Chiang Mai Tour - Mae Sai Loop Part 3

The Chiang Mai to Mae Sai Loop

Part 3 - Return to Chiang Mai

The final stage of the journey took us back via the highway 1 south to Chiang Rai then the highway 118 to Chiang Mai, completing the loop.

We soon realised that riding south in the early morning hours wasn't that wise a choice. At first the mist and fog wasn't too thick, but as soon as we reached Mae Sai outskirts the stuff was everywhere.

No big deal though as it gave us time to get food from a bleak looking restaurant until it had cleared...

The highway 1 can be a depressingly straight road at the best of times but we soon reached Chiang Rai.

We weren't planning on any social visits though and had time only to get a few shots off in the main square.

The temperature display is a nice touch...

It is not only Chiang Mai that has intact city walls...

The unending straightness of Highway 1 came to a halt some time after passing out of Chiang Rai. The turn-off is at these traffic lights.

Onto the highway 118! At first it is pretty ordinary roads and surroundings though...

After here the roads become twisty and the turns can be sharp. It's not like highway 107 for danger but it still has some challenges. Stay Sharp!

An alternate route to Fang is here if you hang a right...

The roads are back to the flatland style of gradual turns and straights now.

A good place to stop and rest is in Wiang Pa Pao.

About ten kilometers out of Wiang Pa Pao the roads are heavily under construction with road-works everywhere.

There was little time or space to pull over and provide pictures for you folks either.

But it was no sweat as we just took them on the move instead!

After 8 kilometers or so the roadworks ended and it was back to normal roads again.

After this photo was taken the road straightened out for Doi Saket and then it was onto Chiang Mai!

Hope you enjoyed the trip!

Source: On The Road Thailand

Chiang Mai Tour - Mae Sai Loop Part 2

The Chiang Mai to Mae Sai Loop

Part 2 - Arrival in Mae Sai

The border crossing is always busy with Thais, Burmese and Farang all going to and fro. Amazingly, we were the only foreigners who had made the trip on bikes! All the others had wussed out and taken a minibus or gone in the car! Are there any other bikers left who make journey's like this in Thailand, or have they traded them in for a place on the village farm?

Despite the immigration control center resembling a tower fortress the staff inside and out are very friendly. Compared with our travels down south this came as a welcome relief after the long journey.

The border crossing ritual works like this - you enter via the left-hand tower to get stamped out of Thailand. Once this is done you can enter Burma.

A sign of the old Thailand is evident even before you cross the border. The old tricycle samlors still ply their trade here...

Once you pass the 'out' sign you have to cross the road (mind the samlors and tuk tuks!) to get stamped into Burma. The Burmese military guys (they also tend to be friendly) will charge you a $10 fee (they can exchange Thai baht for you) and will ask you if you are going to do any shopping.
If you say 'Yes' they will keep you passport and give you a piece of fancy card in its place to use as a permit. This permit is valid only for one day and covers the Burmese town only, so don't get any wild ideas about mooching away from the border town to explore! If you do that you'll land yourself in the shit.
If you say 'No' they'll stamp in and then stamp you out of Burma there and then. Off you go back to the Thai side of Mae Sai...

Being the roving traveller types that we are we said 'Yes' and took in the sights of this bustling settlement.

The first thing one of us saw was the Burmese girls tend to be very cute here. The attitude and mentality of them makes it easy to imagine what Thailand was like years and years ago.

As soon as you reach some stairs on your right (just down from the border crossing) and go down them you'll be assailed and hassled by some Burmese touts. They are not really aggressive though compared with Ranongs Victoria Point Crossing point. They sell various contraband like cigarettes, viagra and whisky. I bought some Molboro Lights which seemed genuine and a bargain at 300 baht for a 200 carton. Feeling pretty lofty and cheery we all had a good mooch around the place.

The prices overall are not too bad, the Thai people tend to shop here as well which may have something to do with it though.

It's good to take candid photo's like this, nobody is acting up for the camera and it is what it is. One unusual character right in the distance (central area, below the letter 'O' of the watermark) seemed to be staring daggers at me though. I guess I have that effect on certain people.

Quieter streets with a few skulking Burmese wondering what the white farang is up to...

The roads are desolate and extremely quiet compared with Thailands here.

The sign reads 'City of the Golden Triangle', I've seen a few places lay claim to that accolade though.

No matter what even the most jaded and cynical expat may say about Burma, things are beginning to pick up. Years ago I crossed into Burma and the place was decades behind Thailand. Now the gap is a lot closer than before. I think in about five or ten more years we might see big changes here.

As we left the Samlor man passed us again. I think it may be a while before he's superceeded though...

It was then back to the border crossing to pick up our passports and return to Thailand. A word of warning here. You are (currently) only permitted to bring back 200 cigarettes and they have an airport-grade baggage scanner (no body searches though) and every back-pack and bag gets scanned. This aside the process is as hassle free as coming in (except for filling in the immigration forms).

