Motorbike Mayhem

GO TO THAILAND NOW!!

As a reminder this post is only a weeks worth of travel. 

 The night train was….. an experience I took one once before in Russia but this one was a class 2 which means it was a sleeper train but there were 40 other passengers sleeping top and bottom. The lights were on all night, then the train stopped about every hour to pick up or drop off passengers. It cost about $40 for the both of us and took 12hrs so we saved on not getting a hostel and also got transport to Chiang Mai. Nicolette said she was freezing, I was deathly hot. Must have been top vs bottom. It was worth it. 

Toilet on the train, drops right onto the tracks.

We got into Chiang Mai at 9am went directly to hostel and luckily got to check in, so we got organized and made a tentative plan for the day which Joe the hostel owner assisted with. We went to Wat Chiang Man a temple within the city center. We are getting a bit numb to the temples but this one still had its own unique characteristics including the Elephants at the base of the Chedi. 

We then stopped by the Three Kings Monument which is a sculpture of Kings Mengrai, Ramkamhaeng, Ngam Muang, the founding fathers of a Chiang Mai. This was a very brief stop, may not have even stopped. 

From there we made our way to Wat Phra Singh which had lots of Gold.

We had to use the restroom but we couldn’t wear our shoes into the bathroom so we had to borrow some slippers that were provided at the door. 

We had plans on going to only 2 more temple but accidentally turned down the wrong street and went to Wat Phantao, this was good find as it was the first one that was built out of wood and was built in the 1400s.

 

Around the corner where we meant to go was Wat Chedi Luang which is another historic falling apart temple. It was falling apart on some sides more then others, my assumption being the weather blowing from that direction. Whatever it was, it made for a very cool dwindling building.

In that same vicinity was also the first Chinese Buddha we have seen which is vastly different then the Thai one strictly by the “happy” obese size of the Buddha. 

We were told that there are over 120 temples in the greater Chiang Mai area and over 40 in the city square. With one more to see this one was built by local metal workers. One family hand built the entire thing out of pure silver. Girls had to wear skirts to enter the facility but Only men were allowed to enter the temple which really irked Nicolette so I ran in quickly. It was very cool to see the details and a new take on the classic temples. We had already seen more then planned so we went back to the hostel.

Nicolette has been wanting and talking about doing a cooking class so that afternoon we signed up and jumped in a bus to take us to the local market. At the market they showed some of the fresh ingredients and what to buy and look for. From there, they took us to the farm and building where they grow some of the ingredients and let us partake in the cooking tasks. There was a group of 11 of us, with individuals from Germany, Nicaragua, France, Netherlands, and us from America. It was great socializing and learning all the different backgrounds of these individuals. We made a 4 course meal, springs rolls, a curry, a soup, and a fried dish. Nicolette made panang curry, hot and spicy soup, and Pad Thai, while I made Kao soy, chicken and coconut milk soup, chicken and holy basil. Nicolette and I shared and we had to be rolled out of the building once we were done since we were so full. The food was amazing and the company was even better. The class took about 5 hours so we didn’t get home until about 9pm so we called it an early night. 

The next morning I got up a bit earlier then Nic and walked to the scooter rental shop, we rented the scooter for 3 days which cost $18. I went back picked her up and headed towards Doi Inthanon. Doi Inthanon is the highest peak in Thailand at 2565m (7833ft), because we don’t have cell service we got lost on our way for only about 45min before tracking to the correct  road and didn’t have another hiccup. On the way we stopped by Wachirathan waterfall.  It took about 2 hours to get to the top where the clouds and rain came down so we didn’t get a good view and didn’t hang out to long once there. Still a good experience, and you know what they say, “it’s not always about the destination but the journey”

From there we took an alternate route home for a different view which led us through some small villages and even smaller windier roads that were exactly what we had hoped for. We even found the biggest Buddha yet which seemed to be under construction. We also saw a few elephants along the way, and finally caught our first meal of the day at 330pm. 

Because we want to maximize our day and our hostel host said we couldn’t do it ALL in one day we ran up Doi Suthep for a great view point of Chiang Mai. The road was extremely busy with lots of cyclists and other road users due to the cool temps and after work workouts. That day we put on approx 180miles on a 125cc moped. 

