Piang Luang - Ok Phansa - Chula Kathin Festival

[DavidFL]

2025 Piang Luang - Ok Phansa - Chula Kathin Festival

Piang Luang will have their 2025 Chula Kathin / Ok phansa Festival on 17-18 October 2025.


Piang Puang is fabulous little remote Shan town up in the mountains on the Thai - Myanmar border.

Piang Luang · Wiang Haeng District, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Wiang Haeng District, Chiang Mai, Thailand

maps.app.goo.gl

GTR has had some fabulous times in this charming town over the years.

(Piang Luang - Wiang Haeng Poi Sang long 2015)

(My Gtr Dinner Trip To Piang Luang)

(Chiang Mai - Wiang Haeng - Piang Luang. On the trail of King Naresuan.)

(GT Rider Up Country Dinner # 36 Piang Luang)

(Pai - Wiang Haeng - Chiang Dao. Muddy trails and mighty mountains)

Mae Hong Son loop 2022

Some call it the motorcyclists arcade how many definitions could it have the children's playroom anyway each of us interprets it in his own way and according to where he lives. Anyway I always like it and it is always pleasant to go along it. Sometimes I remain glued in front of the TV or the PC...

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A 4 day ride around northern Chiang Mai

I met up with Nigel for breakfast at Charin Garden on the 118. We then took the swoopy 109 over the Doi Wiang Pa mountain range. After turning south at Fang, we headed down to Kad Muang Phi, past Chai Prakarn and just before the turn on to the 1346. The "City of Ghosts" looking a bit overgrown...

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Northern Thailand Tour On A Crf250l 20-jan To 13-feb 2019

Here's a summary regarding my recent tour of the Northern Thailand, Firstly, thank you for all the feedback and comments along the way. Hopefully some of the information is useful to someone, somewhere at some stage. I try not to bore you shitless but I probably will. So fetch a beer or popcorn...

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Pai - Wiang Haeng - Chiang Dao. Muddy trails and mighty mountains

Pai - Wiang Haeng - Chiang Dao. Muddy trails and mighty mountains This was a great dirt and tarmac ride from Pai to Chaing Dao via Wiang Haeng. There’s plenty of different ways to get to Wiang Haeng from Pai,..I chose to ride down hwy 1095 to the entrance of the Huay Nam Dang National Park...

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Tham Ngop and a MHS loop

Firstly headed up to Doi Angkang on the steep main road 1249 to the checkpoint intersection with the 1340. But about where it says "Caution: Very Steep" on the GTR map, the bike stopped. The old girl decided it was just too damn hot and needed a rest. The exhausts were very blue and smoke was...

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Tham Ngop and a MHS loop

Firstly headed up to Doi Angkang on the steep main road 1249 to the checkpoint intersection with the 1340. But about where it says "Caution: Very Steep" on the GTR map, the bike stopped. The old girl decided it was just too damn hot and needed a rest. The exhausts were very blue and smoke was...

www.gt-rider.com

1322 - To Lak Taeng and Back

Started late... left Chiang Mai at 11:15 am and rumbled up 1001 to Phrao for lunch, then out 1150 to Highway 107. At the intersection, angled (left) across the highway and out the small side-road that runs through from Ping Khong, to make a left turn at Mae Ja onto 1178, and then right onto...

www.gt-rider.com

1322 - To Lak Taeng and Back

Started late... left Chiang Mai at 11:15 am and rumbled up 1001 to Phrao for lunch, then out 1150 to Highway 107. At the intersection, angled (left) across the highway and out the small side-road that runs through from Ping Khong, to make a left turn at Mae Ja onto 1178, and then right onto...

www.gt-rider.com

Some interesting info in Thai: เว็บไซต์อำเภอเวียงแหง | เวียงแหง.com

 

[ADV]

I rode from Chiang Dao to Wiang Haeng yesterday. The weather conditions were dry and road was good fun.

A downpour at Jao Korn Jerngเ จ้ากอนเจิง tombs thoughly drenched me, as I looked across the border to the Myanmar side and the Ordination Hall which is just visible through the trees in this photo.

I decided to dry off while eating at the excellent Krua Piang Luang Restaurant ร้านครัวเปียงหลวง and was made to feel very welcome by the kind owner and friend of GTR David.

