Bike cleaned, body rested and load lightened by a few unwanted, unused items of clothing and it's back on the road to Thailand's northern most province of Chiang Rai. My first stop was the beautiful Lang Sang National Park with its scenic walking trails and cascading multi tiered water falls with icey cold rock pools to sooth aching muscles. Lang Sang park is located in the Tak Province which is a wild and very mountainous region of Thailand with villages like Mae Ramat and Tha Sang Yang dotting the steep hillsides. These refugee camps of Hmong, Lisu and Karen villagers are mainly Burmese Civilians who have been driven across the border into Thailand
My first experience of serious mountain climbing started on the journey from Lang Sang to Mae Sot. Climbing to 2000 metre the large trucks crawled up the mountain slopes at 7 kph enabling weary cyclist to hitch a ride. From Mae Sot I followed the main route north which runs parrallel to the Burmese border passing through very rugged mountainous terrain. The further north you go the steeper the mountains become until it gets to a stage where walking is the easier option - but you are greeted with scenery to die for - streams, caves, hot springs and picturesque mountain pass viewing points - picture postcard stuff. Days start early - 6am to try and beat the daytime heat that rises to 38 degrees.
Mae Hong Song and Pai are the standout towns in the north west of Thailand. Mae Hong Song is set around a beautiful small lake which in the evening turns into a diner's delight with street stall food vendors surrounding the lake selling Thai cuisine to suit everyone's taste. It also has Wat Phea That Doi Kong Mu that towers over the town. Early risers can climb the steps to the top and watch the sun rise over the mountains - a pretty awesome sight. Pai on the other hand is the Byron Bay of northern Thailand. It's a farang hangout. Nestled deep in a valley the streets are lined with cafes, coffee shops, souvenier shops and bars.
It was in this area that I met a lovely french family that was also following the mountain trail. Bruno, Jenny and their 5 year old daughter Lilly. We kept each other company until Tha Lot where I caught the river boat down to Chiang Mai and they continued on Mae Si and then on to Laos.
From Phuket to Chiang Rai, a distance of 2565km was covered without one toot of anger from a motor bike, car or truck- pretty amazing
Now a two weeks break for a bit of sightseeing and relaxing before a move onto either China or Laos.
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Thoroughly enjoying the armchair ride. Keep up the travelogues. You could end up working for Lonely Planet.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures and and great to see the bike on the boat enroute to Chiang Ria. Good to hear you made the trip from Puket without any dogs and well done for turning over so many clicks. Take it easy and have fun Tony.
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