Pai almost had me sucked in for an extra couple days, but Bo and I decided to stick with our plan to stay there for 3 days. We headed back to Chiang Mai, and then split and I continued north to Chiang Rai.
I only stayed in Chiang Rai for one night and the main thing I wanted to see was Wat Rong Khun, otherwise known as the White Temple. This one is rather new…it was designed in 1997 and parts of it are still under construction.
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The ride from Mae Hong Son to Pai was probably the best portion of the loop yet.
Yet again…great scenery, on a windy and well paved road.
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The riding from Mae Sariang up to Mae Hong Son was absolutely incredible…filled with a wonderful variety of turns
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The Mae Hong Son Loop is about 600km of road through the Mae Hong Son province, the most mountainous in Thailand. Supposedly (and so far, I agree) it has some nice riding and scenery, along with a few great stops to make along the way.
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I spent a few days in Chiang Mai…here’s some pictures…
First off, a flat on my nice new rear tire. The three man gardening crew that was working near me dropped what they were doing to come help. They also thought it was pretty funny how much a Minnesotan sweats when he’s trying to change a tire on a 31degC sunny day.
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I left Bangkok on the morning of the 2nd…election day. There have been protests and demonstrations throughout the city, but they haven’t posed much of a problem. For someone traveling through the area and wanting to mostly avoid them, the most inconvenience I had was that some roads were closed, making taxi rides a bit longer sometimes.
So my plan was to leave pretty early in the morning, just in case things got a little more rowdy with the election going on. I had plenty of detours to take getting out of Bangkok, but other than that, no issues…
An hour north of Bangkok, I made a stop in Ayutthaya, which back in the day, was the the capital of Siam. This lasted from 1350 to 1767, when the Burmese attacked and took over Ayutthaya, pushing the Thais back to Bangkok. The ruins of the old city and some temples are still present and preserved, so since I was already passing through, I decided to take a short break and look around.
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Thailand is one of the 3 countries (US and Canada don’t count) on this trip that I’m seeing for the second time, and its the last of the three.
I arrived in Bangkok, from Kathmandu, and immediately felt different about the city than I did on my first visit. At first, it felt crowded, busy, loud, and dirty…to be honest, I didn’t really like it, and didn’t have any desire to come back. Arriving this time, with a different perspective, it feels much more calm and comfortable.
Here’s just a couple more photos from my last couple days in Kathmandu…and I’m off to Bangkok in the morning!
Himalayas from a plane…
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I’ve been in Kathmandu for almost a week now, and it’s been a very welcome change…everything is a bit more laid back than what I experienced in India. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to get very far outside the city, which I think would be the best part of Nepal. Because of how much there is left to do and see here, I think it’s the place I’d most like to revisit out of all the places I’ve been so far.
OK, on to what I have been able to see with my time here.
First, I was welcomed to Nepal by this kid…he was absolutely obsessed with my bike, inspecting every square inch of it.
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Here’s some video clips from my time in India…some while riding, others not.
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a pat on a motorcycle 