pattaya. I must look puny because the Viagra salesmen were on me like the plague. Many Thais in Tachiak shopping. The Burmese spoke good Thai and English and were hawking clothes, Vitamin V and cosmetics like crazy. About four hours was enough and I walked back to Mae Sai. It costs B500 to enter Burma for the day; they keep your passport and give you a “pass” document while you are in country.
The next morning I motored south on Rt 1 and spent a pleasant night in sleepy Chiang Rai.
South on Rt. 118 the following day and spent another week at Chiang Mai, just chilling out and relaxing. I started to miss the bright lights of Pattaya, so I hit the road again and did an Iron Butt ride from Chiang Mai to Bangkok via Rts. 11, 117 and 1. Man, was I tired when I rode into Bangkok; I stayed there five days to recuperate, LOL!
My mini beast performed admirably, consuming 54 liters of fuel (mostly gasohol 91) in 2,680 kilometers of ridding. I averaged 49 km/L, down a bit from 60 km/L poking around Pattaya.
All in all I really enjoyed my little epic journey and I think I’ll do an Isan tour next time.
Wave man out!!!
“Oh, you’ll need a big bike to ride from Pattaya to Chiang Mai…”
Oh yeah?
Well, only one thing to do with a challenge like that-hit the road Jack
I fueled my Honda 110 CZ-I, AKN “The Mini Beast” up with gasohol 91 and headed north. I thrashed the mini beast up Highway 131, then 331 before entering Chachoengsa on 315. After exiting 131, the roads were two lane, scenic and bordered on either side by lush rice paddies (well, a few were green, lol.)
Leaving C town, I hit 319 to Prachinburi, then 33 to Rt. 1 and cooled my heels in a hotel at Saraburi. On the road the next dayat 0900, I roared (indulge me, OK?) up Highway 1 to Nakhon Sawan. Great four lane roads and fairly light traffic. I mostly stayed on the left side margin but a few times I ventured into the right lanes to pass trucks. Continuing north, I noticed the heat intensifying near Tak. It felt like a blast furnace but I motored on. My little Honda likes to cruise at 80 to 90 kph. I had her at 100 a few times, but its wide open throttle and seems to punish the engine. Maybe a rear sprocket with a couple less teeth would add some top end speed.
I got a wild hair and decided to push on, so I pulled into Lampang and missed my turn to Chiang Mai. For some reason I got turned around at Lampang, an spent about 15 minutes before I got back to the Highway 11 turn off to Chiang Mai.
Ridding up HW 11 at night was eerie, the hill sides were ablaze and it truly was a scene out of Dante’s Inferno. I read in the BKK Post that the “pollution” was from neighboring Lao and Cambodia, but I say bull sh*t, I saw the fires with my own eyes (February 27.) I was wearing light tan cargo pants and a long sleeve white shirt. The pollution/truck diesel fumes was so bad that I looked like a bum that had not changed clothes for a month. I was becoming ashamed to go into 7-11 for my hourly coffee break, 555!
I made Chiang Mai at 2230 and crashed in a B300 fan room at Top North Guest House.
Well, I didn’t get back on the beast for a couple of days… I got my iron butt back to normal by walking the streets of CM and chilling out.
But you can’t keep a good bike down…
Three days later I was back on the road, heading north on Rt. 107 to Mae Sai. It’s a wonderful ride, twisty mountain roads and hardly any traffic. North of Fang, it looks like rural Lao, little villages hugging the road, people staring, then waving at the farang ridding by.
Pulled into Mae Sai at dusk and got a B250 fan room within walking distance to the border. Walked across the next day, just to say I’d been to Burma and avoid a 90 day report back in Pattaya. I must look puny because the Viagra salesmen were on me like the plague. Many Thais in Tachiak shopping. The Burmese spoke good Thai and English and were hawking clothes, Vitamin V and cosmetics like crazy. About four hours was enough and I walked back to Mae Sai. It costs B500 to enter Burma for the day; they keep your passport and give you a “pass” document while you are in country.
The next morning I motored south on Rt 1 and spent a pleasant night in sleepy Chiang Rai.
South on Rt. 118 the following day and spent another week at Chiang Mai, just chilling out and relaxing. I started to miss the bright lights of Pattaya, so I hit the road again and did an Iron Butt ride from Chiang Mai to Bangkok via Rts. 11, 117 and 1. Man, was I tired when I rode into Bangkok; I stayed there five days to recuperate, LOL!
My mini beast performed admirably, consuming 54 liters of fuel (mostly gasohol 91) in 2,680 kilometers of ridding. I averaged 49 km/L, down a bit from 60 km/L poking around Pattaya.
All in all I really enjoyed my little epic journey and I think I’ll do an Isan tour next time.
Wave man out!!!
