To spend your life living in fear, never exploring your dreams, is cruel.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Day 3/4 Mae Hong Son Loop, Thailand



Fortunately, the 180 kms or so to Mae Sariang was certainly not straight. The North to South road was in the foothills of the mountain range, and much fun was to be had on the numerous sweeping turns. It was faster progress than before, with the road fairly open and wide, and in excellent condition: surprising given the extremes of temperature and the almost complete lack of traffic now that the tourists had disappeared.

At about the half-way point is the relatively large town Khun Yuam, which is a good place to stay overnight if need be. I stopped off there to look at the small museum about the retreat of the Japenese through Khun Yam on their way to Burma in WWII. Most of the exhibits were donated by the local residents, but the lack of signage meant that the museum seemed to be more for cataloguing and preservation than for display.

You know that you're off the tourist trail when you don't see any foreigners, internet cafes are hard to come by, and the little Thai kids point at you and scream 'farang'. And so it is with Mae Sariang, which lies just off the main road. I know this because I initially went straight past it. After the necessary U-turn, I checked in the the Garden Resort Hotel, which is not a resort and has no garden. Oh well.

Ride Distance: 190 kms

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