The Mae Hong Son Loop to Pai

What I briefly mentioned last post was my plans for the past week; the Mae Hong Son loop. This loop begins and ends in Chiang Mai and passes through a majority of the towns in the province of Mae Hong Son - with most being further off the tourist trail than many travellers bother with.

I convinced the two English lads I met on Koh Tao, Luke and Will, to join me for the adventure - somehow I don't think they regret it.

June 22. Chiang Mai to Mae Sariang. 248km.

I picked up my Honda CRF250M super-motard from Pop motorcycle rentals in Chiang Mai. ~$200 for the week. I was in love. The size, the sound, the feel - all a little better than the old Honda Win I learnt to ride on in Vietnam.

I chose Pop because they had both big bikes, full face helmets and a lightweight mesh riding jacket for hire - added safety wasn't going to hurt with the new speeds I planned on going... 

The ride out of Chiang Mai was nothing special. Straight smooth roads with little traffic for ~70km. Then the fun began - a turn off into the Doi Inthanon national park. The roads were perfect; smooth tarmac, cambered corners, jungle scenery. 

Unfortunately because the first day was a big one, I didn't really have time to stop at any of the waterfalls or other sites along the way. 

The first days riding took a mere 6 hours. The pace you can keep on a real bike is amazing; the same ride on my old Win would have been at least 9!

June 23. Mae Sariang to Mae Hong Son. 163km.

I thought the roads on the first day of riding were amazing - they got better on the way to Mae Hong Son. More flowy, banked corners to throw the bike through, denser jungle, more national parks...

Later that afternoon we headed up to a nearby mountain adorned with the Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu temple - a Burmese style temple, explained by the town's close proximity to Burma, and largely Burmese/Thai Shan ethnic group populous.

After checking out the temple, we bought up a few beers, played cards while watching the sunset over the mountains. Not a bad way to end a couple days of big rides.

June 24. Mae Hong Son to Pai. 106km.

This was both the most action-packed and memorable day I have had in Thailand. The ride out to Pai is not a long one, so we had time to stop and visit some of the sites along the way. After riding 40km out of Mae Hong Son, we took a tiny turn off to head towards the Susa waterfall.

When I say tiny turn off, I mean tiny. The road for the first couple kilometres was through a small farming village, about a cars width wide. The farmers had big smiles seeing us foreigners riding through - something I haven't experienced in Thailand to date...

Further up, the road turned into a dirt track - complete with water crossings and big up and down hills. The whole time I was wishing I went for the off-road CRF instead of my motard!

Eventually, 12km down the track, we made it to the waterfall. Ten more minutes up the dirt path we came across a spot to enter the waterfall and go for a swim!

After we'd got our fix of belting down with water, we headed back for the bikes and this is where the magic started. I saw a monkey swinging through the suspension bridge near the entrance, toward us and the bikes. I approached it gingerly, wanting to get a good photo with him. He just casually lay down. 

He didn't seem to show any signs of aggression that I had seen in other monkeys in my travels, but we were all still very wary. I put my stuff away and approached. He grabbed my hand.

After taking a few more photos with him, I was ready to say goodbye, but he wasn't. He reached out to grab my other hand and swung up, holding himself in my arms!

I put him down, and he walked over toward my bike and decided to jump on...

... at which time I had to get him off...

The three of us were just in awe. This monkey had just come along to play with us, swinging in from the nearby jungle. After doing some research, it turns out it was a Gibbon, the most endangered ape in existence and very rare - maybe they are too friendly for their own good?!

Next stop along the way, about 40km out from Pai, was the Tham Lod Cave. Given I had been to plenty of big caves in Vietnam I was not all that excited for this particular cave - how wrong I was!

The Tham Lod cave must be traversed with a raft and a local guide equipped with a lantern. We boarded the raft and were taken into the mouth of the cave.

We jumped off and walked through the pitch black cave, with the only source of light from our guide.

Unfortunately the photos really don't do caves any justice, but overall it was incredible. The cave network was massive and the ceiling very high up. 

From Soppong and Tham Lod we headed on our final leg of riding, to Pai. The remainder of the road was a steep climb followed by an equally steep decent down the mountain. More great fun roads and amazing views!

We made it into Pai just before nightfall and ended the day with a few well deserved beers. 550km down, last stop before heading back to Chiang Mai!