Fantastic 600km One Day Loop in Sizzling Thailand Heat
Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai Province | Hot Season | 600 KM Ride | 1 Day
Riding a one day loop in over forty-degrees c, during Thailand’s notorious burning season is an exercise in survival. The heat hits you like an open oven, and the mountain air hangs heavy with the sharp sting of agricultural smoke, yet still, it was a fantastic ride!
My annual Thailand visa was almost expired so I needed to make a border crossing. I had planned to ride south to Mae Sot, which would take longer than the northern border of Mae Sai. However, a stomach ache kept me up the entire night beforehand, so combined with temperatures reaching around 40 degrees centigrade, I decided to change the route on the morning of my ride.
Click to Close
Contents
A Taste of Japan & the Glorious Thai/Burma Border
Ducati Desert Sled – Unexpected Trail Ride
Outbound: Chiang Mai to Mae Sai
The ride out. I set off on this one day loop ride extremely early (around 4:30 am). As I hadn’t slept during the night due to feeling unwell, I figured I might as well try to beat the heat and traffic by riding early, even if it required me to ride initially a bit slow due to the darkness. There was no point wallowing in self-pity over the stomach ache and riding would shift the focus of my sore stomach onto the road instead. The ride out was dark but peaceful. I realise many people do not recommend riding in the dark and with good reason. But in truth, I love this sort of dead time between the night owls and the early risers.
Abandoned “Angkor“
It began to get light at about 5:30/5:45 am, and by then I was at Mae Kachan where I stopped to visit the fantastic “Angkor What?” abandoned luxury spa building.
The abandoned spa building near Mae Kachan Hot Springs is a notable structure designed to replicate a Khmer Angkorian temple. Despite its architectural significance, detailed information about its history, including the reasons for its abandonment, is scarce. Visitors often find the building intriguing and often take a walk around the premises.
More info on this building is included in this list of abandoned buildings, HERE.
After a quick walkabout inside the building, I headed straight up R118 towards the Myanmar Border.
Coffee Stop: Aman Cafe’
I began to crave a coffee, so I stopped in at Aman Coffee, a nice little cafe close to the border town of Mae Sai. It was around 8:30 am, giving me ample time to cross over into Myanmar to have my passport stamped and enjoy a nice ride back to Chiang Mai.
Thai/Myanmar Border
At the border town of Mae Sai, I parked up and walked to the border point to exit Thailand and enter Myanmar. The process went quickly due to the early hour, giving me time for a quick stop at the Duty-Free shop on the Myanmar side.
Considering the current temperatures, a box of chocolates was the least sensible thing to have bought from the Duty-Free. But c’mon! Who can resist a box of chocolates?
I got my visa/passport stamped on the Thai side, then ate food at one of the restaurants within the local market. Whilst eating, I could feel the temperature rising, despite it being only around 10:30 am. I knew it was going to be a long hot ride back to Chiang Mai on my chosen routes, but I knew I could handle it.
Inbound: Mae Sai to Chiang Mai
I finished my meal, got on my bike, and headed out through the market zone and onto the fabulous R1149 border road between Thailand and Myanmar.to continue the one day loop ride.
The temperatures were already rising despite it being only around 10:30am. I knew it was going to be a hot long ride back home..the long way back. I got on my bike and headed through the market zone and onto the fab R1149 border road between Thailand and Myanmar.
The R1149 Border Route
Soon I was riding on the glorious R1149 border route.
At the Army checkpoint, I was lucky to get a nice photo with one of the soldiers.
This road along the border between the two checkpoints is fantastic, with its sections of tight twists and blind corners that get the heart racing. Often, there is no telling what may be around the narrow blind corners, such as a vehicle coming the opposite way (at speed). There is also very little wiggle room and significant drop-offs on the sides of the road.
The R1149 Border Route
After the second Army checkpoint exit area, I stopped at Chang Moob Military Outpost for a coffee made by one of the Army soldiers, and a view over Myanmar.
A Silly Moment…
Despite telling myself to fill up my bike before leaving Mae Sai, (because I knew the chances of finding fuel once I hit the r1149 were slim), I forgot. I realised this when I was well into the border route ride and my fuel light began flashing. I decided the best thing to do was to switch off my engine whenever there was a decline and roll down to conserve fuel.
Thankfully, I eventually found a small vendor selling 95 gasohol in glass bottles, which saved the day.
Doi Tung
The Doi Tung mountain road was glorious as always and I stopped in at the Doi Tung Coffee shop to have a Macadamia Nut Doi Tung Coffee and Cheesecake, on Doi Tung Mountain.
I relaxed at the coffee shop until noon, then set off for my next destination; Doi Mae Salong.
Doi Mae Salong
I continued along the R1378 then cut to Doi Mae Salong and by the time I reached the town, I was beginning to feel the effects of having not slept well the night before, but it came in waves.
I took a small rest to ponder if I should keep riding or stop for a bit, but adrenaline kicked in and I was happy to get going. I later also realised that I had a hitchhiker for the company.
Despite these precautions, I later realised I was overheating, so I searched for a cool river to soak in.
The Kindness of Strangers
After my soak, I bumped into a couple of locals preparing something to eat. They had collected fresh herbs and plants from around the area and were preparing to cook them with some fish they had caught in their homemade traps. It dawned on me that I may have disturbed some of their traps without realising when I went to soak.
They very kindly offered me to eat with them. I thanked them and declined, due to time constraints.
Mae Ai Monuments
Back on the road I headed towards Fang, stopping to visit the fantastic Mae Ai statues. No matter how often I see these statues, I am always impressed.
Hom Pan Din Vineyard
Just south of Thaton, I stopped at Hom Pan Din Vineyard for a cold drink and a snack, before continuing to Chiang Dao.
En route back I spotted a fire raging indicating an early start to Northern Thailand’s, “Burning Season“.
“Burning Season”
If you want to know more about the haze and why these fires happen, you can read about it HERE
By the time I reached Chiang Dao, the sun was beginning to set (approximately 5:45 pm).
I took a couple of photos of the beautiful and distinctive Chiang Dao mountain before fueling up for the last time and high-tailing it back to Chiang Mai City.
Arrived Chiang Mai
I arrived home just over an hour later, having ridden in the dark. Tired but happy, and in much need of a shower!
A great day of riding! I hope you enjoyed this one day loop trip report.
– End of Ride
I hope you enjoyed this sizzling hot trip report.
Leave a comment!
I have read so many articles concerning the blogger lovers however this post is truly a nice post, keep it up.|
Hi there. I am so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading! Hope you will find some of my other posts interesting too. 😀
Awesome ride and reportage, have you considered using the Rever App? It’s a fantastic ride planning and tracking App, and would make following in your footsteps a lot easier for your many followers..
https://rever.co/
Hello Zed, this is a fantastic trip – and you are amazing going in this heat in 1 day …….. I know the road to Doi Tung with the steep curves and my 125ccm scooter did it well 🙂 I will go again, because I love the mountains there.
And how you are interacting with the local people is so great ! This is why they love you too …… even the cautious military men 🙂