A friend who lived in the same village as me 30 years ago recently returned to Thailand to do a little business and have a second go at motorbike touring in the mountains. As the owner of a honda 125 dream that he bought for city use he didn't feel the need to rent a bigger bike and as I suggested when he enquired, thats what the locals have, of course you can do a trip on that.
We rode up from Doi Saket via the suspension bridge over a narrow part of the Mae Kuang dam, joined the 1001 into Phrao and then took the scenic route 1346 to the outskirts of Chai Prakarn.
From there we took the very scenic 3001 backroad that passes through an area of very intense farming to get to a village called Ban Mai Nong Bua. This village is a surprise not only because of its size but the fact that its an almost totally Chinese population made up of descendants of KMT army who escaped the communists into Burma who later got pushed into Thailand. We took lunch at a Chinese restaurant, had a look at the local temple and then visited the coffee shop that has a good picture museum showing the grandfather of the shop owner with his uniformed compatriots fighting off their enemy and meeting the Thai king.
Back out onto the 3001 heading north appears to be a continuation of the Chinese influence with some new mansions, warehouses and the new temple with a large statue of the Chinese goddess of mercy, Guan Yim, shown above.
That night we stayed in my home village near Thaton with the plan to continue next day. On a crisp clear morning with mist in some areas near the river we set off well padded up the jumpers and scarves for the ride up to Doi Angkang.
Its the 107 south, right turn onto the 1249 and maybe 8kms down it the start of the beautiful climb up the steep mountain road well known to most notthern mbike riders. The camp site at the view point was quite busy, it being close to Chinese New Year and the view was a bit hazy with the mist still hanging around the lowland valley areas.
From here the 1340 runs along the mountain ridge and due to the royal influence at Ang Khang and the push for more tourism this road is now in great condition and a joy to ride.
A collection of bikes and pick-ups on the roadside had us stop to see what was going on and the result appeared to be a new year clean up and offering at a ancestral tomb.
The locals being so amused at our presence that we were given oranges, cake and green fanta just for taking an interest.
My next stop was Pha Daeng cosy coffee where the woman manager has previously given me avocado seeds so I needed to report they had sprouted and were growing good.
Only a short ride from here to Tham Ngop to see the original army headquarters of the KMT which after many years of neglect is being restored as a tourist attraction. I fear they are modernising it too much with real bricks and modern roofing instead of the original mud and straw but at least there will be a historic connection.
With it now being warm and sunny the ride down into Arunothai was a pleasure only a little spoiled by the crowds in the market place and the tourists packing my favourite eating spot. But the food was a good as usual. Chinese menu.
From here the intention was to take the 1178 to Piang Luang but we met with a problem. Just 2kms after turning west off the 1340 we discovered the road was completely flooded out with a virtual lake deeply covering a few hundred meters of road. Oh Dear! That left us going further south and then turning right to Wiang Haeng and further north to our destination. Thankfully we arrived before dark, had a terrific dinner at Krua Piang Luang restaurant, frequented by several GTR dinner groups in the past, and then spent a night alongside a few serious off-road bikers in the Huen Kingkhala Resort.
As an early riser I was again rewarded by getting the dawn activity of a local market before returning to the resort for breakfast. Cold up here in the hills it was a big show of hats, jumpers, scarves and gloves at 7am but thankfully by 9.30 the sun had warmed things up and we made a start.
The ride out was unfortunately the same as the ride in but with time to look around and stop and take pictures it was no disaster.
Since my last visit I noticed a lot more orchards being planted on the slopes near Lisu villages, some mango but mostly oranges, obviously a higher priced product with potential for profit but perhaps not so ecologically sound. They need water and a lot of chemicals.
Out of Wiang Haeng its one long uphill climb to a viewpoint and then 3 more big ups and downs over mountain ridges to get back to the highway heading south to Chiang Dao where we took a lunch at the Campian with a terrific garden and view of the main Chiang Dao mountain.