...and this is an early days photo of the kind and welcoming owner.

Next part of the ride was to head north east on the 1322, with about 1 hour (according to Google Maps) to get to Chai Prakarn.

Just outside of Wiang Haeng there is a Lahu village. A group of happy and waving villagers were picnicking on a viewpoint, by the road. So, I swung around for a rest and chat with them, which was fun. They were concerned about my remaining journey and crazy drugged people out and about at night.

The shadows were getting long, and I still had a big ride ahead. I considered staying the night in Wiang Haeng.

Instead, on I went into a ride that was to become a 2 hour extremely demanding descent in darkness.

Significant kilometres of the bitumen surface have completely failed leaving a crushed rock moonscape with craters big enough to swallow my ADV350 wheels and bottom out forks and rear shox and grind the centrestand.

I zigzagged like a fly circling a lightbulb slaloming to avoid most craters and washouts.

When I got the line wrong or there was no line to take, I needed to haul up and slow to a near stop, drop the ADV350 into a crater and climb out the other side.

The road went on like this for many many kilometres. Darkness was fast approaching.

Seeing another group of Lahu farmer workers resting on the side of the road, with music and beer, I let myself be flagged down by more smiles and waves.

We danced, laughed and joked but unfortunately despite my best endeavour to secure a floor or bed for the night there was no accommodation available in their village.

The heavens opened and down came constant rain. I hunkered down on the ADV350 for the approximately 32km steep hairpin down hill descent along the destroyed road, in the dark.

About 15km into the final section my rear brake fluid boiled. Lever meets handgrip.

Pumping the lever didn't return any pressure. I was fortunate to control the descent using just my front brake, to a bridge where I rested up, inspecting my callipers, disc and hoses etc with a torch.

After about 10 minutes cooling down I managed to restore rear brake pressure by pumping the lever and continued on. Counting my lucky stars and counting craters and planning an escape route should I need to bail off the scooter.

I was wet from sweat and rain.

The brake fluid is 12 months old. I'm thinking the humidity in Northern Thailand should have been a prompt for me to flush the fluid with new earlier than the every 2 years recommeded by Honda.

A lesson learned and I'll return again for another run around this tremendous loop.

I'm looking forward to the Piang Luang 2025 Chula Kathin / Ok phansa Festival on 17-18 October 2025.

 

[Franz]

Amazing that you do the "drug-road" at night. Yes shortly after Wiang Haeng the road becomes a MC track all the way to shortly before Rinluan. It is like this already many years. Road through Mueang Na is as bad as one can imagine. We did this road several times with our MT's and were not pleased at all 55555

 

[Moor66]

You did Wiang Haeng to Mueang Na in just 2 hours, with the worst eastern steep stretch in the dark? Truly impressing for sure! Last januari in daylight it took me about that... They had just finished a few km of fresh pavement at the halfway mountain pass, perhaps more km now?

 

[ADV]

You did Wiang Haeng to Mueang Na in just 2 hours, with the worst eastern steep stretch in the dark? Truly impressing for sure! Last januari in daylight it took me about that... They had just finished a few km of fresh pavement at the halfway mountain pass, perhaps more km now?

Yes, the section from Wiang Haeng to Anton Place Hotel in Nong Bua, in the dark, in rain on destroyed roads. A testament to the excellent CST SC11 tyres, EBC HH brake pads, Loboo L11 15,000 lumen lights (150W) which make night riding a whole new world of adventure.

The ADV350 is an impressive ride. Although yesterday I totally maxed it out trying to get to the Doi Hua Mae Kham Forest Park Headquarters

Got 1/3 of the way from Ban Mae Kham and just before the middle concrete section, on the steep compact red clay erosion rutted descent I got into serious trouble.

Only a further descent onto the concrete section could save me. I paddled down, struggling to stay upright.

After turning around safely on the concrete and heading back uphill again I smoked the clutch and thought it was all over for my 200kg ADV350.

Wheels wedge in the ruts and the extra drag, incline and standing starts was just too much.

Again, I only just made it by paddling with my feet and a prayer.
I did that track in the dry season and it was hard enough. No chance on damp red clay, disappointed, but live to ride another day.