Re-mapping towns on the Mae Hong Son Loop

It's time to update the GT Rider Mae Hong Son loop map for the 4th edition.

A few snaps from Friday 7th - Thursday 13th August 2009.

The way: the Mae Hong Son loop in a clockwise direction. Chiang Mai - Mae Sarieng - Khun Yuam - Mae Hong Son - Pangmapha - Pai - Mae Taeng - Chiang Mai.

The weather Chiang Mai - Mae Sarieng was wet 'n greasy.
As this truckie found out


Not quite sure how he did this going uphill


The driver, uninjured & still able to smile for the farang


The road seemed to be deserted in the miserable conditions, but I had no sooner stopped when I was almost involved in an accident with a herd of cattle plus an EGAT truck all arriving on the scene at once.






The GT Rider webmaster was in Mae Sarieng setting up his new house & office for Asian Angling Adventures.
http://www.asian-angling-adventures.com/

Moto-Rex also rode down from his new love - Mae Hong Son city - for the night to link up with the Kiwi Cruiser & I.
We tasted a nice happy hour at the Riverhouse Resort & continued on with dinner at the Krua Gan Eng upstream. The KGE has live music, one of the very few in Mae Sarieng, plus an interesting menu with Dringks.

The highlight of the evening was the chicken coconut milk soup, which came out of the kitchen as a tom yam - twice - & was promptly sent back twice, never to reappear amongst the cultural misunderstanding confusion. However we are sure it was still on the bill at the end of the night, however we'd had such a good time with the owner & staff that we did not protest, but went with the flow. We will be back & want to be welcomed back.

Cruising the Mae Sarieng city rural back roads, some of the views & scenery was very beautiful.




Wat Chomthong is on a hill S-E of town off R105 the Mae Sarieng - Mae Sot road & has nice views of Mae Sarieng city & environs, even in the wet.













Mae Sarieng has a smart & beautiful cultural information at the entrance to town, but it's poor, grubby & almost useless info wise.


There are 28 waypoint / deletions / changes / additions coming to the new MS city map.

R108 North of Mae Sarieng is generally in perfect condition, except for the new 300 metre shortcut they made through one hill to cut off a long steep tight bend.

Methinks someone cheated on the road works contract.



Indeed it was another wet 'n greasy ride from Mae Sarieng to Mae Hong Son, but I survived, despite not leaving MS until 4PM & arriving in MHS in low light at 7PM.

The delightful but wet 'n misty viewpoint south of Mae Hong Son



In Mae Hong Son you could be forgiven for thinking that the Piya Guesthouse was closed


but it is actually open for business as usual.
According to Piya the renovations were to be complete in 3 weeks = end of the month August.

To be continued..

Franz wrote: David how the he.. did this truck make it up onto the barrier ???? Too much Lipo or Grating Daeng I wonder ???? See you now also use one of these handy Givi's on the back though I've seen the mount on the bike already a long time but never the topcase :wink: . Went on a short drive today for F&B at Ian's and coffee in Samoeng, met a lot of riders, especially Vespa's in the hundreds....never new that there are that plenty out there.
Marco of course I know, had to put up with many Finns in Rovaniemi with Absolut, Minttu and Olut..........Peter Dougal and drinking water ?? Yeah maybe in the bathroom..... . where has HE gone, haven't read too many comments recently. Oh guys I really miss you !! Cheers, Franz

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Franz
Honestly dont know how the truck got like that, even after talking to the driver - he says he lost control & had to do that, but it was unclear whether he was going uphill or down! Maybe he was too embarassed to admit the truth. He'd been there for 18 hours - the accident happened the day before - & he was waiting for a tow from someone from Chiang Mai or Nakhon Nowhere. TIT!

Re the Givi box I tend to use this in the wet to protect valuables - maps / documents / computer. But I admit that I don't like it that much because when you load it up it puts too much weight behind the rear axle & makes the AT handle like a pig. A small soft seat bag & soft panniers are the luggage way to go I believe, but the Givi box is damn convenient.

Arh yes, the Thai internet has recovered & you can upload photos once more!!

Missed a couple of panorama shots overlooking Mae Sarieng 8th August.
The view from Wat Phrathat Chomthong


The Mae Yuam river

which according to the Kiwi Cruiser webmaster was up to the bridge on 1st September.

The Mae Hong Son bypass road






Route 1095 North of Mae Hong Son City




Some temples in Mae Hong Son worth a look & photos

Wat Hua Wiang








Wat Panglor








More coming..

