Doi Inthanon -- the highest point of Thailand

This section of the trip was the highlight in many ways; visiting the highest point in Thailand was just one of them ...

From Khun Yuam, now riding eastward after a great night's rest at Baan Farang, we were on the 'return' leg of the Mae Hong Son loop toward Chiang Mai. Up the hills we rode, marvelling at valleys that stretched seemingly forever. Sunlight catching a cute pastel church (yes, a church, not a temple) momentarily distracted me as I rode over a beautiful weir at Kum Sak.

Then there was Ban Gae where we stoped for tea amid the rich-brown-soiled fields. Despite the early hour, the farm workers were on an intense 'rehydration' program at the local coffee shop, giggling like teenaged schoolgirls. Hill tribe kids -- looking more Tibetan or Mongolian -- made their way to school. We enjoyed BBQ chicken skewers, fresh off the flames, for 10 baht a pop. Yummy but bony and crunch. I think they'd left the beak in there.

While enjoying our tea, the farmhands grew increasingly friendly and inquisitive. Who were we? Where were we from? Come, drink with us. No thanks - we've got some miles to cover yet. Besides, beer doesn't taste so good with corn flakes! Before we left, one of the guys had fallen off his stool twice. We left amid spirited calls of Chok Dee (good luck). It was going to be a long but profitable day for the inn-keeper at Ban Gae.

The prettiness of the traditional wooden villages of Mae Na Jon and Ban Hai Boing, nestled on the river, will remain in my memory for a long time. But moreso for Phil, another Aussie, who had to stop at the latter to change his tyre. The road along this section was more potholed than swiss cheese. Jing jing! Vans took lettuce and vegetables to market.



Have I mentioned the min-blowing combination of windy roads, the rice paddies and steep valleys yet? No. Well I'll mention them one more time then. You've gotta enjoy the windy roads, the rice paddies and steep valleys here, full of corn fields, bananas and gaudy temples.
Mae Chan was a surprise package with its ATMs, hospital, massive petrol station forecourt, and -- well it wouldn't be Thailand without it -- a 7-11.  We enjoyed a filling lunch of pork noodles.

Then it was up, up, up ... er, up, up, up ... and up, up, up some more in clouds, rain and dwindling visibility to Doi Inthanon, the highest point in Thailand at 2565 metres. (In the next day or so we would be getting to the northernmost point in Thailand, so make sure you check back for that blog.)

But first we had to survive this ordeal. We inched along in driving rain, visor fogging, icy water trickling down the inside of my wet weather gear. Gee, I love motorcycling somedays -- NOT!

So that was Doi Inthanon. We saw nothing. Just rivulets of rain on my visor. We were thankful to get off the mountain, and down too the highway 1009, which left us a straightforward 60 kilometre blam up the highway back through Chiang Mai.

Next stop, the mysterious and enigmatic The Golden Triangle ...

Khun Yuam -- A Memorial to the Spirit of the Japanese

So why is there a Japanese memorial here? Good question ...

Most of you would be familiar with Hellfire Pass and the Thai-Burma Death Railway, but may not know that the Japanese were active in many other parts of Thailand in World War Two (for instance there's a Japanese military cemetary just south of Chiang Mai too).

But Khun Yuam was a major transit route for the Japanese soldiers to reach Burma. They 'hired' locals to build railways and roads in this area to assist their effort. The conditions were apparently appalling, as evidenced by video footage which is played sympathetically in this small but perfectly formed memorial.

Why the sympathetic treatment? Well, after the Japanese went storming up into Burma and got their bottoms kicked, they used the roads and railways to retreat (or 'advance to the rear' in their parlance). Which brought them back through Khun Yuam. And 8000 Japanese died in this area from wounds, disease, etc. Eight thousand, jing jing! That's a lot for a non-combat zone (Thailand was ostensibly neutral in the war, although they had a sweetheart arrangement with the Thai goverment.)

So a memorial was erected to their spirit and/or spirits.

The museum itself is well curated given its size and location. But if you love checking out uniforms, helmets, guns, old motorbikes, and other wartime memorabilia, it is a half day well spent.

The Japanese who died here might have disagreed.

Khun Yuam -- A Long March from Tokyo!

Pushing further on this bikescapade from Mae Hong Son, the next day is a bite-sized chunk of a few hundred kilometres of winding mountain roads (wooooohoooooooooooooo!!!) to Khun Yuam, the site of a Japanese military memorial which has always intrigued me.

Just seven kilometres south of MHS we stop at a breathtaking lookout, where a friendly chappy is stoking a fire on which a blackened kettle rests. We sit, rugged up against the cold (combination of altitude and inclement weather) and enjoy a big mug of coffee, a cup of tea, and a banana all for 30 baht -- that's ONE Aussie dollar!

I could've spent hours here, enjoying the solitude of this glorious spot, but it's back in the saddle, through the brilliant wide sweeps of this mountain pass. The quality of roads is continually surprising me. We bank left and right, left and right for hours until we ramble into Khun Yuam, and check into the Farang Hotel (talk about market segmentation!)

For 600 baht single (700 baht double) you get a room with nice warm shower, set on a hillside in the bush, with frogs and birds providing a natural chorus.  Oh, brekky's included in the price, too.
A friend of mine, Reid, who runs motorcycle tours made this observation about motorcycle touring in Thailand: 'It's the best place in the world to ride, because apart from the great scenery and attractions, you can have a really cheap bum massage at the end of every day and it costs you nothing.'

Well, not exactly nothing, but for 200 baht, nearly nothing. Jing jing!

After a great massage and siesta, we venture out into the big smoke. Nightlife consisted pretty much of one dingy karaoke place and an internet cafe. But next door to it was a perfectly fine noodle place where we enjoyed fried omelette, mixed veggies and stir-fried chicken and basil all for 50 baht (including a bottle of water!) They must have seen us coming.

Dinner was enlivened by a young guy from Malmo, Sweden whom I'll call Sven. He'd been fired from his job and was travelling through Asia for four months (as you do). He was planning to go to Pai then someone suggested he do the Mae Hong Son loop ... on a scooter! Not only had he blown his daily budget on renting a scooter (no more than 200 baht per day, maximum) but it'd taken him several days to make it this far. He was dead dog tired, and drunk on half a beer, and went home to collapse at 8pm.

Don't laugh, I was asleep by nine! The concentration of riding mountain roads really takes it out of you. I will go and look at that Japanese Memorial tomorrow ...