Living on the 1089 highway 10 kms east of Tha Ton I can see every day I go to Tha Ton the destruction wrought on the farmers who planted crops close to the Kok River bank which were all completely wiped out by the recent huge flood. With that in mind, and with enough time elapsed for temporary road clearance, I was keen to see if other nearby districts had suffered. Most bikers who head on down the 1089 past Tha Ton are on the way to Mae Salong and some to Therd Thai which has emerged from being a quiet outback community to a bustling center of tea and coffee plantations. A year ago I wrote a pretty detailed report about a trip to Ban Huay Mae Kham for the hilltribe festival and a return through the tea plantation hills that I thought was an area of extreme beauty. So there was some concern if it was still approachable. It is.
The 1089 is good until you pass the military checkpoint where the left would take you to Mae Salong. After this as it passes some Akha villages there are 3 separate landslips of the worst kind, where the ground under the road drops away. So far even the very heavy goods trucks are coming but I have a feeling its getting worse. One is a big concern, a huge job with any repair having to go way down to get into solid ground and I assume the delay in fixing it is about funding. So many problems in this country district where finding 20 million baht won't be easy. The second picture gives a good idea of how big the job is.
Its maybe 60 kms plus from Tha Ton to a small left turn up a steep hill marked as the 1089 off the 107 which is wrong, but hey this is Thailand. That route is rarely used and gone wild so go careful of fallen bamboo or truck parked in the middle of the road. Its left again on the 1130 and up into the hills finally arriving at the Akha village Sam Yaek. Road almost unchanged from pre-rain but from here to Therd Thai there is a few more potholes, one land slip and some road surface damage by rain. No big deal. Just outside of Therd Thai a right turn onto the 5032 takes you up into tea plantation land and this road has numerous of the more friendly land slips, the ones where soil has dropped from above and blocked the road. Several times you are on a single lane for 20 metres but the road has little traffic and its not a bother. The high hills as you get closer to Mae Moh show signs of washout where small streams turns to gushing torrents and left a 10m wide strip running down the face. In a few places they reached the road, the most obvious being this one just before Mae Moh village.
The left turn off this road is not totally obvious but there is a small bike tyre repair shop on the left with the road after it. From here the road is damaged but was never that good before, I'm not sure how it works but there are two distinct villages but the map just says Phayaprai. They are busy tea picking and processing communities and its a surprise to find such bustling places high in the hills almost on the border. A couple of steep up and downs here are badly damaged and had me down to slow in 1st gear but as usual a local who works here dashed past me and blasted up what I thought to be the worst part like it was smooth highway.
The narrow single lane concrete from here had a few rough places but I was amazed at how good it still was. Just beware oncoming pickups who dont think anyone else is around. The 4052 back to Therd Thai was hit worse by streams suddenly gushing down the hills heading for the valley river and dragging bamboo, branches and even tree trunks across the highway. Its all been pushed off but the remains are on both sides of the road. In one bad spot the stream appears to have taken a new course and now runs over the road but it was slow and shallow. Maybe they will put it back into its correct tunnel. Therd Thai had places badly damaged and houses destroyed but I didn't go looking for those area downtown and on the river edges. The Rimtan Guest House was flooded as usual.
Going back I turned right at Sam Yaek, at returned via Mae Salong where I encountered what was a typical scene a few years back, road collapse in front of the 7-11. A long an expensive repair it was a year in the fixing and cost a fortune. The whole newly repaired 'lump' has dropped by 30 cms or more and is cordoned off once again. No one thinks its a problem.
Bored with the regular route down to the 1089 I often go via the road which I've never found a number for that passes the Wat Prathat Mae Salong and also a favorite coffee shop of mine run by an great Akha couple, Natcha and Ton. This road was frequently blocked by landslips and just as frequently cleared. Its steep, has amazing tight corners and some great views. Mae Salong locals use it as its a short cut to Mae Chan so look out for crazy bikers and wild truck drivers going much faster than they should.
So, thankfully no real disasters to report. Some minor problems, some slightly worse road surfaces and loose stones. Just go a bit slower and enjoy the sights. Its a great district and the locals are friendly.
The 1089 is good until you pass the military checkpoint where the left would take you to Mae Salong. After this as it passes some Akha villages there are 3 separate landslips of the worst kind, where the ground under the road drops away. So far even the very heavy goods trucks are coming but I have a feeling its getting worse. One is a big concern, a huge job with any repair having to go way down to get into solid ground and I assume the delay in fixing it is about funding. So many problems in this country district where finding 20 million baht won't be easy. The second picture gives a good idea of how big the job is.
Its maybe 60 kms plus from Tha Ton to a small left turn up a steep hill marked as the 1089 off the 107 which is wrong, but hey this is Thailand. That route is rarely used and gone wild so go careful of fallen bamboo or truck parked in the middle of the road. Its left again on the 1130 and up into the hills finally arriving at the Akha village Sam Yaek. Road almost unchanged from pre-rain but from here to Therd Thai there is a few more potholes, one land slip and some road surface damage by rain. No big deal. Just outside of Therd Thai a right turn onto the 5032 takes you up into tea plantation land and this road has numerous of the more friendly land slips, the ones where soil has dropped from above and blocked the road. Several times you are on a single lane for 20 metres but the road has little traffic and its not a bother. The high hills as you get closer to Mae Moh show signs of washout where small streams turns to gushing torrents and left a 10m wide strip running down the face. In a few places they reached the road, the most obvious being this one just before Mae Moh village.
The left turn off this road is not totally obvious but there is a small bike tyre repair shop on the left with the road after it. From here the road is damaged but was never that good before, I'm not sure how it works but there are two distinct villages but the map just says Phayaprai. They are busy tea picking and processing communities and its a surprise to find such bustling places high in the hills almost on the border. A couple of steep up and downs here are badly damaged and had me down to slow in 1st gear but as usual a local who works here dashed past me and blasted up what I thought to be the worst part like it was smooth highway.
The narrow single lane concrete from here had a few rough places but I was amazed at how good it still was. Just beware oncoming pickups who dont think anyone else is around. The 4052 back to Therd Thai was hit worse by streams suddenly gushing down the hills heading for the valley river and dragging bamboo, branches and even tree trunks across the highway. Its all been pushed off but the remains are on both sides of the road. In one bad spot the stream appears to have taken a new course and now runs over the road but it was slow and shallow. Maybe they will put it back into its correct tunnel. Therd Thai had places badly damaged and houses destroyed but I didn't go looking for those area downtown and on the river edges. The Rimtan Guest House was flooded as usual.
Going back I turned right at Sam Yaek, at returned via Mae Salong where I encountered what was a typical scene a few years back, road collapse in front of the 7-11. A long an expensive repair it was a year in the fixing and cost a fortune. The whole newly repaired 'lump' has dropped by 30 cms or more and is cordoned off once again. No one thinks its a problem.
Bored with the regular route down to the 1089 I often go via the road which I've never found a number for that passes the Wat Prathat Mae Salong and also a favorite coffee shop of mine run by an great Akha couple, Natcha and Ton. This road was frequently blocked by landslips and just as frequently cleared. Its steep, has amazing tight corners and some great views. Mae Salong locals use it as its a short cut to Mae Chan so look out for crazy bikers and wild truck drivers going much faster than they should.
So, thankfully no real disasters to report. Some minor problems, some slightly worse road surfaces and loose stones. Just go a bit slower and enjoy the sights. Its a great district and the locals are friendly.
