I went off for about 10 days, though this video covered the first 3 days...
Day 1: At about 2 in the afternoon I felt the sudden urge to hit the road so bag was packed and I was off for Samoeng onto Wat Jan. Was hoping to hit Wat Jan by night fall and catch a hotel room. Then somehow as the rain started coming down I ended up going over the back side of Doi Intanon... Night fell and with the headlamp I was cruising down dirt road. Felt alert and ok and was ready to ride for another two hours when I stopped for gas. Asking the gal how far to Wat Jan I simply got, 'OOOOhhh,,, Glai mak". Which told me several hours away; especially in the dark. She then offered me a spot on her floor in her house which I gladly took.
Day 2: I realized I was very south and working my way up North to Mae Chaem and then to Wat Jan. Finally arriving in Wat Jan about 4 hours later I hit the road which would bring me to Pie. I could feel my chain getting loose when in some rough road sections the chain fell off. Certain I was going to tighten it up when I hit pie. Though as I passed a trail I wanted to map on the GPS I took the turn and yet after trying to find a cut through one of the fields the chain broke about 3 Km from the road in the bush. So I grabbed the chain with the half broken link and my pack and trucked it to the road. Shortly after I hitch hiked to Pie which was only about 10 Km away and met up with Tip, from Tip Offroad. He helped me out by cutting the half link off and driving me back to the bike where he put the chain back on and tightened up the back tire. So on the road once again I headed to Cave lodge for a good shower and nights rest.
Day 3: Headed North from Cave lodge I took a back way on to 1226 which runs north up to Ban Mai Lan. Along the way there I found some dirt tracks which had those bamboo gates that where more of little ramps I could jump so I had a bit of fun with them. Shortly there after I sank the front tire into a mud hole which with no avail I couldn't get it out. Sure enough there was a Hilltribe women husking rice and was kind enough to give me some brute strength in her Sarong and help me get my bike un-stuck. So on forth I went. From Mai Lan up to the Thai military camp on the boarder the road was wide, dirt, and very muddy. Nearly couldn't make one part but a 4x4 or dirt bike could do it... As for a 4x4 I would say the driver would need some good tires and skill.
So through the Thai gate and up to the Shan military post where the soldier simply lifted the gate and let me in. After meeting a few soldiers and politely asking about the area they offered tea and soon enough directed me down the road to a house. There I sat drinking coffee, tea, and smiling with two other soldiers who were dressed casually. None of them could speak English, and I couldn't speak Shan so we sat and smiled. I was about to leave from a bit of boredom though the rain kept coming down. Finally a Tiger truck pulled in and out got a man dressed in full camouflage fatigues. I gave him a wai and he greeted me with a hello and a hand shake and told me he was the foreign relations officer and welcomed me to stay for lunch. He calmly talked about the history of the Shan state there and their fight for freedom. We ate a great meal of rice, chicken, fried egg, and soup. He put me in his truck and drove me to the orphanage where Shan children stay. Showed me the medics who will go to the front lines to fight, showed me them studying in class, and also the monument of the Shan leaders who united the southern people to fight for independence. Before I left he gave me a few books and DVD's of Shan info along with his email and phone number. Telling me that next time to email him ahead of time and to send a copy of my passport so he can clear me with the Thai soldiers there so I could leave and return to Thailand.
Before I left I asked, "Can I bring anything for the orphans or students?" He replied, "Yes please do." I asked, "what do you need?" He said, "We need everything! Books, pens, clothes, food, and guns... please bring guns!!!" I laughed and wondered if he thought I was CIA or something....
Here is his info... Western name is Phillip...
Philip
Shan Name: Yawd muang
The Shan Website
တႆးလွတ်းလႅဝ်း
[email [email protected]][email protected][/email]
[email [email protected]][email protected][/email] (due to the hand writing the fact that the paper got a bit soggy on the ride back I couldn't tell if it was an s or j, though surely can send both).
