Mae Hong Son Loop: Looking back

Back in Phuket and reflecting on our labours over the last 10 days.  It was fun, enlightening and as we expected, a serious workout.  Now we have checked some of the stats to find that in places, this was as tough as it could get, with certain slopes in excess of 30%!  We logged onto Strava and found that Irene's time on the long haul out of Hot earned her Queen of the Mountains.

Overall, we found everybody friendly, enthusiastic, and the drivers very courteous, even though the roads were a little hectic at times.  We love Chiang Mai and will definitely go back, but once around the circuit is enough unless we have carbon bikes with full support.

Thanks for reading.

Closing the Mae Hong Son Loop

Saturday 17 January 2015

Dense smog descended on the Ping valley overnight.  The town of Hot was quiet as we left it.  It was not long before traffic got busier - big trucks with double trailers and pickups which fly by at great speeds served as a reminder that we were now in the outskirts of Chiang Mai.

At the first town, Chom Thong, we had a discussion over an excellent Italian espresso, and decided that it was no fun cycling in the heavy pollution despite the flat run into Chiang Mai.  We negotiated with a songthaew driver to take us and our bicycles into Chiang Mai.  She asked for 500 baht.  After we had loaded our bikes and bags onto the vehicle, other passengers mounted - 2 Hmong or Mien ladies in traditional dress, a lady who had been to market for her restaurant, a Buddhist nun in white and a Catholic nun.  During the 50-odd kilometres into the city, the songthaew stopped on request of passengers,  At its peak, we were 11 passengers, 2 bicycles and 4 panniers.

We alighted along the moat in Chiang Mai City.  Found a small hotel near Wat Phra Sing, which although within the Old Town and vicinity of many wats, feels removed from the busy tourist centres.  We have also managed to book a flight back to Phuket on Monday morning.

Distance: 33 km

Mae Hong Son Loop: Hot! Hot! Hot!

Friday 16 January 2015

Our host gave us a bunch of bananas this morning for our long journey to Hot.

The journey today was hot, hilly and very strenuous.  We climbed 1000+ metre ridges five times over the course of the day.  Each one seemed longer and steeper. We thought the first climb of 17 kms would be the toughest but we were wrong.

Cycling close to Burma, we saw huge amount of trucks carrying cabbages, cows. buffalos, pigs and other assorted goods.

Eventually we reached the long descent and then followed the river to Hot.  There were deep gorges and we saw a group rafting down rather sheepishly.

Hot was just that and dusty.  We were relieved to find a guest house alongside a restaurant.  A very spicy yam pla dukfoo and a few beers and we hit the sack.  It was our longest day but Chiang Mai was within sight.

Distance: 104 km

Total ascent: 2188 m

Our little sitting room in Mae Sariang

Cabbage waiting to be transported

Tomato plantation

Rafting the rapids

Mae Hong Son Loop: Khun Yuam to Mae Sariang

Wednesday 15 January 2015

We set out from the guesthouse about half past seven.  The scene today was agricultural and the land had been cleared to make terraces for rice plantation.  After two climbs, we descended onto a valley where we stopped for early lunch of Singapore chicken rice which was delicious.

We had intended to stop at Mae La Noi, 69 km away.  Just before the town, we met a young American cyclist going the other direction.  She encouraged us to push on to Mae Sariang 30km further.  It was already half past twelve and we felt sorry for her as she had 65km to go in order to find accommodation overnight.

We stopped for refreshments at the local 7-11 and met a monk taking money from the ATM and driving off in a huge 4X4!  In Thailand, as in many Buddhist countries, being a monk, even for a short period, is a duty and an honour.  Hence, it is not surprising to see men from all walks of life serving their time as monks.

Along the way, we decided to buy some bananas at a roadside store.  We only wanted half of this big bunch of bananas.  The store owner looked rather embarrassed.  We asked the price. 5 baht! So we were embarrassed.  Well, we now have a big bunch of bananas strapped to the back of one of our bicycles.

Arriving in Mae Sariang, we found a small guesthouse with a very welcoming host.  We did our laundry and set off to explore the main street in town.  Our host recommended dinner at Intira restaurant nearby.  Never have we seen such an efficient little family unit.  The order was called out, as we ordered, to the boss who wrote it down.  The cooks sets to work immediately and within a minute, the waitress delivers the dish.  The food was excellent.

No TV;  it is an early night with another long ride tomorrow which starts with a 17-km climb.  The fan is working overtime to dry the clothes.

Distance: 98 km

Total ascent: 1308 m

Karen woman and her pipe

Beautiful country scene

Make hay.....

