Once again I will have to point you to Allys site for directions as I got hopelessly lost in recording where we were going after about half an hour.

The river was just as green along the banks but the recent heavy rains and clearance of river vegetation have seen the river turn into a raging muddy brown soup.

Just as well Ally comes armed with her GPS as I do believe that she was struggling to recall her route, having done this previously.

Still its one of the things I enjoy about our rides, when we don’t always know where we are going, that way you tend to stumble over things we weren’t expecting.

I’ve been struggling with an ear infection for a few days now and this did take a bit of the enjoyment of this ride away for a while.

Normally the ,’thisway–thatway’ of it all gets me going;

but by midday my system was screaming out for nourishment, and I could feel myself getting decidedly grumpy with it.

As we looked out for an eating place we came across Wat Patana Tdua, which ,Ally tells me, translates into something like’ Temple that displays an exemplary example’.

This may have been true in its hey day, but right now it is a Temple that shows extreme neglect.

The gigantic Golden Buddha that overlooks the compound is the only thing that looks recently cared for.

Actually, thats not quite true, there are also signs that the gardens are being looked after.

The rest of the buildings in the compound are in various states of delapidation.

Ally dropped a ‘Geo cache’ at this site. An interesting pass time for those of you who like a day out with a difference and something I may well do myself, in the future.

I guess its abit out of the way but my thought was that if they did restore this Wat to its former glory then it could be a big tourist draw, so maybe they shouldn’t.

Not far from here we took lunch at a small cafe in a rural 1 street town, Don Qui Lek. A warm welcome and good food , and some beautiful little flowers.

Feeling much better for having eaten I followed Ally as we wended our way across to San Pa Tong.

It was around 2.30pm by the time we hit San Pa Tong.

Having ridden the main San Pa Tong road several times I , like Ally, have often wondered about ‘the place of interest’, so it was good to finally go and find out.

Just a couple of kilometres down the sign posted road and we came across Wat Ton Kork.

An impressive set of ruins stands in a wooded area at the roadside.

For me it was a bit of an anti-climax as the only significant building was the huge brick Chedi.

I’ve never been able to get too excited about bases of ancient buildings and nothing else.

That said as we headed off toward the river, and home, we found Wiang TahKan, the main ‘ruins’ site of a complete ‘city’. So for any historians out there, I’m sure you’d find it worth the trip.

My delight was the beauty to be found at Wat Tahkan nearby.

In the end we skipped the river run home, opting for a mad wizz down Highway 11 from Lamphun, stopping for coffee and cake at Amazon coffee at the PTT petrol station before parting company to return to our respective homes. Cheers Ally, looking forward to next week.
For more photos please visit our photobucket album here

So it was a welcome break from day to day work , with The Stratton ABC Foundation, when I took a long overdue ride out with my good friend Ally.

Meeting for coffee at the WiFi Coffee shop at Chiang Mai Paintball, on the road from Sarapee to Hang Dong,

we sat for a chat and Ally kitted me out with a walkie talkie so that we could communicate whilst riding.

At around 9.30 we heading off along the River Ping, towards Lamphun. Its a lovely ride along the river , with so much to see.

If you do it don’t rush, take your time and get a real insight into life along the river.

There are many pituresque views to be spotted, especially at this time of year with everything growing so fast and full of lush shades of green.

There was quite alot of activity along the waterway with local people harvesting the river plants.

And it was a day of contrasts where we watched many harvesting by hand, either wading of in small boats;

and further down the river saw a large mechanised harvesting boat, operated by a local lady.

You can also find many fish farms along the way.

Again see the contrast between the more advanced and well cared for operations, with air being pumped into the tanks;

and the less cared for where the healthy fish share their tanks with the dead.

Ally has done this route many times , so knows it well and stopped at a delightful little coffee shop run by an elderly Thai lady.

Its a lovely spot to sit and take a break, the coffee was very good and there are icecreams and other snackfood available snackfoods .

Ally got a phonecall at the coffee shop and whilst waiting for her to finish, I carried on up the road a little and popped into a small Wat. From the outside it didn’t look so exciting; but inside the grounds was a mini treasure trove of sculptures.

I had to smile at this wonderful elephant on wheels which actually turned out to be a mobile light source, with cable and plug coming from its rear end and a light bulb in its trunk.

To the rear of the Temple were many sculptures, including one of some very grotesque looking demons.

As I took photos the Monk in residence came out to greet me and seeing my interest, eagerly led me round to the Temples scared tree which was adorned with yet more sculptures of birds and insects.

We had a lovely chat, where I surprised my self with my increased grasp of Thai language.

Again I failed in good reporting, having neglected to take a notebook with me and can not remember his name, but I would like to extend thanks for the warm welcome and much respect for this gentle Phra.

A way down from the coffee shop we stopped briefly to snap some Lamyai harvesting at a small family home.

This year the rains have been less than usual and Lamyai are relatively expensive due to the shortage of decent sized fruits.

