Daewoo’s 07 Trip – Ride Report 6 – Mokfa Waterfall with B&T and back along the dirt road
I wish I had taken my camera with me… oh how I wish I had taken my camera with me… emotional achievements, a waterfall, dirt riding, Singaporean badminton players and 4 of the biggest sets of chesticles I had seen in weeks, covered only in the thinnest Lycra… Oh how I wish I had taken my camera with me…
The few quiet ales at Kafe after my return from MHS the night before had turned into SuzukiLuke, B&T, and I heading to some restaurant in Sri Phum Rd to harass the Beer Promotion Girls, including convincing the one that annoyed the sh!t out of B&T that she had told him she was going to ‘Warm Up’ (a discotheque I think the young people call them) and he had headed there to meet her when she finished work… we even had her call him to tell him she wasn’t going, but alas he didn’t answer and called the number back (mine) the next morning to find out who would call at such an ungodly hour… with mates like these…
Somewhere earlier in the night (between beer 4 and 5 I think, because I could remember it the next day, and so could B&T), B&T had invited me to join him and his dear old dad ‘Pops’ on a ride to ‘a waterfall’ the next day…
Over a half eaten American breakfast, the plan was finalised to meet at Mae Rim at 11am… and so we did…
It turned out that this ‘trip to a waterfall’ was actually something a little bit more special than that…
As is often the case with insulin dependant diabetics, ‘Pops’ had been forced to have a leg amputated a couple of years earlier… not that I can imagine Pops being anything other than the so full of life character I met in Chiang Mai, when he was in hospital, B&T had given him something to encourage his progress along the long road of rehab and physio… something along the lines of “I just found this great waterfall near Chiang Mai, and I want to show you… it’s a bit of a walk, and I’m not going to carry you, so get off your arse and do your exercises…”
Today was the day…
It was a short run from Mae Rim further north up the 107 to the 1095 (Pai road) and about 17Km up that to the Mokfa Waterfall turnoff…
Pops wasn’t the most comfortable on the back of B&Ts screaming little 150, but he made it without complaint… then was the walk to the waterfall… it started off OK, a stroll up a wide service road past the amenities, then it turned into a moss covered, slippery mud track, up and over rocks, down steep muddy paths, only just enough room for Pop’s and someone for him to lean on, and he kept putting his stick to close to the drop, where it would collapse the edge…
B&T was there giving him as much encouragement as he could, between harassing him about being old and cracking jokes… but you could also see he was proud as punch of his old man, still there fighting to enjoy life more than he had a right to…
Eventually we made it to the waterfall and a nice flatish rock shelf where we set up a little picnic where Pops could lie down and rest… out came the traditional Thai picnic fare of, a sh!tload of food, and sticky rice…
I felt pretty touched to have been included in something that was obviously so important and special to B&T and his dad, so would like to thank them for having me along…
I was walking back to my bike to get something I had forgotten, when a mixed group of young travellers came the other way with towels… I made it to the bike and back before the girls, who weren’t particularly old or ugly, started removing those pesky outer clothes they insist on wearing… I was sure they would strip down further and let those chest puppies have a breath of fresh air, but alas they remained covered by thin strips of Lycra… nevertheless on my closer inspection of the waterfall, I did notice that 4 out of the 5 sets were fine examples of jubbly gozongas, and that the accompanying back bottoms were not too foul either…
After the backpackers had departed, I too decided that I had better get a move on, as my intention was to head back to Mae Rim on the dirt road that continued into the National Park from where we were parked…
The road was mostly in good condition, but still rough enough and muddy enough to have some serious fun on the XR250… blating where you could see, up through the gears, braking hard, back down into the power range for the tail out exit from the corner once your view opened up… the scenery about a 50/50 split between rice farms and native vegetation, there were only a few villages and houses along the way (where I of course rode very slowly and quietly)…
There was only a couple of intersections to worry about… one was towards the start of the road a concrete ‘Y Intersection’ where you need to keep left downhill, and another is a T Intersection towards the end, where again you need to go left…
Towards the start of the road, on a downhill, left hand hairpin, was a few large buildings, so I stopped to ask for directions to make sure I was still on the right road…
Me: “bye Chiang Mai, yuu thii nai?” (pointing).
Them: “Pardon?”
Me: “Bye Chiang Mai, yuu thii nai?”
Them: “Pardon?”
So I rode to the side of the badminton court, dismounted, and asked again. “bye Chiang Mai, yuu thii nai”…
Them: “Do you speak English?”
Me “Yeah” (obviously I don’t speak Thai too well)
Them: “What do you want”
Me: “Is this the way to Chiang Mai?”
Them: “we’ll go ask someone”
Me, noticing the ‘Thai – Sweden Friendship Badminton association’ or something sign: “are you here on holiday or something? Not locals?”
