Day 4/4: Mae Hong Son Loop, Thailand

Salty toothpaste. Toothpaste with salt in it. I may not have been keeping up with toothpaste technology, but the tube I bought has added salt. And it tastes salty too. Is this normal? I prefer minty freshness myself. Anyhow, I got up early for once and had brekkie by the river, as I anticipated a long day of riding. It was long, and it was great.

The road to the town of Hot (seriously) back over the mountains must lie in a natural trough as the gradients were nowhere near as severe as on the way out, so progress was fast. My thin fleece was insufficient for the morning chill though, so I took a promising 10 km side road down to Mae Unlong Luang hot spring, which of course got progressively worse and ended up as a dirt track populated by cows. The spring was a small local village-like resort; I decided against a dip and instead shared a hill tribe style cigar with a couple of local villagers.

Back on the road to Hot I went, but I never made it to the oddly named town. I was feeling adventurous so I planned a longer detour inside the main loop and back into the mountains on smaller roads; North to Mae Chaem and then East to Chom Thong, bypassing Hot. After lunch and much needed fuel at Mae Chaem, I had only one aim - to attempt to take my little bike to 2565.33 meters above sea-level, the highest point in Thailand.

The first half of the narrow road from Mae Chaem to Chom Thong climbs. And then it climbs some more. And after about 20 kms of steep climbing and when a cold chill hits the air, you reach the turn-off for the wide, well maintained, but very steep road to Doi Inthanon, the highest point in the country. The road is well maintained as it takes the traffic of tourists coming from Chiang Mai via Chom Thong. I couldn't resist taking it - another 10 kms of steep climbing, some of which had to be made slowly in first gear. But amazingly, with the help of the Dream, I made it.



The summit of Doi Inthanon has the usual souvenier stuff and some kind of astronomical station that is closed to the public. The better views are to be had a bit further down, but with the mist today they weren't in their full glory. There were one or two Western tourists, but the main visitors were local Thais. With the peak achieved, I rode back on the crazy descent to the warmer climate of Chom Thong. From there it was another 90 kms or so on the fast motorway, completing the loop back at Chiang Mai just before the bike hire shop closed for the night.

The Mae Hong Son Loop a well-known route for motorcyclists. Which isn't surprising, as it's incredible on any bike. Nearly 700 kms, about 600 of which are gorgeous twisting scenic roads. The towns are great from a tourist's perspective, and the roads are great from a motorcycling perspective. The opportunities for detours inside the loop are numerous. I did the loop in four days, riding only in the mornings for all but the last. So you can easily do it in three, but with relaxing towns to visit, fried insects to eat, and hill tribe villagers to smoke with: why would you?

Riding Distance: 300 kms
Total Distance: 140 + 120 + 190 + 300 = 750 kms