The loop..

  Mae hong son, Thailand
Monday, April 7, 2008

After a couple of days hiding from the heat, the hot season is upon the region in a big way.. temperatures get up to the mid 30 oC and if the clouds cover comes in, the humidity cramps your style big time.. lucky the guesthouse I randomly checked into at gone midnight had a pool on site to take the edge of things..

stephen

Via the wonders of facebook, I caught wind of some fellow Goan travelers heading to the region.  Stephen and Conor.. Discussion were made, and a decision and plan was hatched, the Mae Hong Son loop was to be negotiated with the aid of a couple of 125cc (with baskets - oh yea we're cool) .  Tony's Bigs (not that ours were big bikes - he did offer me a 400cc at first, then declined when I'd mentioned I'd never used a geared Motor-bike before, heh he) helped out a great deal, offered tips on the route, sights to be taken in and places to crash out..

So with a full tank of gas, and sunglasses at the ready we headed out.. then returned after getting on the main road, my bike was pissing petrol.. I'm no mechanic  but that's not a good sign..

clicking the clicker

so we switched the bike and motored off down the 108 to the airport, only then for another fault to show, my head light was on, but Stephen's light was off.. so we headed back (again), and switched his bike for the one I just returned (and now fixed).. so third time lucky we headed out again..

But low and behold, it started pissing petrol again.. not good, so Jeff for Tony's Bikes came out and switched it with another one.. although, we had the troubles, they were really cool helping us out and making sure we eventually got off on our trip..

So, with Stephen humming the theme tune to Easy Rider, our baskets were loaded, and we eventually made it out of Chiang Mai in one piece!

The main loop consists of the 108 road, but as we didn't have the time nor the power to really push it, we opted for a slight short cut through the southern stretch of the journey.  This was ideal really, the roads quieted down and the scenery began to change. 

bucket bike

Amusingly enough, our first break on the way was at a Tesco supermarket.. we odd, just like the one's back home! So much for getting off the beaten track!

More to follow..
Next step Songkhan..
Photos for the 'the loop' on Flickr..