A Misty Morning Ride in Samoeng Tai at the end of Northern Thailand Rainy Season.
Riding the classic Samoeng Loop and veering off into lesser-known areas of Samoeng Tai.
This ride takes me up to a sea of clouds and to a decade-old overgrown abandoned resort.
The Ride: GOOGLE MAP ROUTE
I was on my bike at 6 am, in the hope of catching the sunrise at a nice viewpoint and some low Rainy Season clouds.
My first stop was at the Samoeng Forest viewpoint, to take a quick photo (avoiding disturbing the man who was filming his yoga poses at the lookout )
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Opposite the viewpoint, I noticed the Mexican sunflowers were beginning to bloom, which suggests the famous Bua Tong Sunflower Fields at Khun Yuam will likely be in bloom early this year. (Bua Tong Trip Reports: Camping around Bua Tong: https://bit.ly/3mh2T0I / Bua Tong and the R4009: https://bit.ly/3jFLmhd).
Arriving early at Samoeng Village I stopped a little while to watch the monks go by.
I am forever in awe of these monks who do the rounds early each morning, walking barefoot from place to place.
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Once the monks passed I took a right turn and continued along the road to Doi Nok Pagoda, in the hope of catching a spectacular cloudly view.
At the top of the pagoda, I was rewarded with a fabulous view and a sea of clouds.
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I also met some fun ladies who were making merit at the temple.
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After visiting the pagoda I headed back towards Samoeng village and out towards Ban Mae Lan. I wanted to see how the road was at this time but had no intention of riding through to Wat Mae Win /Mae Wang, as I knew it would be pretty muddy at this time. Some sections of the route were in great condition but began to deteriorate as the route continued. I turned around and headed back after reading a Covid19 sign. The village did not want outsiders to visit, which is the same for many small villages in the region at this time.
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I headed back onto the loop, stopping for an early lunch at The Doi Resort, before riding up to an old abandoned resort that I had visited about 10 years previously. I wanted to know if any more work had been done on it or if it was still left untouched. The area was very overgrown and quite difficult to get to, but once inside I noticed what looked like attempts to do more to the resorts but still pretty much left as it was when I first went to visit it.
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I rode around a little after visiting the abandoned resort and then took the back way home, avoiding the main highway.
All in all a good misty morning ride in Samoeng Tai.
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