By the time we stopped for lunch, having turned of the river road towards Hang Dong, the rains that had been threatening all morning got closer.

added to this was that Allys phonecall had been work related and meant that she needed to get back earlier than planned.

Having sat and enjoyed some Barmee Duck, thats yellow noodles with duck, we decided to head back to Ally’s house for coffee and a movie.

I can’t believe its the first time I’ve been to Allys home. And a lovely home it is to. Unfortunately none of the photos I took do the house justice, so that will have to wait for next time. If there is a next time after my apparent recent curse with toilets struck yet again(inside joke).

It was very nice to see Allys partner and my fellow Foundation Director, Pee Took, who was just on her way out.

Sitting in the comfort of Allys home office watching the latest version of Sherlock Holmes was a great end to a very enjoyable day off the stresses of my busy schedule.

So if you are looking for a chilled day out with some real Thai life to be seen, grab a bike and head off along the River Ping. Enjoy!

For more photos please visit our photobucket album here.

Armed with the nessecary paperwork; in this case the Foundation registration paperwork,(copies); my passport and 2 passport photos and a letter from the Foundation stating my need to come to Thailand to fulfil my obligations to the Foundation, I headed off to Vientiane, with my friend Somboon, early Tuesday evening.
The day before I had booked seats on a minibus to Nongkhai,(1200 baht per person), through Queen Bee Tours, on Moon Muang Rd, Chiang Mai.
We were due to meet the Mini bus driver at 7pm. One of our neighbours kindly gave us a lift into town and we were there at half past 6. Just as well we were early because I had actually forgotten the passport photos and had time to get them done at the Fuji shop just up the road from Queen Bee,( 100 baht for 6).
The minibus arrived just after 7 and it was clear that it was going to be full. Indeed, after picking up two more from a hotel on the way to the minibuses travel office, the bus was so full there was one person sitting in the middle in the ‘cab’ of the bus.
The wait at the Aya Service office, close to the train station, was probably the most annoying part of the trip. we seemed to be there for an age, processing everyones ticket , etc. It was after 8pm before we finally left Chiang Mai.
Despite the lack of leg room, I have to say that the bus was very comfortable and the driver very sensible. So many Thai bus drivers seem to think they are in a Grand prix….but this one was very good and I felt totally safe.
There were a couple of short fuel stops on the way where we got to stretch our legs and use the toilet and at around 5.30am we were at Nong Khai for breakfast by the river, at Ruen Rim Nam, before carrying on to The Friendship Bridge just up the road.
Getting out of Thailand was quick for me but I had to wait about half an hour for Boon to get the nesseccary forms done and completed for him to get a 3 day pass.
We then joined the bridge bus to the Lao immigration point.

Luckily, while I was waiting for Boon I had managed to get the two white forms needed for the entry visa into Lao from a bus tour worker who had a surplus. having filled them out while waiting for Boon I was able to join the entry queue with no further delay.
It was, however, quite a long queue and the total wait for handing in my passport with payment(1500), and getting the passport back was a little over an hour.
Still Boon had been busy whilst waiting for me and had arranged a taxi direct to the Thai Consulate for a very reasonable 300 baht.
At the Embassy before 9 we were all done there by just before 10.

We chose to go over the road to what appears to be a newly opened restaurant/bar.

The food was excellent and the prices very reasonable, as their sign says. We paid around 380 baht for 3 dishes and 2 iced teas and 1 iced coffee.

The servings were very generous and the service very good.
We then took a tuk tuk to Avenue Lane Xang, about 10 minutes ride, where we had stayed in a very nice hotel last time we visited Vientiane.
Unfortunately when we enquired the hotel was full. So we took the short walk across the road to The Kham Khoun Hotel and got a twin air-con room, with TV and shower room for 700 baht, breakfast included.
We showered and slept for a while before taking a walk down to the Monument to relax in the shade.
Still tired from the travelling we returned to the hotel for a very good steak dinner and a quiet night in.
Our friend Marc, one of our first customers in our guest house days, who is currently working as an english teacher in Vientiane, popped in to say hello, which was nice.

We also met his lovely girlfriend Ivana.

The next morning we were up reasonably early for breakfast, which was ok but I won’t rave over it.
We were just killing time really and took a walk around the nearby market and then back down to the Monument for a while, before heading back to the Hotel to check out before midday.

Then it was over to the Consulate again where we returned to the restaurant opposite for lunch, before joining the queue of people waiting to collect their passports and Visas, when the Consulate opened at 1pm.

That process was very quick and we were out by 1.30pm. A tuk tuk ride back to the hotel where we then booked tickets for the VIP bus back to Chiang Mai. this was also 1200 baht per person; but this included transport to Vientiane bus station and the international bus from Vientiane to Udonthani where we boarded the VIP bus.

The international bus left Vientianne at 4pm and we got to Udon at around 6.30, having an hour and a halfs wait for the VIP bus which left at 8pm.