MHS Temples continued

Wat Chong Klang





Coming slow isn't it?
Well I've had both computers out of action the last week, with my main desktop still out of action & that baby has my photos + maps locked up for a few more days probably.
But when it comes back I've got happy snap shots from 2 trips to wack up + a few odd tips from here & there - on the MHS Loop & the GT Loop.

Meanwhile I've afew bit & pieces on my notebook to play around with & post.

Continued....

11TH AUGUST MAE HONG SON - PANGMAPHA

And the weather was absolutely glorious: R1095 was in perfect photographic condition, so it was time to recover some lost territory on Capt’n Slash (before he gets back here & streaks away from us all in the road photo dept once again).







Lahu Luk Kow Larm


Closer up



Lahu Luk Kow Larm is a favourite of some of the GT Riders to go for Lahu New Year & to donate clothes & school supplies
See

and

The Pang Mapha Viewpoint






PANG MAPHA - PAI

On one of the big steep hairpin bends where you don't normally stop for photo just in case another vehicle might stuff up & do your bike & you in. :lol: :lol: But I figured it was my lucky day with such sensational weather & views






And where is it?

128 kms out, from......?

Approaching the Kiew Lom viewpoint on the ridgeline between Pang Mapha & Pai.




And the famous view of R1095


Where it's at

20 kms from Pang Mapha
84 kms from Mae Hong Son


Doesn't this road photo want to make you just get out & ride R1095 on the Mae Hong Son Loop



A sun shower in the distance




Route 1095: nice 'n bendy, sweet & clean.


Worth a ride any day you might say?

Deano747 wrote: What sort of timeframe for edition 4 are you looking at? I assume that it is a fairly involved process.

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I'm a month behind schedule (par for the course), but expect the new map to be out on sale in November. :roll: :roll:

And so it was after Mae Hong Son -Route 1095 to Soppong / Pangmapha & into Pai boutique city.

:shock: :shock: I managed a mere 400 waypoint changes in Pai. Places closing, moving, changing names, & new ones opening.

The rate of development is incredible, almost like a piranha feeding frenzy & you have to wonder when the bubble is going burst? :cry: :cry:

There really are some incredible new resorts / hotels / guesthouses opening up. And they are getting expensive! :?: :?:

The mauve / pinky Pai Waan was one example: 1,000 baht a night in off-season & no customers. High season 3-4,000 baht a night.


And here's the view from the Pai Waan situated on the super highway.


Impressive eh. I think not; but then again if you come from the big smoke & Bangkok I guess any fresh mountain air is good.

The PaiCome Hideaway is a mere 5-8,000 baht a night!


Don’t believe me, then go here
http://www.paicome.com/

The Pai Resort Pageryaw had really cute small bungalows stuck right on top of each other for maximum land utilization (& more warmth in the cold season?)


They also had a huge beautiful butterfly resting (from photographers?) in the garden


Out of town the short trip to Santichum & Nam Hu is well worthwhile.
The way is pretty at the right time of the year






Wat Nam Hu








Next up the road is the Yunnan Cultural Centre "a Chinese tea drinking place."




Then in you're in the Chinese KMT village of Santichum, which has a really steep narrow road leading to a small temple Puttapanya Ram, with some nice views overlooking Pai city.

The grey concrete road up the hill


A corner


A view


And another view


The way back down


From Santichum it’s back to Nam Hu & across to Mo Paeng.
The way once more

Yep, rain coming


Mo Paeng waterfall

Well it's sort of worth it

Wat Hua Na is on the way back into town, just up from the hospital





The monks could have started their own lawn bowls club the grass was so smooth!

And I'm almost up to date.

Still plodding along. Way behind schedule, more than 2 month's wait for the topo to be done, & the last couple of weeks TWO computer reformats but finally closing in.

Anyone want to run an advert to promote motorcycle touring & / or their business on the MHS Loop please contact me.

Meanwhile last week waiting for a computer reformat I did the loop double checking establishments & forgot to take my camera with me (it was one of those living hell weeks) - I realized 25 kms out & was not going to turn back. So it's only a few lousy happy phone snaps.....

The Navasoung Resort in Mae Chaem has a sauna + a wonderful pool WITH A VIEW.

Check it out
http://www.navasoungresort.com/

I managed 100 kms checking out developments in the Mae Chaem & overall the place is doing well & IMHO quietly preparing for the Pai overflow & bubble to burst in a couple of years I'd say. I reckon that Mae Chaem will be the place - new Pai - to go to in 3 more high seasons! Watch it happen. Land in Mae Chaem is now 100,000 baht a rai if you can get it. And most of it with title deeds has gone to out of town people speculating on another Pai frenzy.

