Mae Hong Son Loop, North Thailand – 3. Journey Day 1 (Chiang Mai to Khun Yuam)

Day 1 (Chiang Mai – Doi Inthanon – Khun Yuam)

We flew into Chiang Mai airport and boarded a taxi at 915am. Mr Mechanic is just a short 15 minutes and 120B drive away.


Sunrise from the plane

As arranged, Mr Mechanic already had 3 scramblers prepared for us – 2 Honda Degrees and 1 Honda AX-1. The staffs at Mr Mechanic spoke good English and were very helpful in setting us up for the journey. The bikes were checked, backpacks mounted using bicycle hooks and a GPS receiver mounting unit fixed onto the AX-1. We paid for the rental including insurance at 1300B per person for 2 days of rental. We also had to leave 1 passport as deposit.

It was 10am and we decided to have some food at KAFE, a small restaurant located a few shops away from Mr Mechanic. Having read about Kao Soi in the guidebooks, I gave it a try. It’s wonderful!


Kao Soi

Continue reading

Mae Hong Son Loop, North Thailand – 2. Route & Motorcycle

Route

The Mae Hong Son Loop of North Thailand takes us from Chiang Mai through Doi Inthanon to Khun Yuam and finally to Mae Hong Son. From Mae Hong Son, the route continues to Pai before taking us back to Chiang Mai. As a short weekend ride, there is not enough time for adequate sight seeing. The time is just about enough to finish the loop with minimal stops. More days are certainly advised for Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son and Pai. The total distance we traveled was around 640km.


Map of North Thailand and route taken

Continue reading