From here my mate took the road south to Chiang Mai and I headed back north home. A good couple of days out and another attempt at coming to terms with the mixed influences on the place I live. Lahu, Lisu, Shan and Chinese all involved in making the far north the friendly melting pot where smiling, waving and calling good morning is usually answered with a smile.
We rode up from Doi Saket via the suspension bridge over a narrow part of the Mae Kuang dam, joined the 1001 into Phrao and then took the scenic route 1346 to the outskirts of Chai Prakarn.
From there we took the very scenic 3001 backroad that passes through an area of very intense farming to get to a village called Ban Mai Nong Bua. This village is a surprise not only because of its size but the fact that its an almost totally Chinese population made up of descendants of KMT army who escaped the communists into Burma who later got pushed into Thailand. We took lunch at a Chinese restaurant, had a look at the local temple and then visited the coffee shop that has a good picture museum showing the grandfather of the shop owner with his uniformed compatriots fighting off their enemy and meeting the Thai king.
Back out onto the 3001 heading north appears to be a continuation of the Chinese influence with some new mansions, warehouses and the new temple with a large statue of the Chinese goddess of mercy, Guan Yim, shown above.
That night we stayed in my home village near Thaton with the plan to continue next day. On a crisp clear morning with mist in some areas near the river we set off well padded up the jumpers and scarves for the ride up to Doi Angkang.
Its the 107 south, right turn onto the 1249 and maybe 8kms down it the start of the beautiful climb up the steep mountain road well known to most notthern mbike riders. The camp site at the view point was quite busy, it being close to Chinese New Year and the view was a bit hazy with the mist still hanging around the lowland valley areas.
From here the 1340 runs along the mountain ridge and due to the royal influence at Ang Khang and the push for more tourism this road is now in great condition and a joy to ride.
A collection of bikes and pick-ups on the roadside had us stop to see what was going on and the result appeared to be a new year clean up and offering at a ancestral tomb.
The locals being so amused at our presence that we were given oranges, cake and green fanta just for taking an interest.
My next stop was Pha Daeng cosy coffee where the woman manager has previously given me avocado seeds so I needed to report they had sprouted and were growing good.
Only a short ride from here to Tham Ngop to see the original army headquarters of the KMT which after many years of neglect is being restored as a tourist attraction. I fear they are modernising it too much with real bricks and modern roofing instead of the original mud and straw but at least there will be a historic connection.
With it now being warm and sunny the ride down into Arunothai was a pleasure only a little spoiled by the crowds in the market place and the tourists packing my favourite eating spot. But the food was a good as usual. Chinese menu.
From here the intention was to take the 1178 to Piang Luang but we met with a problem. Just 2kms after turning west off the 1340 we discovered the road was completely flooded out with a virtual lake deeply covering a few hundred meters of road. Oh Dear! That left us going further south and then turning right to Wiang Haeng and further north to our destination. Thankfully we arrived before dark, had a terrific dinner at Krua Piang Luang restaurant, frequented by several GTR dinner groups in the past, and then spent a night alongside a few serious off-road bikers in the Huen Kingkhala Resort.
As an early riser I was again rewarded by getting the dawn activity of a local market before returning to the resort for breakfast. Cold up here in the hills it was a big show of hats, jumpers, scarves and gloves at 7am but thankfully by 9.30 the sun had warmed things up and we made a start.
The ride out was unfortunately the same as the ride in but with time to look around and stop and take pictures it was no disaster.
Since my last visit I noticed a lot more orchards being planted on the slopes near Lisu villages, some mango but mostly oranges, obviously a higher priced product with potential for profit but perhaps not so ecologically sound. They need water and a lot of chemicals.
Out of Wiang Haeng its one long uphill climb to a viewpoint and then 3 more big ups and downs over mountain ridges to get back to the highway heading south to Chiang Dao where we took a lunch at the Campian with a terrific garden and view of the main Chiang Dao mountain.
From here my mate took the road south to Chiang Mai and I headed back north home. A good couple of days out and another attempt at coming to terms with the mixed influences on the place I live. Lahu, Lisu, Shan and Chinese all involved in making the far north the friendly melting pot where smiling, waving and calling good morning is usually answered with a smile.
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