That night we caught dinner with Dan (who we had met at our hostel in bangkok) and then went out to a jazz club and a little dancing. 

We stayed out late so we slept in a bit and checked out of our hostel, we packed enough clothes into smaller bags for 2 nights so it was more manageable on our moped for the ride from Chiang Mai to Pai. Our hostel held our large bags for the 2 days until we returned. This motorcycle loop (Mae Hong son loop) is extremely famous for tourists especially motorcyclists through out the world and we were going to do a portion of it on our moped. It is approx 75miles and supposed to take about 3 hours due to all the twists and turns and elevation gain. We stopped at Mok Fa waterfall, then stopped for lunch on the side of the road. That also had a few motorcycles getting worked on. 

From there we saw a sign for a hot springs so we dove off the main road and went to Pong Dueat Hot Springs, it had a cool nature path as well as a full hot springs sanctuary that seemed to be fairly new and was empty (assuming due to Covid). There were so many pools and buildings that couldn’t have been more Then 5 years old just empty and deserted. It was a shame that this gorgeous place has went to shambles. 

From there we really started to climb

Into the mountains and came across the Kong Gnam Viewpoint which shortly turned into a downpour and a hour wait under a lean-to.

We finally got into our hostel around 6pm, which meant our trip took almost 7 hours. Our hostel was a bungalow type hut that didn’t have any A/c and was open to the elements so we had to sleep under a mosquito net. We walked downtown where we found Nicolette a glass of wine (much needed after a full day of being in the saddle) and a little street food. We are becoming addicted to Kao soy which is a north Thailand style noodle dish that is extremely savory and delicious. 

With the saddle sores bandaged up (jk we didn’t have saddle sores) we were up early and headed to the white big buddha on the hill we could see from our hostel window. Again Nicolette didn’t wear pants so we had to rent for 50cents a skirt for her. A great view of the town and surrounding mountains.

We had big plans for the day so we had to hustle from buddha across the valley to a “well known” waterfall called Namtok Mo Paeng. The road started as a 2 lane highway that squeezed down to a two track cobblestone road and a dirt parking lot. After a start that looked somewhat promising Nic saw a spider the size of her face so we turned around and found an alternate path to the falls. We quickly saw the crumbling path that hasn’t been touched in years. So bad that I wrote a letter to OSHA… the water was very low but still led to a cool waterfall. 

From the spider infested waterfall we went to a lookout point called Yun Lai Viewpoint. It had an extremely narrow steep road and another great view and even a Koi pond on the top! 

Another waterfall on the plan was Pam Bok it cost 200baht/person which we were a little hesitant about after seeing the last few but decided we drove this far we may as well. The hike was short and sweet but was much larger then the previous waterfalls. (It’s technically their rainy season, but it hasnt rained much so all water is running low) We we’re the only ones up there so we took our time and enjoyed the moments. 

“Just up the road” was a bamboo bridge and another viewpoint. The bamboo bridge was very sketchy and made tons of noise while walking in it. All I could think about was how bad it was going to hurt if I broke through. And then up to the Viewpoint. It took us like 30min up a 5ft wide extremely steep and curvy road(very fun on the moped) just to get almost to the top and the road was closed. So we turned around and enjoyed the rollercoaster of a ride on the way down. 

The bamboo scared us so we need to wash out our shorts, and stopped at a local hot springs called Sai Ngam. It was extremely peaceful and there were minimal people so we took a serious chiller for like 30min, it was even included in our waterfall pass that we got earlier in the day, so practically free. From one therapeutic session to the next Nic had her heart set on a massage. Back in Pai we found one for $6/person for an hour. Although it may sound like a deal Nic said she would rather go to Massage Envy and get a better smoother massage. 

Since we didn’t do enough yet that day we went back changed and headed towards Pai Canyon for sunset. Because we are always ahead of schedule we had time to stop and have a drink and catch a view of the mountains. Pai Canyon was picturesque and extremely busy, there were tons of foreigners which made it much less genuine, but we were there so we couldn’t get too bothered. Seeing rain coming towards us we cut the sunset short and tried to rush home but got caught in the storm again, and pulled over with a few others. 

