TIP Lonerider - Keep your plans loose
Mrs & I did the Mae Hong Son Loop etc earlier this year & I plan nothing more than a direction.
We stay if we like a place or move on as we feel.
Personally, I hate booking ahead anywhere except arrival & departure nights into & out of a country.
Plenty of homework for ideas done & then just wing it

Oh yeah, on the train, ask for the price of the 'extras' before you say yes LOL

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My memory is becoming that good, I should be able to organise my own surprise party soon

Haha thx for the info, yeah deffo loose plans, only place I have booked is first night in CM

Ummmm extras on the train, I'll bare that in mind



Cheers

Wayne

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Arrived at the train station in good time as I need to get my ticket for the return journey back to Bangkok on the night of the 18 Jan 2015, managed to get the same type of compartment I have got for this journey. Whilst at the station I passed the time away talking to folk…as you do! Some German girls, but its been along time since I used any German and a couple from the UK. It was a good time and it passed the time.
In typical Thai train times we set off late, but only by 20 mins so that was not too bad. The compartment was ok but a little cramped and there was no way to lock the door once you left. Once we set off I went to the restaurant car for some food and it was very nice, ‘seafood spicy platter’ had it with a coke and a smile. No allowed on the train due to an incident previous. If you need anymore info on trains in Thailand then I suggest The Man in Seat Sixty-One - the train travel guide...
as the website to use, its very informative. I went to sleep at about 2230hrs and was awake again at 0230hrs shaking like a rabid dog, what with the temperature drop further up north and the aircon in the compartment I was freezing, no way to turn aircon off so back on with the trousers and my fleece which I had on me with flying from the UK, problem sorted and eventually awoke again at 0650hrs. Coffee time!

I am sat on the train still as I am typing this in note form ready to do an update as and when I can, using the time wisely, how long will that last?! Looking out the window the scenery is great and I am looking forward to getting the bike tomorrow and setting off.
Arrived at Riderscorner, got my room 380Bht for one night with aircon
Time to chill and sort out the kit ready for tomorrow

IMG_0248 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0250 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0251 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
Hua Lamphong Station, BKK

IMG_0252 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0253 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
Japanese Rail carriage and my compartment

IMG_0254 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
Note the banner top left

IMG_0255 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
Rider's Corner Bar & Restaurant - Chiang Mai Bikers Hotel Thailand

Wayne

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https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/poi_entity/8417

Some links/sites I have used in my planning of the trip

Remote Asia Travel - Motorcycle Tours and Motorcycle Rentals in Asia
Chiang Mai to Laos - Bus, Boat, or Flight?
Train travel in Thailand | Train times & fares from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Ko Samui, Phuket, Nong Kai etc.
Laos Hotels – great deals from Asia Web Direct for hotels in Laos
Health Information for Travelers to Thailand - Traveler view | Travelers' Health | CDC
Health Information for Travelers to Laos - Traveler view | Travelers' Health | CDC
Thailand international and domestic discount air tickets, Hotels and resorts, Package tours, Sightseeing, Transfers, Car rental, Travel insurance, Thailand travel news and events, Thailand travel guide, Thailand international and domestic air travel
Online Train Ticket Reservation : Asia-discovery.com
Best of Laos, Asia - TripAdvisor
TourismThailand.org - The official travel information website for tourists visiting Thailand
Welcome to*Luang Namtha, Laos-The Province of Lift & Nature
Rider's Corner Bar & Restaurant - Chiang Mai Bikers Hotel Thailand
Sukhothai in Northern Thailand | thailand travel
Home Page
Muang Xay travel guide - Wikitravel
Welcome to Laos-Laos simply beautiful
Home - Oudomxay Info

Hope these are of help to others planning to come over and ride this great area
A lot of these links are pages I have saved but will lead to home pages

Wayne

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https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/poi_entity/8417

I went to pick up the bike this evening so I could get it ready for the morning and I can get an earlyish start tomorrow
Its brand new, only of 500km on the clock.......Not a good idea just in case i drop it ...I can see the Baht signs now
Got him to swap out the fairing for some older stuff so it won't matter if I scuff it little.
Took the pics in the place where I got it from.
Roll on the morning and I am setting off for Phrae on my first leg
Also got all my paperwork to get into Laos

IMG_0257 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0258 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Wayne

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The Balkans
https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/poi_entity/8417

bike looks good mate. Have fun and keep us posted.