There was a twenty minute stop at Phitsanulok, with free food included in the bus ticket price; again I’ll not say too much about the food, just that I didn’t partake.

The bus was very comfortable and again the drive was not as reckless as I have known such journeys in the past. I managed to sleep quite well.

The only problem was a toilet trip I had to make shortly before arriving at Chiang Mai. When I pressed the flush water poured out at great speed shooting out of the toilet and soaking my trousers. It threatened to flood the bus for a while. God knows what the other passengers thought when I came out!
We arrived back in Chiang Mai Arcade bus station at 6.30am and got a taxi home to Mae Salab for 250 baht.
I’d slept so well on the bus I was even able to complete the morning school run to Sarapee.

For more photos please visit our photobucket album here.

Just after 9am she duly arrived and we set off on our journey, riding up to Banthi and left towards San Kam Peang.

Turning right at the main road from Chiang Mai to San Kam Paeng Hot Springs we headed up into the mountains around Doi Saket.

Our original destination was actually was Chae Hom Dam, via the winding mountain roads that, whilst looking like short cuts on the map, are a much longer ride than the highways due to the extreme inclines, hairpins, and potholes along the way. But all this taken in to account , treat the route with due respect and you will enjoy some spectacular views, peace, fantastic mountain air, and friendly greetings along the way.

Not far into our journey we started to see trays of coffee beans laid out at the roadsides, drying in the sun.

A little further we rode through a delightful village and came across further stages in the coffee production process…..follow this link for more.

After enjoying the delicious coffee as well as tasting some of the freshly roasted beans,we pressed on.

There is something about the lush green mountain forests and those twisting roads with their overhang tree ‘tunnels’, brightly coloured flowers and sounds of the wide variety of bird and animal life that means that I can never get enough of it.

Around midday we joined the road that Boon and myself had ridden before , on our way back from Phayao. That ride had been in the early evening and we were not at all prepared, for what was a freezing cold trip in the dark,
in extremely treacherous conditions.

Ever since that crazy ride I had been itching to take that trip in the day time.

The road appeared to be in mildly better condition than the previous time but there were still stretches of potholes that would appear suddenly; stretches where the forest was doing its place to reclaim the road, making it very narrow at times; and most concerning, places where the mountain was reclaiming the road.

This means that even in the daytime you retain an almost constant sense of nervous anticipation; a branch cracks and falls somewhere along the roadside and you quickly look for signs of slipping mountainside; then you look through the gaps in the forestation and gasp as the stunning beauty of it takes your breath away and whatever trepidation you may have about the state of the road fades to insignificance.

We soon realised that our extended stop at the ‘coffee village’ had delayed us enough to mean that reaching Chae Hom Dam and getting back in daylight just wasn’t going to happen.

So instead of carrying on to Chae Son and  Muang Pan we took a right through the National Park. At the check point Ally explained that we were simply passing through on route to Chiang Mai and not actually visiting the waterfall there, and so we avoided having to pay.

We did stop for lunch at the National Park restaurant which sits beside a delightful mountain stream and we spotted many varieties of rarely seen birds as we ate.

From there it was more winding roads, more great views and many picturesque fords on the way to Huai Kaeo and the main road back to Chiang Mai.

Before reaching Huai Kaeo we stopped to see Mae Kapong waterfall, which is just a few metres from the roadside and then stopped at a wonderful new coffee shop in the village that has a great balcony overlooking the main village in the valley below.

For more photos please visit our photobucket album here.

For a more precise instruction on the directions we took and more photos please visit Ally site here.

Well worth the trip yet again:) I got back to Mae Salab a little after 6pm as the sun went down.

After an excellent Kow Soi breakfast we headed off toward San Pa Tong and turned right onto the 1013 to Mae Wang.

The title says ‘via’ Mae Wang, but in actuality Mae Wang was a short detour to see yet another stunning reservoir.
Close to large reservoir, which, like Huay Tung Taow, has many cafes and shelters on the waters edge, is a beautiful ‘shrine’.

Up a easy set of steps, this shrine features many model Chickens, and two horses reared up on their hind legs.

Close by is also another small shrine featuring three model wooden Thai houses.
That detour done, it was back on the 1013.

Some way along there I spotted a sign for Mae Sa Pok Waterfall and called Ally back so we could investigate.
Well worth it! More of those stunning terraced rice fields on the way.
When we reached the end of the track I wondered if we’d been duped by the sign, when we spotted a very cute waterfall, pretty, but not what we’d expected.
Fortunately, a group of young girls, busy washing empty drinks cans for recycling, pointed us to the path to the main event.
Another lush forest track, just a couple of hundred metres and….WoW!!.
Not only was there the sublime beauty of the waterfall in the middle of glistening green forestation, but also some wonderful bird life, no doubt attracted by the insects brought out by the damp, and fish washing down with the strong water flow too, no doubt.
Although its not the biggest I’ve seen it rates as one of the most beautiful, with a touch of magical quality about it.
Back to the road we were on, Allys reliable directions tell me that it changes from the 1013 to the 5118 after Mae Win.