It was nearly 3 PM and a unanamous decision to stay overnight in Mae Sai was reached. Having ridden over 200 kilometers it seemed silly to just ride back again so soon. Besides we hadn't checked out the local nightlife and if the border town of Sungai Koluk was anything to go by, surely this place would have some spectacles worth seeing and partaking in.

This is the local Hotel, a steal at 250 baht per night. Rough as hell with leaking sinks and dodgy electric wiring etc. The dodgy english translation completes the picture!

That night off we went to check out the local talent. First off there was the local disco, but that wasn't open. When it was it was deserted! There are a few short-time hotels (complete with the car curtains!) but as we didn't exactly have mia noi's appearing out nowhere that was no good either!
The local kareoke joints were very lame and deserted. Hardly a girl in sight.
Eventually Rider suggested getting a few beers from a mom and pop store nearer to the town. All that was available was the foul local brew - Leo beer. Beggars can't be choosers so we quaffed a couple of cans and came to a whole-hearted agreement that the night-life in Mae Sai (at least the Thai side that is) is non-existant.

The following morning it was a bright and early start to return to Chiang Mai.

End of Part 2

Source: On The Road Thailand

Chiang Mai Tour - Mae Sai Loop Part 1

Touring Thailand

The Chiang Mai to Mae Sai Loop

Part 1 - Setting off for Mae Sai

There are several ways to get to Mae Sai, arguably the easiest and the fastest is via highway 118 and then north on highway 1 and back by a different route than the one you took to get there. It's hilly and there are some mountains but it's pretty straight forward and scenic enough.

The other way is to head north on highway 107 to Fang, from there head east on highway 1089 to join highway 1 and then a final stretch north to Mae Sai.
This route is considered the more dangerous one to take because of the mountainous nature of the route.
With this in mind we always go via highway 107!

It will take you about 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours to get to Mae Sai depending on how fast and how many rest/food stops on the way you take. It cost me about 200 baht in fuel (as at January 2008 prices) using a CBR 150 on a one-way journey. This is roughly 1 tank worth.
Compare this with a visa bus run outfit run by an expat and thai wife who charge 2500 baht plus and you can see the difference. Me, I choose to ride to Mae Sai on my bike each and every time.

Some trail-blazers like to set out at really early in the morning and get back to Chiang Mai on the same day. For us though it's more of a route-tour journey/adventure than a trail-blazing record blast there and back. Still it's wise to hit the road at about 8 o' clock in the morning, you really do want to get out of Chiang Mai early. The traffic and heat will really take it out of you if you leave later on in the day.

Once you get about 15 km from the city north on Highway 107 the traffic is really light and you can enjoy the sights more.

Roadworks are ongoing at various stages of the highway 107.

There's not much to write home about when you reach Chai Prakon. The highway runs through it like most of the other small towns on the way, but I'd say by this stage you've reached the 'real' parts of Thailand away from the touristic zones that litter Chiang Mai Province.

After that town a few low mountains mark the start of the challenging sections of the Mae Sai Loop.

A handful of sharp roads, curves and bends with a police checkpoint at the highest point.

We caught a glimpse of elephants wading through the valley floor river and took a look from a nearby cliff edge....

It turns out it's a elephant camp river trail for the gawping tourists! As we were out on a journey so were they. we watched them for a few minutes and then both went our separate ways

Once you clear the mountains it's back to normal terrain and paddy fields.

The turn-off for Chiang Dao is here, just hang a right if you fancy checking out the cave that the tourist office keeps ranting on about...

There is a notable straight to highway 107 (pictured above) it looks like Thailands answer to the route 66. You can really hammer it going down here so open your throttle and let rip! Be aware of the minor crossroads about 3/4 of the way on in and keep on screaming up the rise.

At Fang the highway 107 bypasses around the town. By this point though we were hungry as hell so grabbed a quick bite to eat. I expected the place to be farang-free but there was some aimless hippy-type girl walking up and down the road.

After that it was back on the road again.

After Fang the road runs along the flatlands. A few picturesque rice paddies with buffalo stomping about can be seen in this area.

After the break in Fang you might be all revved up now and feel like giving it full throttle and ready let rip here, take our advice and let off the speed as there are two hump-back bridges to cross with police check-points alongside them. The bridges were undergoing construction work so might be in better condition in the future.

After this the mountain roads cometh!

Maniac minibus drivers and coaches come hurling along here so keep a sharp eye at all times if you're planning on overtaking.

A true winding mountain road, you can't appreciate it from the small photos I usually upload, here's a full sized shot...

The swooping vistas, lush valleys and break-neck turns are exhilarating if you gauge your need for speed with reasonable caution.

Eventually the mountains will drop away behind you and the going is more straight and narrow.

You rejoin highway 1 at Mae Chan here.

From here on in it's plain riding up to Mae Sai!

You'll know when you're at Mae Sai because a lofty and impressive border control center will loom up ahead of you in the center of the road. You can just see the tower building in the distance dead-ahead.

End of Part 1

Source: On The Road Thailand