Burmese style roof of wat in Mae Sariang

Mae Hong Son Loop: Mae Hong Son to Khun Yuam

Tuesday 14 January 2015

Up till now, we have been following Route 1095 with its 1864 curves to Mae Hong Son.  Route 108 now takes us south towards Mae Sariang and eventually to Hot.

The hills and countryside around this area of Mae Hong Son are home to the Karen or Kayin people, the most numerous and longest-settled of Thailand's hill-tribes.  We passed some homesteads, saw a man preparing a loom for weaving, and admired the traditional dress of 3 Karen Pwo elders, in particular, the numerous strands of yellow and orange beads worn by the women.

The route took us through pristine forests.  At kilometre 27, we surprised a flock of Rufous Treepies, which we have never seen before.  They flew overhead in turns, showing off their graceful long line.

The journey was not too difficult; it was ideal for getting the legs turning after a rest day.  We arrived at our destination, Khun Yuam at about 2 pm where we had a late lunch.  We were sharing the guesthouse with a group of French Swiss cross-country motorbikers.  

The evening was not exciting and even the owner of the restaurant, where we had our dinner, was nodding off in his chair.

Distance: 67 km

Total ascent: 1136 m

The reward after a climb: View of mountains

Rest Day in Mae Hong Son

Tuesday 13 January 2015

Mae Hong Son ("The City of Three Mists") is the principal town of Mae Hong Son province.  Today we did very little apart from walking around this delightful sleepy small town with its many Shan-style teak houses and shophouses.  The wet market was big and very interesting with a strong Shan influence.  Unfortunately, most of the ethnic fabrics have disappeared, replaced with polyester from China. 

Founded in 1831 when a Chiang Mai prince led an elephant-catching expedition, Mae Hong Son became an elephant training centre, and grew into a permanent settlement for Shan mahouts.

Beautiful presentation of cheroots and matches at the day market

It can get chilly overnight in Mae Hong Son and recycled t-shirts come in handy

Novices

We then walked to the lake and the large royal Wat Chong Klang.  There, we managed to find a Karen lady who was selling handwoven items, from whom we bought 2 scarves.  Among the hill-tribes, the Karen have the strongest weaving tradition .

Wat Chong Klang

Laundry for monks

Decorations waiting to be installed - Wat Chong Kham

Back at the hotel, we did some bicycle maintenance and washed our clothes. All ready for tomorrow.

At dusk, we returned to the lake to find a hive of activity.  The night market was in full swing.  Unlike in Pai, this market was very much for the locals: there were a variety of food stalls with low tables set up on the pavement by the lake.  We had street food for dinner - curry puff, gai yang, barbecue pork, som tam, sticky rice and roti with banana.  Couldn't get better than that, followed by a beer at a bar playing Eric Clapton and a television transformed into a fish tank.  No licence fee needed!

Dinner by Lake Chong Kham

The evening's entertainment

On the way back to the hotel, we met Mario, a Canadian cyclist travelling around Thailand for 6 months.

Mae Hong Son Loop: Mae Hong Son at last!

Monday 12 January 2015

We expected a challenging ride today.  The first of the day's 6 climbs started just 5km after Soppong.  Our legs felt better after last night's massage.  A particularly difficult section on the second col led us to the Pang Ma Pha Viewpoint.  We stopped to take photos and catch our breath and were joined by another cycle tourist, Billy, from the U.S.  He had been travelling in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand and will continue into Laos after finishing the Loop.

Perhaps there were long lovely sections of downhill, perhaps the climbs happened when we expected them to and there were no nasty surprises, it did not seem as difficult today as we heard it would be.  The ride was very scenic through ancient forests, with impressive karst formations in the background.  As we approached Mae Hong Son, Route 1095 descended into the narrow and winding Pai Valley and it was an easy run into Mae Hong Son.

The next large town, Mae Sariang, is 165km away.  We agree to take a rest day tomorrow and explore Mae Hong Son.

Distance: 64 km

Total ascent: 1390 m

Pang Ma Pha Viewpoint, with hills and Burma in the background

Karst formations

Beautiful roofs of Wat Ban Huai Pha

Unfortunately, we had already made our hotel booking elsewhere!

Mae Hong Son Loop: Pai to Soppong

Sunday 11 January 2015

The plan today was to cycle to Soppong, about 44km away.  The topographical profile appears to be a long uphill reaching above 1400 metres and downhill to our destination. 

We took a relaxed breakfast at the hotel.  David cleaned and waxed the chains which were covered with grit yesterday.  We were on our way just after 8am.