Them: “On Holiday”
Me: “Oh, you speak good English”
Them: “We’re from Singapore”
What an idiot… (me)… mind you, it is in the middle of a jungle national park in the middle of nowhere mountain range, Thailand…
Anyway, I blasted all the way back to the 3010 on great fun dirt roads, only a few moments, followed the 3010 to the 107 just north of Mae Rim, and headed back into town to meet everyone at Kafe for a few drinks…
Thanks again to B&T for including me in your special moment… my father died two years ago this week, and I miss the annoying old fool… it really did mean something to me to be involved with you and your Pops, and you are truly blessed to have the great relationship that you do…
Cheers,
Daewoo
I wish I had taken my camera with me… oh how I wish I had taken my camera with me… emotional achievements, a waterfall, dirt riding, Singaporean badminton players and 4 of the biggest sets of chesticles I had seen in weeks, covered only in the thinnest Lycra… Oh how I wish I had taken my camera with me…
The few quiet ales at Kafe after my return from MHS the night before had turned into SuzukiLuke, B&T, and I heading to some restaurant in Sri Phum Rd to harass the Beer Promotion Girls, including convincing the one that annoyed the sh!t out of B&T that she had told him she was going to ‘Warm Up’ (a discotheque I think the young people call them) and he had headed there to meet her when she finished work… we even had her call him to tell him she wasn’t going, but alas he didn’t answer and called the number back (mine) the next morning to find out who would call at such an ungodly hour… with mates like these…
Somewhere earlier in the night (between beer 4 and 5 I think, because I could remember it the next day, and so could B&T), B&T had invited me to join him and his dear old dad ‘Pops’ on a ride to ‘a waterfall’ the next day…
Over a half eaten American breakfast, the plan was finalised to meet at Mae Rim at 11am… and so we did…
It turned out that this ‘trip to a waterfall’ was actually something a little bit more special than that…
As is often the case with insulin dependant diabetics, ‘Pops’ had been forced to have a leg amputated a couple of years earlier… not that I can imagine Pops being anything other than the so full of life character I met in Chiang Mai, when he was in hospital, B&T had given him something to encourage his progress along the long road of rehab and physio… something along the lines of “I just found this great waterfall near Chiang Mai, and I want to show you… it’s a bit of a walk, and I’m not going to carry you, so get off your arse and do your exercises…”
Today was the day…
It was a short run from Mae Rim further north up the 107 to the 1095 (Pai road) and about 17Km up that to the Mokfa Waterfall turnoff…
Pops wasn’t the most comfortable on the back of B&Ts screaming little 150, but he made it without complaint… then was the walk to the waterfall… it started off OK, a stroll up a wide service road past the amenities, then it turned into a moss covered, slippery mud track, up and over rocks, down steep muddy paths, only just enough room for Pop’s and someone for him to lean on, and he kept putting his stick to close to the drop, where it would collapse the edge…
B&T was there giving him as much encouragement as he could, between harassing him about being old and cracking jokes… but you could also see he was proud as punch of his old man, still there fighting to enjoy life more than he had a right to…
Eventually we made it to the waterfall and a nice flatish rock shelf where we set up a little picnic where Pops could lie down and rest… out came the traditional Thai picnic fare of, a sh!tload of food, and sticky rice…
I felt pretty touched to have been included in something that was obviously so important and special to B&T and his dad, so would like to thank them for having me along…
I was walking back to my bike to get something I had forgotten, when a mixed group of young travellers came the other way with towels… I made it to the bike and back before the girls, who weren’t particularly old or ugly, started removing those pesky outer clothes they insist on wearing… I was sure they would strip down further and let those chest puppies have a breath of fresh air, but alas they remained covered by thin strips of Lycra… nevertheless on my closer inspection of the waterfall, I did notice that 4 out of the 5 sets were fine examples of jubbly gozongas, and that the accompanying back bottoms were not too foul either…
After the backpackers had departed, I too decided that I had better get a move on, as my intention was to head back to Mae Rim on the dirt road that continued into the National Park from where we were parked…
The road was mostly in good condition, but still rough enough and muddy enough to have some serious fun on the XR250… blating where you could see, up through the gears, braking hard, back down into the power range for the tail out exit from the corner once your view opened up… the scenery about a 50/50 split between rice farms and native vegetation, there were only a few villages and houses along the way (where I of course rode very slowly and quietly)…
There was only a couple of intersections to worry about… one was towards the start of the road a concrete ‘Y Intersection’ where you need to keep left downhill, and another is a T Intersection towards the end, where again you need to go left…
Towards the start of the road, on a downhill, left hand hairpin, was a few large buildings, so I stopped to ask for directions to make sure I was still on the right road…
Me: “bye Chiang Mai, yuu thii nai?” (pointing).
Them: “Pardon?”
Me: “Bye Chiang Mai, yuu thii nai?”
Them: “Pardon?”
So I rode to the side of the badminton court, dismounted, and asked again. “bye Chiang Mai, yuu thii nai”…
Them: “Do you speak English?”
Me “Yeah” (obviously I don’t speak Thai too well)
Them: “What do you want”
Me: “Is this the way to Chiang Mai?”
Them: “we’ll go ask someone”
Me, noticing the ‘Thai – Sweden Friendship Badminton association’ or something sign: “are you here on holiday or something? Not locals?”
Them: “On Holiday”
Me: “Oh, you speak good English”
Them: “We’re from Singapore”
What an idiot… (me)… mind you, it is in the middle of a jungle national park in the middle of nowhere mountain range, Thailand…
Anyway, I blasted all the way back to the 3010 on great fun dirt roads, only a few moments, followed the 3010 to the 107 just north of Mae Rim, and headed back into town to meet everyone at Kafe for a few drinks…
Thanks again to B&T for including me in your special moment… my father died two years ago this week, and I miss the annoying old fool… it really did mean something to me to be involved with you and your Pops, and you are truly blessed to have the great relationship that you do…
Cheers,
Daewoo