Turning left out of the waterfall road we carried on to Khun Wang. Here you can find the Khun Wang Environment and Natural School. Quite an immense growing set up.
Again, as well as the many rice fields, you see so much more going on up here, with huge nursery set-ups sprawling all over many hills.
Carrying on along this wonderfull road,

which varied from newly laid tarmac to potholed tarmac that required a lot of weaving to and fro,

we rode on to the Doi Inthanon Shop, through rain that got quite heavy for a while. There we had lunch and coffee and for a while the rain had stopped, but by the time we got going, so had it once again.
Honestly I can’t believe we carried on up, through the clouds and worsening rains; which were exacerbated by strong gusting winds. But battle on we did. I was hopelessly unprepared and got saturated.
My legs were threatening to cramp up and my whole body was shaking by the time we reached the coffee shops at the top.

It took me quite a while to stop the shakes and the coffee was very much needed.
Even my hope of buying a dry t shirt to change into was dashed, with the souvenir shop being closed.

And to add insult to injury I had been charged 100 baht at the summit check point, for the pleasure of putting myself through that hell. Hey ho, beats sitting at home.
Ally kept assuring me that the views up there are amazing, some of the best you’ll ever see. Even tried to tell me that there are two massive Chedis on the way up to the summit, “stunning, beautiful they are…right there!!” Staring at thick white cloud hugging the hillsides, I told her that I didn’t believe her. Whats more, at that point I couldn’t have cared less if the Taj Mahal had been moved there.
Still, although we still had to go back down through the icey cold squalls, it wasn’t so long before we were down to Wachirathan Waterfall   in much more pleasant conditions, and after that short visit, on our way home.
On the 108 to Chiang Mai, not so far from Chom Tong, the highway was blocked for quite a way by huge numbers of Lamyai growers turning up at a big fruit buyers warehouse.
I said goodbye to Ally at San Pa Tong, where I turned right for Lamphun.
Looking forward to our next ride.

For many more photos from this trip, please visit our photobucket album here.

Its on days like this that I start thinking I should get a bike like Allys.

This week our chosen meeting place was Mee Mees cafe at Meechok Plaza.

This week I made sure I arrived early and had breakfast whilst waiting for Ally.

While I was there Roger, and old ‘customer’ friend, from my Brick Road Cafe days, appeared, in his Hillman Hunter. He was just preparing to leave Chiang Mai and head back to the UK for a couple of months.

We had a good chat and when Ally arrived at 9.30am we all drank coffee before Ally and I headed off on this weeks ride.

We took  the 1001, 121 and the back way along the river road to the 107 and Mae Rim.

Just after Mae Rim centre we turned off left on the 3009 riding up the hill as the rain started.

We had to shelter for a while but then carried on up to Pankled Coffee, which sits at the turn off for Mork Fa Waterfall.

Whilst we enjoyed coffee and lunch the heavens opened again. In the end it died down enough for us to carry on, all beit donning raincoats, and we took the small road up to Doi Suthep Pui National Park.

My entrance fee, not having a local ID, was 70 baht.

It was 350 metres walk through the forest, which, in the rain, was at its lushest.

On the way we spotted a sign that tells you to ‘Please beleive alarm sound’.

We asked at the ticket kiosk later, wondering whether there was an actual alarm and what it was for. Turns out it is a slightly misleading translation with the actual meaning being to take note of the sound of surging water due to the risk of flash floods over the waterfall.

Ally had previously beleived it to mean to listen out for falling trees.

I would say listen out for both, they are equally a significant risk, especially during this season.

We decided that it was too wet ant slippy to take the nature trail and see the Bat Cave but we did get to the Waterfall…..fantastic.

In better weather i”d have taken a dip, same as some braver local girls there at the time.

By the time we got back to the bikes the rain had got heavier and it was time for the leg-ins too.

We then headed on through the National Park, along a track that does not always appear on Allys GPS. She has been this way before so we relied on her memory.

As the rain continued and the track got progressively worse in places we had to decide whether or not to carry on. After on stretch that had been quite lumpy and slippery, Ally declared that if her memory served correctly it didnt get much worse after that.

Well I for one am quite glad that her memory was well off on that one. Had her memory served her correctly then we might have turned back, and as messy as it got, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

It took us through some fantastic scenery, and this is where the ‘Real Lanna Land’ comes in.

Another lesson for me, Ally tells me that Lan means million…and Na is a rice field… Lanna, the land of a million rice fields…and we saw a fair few of them on this ride.

I have heard opinions about the Hilltribes being lazy, what I saw on this ride says that cannot be true.

The undulating landscape is transformed, in a stunningly beautiful way, by intricate terraced rice paddys.

It really is something to behold. There is much more agriculture going on besides, we passed many dragon fruit plantations, and other ‘nursery’ operations.