Cheers
Bones

Are we there yet?..............too bloody right he is
Enjoy Wayne !
Oi, where's my Panang chicken fella ???

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My memory is becoming that good, I should be able to organise my own surprise party soon

Well, had a good if not long day today, although I did more miles than I had planned to do. Scenery was great and I travelled down some narrow roads through a National park. I got to the Ghost Canyon at about 1530hrs so it gave me time to look around before it closed at 1800hrs
Got to the hotel at about 1830hrs, showerd and out for some food, Hotel not too bad although it was 490 Bht which was more than I intended to pay. The hotel is the Namthong in the middle of Phrae, wouldn't say they were bike friendly as I had to leave it in the carpark with the rest of the cars, they did assure me that there is security on all night, we will see
The Canyon was quite good, the rock formation are a bit weird as you can see by the photos below
Only had about 6 near misses today so thats not too bad for a starter
You need eyes in the back of your head
Will try and get some video in the next couple of day also

Screen Shot 2014-12-13 at 17.35.28 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
The route taken from the Montana 600

IMG_0261 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0262 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0269 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

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IMG_0277 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0281 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0285 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0278 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0286 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
Ghost Canyon, Phrae

Wayne

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Sat with a bottle of LEO and relaxing whilst I am writing this. I didn’t know if I would be bothered to write a report every time i got chance but I am quite enjoying it…with a . Got an early start today, up at 0600 and on the road for 0700 thanks to a bus load of Chinese tourists that were making a noise in the hotel I stayed in. As I was close to the dining area I could not help but hear them, never mind it gave me an excuse to get up and get going. Phrae to Sukhothai

Screen Shot 2014-12-14 at 17.13.54 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

I was a good trip and very scenic, I didn’t have breakfast, thought I would get some miles under the belt before I stopped to eat. Riding from one village to the next was good and all the smells of food which was cooking at that time in the morning was making me really peckish. So I decide to pull in, I was also thinking about fuel and lucky the place I decided to pull in to was also selling fuel, so what with the little bit of Thai I have managed to learn and a lot of pointing and gestures I got fuel for the bike and fuel for me….sorted.

IMG_0288 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0290 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0292 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0295 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0296 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
Breakfast

Time to hit the road again and get to Sukhothai, on the route I kept stopping to play with the Gopro and try and get used to using the app I have for my iPhone, it allows me the use it wirelessly. I eventully got it to work and took a bit of video on the route. That was a task in its self… Tried to upload the file to Flickr and its saying its to big…anyone any idea on how to reduce the file size on a Mac Air?

The route I took was a mixture of rolling hills and flat rice paddy fields with a few villages (towns) thrown in for good measure, so all in all it was a good journey

IMG_0297 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0300 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0301 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

I got to Sukhothai for lunchtime, about 1200 and stopped at a coffee house with wifi so I could look at Rideasia.net and the HUBB to try and find some recommended digs. Found the Garden house on Rideasia.net..coords N17.00484 E99.48989, very nice little bungalows, paid 300 Bht with a fan, you could pay extra for aircon…but being a Yorkshire man….

IMG_0302 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0303 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0308 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Once I was sorted out and had chilled for a bit it was time to do a bit of sight seeing. I went a visited the Sukhothai Historical Park…coords N17.01816° E99.70673°, it was a really nice place and in my mind well worth a visit. It cost 100 Bht to get in and an extra 20 Bht if you want to ride round on your bike…so guess what?….The bike it was!

