Day 2/4: Mae Hong Son Loop, Thailand

My little bike is old; 50000 kms on the clock and unlike the modern versions it has no electric starter. I've decided that kick starters and me don't mix. Even ones designed for use by Thai schoolgirls. My ability with a kick start is far less than a Thai schoolgirl, but I eventually got going towards Mae Hong Son City, the remote provincial capital.

The 110 kilometre trip from Pai to Mae Hong Son City is wonderful. It's like doing a stage of the Tour De France with an engine. Two big climbs and descents across a couple of mountain ridges and the stunning scenery are the highlights. The Honda Dream just about managed to chug up the steep gradients. It is twisty, but not quite as twisty as the road to Pai, with more sweepers and less hairpins. And the best thing is that the tourists tend to stop at Pai, so the marauding minibuses of yesterday are no longer an issue. At the top of one of the ascents was a tour group of sensibly geared up riders on their dual-sports, and a New Zealand rider with a nearly new fuel injected Honda Wave 125cc with a front disk brake. I was jealous.

Top tip: if you see a temporary road sign in the Thai language, assume roadworks are ahead and slow right down. I didn't, and hit some large bumps at a speed that made my backside lift of the seat several times. But I stayed upright and no damage to the Dream, so all was well. A fairly uneventful ride otherwise, just the usual Thai stuff: dogs on the road, bundles of hay scattered across a sharp bend, crazy overtaking drivers etc.

I checked into the inaptly named Panorama Hotel at lunch and had a wander around. Mae Hong Son City is actually quite pretty away from the main road, with a picturesque lake (pictured above) to the East. Just to prove how remote it is, it has ... wait for it ... only one 7Eleven! Amazing. This area is close to the Burmese border, and so the inhabitants are mainly Shan. Mae Hong Son City is like a Burmese town but without the widespread poverty.

I met up agian with the New Zealand rider and went to visit a local Thai fair, which lasts for 10 days as a celebration of something or other. We watched some Thai boxing, shot some pellets, threw balls at cans, but ultimately failed to win a large cuddly toy. Against better judgement, we then ate some fried insects washed down with beer. The large crickets were the worst, but they all tasted basically the same to my palette: they were all disgusting.

Tomorrow I'll head well off the tourist trail, South to Mae Sariang. The road appears to run along the plains to the West of the mountain range (Tanen Taunggyi) that I traversed today, so it should be faster riding. We shall see.

Ride Distance: 120 kms