It was worth battling our way through the deep mud we found waiting on several corners of the track through the hills.

At the worst, I nearly lost one of my shoes and came pretty close to blowing my engine as the bike sank low into the thick red mud and it took all my strength to push it through.

Then, here in the middle of nowhere, we come across the electric guys, fixing lines.

This meant that electric cable lay strewn across the track and we had to trust that we wouldnt get electricuted riding over it….oh Joy!

Eventually we made it through and came back out, close to the Buddha on Pink Lotus, onto the road down to Mae Rim.

It had been a long ride, 16.45pm by the time we got to that point.

The weather had dried out half way through the ride but as we headed home the thick black clouds ahead said more rain for sure.

We parted company at the 121 and I headed home to Lamphun riding through an horrendous storm. But as heavy as the rain was, it still couldnt remove all of that thick red mud.

For many more photos of the rice fields and more , please visit our photobucket album here.

And check out Allys’ here.

We had arranged to meet at the point where we had parted company last week.

It was an absolute scorcher of a day and I chose to wait a little way down the road where i found some shade and watched a local farmer attending his field.

Spotting Ally shooting past I went to catch her up….ok truth is I hadn’t quite been able to remember exactly where we parted company last week, which was just a little further up the San Kampaeng Hot Springs road,(1317) from where I was waiting at the turn off to the Alpine Golf Resort, and Banthi.

Ally had promised more hills, lakes and a Cave Temple this week, so off we went heading out towards San Kampaeng Hot springs but almost immediately turning off  onto a dirt track that follows the irrigation canal there.

The canal wends its way through the hills , disappearing into the hillside at one point. Working our way around, getting some real smells of the countryside, past pig farms and paddy fields, we rejoined the canal a little further on. We were passed at one point by a local lady villager who looked none too happy and appeared to be voicing her displeasure.

I couldn’t help wondering whether it was concern about seeing ‘tourists’, with many reports putting the blame for recent outbreaks of swine flu in Thailand on to international travelers.

Whereas the terrain along this canal route was not especially  exciting , sometimes it is enough just to be away from the main drags, surrounded by trees and passing through genuine rural communities, and then out of nowhere coming across…a Temple.

I would have missed it completely, riding along in my semi-meditative state, but Allys keen eyes spotted the tip of the Chedi sticking out through the trees.

It had quite an extensive compound and although it appeared to have been somewhat neglected, there were signs of ongoing refurbishment and it clearly has the potential to become an impressive site, as I am sure it had been in the past.

With no English translations we had to photograph the Temple name sign for translation later to Wat Doi Zill.

I really have to remember to have breakfast before starting these rides, as once again the hunger pangs hit, with no great prospect of finding any cafes along this route. However, Ally assured me that the lake we were heading for had eating facilities and it wasn’t too much further.

Reaching our first planned destination was delayed a little when we took a diversion, turning right, across a small bridge over the canal, to another reservoir, that appeared on Allys GPS, as Thi Reservoir; not to be mistaken for the Thi reservoir we visited last week, a few miles away at Banthi.

Another popular fishing spot it was another beauty, nestled in amongst the heavily wooded hills. Spotting a track that was not on the GPS, but looked as if it either went around the lake or possibly might lead back to the canal, we took a chance and followed it.

The track ended up veering off into the forest, and although we continued into the trees a ways we turned back when it was clear that there were no other visible motorbike tracks.

The greater possibility was of getting horribly lost and delayed. By then we were both too hungry to risk that.

Heading back to the canal and soon returning to tarmac we headed right,up to Huai Hong Khai 7 , a huge reservoir. Riding into the government buildings there, Ally pointed out the restaurant. Food at last!

Unfortunately the restaurant was occupied by a private party and not open to the public.

Jumping back on the bikes we went onto Huai Hong Khai 2, site of the Royal Project buildings. It didn’t look hopeful for food here either, but , after taking a look at the fish farm there, as we were leaving the site we spotted a covered platform over the edge of the lake, with tables, chairs, A CHEF! and A WAITER!!

Ally asked if they were open..my heart sank as they told us that they were not a restaurant, but simply catering for a visiting coach party that had yet to arrive. About to leave and carry on the search, holding our empty tummys and looking despondent, we were stopped by these delightful people who quickly called out, ” mah, mah”…(‘come, come’).

The coach party were clearly late and the caterers took pity on us and promptly laid out 4 different dishes plus rice and water. A much nicer lunch than we would likely have bought elsewhere. The chef and waiter were very friendly and chatted with us for a while and refused to let us pay, although we did insist on leaving a tip.

All nicely fuelled up we then headed on and found the nearby Childrens Shelter. This place is in quite extensive grounds and home at the moment to 37 children from 1 yr old to 22 years old.

The staff were very friendly and welcoming and immediately invited us to a party at Joys House, (run by one of the founders of the Shelter). I did accept the invitation but have to apologise for not attending. By the end of this bike trip I was shattered and ended up collapsing in a heap in my armchair and falling asleep.