His Phone number
0863093839
Day 1: At about 2 in the afternoon I felt the sudden urge to hit the road so bag was packed and I was off for Samoeng onto Wat Jan. Was hoping to hit Wat Jan by night fall and catch a hotel room. Then somehow as the rain started coming down I ended up going over the back side of Doi Intanon... Night fell and with the headlamp I was cruising down dirt road. Felt alert and ok and was ready to ride for another two hours when I stopped for gas. Asking the gal how far to Wat Jan I simply got, 'OOOOhhh,,, Glai mak". Which told me several hours away; especially in the dark. She then offered me a spot on her floor in her house which I gladly took.
Day 2: I realized I was very south and working my way up North to Mae Chaem and then to Wat Jan. Finally arriving in Wat Jan about 4 hours later I hit the road which would bring me to Pie. I could feel my chain getting loose when in some rough road sections the chain fell off. Certain I was going to tighten it up when I hit pie. Though as I passed a trail I wanted to map on the GPS I took the turn and yet after trying to find a cut through one of the fields the chain broke about 3 Km from the road in the bush. So I grabbed the chain with the half broken link and my pack and trucked it to the road. Shortly after I hitch hiked to Pie which was only about 10 Km away and met up with Tip, from Tip Offroad. He helped me out by cutting the half link off and driving me back to the bike where he put the chain back on and tightened up the back tire. So on the road once again I headed to Cave lodge for a good shower and nights rest.
Day 3: Headed North from Cave lodge I took a back way on to 1226 which runs north up to Ban Mai Lan. Along the way there I found some dirt tracks which had those bamboo gates that where more of little ramps I could jump so I had a bit of fun with them. Shortly there after I sank the front tire into a mud hole which with no avail I couldn't get it out. Sure enough there was a Hilltribe women husking rice and was kind enough to give me some brute strength in her Sarong and help me get my bike un-stuck. So on forth I went. From Mai Lan up to the Thai military camp on the boarder the road was wide, dirt, and very muddy. Nearly couldn't make one part but a 4x4 or dirt bike could do it... As for a 4x4 I would say the driver would need some good tires and skill.
So through the Thai gate and up to the Shan military post where the soldier simply lifted the gate and let me in. After meeting a few soldiers and politely asking about the area they offered tea and soon enough directed me down the road to a house. There I sat drinking coffee, tea, and smiling with two other soldiers who were dressed casually. None of them could speak English, and I couldn't speak Shan so we sat and smiled. I was about to leave from a bit of boredom though the rain kept coming down. Finally a Tiger truck pulled in and out got a man dressed in full camouflage fatigues. I gave him a wai and he greeted me with a hello and a hand shake and told me he was the foreign relations officer and welcomed me to stay for lunch. He calmly talked about the history of the Shan state there and their fight for freedom. We ate a great meal of rice, chicken, fried egg, and soup. He put me in his truck and drove me to the orphanage where Shan children stay. Showed me the medics who will go to the front lines to fight, showed me them studying in class, and also the monument of the Shan leaders who united the southern people to fight for independence. Before I left he gave me a few books and DVD's of Shan info along with his email and phone number. Telling me that next time to email him ahead of time and to send a copy of my passport so he can clear me with the Thai soldiers there so I could leave and return to Thailand.
Before I left I asked, "Can I bring anything for the orphans or students?" He replied, "Yes please do." I asked, "what do you need?" He said, "We need everything! Books, pens, clothes, food, and guns... please bring guns!!!" I laughed and wondered if he thought I was CIA or something....
Here is his info... Western name is Phillip...
Philip
Shan Name: Yawd muang
The Shan Website
တႆးလွတ်းလႅဝ်း
[email [email protected]][email protected][/email]
[email [email protected]][email protected][/email] (due to the hand writing the fact that the paper got a bit soggy on the ride back I couldn't tell if it was an s or j, though surely can send both).
His Phone number
0863093839
Great job!