Last night in Pai so we did a street food tour, and got overly stuffed for just $5. 

We had to be back in Chiang Mai the next morning for a bus ride to Chiang Rai so we left at 7am for the 3hour ride back. It was just as pretty as the way in but much faster as we didn’t stop. Except for Nicolette to get coffee. Oh and we also rode through a parade celebrating a monk???

The 4 hour bus ride was uneventful except that it poured rain almost the entire time. With no WiFi we read books and talked about the adventures ahead. I think Nic watched “How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days”. We arrived late into Chiang Rai so we found dinner at another Hot Pot Spot and no one spoke English so we did the old point and shoot method on the menu. It was decent, and we were happy we were close to the hostel, (our nicest one yet). We had plans on getting on a free trolley tour in the morning that had to have a minimum of 6 people, because no one else showed up I convinced them to just take nicolette and I. It was a nice change of pace not walking all over town but also getting some of the History of each of the monuments. We stopped and saw the Chariot Stall where they carry Buddha around to the different areas of the city so he can be praised. Then to a temple that had the replica of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok(Chaing Rai was the original holder of the Emerald Buddha, which was cut out of a pure jade stone). We stopped at Overbrook hospital that was started by an American Christian in 1903. They had tons of old equipment and stories which Nicolette thoroughly enjoyed. We swung through an Army house museum that was used by the leading General during WWII and they even had a USA bomb that was dropped in the area from that era. A bit eerie. They also had a room designated to the efforts of rescuing the boys that got trapped in the tunnel in 2017. Which is not far from here. (If you have not wathed the movie THE RESCUE, it’s a documentary showcasing how they got the kids out, it is incredible) It took about 2 hours, which was plenty so we found lunch and made our next plans. 

Not wanting to skip a beat we rented a moped and took off south to the most coveted Temple in Chiang Rai, Wat Rong Khun, it was the most unique and intricate temple we have seen yet and was extremely eye catching by its stark white color. On the same grounds was the Golden Toilet, which is a golden building that is a bathroom. Another tourist trap. 

We overheard a mumblings of a blue temple so we went to find that one, Wat Rong Suea Ten. It was by far the brightest one we have came across.

Needing some exercise we went to Pong Phra Bat waterfall. It was a short hike, but also was our first injury of the trip. There was a sketchy bamboo crossing and Nicolette turned around to make note of it when she slipped on a mossy rock and fell down. A slight scrape on the leg and a cut on the palm, we will take those minor injuries compared to the larger ones that are always lingering. We got to what we suspected to be the end, but there was minimal “falls” so we hiked a bit further, and decided we had hit the end and had to note this as more a trickle then a falls. 

It being Saturday they have a large market street every weekend starting at 4pm, similar to Summer Nights in Rapid or any other city that shuts their Main Street down to have live music food, and beer. I’m not joking this street they shut down was over a mile long and had  1000 vendors, selling hats, shoes, belts, bugs, squid, smoothies, marijuana, you name it they had it. It was insane, and we made our way through the entire thing in like 2 hours, got some good food and also saw some very disgusting foods as well. 

We wanted to see the Clocktower and it’s light show that was on the hour, so we stood and watched for a bit before not being overly exciting and went to a rooftop where we caught up with Dan again. He hadn’t eaten so we walked back through the Market found a few more nibblers then Nicolette went dancing with the locals and showed them some American flare! 

Dan loves to keep us out late, but we have self control, so we said we had to get to bed for our long haul starting early in the morning. 

Up and on the hog we went north to the Golden triangle, where Myanmar(Burma), Laos, and Thailand intersect with 2 rivers. It is called the golden triangle due to the rivers making a triangle, as well as the Gold and opium trade that came through the region for thousands of years. There was also a opium museum there that we walked through to learn a bit more about the trade and it’s importance to the region. 

We found a small twisty road that brought us to Pha Mi Village a small town tucked away in the mountains, not sure how the original inhabitants made it here, then to Tham Luang Cave where the boys got trapped in the cave in 2017 (The Rescue Documentary, a MUST WATCH). It was closed for the season due to Wet season. It was around this time of year when the boys first went missing in 2017. 