Mae Chaem has some lovely winding rural back roads / loops through the rolling hills just like Pai. There's a new bridge across the Mae Chaem river immediately north of town. Several temples are well worth visiting

Wat Tha Pa is a beauty








The temple grounds also double as a school classroom for the young village kids

and I reckon they've got it good alright!
What a view at school


In Mae Chaem the Krua Lai Hin serves up enormous meals,

fit for a captain..

Moto-Rex filled in as Captain for the night:

just look at the size of the bowl with the curry in!

Wat Buddha En is a unique temple in Thailand


Wat Pra Buddha En, In Mae Chaem, Chang Kerng sub-district, is a most unusual temple. The buildings are built on an island in the centre of a square, literate block lined pond. This inundated area is called Utokasima, to distinguish it from an earthen temple surround, or Khanthasima, although the meaning is the same. Built at about the start of the Ratanakosin Era, over 200 years ago, this remarkable temple is registered by the Fine Arts Department. Apart from the temple in the pool, there is an old viharn with some fine murals







There's also a supply of fresh clean water from the temple "spring" that the villagers use for their daily consumption.


Another find in Mae Chaem was the Tennis & Meteorite Resort
Cute basic bungalows 500 baht a night




And you've got your own tennis court




And the meteorite

proudly presented & lovingly cared for by the owner, who is an incredibly amusing & interesting guy. A bit of a nature lover & expert potato grower, he once led the Rak Mae Chaem group to rally against the lignite mine near Mae Na Chon, but a couple of bullets soon convinced him of the error of his ways.

His resort: officially The View Fai Meteorite Tennis Resort.

The meteorite certainly looks real to me & it was found 6 years ago near Mae Chaem in his spud garden! (That's one hell of a potato.) Supposedly it has been scientifically tested & is the real thing.

Up in Mae Hong Son
the lake's been drained, cleaned up & in the process of being deepend.


(All the fish are in Pha Bong waiting for their return.)



supposedly with a completion date for the "New Year." Funny isn't it though - it's not Mae Hong Son without water in the lake!

Back down south in Mae Sarieng Beng is back at the Sawadee Restaurant

and brekky here is pretty damn good

In Mae Hong Son it was Halloween night & I thought - so what? But in the Crossroads Pub it was really rocking with the locals all decked for the night..



The sensational Miss Nok (owner of Crossroads) on the left.

Later on that night we failed in our attempt to get into The Chalet Pub at the Baiyoke Hotel - no room. The place was jam packed solid with Halloween party goers. Amazing Thailand indeed!

One of the cool new loops to do in the Mae Chaem valley is North-east from Mae Chaem to Ban Mae Pang (out near Mae Pang waterfall).

The hills are rolling & the roads narrow steep undulating, with superb views.
Check it out sometime.

MAE SARIENG

The Yuam river runs through town basically in a north - south direction. The main part of the town & most of the establishments are on the east side of the river, which is were most people end up staying, eating & drinking.
But at sunset time your view is one straight into the setting sun.

Enter the Tukki Pub & Restaurant:
East side of the bridge


The view downstream


The Tukki Pub & Restaurant




Tukki, owner & cook of Tukki Pub & Restaurant, Mae Sarieng.

(Anyone Loei old hands remember Tukki?)

Tukki also likes GT Rider maps


The Tukki Pub & Restaurant is also one of, if not the last, places to close in MS at night. Check it out at happy hour time by the river.

Marco wrote: David,

How was the food like?

you know im so found about all names like now, TUKKI in Finnish mean LOG(Tree log) what they are floating n the down river after harvesting....

any how, looks like a nice place, maybe drop by there while in the town in few weeks

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How was the food?
Arh I only drank & nibbled a bit.
Next time I will endeavour to sample the food as well.

Franz wrote: David, the Navasoungresort's Pool is worth going there and if only for one night, thanks for this info. Will take Mr. Hiso-Payap there soon. Perfect trip report as always. Cheers, Franz

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Franz
And there's a sauna right next to the pool! It's an awesome place +you can drink with the Finnish owner - Beer Chang.
Best to ring & book though. They had very heavy bookings for November - December - January when I was last there.

In Pai I finally went to the Pai Canyon





And I'd say its worth it. Robert H has an interesting story about riding his Africa Twin right to the top & the viewpoint....



Wat Sai Khao it also pretty out in the rice paddies


The Bueng Pai Fishing Resort is a beauty


And the Mae Yuam River in Mae Sarieng again.