I do intend to return to the shelter very soon and do a full feature, as I was very impressed with the look of the set up and would love to find out more.

It was not so far then to the 3005 where we went to the 196 Coffee Corner. Ally is now good friends with the proprietors, Khun Keung and Khun Chai, a lovely Thai couple. Whilst we chatted and drank our coffee they handed us bananas from their own trees, deliciously sweet and great with the coffee.

Continuing on round to Mae On and turning right just past the San Kampaeng Hot Springs, we then rode up to the Mueng Mae On Cave Temple.

A stickler for equality Ally refused to pay the 10 baht parking fee and also demanded the 10baht ‘local’ ticket for the cave , as opposed to the 20 baht ‘farang’ ticket that was first produced.

I appreciate Allys feelings but couldn’t be bothered to argue and paid the parking..i didn’t have the problem with the cave ticket cos Ally had already paid.

Be warned, the steps here are deceptively steep, especially if you’re an out of shape smoker. Luckily there are not so many. But still, by the time we got to the viewing platform I did wonder how on earth I made it up the steps in Krabi 2 years ago.

A few more steps and we reached the Cave entrance. Taking a few moments to control my claustrophobia, we took the first steps down, into the cave, backwards through the first small opening. Once inside the claustrophobia was not a problem as the caves are vast and airy.

The bigger problem for me was more steep steps to the lower levels.

No problem going down, but with only one entrance that meant we had to go back up them.

By the end of the visit I had much more incentive for many more Gym visits and to stop smoking.

We detoured on the route home, through San Kampaeng, navigating our way through the Saturday Street Market and on to a Coffee shop on the way to Bo Sang.

After a very sweet Ice Coffee for me, and ‘not black’ black Coffee for Ally, we said our farewells and look forward to next weeks ride.

For more photos visit our photobucket album here and for better directions visit Allys site here.

There was alot of the joy factor today as we headed up into the Hills, after meeting at my place at around 10am. So many beaming smiles from the locals.It still blows me away.

I swear I was thai in a former life; even as a child with a turbulent life I gained the nick name “Smiler”, I learnt how a smile was infectious and got such a rush from making other people smile. But growing up, through teenage to adulthood, in the UK, you get wary of smiling. People have got so distrustful and paranoid that smiling at strangers is likely to bring you trouble in someway or other.

Here, my natural happiness is free to express itself and bolstered by so many others doing the same. Thailand I love you.

Ally had suggested a ‘lake tour’ and I suggested we start at the most local lake that me and Boon have been swimming at recently.

Taking the short cut through the village roads, we passed some local farmers hard at work in the paddy fields.

Further on we joined one of the main Hill roads and Ally thought she knew where I was taking her.

As we took a left turn off to the Lake she admitted that she was wrong and that this was going to be a new one for her. This pleased me; Ally does do many more road trips than I do and often leads the way to amazing places she has found; so it was good to lead her to something new for a change.

Now you may have gathered that I’m a bit hopeless with naming places alot of the time. Thanks to Ally and her gps machine I can now tell you that this first Lake was Mae Tip reservoir.

We went down to see about having lunch there but unfortunately both cafes were only offering fish…which neither of us were keen on.

An offroad track on the other side of the reservoir, that we hoped would lead us onward on a diffrent route, ended up taking us full circle and we retraced our route for a while before carrying on along the hill road to Thi Reservoir.

Clearly another popular fishing spot.

There were some great views from here, including two nearby Temples which we had passed on the way.

Although I would have loved to go and see them, my hunger for lunch was an overiding factor, so that will be another days trip.

There did not appear to be any food outlets at this site.

More off roading from this reservoir and we ended up in a Lam Yai field….happens alot, all part of the fun. I’m never happy unless we get lost at least once per trip.

Finding our way again we headed down into Ban Thi, having lunch at the cafe I eat at everyday before school

Then it was off towards San Kam Paeng, around the San Kam Paeng Lakeside Resort and up the ‘brick road’ to Huai Lan Reservoir.

More stunning views here.

This was around the fifth time I’d visited this lake since Boon first brought me here 3 years ago, and our most recent visit was about a month ago.

Whilst there, the peaceful serenity of these forested hills was disturbed by the sounds of large rockets being fired from somewhere beyond the reservoir, further into the Hills.

Realising that this may be more of the rainy season celebrations going on all over the provinces at the moment, we thought we best go take a look.

There has clearly been alot of work done in these hills making them more accesible and we followed a track all around the reservoir and through the trees, working our way towards where the rockets were being fired.

And there, in a large clearing we discovered quite an extensive party/festival site, complete with foodstalls, stage, and many many local Thais gathered to watch the firing of these huge rockets on the ends of very long thick bamboo.

It was apparently the Kao Pan Sa Rocket Festival.

At the far end of the clearing was a very rickety looking , tall platform rig, with a long sloped walkway to the top. The rockets we carried up the walkway and ignited at the top.

