A Magical Temple Ride in Samoeng Tai
Samoeng Tai | Chiang Mai Province | Cool Season | 135KM Loop | 1 Day
A misty morning Ride in Samoeng Tai at the end of Northern Thailand’s Rainy Season, to catch a magical view from a temple viewpoint/
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Contents
The Samoeng Loop Guide
Outbound: Chiang Mai to Samoeng Tai
The ride out. I was on my bike at 6 am, in the hope of catching the sunrise at a nice viewpoint and some low Rainy Season clouds.
Samoeng Forest Viewpoint
My first stop was at the Samoeng Forest viewpoint, to take a quick photo (avoiding disturbing the man who was filming his yoga poses at the lookout )
Opposite the viewpoint, I noticed the Mexican sunflowers were beginning to bloom, which suggests the famous Bua Tong Sunflower Fields at Khun Yuam will likely be in bloom early this year. (𝐵𝑢𝑎 𝑇𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑝 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑠: Camping around Bua Tong and 𝐵𝑢𝑎 𝑇𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑅4009
Samoeng Village
Arriving early at Samoeng Village in Samoeng Thai, I stopped a little while to watch the monks go by. I am forever in awe of these monks who do the rounds early each morning, walking barefoot from place to place.
Once the monks passed I took a right turn and continued along the road to Doi Nok Pagoda, in the hope of catching a spectacular cloudly view.
Doi Nok Pagoda
In Samoeng Tai this temple is easily missed, due to the tiny entranceway.
I rode up the twisty narrow route and once at top, I was rewarded with a fabulous view and a sea of clouds.
I also met some fun ladies who were making merit at the temple.
After visiting the pagoda I headed back towards Samoeng village and out towards Ban Mae Lan. I wanted to see how the road was at this time but had no intention of riding through to Wat Mae Win /Mae Wang, as I knew it would be pretty muddy at this time. Some sections of the route were in great condition but began to deteriorate as the route continued. I turned around and headed back after reading a Covid19 sign. The village did not want outsiders to visit, which is the same for many small villages in the region at this time.
Chiang Mai Secret Temples Guide
As an aside, this temple and many more, are listed in my “Chiang Mai Secret Temples” Guide:
There is also an interesting cave worth visiting in this area:
Tham Luang Mae Sap
Video from a previous ride. This impressive cave is worth a visit.
Samoeng Tai – Covid 19 (No Entry)
During this time, Thailand was just beginning to open back up again after Covid19. I decided to have a little explore to see if the remote villages were also open now again or not, but alas no.
Instead, I went to a nice little river woodland area that I often enjoy some quiet time in.
After my rest, I headed back onto the loop, stopping for an early lunch at The Doi Resort, before riding up to an old abandoned resort that I had visited about 10 years previously. I wanted to know if any more work had been done on it or if it was still left untouched. The area was very overgrown and quite difficult to get to, but once inside I noticed what looked like attempts to do more to the resorts but still pretty much left as it was when I first went to visit it.
Old Abandoned Resort
I rode around a little after visiting the abandoned resort and then took the back way home, avoiding the main highway. All in all a good misty morning ride in Samoeng Tai.
Inbound Back to Chiang Mai
I headed back on myself through Samoeng Tai farming zones. The views were spectacular!
No matter how many times I ride through these regions, I am always overwhelmed by the beauty of it all.
An absolutely fantastic day ride. I headed home happy!
– End of Ride
I hope you enjoyed this Samoeng Tai trip report.
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