We could feel that our legs were tired from yesterday's efforts and we were also carrying some food and water purchased from 7-11 last night.  The first 16km were straightforward enough.  It is encouraging to see young teakwood plantations along the way.  We met 2 cyclists who whizzed past us with carbon bikes and backpacks and were envious of their light setup.   In the next section, however, there were three nasty changes in the incline.  These three steep sections really break your rhythm and two of them were even difficult to manage in our lowest gear. The first one commenced with a hairpin that lifted us up at least 10 m in altitude just within that one curve.  We were relieved to reach the summit viewpoint.  Thereafter, it was downhill all the way.

Tonight, we are staying at the Soppong River Inn, in an attap hut with balcony perched over the river.  We are following the news in Paris with dismay and anger.  We even noticed that the Muslim women at the night market in Pai were now fully blacked out which we have never seen before in Thailand except for the odd tourist in Bangkok.

Distance: 39 km

Total ascent: 1057 m

Max elevation: 1438 m

 

Mango and sticky rice: great fuel for climbing

Warning of fire risk - we thought those animals looked like reindeers

Warning for falling rocks!

River Rim Cottage at Soppong....

with its own terrace overlooking the river

Mae Hong Son Loop: Sop Poeng to Pai

Saturday, 10 January 2015

This morning at 1.30am, we were awoken to a tap dance recital given by the native critters on the roof of our villa.  What they were, we could not tell.  Quite large animals; we wondered if pine martins could be found in Thailand.  The running went on for an hour or so.  Guess that comes with the romance of living in a wooden house in the jungle.

As we slept, we were conscious that it was raining continuously.

Undeterred by the rain, we put on our waterproofs and left the resort at 7am.  Stopped on the main road for some breakfast.  While David adjusted the stem of his handlebar, Irene organised some food.  Watched the ladies prepare a big batch of kuay tiew which they tossed in a large round tray with sauce.  After we were served, they made many small packets which they folded carefully in origami style.  These were placed into larger plastic bags, takeaway lunch, no doubt.  In the background a Thai rendition of the theme song for 'Frozen'was playing on the radio.  The delicious kuay tiew and drip coffee sweetened with condensed milk set us up for the day.  It was expected to be hard, 90km with plenty of climbing.  Also, we have not had the preparation which we would have liked.

Although the sky was overcast, it did not rain.  Up and up we climbed.  As cars, vans and trucks pass us, some waved, gave the thumbs up, others including a monk with a nice digital SLR took a shot of these crazy people on bicycles.  We passed an orange grove and many strawberry plantations.  Then we cycled in the Mae Lao-Mae Sae Wildlife Reserve.  The climbs went on and on until 30km from Pai.  The highest point was 1426 metres above sea level and we had climbed a total of 2,042 metres

Late lunch was a simple affair of noodle soup at a stall by a police checkpoint.  Because of the area's proximity with Myanmar, there were frequent checks for illegal immigrants.  

Hill tribes make up 63% of the population of the Mae Hong Son province. The ladies who prepared our lunch were Shan (the Thais also call them Thai Yai) and they can be found on the northern border with Myanmar.  We also saw some Lisu people with their distinctive dress.

After lunch, we had an exhilaration 17-18km of descent.  The last 12km into Pai seemed to go on forever.  We were tired.  Our hotel, Phu Pai Art Resort, is 2km away from Pai itself, set among paddy fields.  Coincidentally, it is a sister hotel of the Baan Rai Lanna, although we did not know of the connection when we made our reservations through different sources.

We went into Pai for dinner and visited the street walking night market.  Very much the same and selling the same stuff as elsewhere.  So we have decided to have a good night's sleep and move on tomorrow.

Distance: 91 km

We were cycling through strawberry-growing country today, hence many references to the fruit

It is said that there are 972 curves on the route to Pai; we managed to keep our food down.

Mae Hong Son Loop: Phuket to Sop Poeng

Friday, 9 January 2015

The flight from Phuket to Chiang Mai went smoothly.  The baggage handlers took the bikes unboxed and they were delivered to us still in one piece in Chiang Mai.  The weather was filthy in Chiang Mai.  An unseasonal low depression was hovering in the region bringing a lot of rain.  We were thankful that we had booked a transfer from the airport to our hotel in Sop Poeng.  It is difficult enough getting out of Chiang Mai city with its heavy traffic, and when it rains, circulation grinds to a halt.

When we arrived at Baan Rai Lanna, they prepared us a late lunch of fried rice, after which we got to work sorting out our bicycles.  Not much else to do in the rain.  Will we be able to ride tomorrow?

A map of the Mae Hong Son region