I managed to ride a little to close to the firing and got the announcer shouting “hey you you, u turn u turn” over the PA, much to the amusement of the crowd. There was clearly much betting going on, though we couldnt quite work out the criteria for the ‘winning rockets’.

Not that that mattered, it was just amazing to have stumbled across this, and very exciting watching rocket after rocket soar high into the sky.

More meandering through off road tracks and better ‘brick’ roads a we ended up visiting Huai Pa Rai and Doi Torn.

Also we popped into the Fish farm, close to the Kings Project base,  (mentioned in one of my previous posts). I really wanted to take a closer look but wasn’t prepared to try getting past the reception committee, a noisy pack of dogs.

We then tracked back a little and round to Wat Pa Tung, ( visited previously with Boon) and up to see if the dead end I told Ally about really was a dead end, as her GPS appeared to suggest that it should lead somewhere.

Nope…its a dead end alright, at least for the bikes.

Intrepid Ally fought her way through the brush and up quite an incline to the edges of Mae Pha Nae reservoir.

My open sandals really weren’t suited for following her and I’m rather glad, as her investigation revealed that there was a proper road that would get us there.

But time was getting on and Ally had a prior engaement to get back for, so that will be another day.

For many more photos from this great trip, please visit our photobucket album here.

Yes, this time it was just me and Ally, Somboons not so keen on hot day rides, shame ‘cos it was a nice easy ride, no hills and plenty of shade.

Our choice for the day was to take an easy ride up and down the River Ping.

Our start point was Wat Pang Yuu, which you will find by taking the Hang Dong turn off Highway 11, the one that actually carries on to Samoeng. The Temple is on the left with the entry road being just before the river bridge.

We met up at around 10.30 and started the journey with a stroll around Wat Pang Yuu. I have been seeing this Temple and its impressive array of statues for quite sometime no as I passed by on the highway between the main Hang Dong road and Highway 11 and have long been promising myself a visit.

Ally informed me that, although it was not the first time she had visited , she was very impressed with what is clearly a relatively recent facelift. On her previous visit it had apparently been a very run down and neglected place.

It is the many large Buddha images that catch your eye from the highway but there are more nice surprises when you get inside the Temple compound.

There are an incredible number of Buddha statues, both large and small. Then, to the rear of the compound you come across a beautiful Vihara surrounded by an extensive pond.

Also, don’t miss the ancient looking Buddha scene, under the trees to the left of the pond. Though not lavishly painted like the newer statues you see from the road, for me this image has the real Buddha spirit about it somehow.

Many photographs later we left the Temple, from the front entrance gate that overlooks the river, and headed left toward Lamphun.

This day was a nice contrast to some of our rides that involve many kilometres and several destinations. On this day the only real plan was a relaxed ride up and down the river.

And very nice it was to. The River Ping, away from the city centre, certainly on this stretch towards Lamphun, has a wonderfully relaxing effect and a look that belies its size and strength. With the many ancient overhanging trees, floating water plants and its many twists and turns it feels more like a beautiful winding stream.

As always my craving for coffee was early to raise its head and we were on the look out for a place to stop. Around 10-15 minutes ride from the Temple we found what should end up being a great riverside rest point. At the moment it is clearly still under construction, but was nevertheless open.

Didn’t actually get the name of the place but it appears to be a Thai concern, that, the lady who served us our coffee informed us, specializes in fish dishes along with other common Thai options. It is right on the river bank, looking towards the large weir we would visit shortly after. A lovely quiet place for coffee and a very likely meal out place in the future, being not so far from home.

So, after coffee it was just a couple of minutes ride before we reached the impressive looking weir, which looks to be a fairly new addition, or has at least been recently refurbished and acts also as a river crossing for pedestrians and motorcys. It is at this point that the canal system for Lamphun starts. The surrounding area is quiet lovely, with a nice size gazebo on the banks of the canal, which was occupied by a friendly bunch of local youngsters at the time.

Although we didn’t visit anymore on this trip, there are several riverside Temples along the way, so expect some reports on those in the coming weeks.

Indeed, what we found on this route, was not so many ‘attractions’, other than the river itself, which was fine by me. There was plenty of interest. Just before we crossed the river and headed back to Chiang Mai down the other side, about 15 minutes ride after the weir, we saw some new,(to me), birdlife.

All along the way, apart from the river there are several amazing buildings, from lavish homes to ‘wild shacks’ as Ally calls them.

For more ‘wild shacks’ please visit Allys site, where you will also get much better route information thanks to Allys excellent GPS machine.

On the way back to Chiang Mai we spotted a few fishermen in the water hauling nets; stopped for lunch at a local Thai outlet, very tasty food and only 20 baht!;

called in at Ban Nam Ping, which is a riverside Hotel which has rooms from 1500 baht a night or 30 nights for 30,000,(out of my budget, but for those of you in that range for your holiday it looked like a very nice location, with a buffet restaurant from 150 baht, a small swimming pool and kayaks, free to hotel guests or 100 baht an hour to walk in customers);

and shortly before parting at 1.30 , took a short detour to a very nice coffee shop just off the super highway.