With a strict plan to stay off the main roads and a bit discouraged about the cave we found another called Wat Tham Pla, which was a temple and 2 caves. We were excited when we showed up as it was at the base of a cliff and looked extremely intriguing. We did notice many monkeys when walking in and a few signs that were only in Thai so we didn’t pay much attention to them, until one of the monkeys chased and grabbed Nicolette’s leg, but I yelled NO at the monkey and it let her go and didn’t bother us again. Didn’t know the monkeys were multilingual here….. with a bit of fear still present, we noticed all the other visitors had sticks so we scrounged up a few sticks to continued looking around. But we were never comfortable and the cave entrances were blockaded by monkeys and fear eating at us we decided we better just head out. It would have been awesome to see this area but the monkeys were aggressive so better safe then monkey pox and we headed out. 

Later we translated the sign, rule 7: get stick for protection. we couldn’t get it translated without WiFi 

Mentally unstable from the monkey encounter we continued winding our way through the mountains enjoying the breeze through our helmets and stopped to take “5” when a scene took our breath away. We tried to get to 2 more waterfalls that were closed, a hot springs that was completely dilapidated, and finally ended at a Tea Plantation. It was extremely expansive but what we were expecting was a tour showcasing the property and to learn about the tea they grow. However all it was was a gorgeous view and a cafe to buy desert or, you guessed it, tea. We didn’t stay long but again took a quick 5. We pointed the hog for home as we put on about 130 miles that day. 

We got back to the hostel and asked the receptionist where we could watch the sunset, they pointed us in the direction of Wat Phrathat Doi Khao Kwai. Another temple, we know, but it was situated on the top of a hill that over looked the city and was covered in gorgeous oil slick coloring that shimmered against the dying sun. It was perfect. To cap off the night we went to an Indian restaurant and had all of our favorites. Nicolette even had a few glasses of wine to help get over the monkey incident. 

With only a few hours available the next morning we jumped on the moped and went to a large buddha (Wat Huay Pla Kang) we spotted the previous night from the temple. This ended up being the largest buddha we have seen yet, and even better we got to take an elevator up into its head. Once up there we got to look out its eyes upon the landscape. Inside the head was full of sculptures and designs that kept our eyes moving. I’ll tell you, that buddha had a good view to look out at every day. There was also a temple and pagoda that we went in briefly. We had to take our shoes off for the excursion to keep the buddha clean inside. 

We had to pack up, return the scooter, and catch a Tuktuk to the airport so we could fly to Bangkok for the night before flying to Hanoi Vietnam, for the next portion of our trip. Our Only solidified future plans is 2 nights in Hanoi… 

A couple take aways from Thailand: 

KFC is the most established American restaurant chain. Then McDonald’s and Burger King and a few Pizza Hut, Dominos and Taco Bell’s (eat local) 

7/11  is on every corner. It owns the convenience store market and the only rival is mom and pop shops. (Buy local)

Mopeds always have the right away, or atleast that’s what it seems like.  Rules are, there are no rules.

Thailand is in year 2565 due to the time starting when Buddha had Parinirvana or nirvana-after-death. 

People are extremely nice, but have minimal English, but shame on us for not learning more Thai while here

Food is AMAZING, the flavors are unmatched anywhere. Try, taste, experience your taste buds. 

Temples are beautiful and vastly different pending where you are, and there are 1000’s of them. 

They still have a full mask mandate that started in March 2020, this includes outdoors. We have seen minimal People not wearing masks, most notably outdoors with the heat and humidity 

It is very cheap and and people are trusting. For example, renting a motorbike just leave a $60 deposit for 3 days. Our typical daily meal totals $15 for all 3 meals. 

New ford rangers are the most prominent vehicles on the road. They are the most popular and have the highest ratio of all vehicles 

Literally anything in some form or fashion can be strapped, hooked, or attached to a moped/motorbike 

Lots of toilets, gas station ones being some of the nicest and cleanest. 

Their economy was crushed by Covid, support the locals not the corporates. 

If you haven’t booked a trip here yet, time is running out.