IMG_0313 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0317 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

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Spent a bit of time talking to this lady using ThaiEnglish and gestures

IMG_0348 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0350 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

This take me to now, sat here with a writing this to notes so I can cut and paste it later…once the photos have uploaded to Flickr, think I might have cobwebs before that happens

Wayne

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My tea tonight, Chicken Panang Sukhothai style

Enjoy the pic Bucket1960

IMG_0383 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Wayne

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The Balkans
https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/poi_entity/8417

Ahhhh, that feels better
The Mrs & I did a cooking course on the farm out of Chiang Mai & damn I'm a good cook on the day, when someone else is preparing your ingredients
Enjoying the ride & pics

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My memory is becoming that good, I should be able to organise my own surprise party soon

Glad to be of service
I do my own Thai and Indian when at home, love the stuff
Thanks for enjoying

Wayne

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https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/poi_entity/8417

Yet another early start today, was on the road for about for about 0745, stopped off at a petrol station which had a 7/11 shop, got a 6 litre of water and filled up my CamelBak and binned the rest so I could fill it up with petrol. Only got a 7 litre tank and was crossing some big mountains today.
So better to be safe than sorry, as it happens I didn’t need it.
The route to start off with was pretty long and mundane although the scenery was fine the road was not, then I got on to the 1175, now that was fun

Day 3 Sukhothai to Tha Song Yang by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Google Earth Elevation shot by Wayne 66, on Flickr

I did about 80 odd K’s then decided that I needed food so I stopped in Tak, food was great and cheap. That was the boring bit of the road done also.

IMG_0384 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0385 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Next up was Tak to Ban Mae la, don’t know why I went there? It was up near the Myanmar Border and it gave me a good route to do over the mountains on some more interesting roads, just what the Doctor ordered.

Saw some great sights/scenery on route and had some good roads to ride on. About 2 thirds in to the 1175 I was in need of a break so I just stopped off at the next little village I came across and went to the little shop, had a cold Nescafe out of a tin and a Red Bull type drink, what a pick me up

IMG_0415 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0417 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
Refreshments

During the very early stages of the 1175 I saw a big white budda, had to go check it out, although when I got up there I could not find a way to get to the front to take a pic so had to make do with one from a distance but I got the Temple close up instead.
Even managed to get in a traffic jam of cows and a lone woman trying to keep them in check

IMG_0392 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0386 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0393 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
Went over those mountains in the distance

IMG_0396 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0398 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
The temple where the White Budda was

IMG_0404 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
White Budda in the distance

IMG_0412 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0410 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0419 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

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IMG_0429 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Eventually made I it to Ban Mae la and decide that I had been and seen and it was time to move on, nowt much happening. So I re-joined the 105 and headed for Tha Song Yang. Only a small town but had a 7/11 and some local eateries. Stopped off in one of the eateries and in my best Thai for hotel I was pointed in the direction of the place where I will lay my head tonight, which is the BP Resort, coords N17.24866° E98.21464°. Nice little bungalows, 400 Bht with aircon…because boy I needed it and the bike is parked right outside, sorted

IMG_0432 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_0433 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
The room for the night

Popped back into Tha Song Yang for evening meal and now to plan for tomorrow, a long boring route up to Mae Hong Son where I think I am going to stay of a couple of days and do a ride out.

Up to now I am averaging about 1000 Bht a day, give or take a bit, so about 20 quid, not too bad for fuel, food and bed.
Still got another 13 days or so before I head in to Laos

Wayne

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Loving this ride report. Keep the updates coming

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2014 overland adventure to Russia and Central Asia in Land Rover Defender www.bermudarover.com

That IS the best bit of bitumen road you will get, so you had better enjoy it Wayne
I loved some of the sections that much, I turned around & did them again & wondered why my fuel rate was double what the wife was burning
Watch out on the up hills for those two lane trucks

If you get the time, turn off left at Soppong & head out to Cave Lodge & do the Tham Lod cave tour

ACCOMMODATION-SECLUDED BUNGALOWS OVERLOOKING THE RIVER- 8 KMS FROM SOPPONG

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My memory is becoming that good, I should be able to organise my own surprise party soon