After leaving Ally I carried on down the river road which eventually brings you onto ChangKlan road and into town where I met Boon at The Brick Road Cafe.

Just a short trip this time , around 4 hours in all from Wat Pang Yuu, at a very easy pace.

For more photos please visit our photobucket album here

As we needed to return to the motorbike market to complete the paperwork for the orange Wave we had agreed to meet Ally there at around 9am.

After sorting the paperwork and having a quick look at the bikes , we took coffee at Mee Mees’ before heading off on quite a lengthy tour.

First we cut across to the Doi Saket road and headed past Doi Saket into the mountains.

Taking the right hand turn towardds Ban Huaw Kaow, Ally first took us to what she called , ‘the alternative hot springs’. There is a Hot springs further up the main road, at Pong Nam Rorn, with a market and several food and drink outlets , which is used as a tour rest  stop.

This one appears to be an abandoned attempt to develop one deeper in the mountains.

The water is, without a doubt, extremely hot , but is also disgustingly black in most of the pools and stinks to high heaven.

Interesting but not one to rush back to.For me the highlight of this visit was the small but proud looking chameleon we spotted.

A little further down the road we were ready for more coffee, we had been riding for an hour!

Ally, having done this road before, took us to The 196 Coffee Corner, a lovely little place that does extremely good fresh coffee at a fraction of the price you’d pay in town.

We were met enthusiastically by the owners golden labrador who refused to stop barking until we’d all said hello.

If you get the chance, take a walk up the driveway and take a peek into their private garden which contains the owners collection of wood ‘scuplture’. Another gem of a place in the hills.

All caffeined up, on we went, wending our way through the hills working our way over to our main destination of Doi Khun Tan National Park. It was a long and beautiful ride. On the way we made a slight detour to our surprise lunch destination,(thanks again Ally), Tharntong Kitchen, at Tharntong Lodges. This wonderful place, nestled up in the mountain forests, with a mountain stream running through it, has been beautifully landscaped and has many wood cabins spotted around in which you can stay if you wish. With the cheapest room being 1,200 baht a night , its out of my usual budget; but for the stunning surroundings and excellent facilities, including top notch food, I’d say its worth it.

Treating myself to wild pig in red curry sauce, (120 baht..excellent quality and good portion),

I managed to swallow a whole bay leaf that got lodged in my throat, very nearly requiring the Heimlich maneuver, thankfully a good slap on the back from Boon dislodged it.

If you find this place I hope you’ll get to say hello to the resident cockatoo who is extremely friendly and poses well for the camera. He was most gentle when taking the fruit that Ally offered.

So, happily fed, it came time to get back down to the road to Khun Tan.

We had turned off to the left for lunch, so it was back town and left back towards our destination, stopping briefly at the Cosmo Petrol station to refuel the bikes.

Another long, but very enjoyable ride, through more stunning scenery.

There was a long stretch where the tarmac road disintegrated into mud and gravel base, but the slow bumpy ride was worth it as it took us to one of the best view points, overlooking the Mae On Valley.

Ally warned me to take a deep breath as we walked the few steps off the road to the view point, and well I needed to. It was quite a sight indeed and we were lucky with the weather, so stormy in recent days, sunny and clear giving a crisp few for miles around.

After spending some time socking in the splendor of the valley below, we carried on down the road that would take , first through the valley and then on to Khun Tan. A few kilometres on we were back on to tarmac and very soon took a stop at Wat Maer Takai.

This relatively modest compound holds some beautiful Temple buildings.

But the most interesting feature is the huge and varied amount of images;

Buddha to Ganesh to King Rama and more.

That said, the front of the main temple building is also stunning in its artwork.

From here we then rode on, following our leader Ally , who took us into the National Park area and up to Khun Tan Railway station.

What a beautiful spot, its like something out of The Railway Children, with palm trees. Lovingly landscaped and manicured, you feel you are waiting in somebodies garden rather than a station. We came across a group of farang who had been staying in lodges and had a little gripe about how long they had been waiting for the train to come. I could only remark about what a wonderful place to have to wait.

We stayed for coffee and saw their train arrive, exiting the tunnel from the mountain, that looks too small from the platform.

Look out for the Khun Tan butterflies basking in the sun.

This quiant surprise of a place is well worth a visit, another one of those spots to kill some time in my sort of ‘comfort’.

We had had a long ride through the day, so from here it was basically continuing on to meet the Highway 11 at Mae Ta, where we also visited the train station. Although not in quite such a stunning location, this station was equally well cared for and landscaped, where waiting for a train could only be a joy.

Heading back down the highway towards Chiang Mai, another 20 odd kilometres got us home to Lamphun, where Ally stopped for coffee and to get her long lost memory card. Next week Ally?

For more photos from this day please visit our photobucket album here.