" A New Favourite Road (Repaired)"

[2wheels]

Tuesday 12th February.

(This story has been re-done since the attack on our website and all photos that went MIA have been returned to their rightful place;
but they might take a few seconds to appear, so please be patient.)


Phil Ross (known elsewhere as 'FeeltheNoise') and his wife Khun Pim had invited me to go with them to a Chinese New Year and Hilltribes Festival out from Mae Chan, so the CRF was packed and ready for another adventure.


My first stop was to record the GPS co-ordinates of this unfinished Spa-Resort on the #118 speedway at Mae Kachan.



N 19.11581
E 99.46375

I had company. This was the first of many Chinese plated vehicles we encountered over the next few days, usually travelling in long convoys making life difficult for other road users.



This Mosque just down the road a bit from the Khmer style resort is near completion.



N 19.12428
E 99.48260

Then I rode into a side road and had a look at this monument to a special Monk.



I find it impossible to ride past Charin without indulging, so enjoyed a 'brunch' which included a slice of the excellent coconut pie.



Not far from Charin I took the #1211 then right onto #1208 past the turn to 'Holy Water'.



Then came the traffic light infested ride through Chiang Rai up to the Few Rocks Resort at Mae Chan where I met up with Khun Pim and Phil.

My hosts took me out along #1130 then onto some rural tracks to this amazing Choui Fong Tea plantation and Cafe in Pasang at

N 20.20016
E 99.81693




South Korean Mr Kwon is now running the place and is married to the daughter of the Chinese-Thai man who established the plantation but has since died.
In his honour a massive shrine has been built overlooking his plantation.





Prettiest lady in northern Thailand?



There was no way we could resist some Green Tea cake and a cool glass of Oolong and honey tea.





I had never seen tea being picked before.





I recommend this delightful place as a relaxing and friendly venue.
They are open every day until 6pm. Their website is www.chouifongtea.com



Then we called into another amazing place, the 'Cat Cafe' at

N 20.07269
E 99.86815



... not too far off Highway #1 near Ban Mae Khao Tom Tha Sut.

Prettiest lady in northern Thailand?



More delightful views and delicious snacks.
The Kiwi Fruit Smoothy was superb.
I gave the 'Mongo Smoothy' a miss, as I did the 'Spicy Fired'.





Their menu is quite interesting and the prices are reasonable.



The centre of attention here are their cats (“as it should be!”, I hear the cats saying).
About 30 large felines live in this house and are released to do what cats do around 5pm every day then returned to their rooms before dark.



This place overlooks a huge rubber-tree plantation.





Prior to this ride I was not aware of the extent of tea and rubber-tree plantations in this part of Thailand.


That night we went to Rest at Mae Chan pub/restaurant where we were serenaded by a young chap who has promised to learn Neil Young's 'Heart of Gold' before my next visit. (Recent reports are that he has!)


My fish meal was excellent as was the company because we shared a table with 'bsacbob' and his friend who, by the time this is posted, will be riding in Laos. A couple of Phil's friends were also at the table and the discussion was long and entertaining.
An excellent venue, on Hiran Nakhon Road at

N 20.14368
E 99.85331

(continuing)

 

[KTMphil]

That camera (& you) takes some great shots 2W

 

[2wheels]

Wednesday 13th February

A huge convoy of Chinese tourists filling their tanks at a station on Hwy #1.



We met up with David Learmonth, riding his wonderfully throaty Triumph, and headed off towards a favourite coffee shop, 'Bang Coffee' on #1020.

We took back-roads which offered some good views. (see map later)





'Bang Coffee' is a humble but pleasant little place and the owner, Khun Mot, is delightful.



Prettiest lady in northern Thailand?



N 19.78345
E 99.90965

There's a restaurant next to the coffee shop which sells good food for 30 baht.



We returned to Mae Chan on different roads, passing more rubber plantations ...



...and I stopped at the 'Big Buddha' at Wat Muen Buddha Metta Khun Aram on #1098.

I was surprised not to see a convoy of Chinese visitors there.





N 20.16525
E 99.99545

We said 'goodbye' to David (enjoyed your company mate) who went home to Ban Mai and Phil took me through rice-field tracks into Mae Chan.









It was quite warm riding mid afternoon and the promise of evening rain was welcome.



We were reminded of the vital need to remain well hydrated.

Khun Pim, with the help of two little Burmese girls An and On, made an excellent meal that night which we shared with some visitors ...





... and 'Clawed' the cat!



(continuing)

 

[2wheels]

Thursday 14th February


Phil and Khun Pim's neighbour runs this Resort in Mae Chan, the Huen Nua Resort at

N 20.13441
E 99. 86211



He is also the very busy Director of a large school some 50 kms away in the mountains.
It was this teacher, Khun Chalermpol, who invited us to his school to be part of their Chinese New Year Festival.
Today was The Bg Day.



We took some excellent riding roads through the mountains ...










...heading towards the Ban Hauiphung School and the celebrations.

Upon arrival I was amazed to see the huge crowd and the various ethnic groups already there, which included Chinese, Akha, Lahu, Lisu and some I had never seen before. A real 'fruit salad' of people and colours. This was going to be good.






N 20.23150
E 99.67475

We mingled with the masses for a while and were introduced to two teachers who had been appointed to be our hosts for the day.

They showed us some visitors' rooms which we could use, saying that we would pay whatever we wanted and the money goes to the school.

I opted for the VIP room, mainly because it featured an indoor waterfall!
Yes, a bit 'kitch' I know (and Khun Chalermpol's Guest House is based on similar 'kitchy' ideas) but it sure was different and had great views.

A river, the Mae Kham, flows beside the school grounds.



My room.



The waterfall in the room.



The 'Hong Nam'.



The view from my door.



This school has more that 1,000 students and some 50 teachers. Some of the students reside at the school.
It was established about 20 years ago and has gradually grown in size, spreading along the river.

Students helped create the beautiful gardens and settings.







Ajarn Chalermsak has been there 6 years and commutes the 100 mountainous kms daily from Mae Chan!

He told us that the school needs all the financial help it can get and relies a lot on sponsors and donations.
Even their drinking water is donated.



Refreshed and unpacked, we walked down to the action at the school grounds.
One of the first actions was to play the Thai National Anthem and I noticed that a few young lads were chastised for walking around during the playing of the anthem.

Here's some of the diversity of peoples.

















This young Akha student, wearing her traditional costume, taught me 'An Ma' = mother and 'An Da' = Dad and we had quite a conversation in English.

A very confident and proud young lady.



We saw traditional dancing ...




...and young men played their top-spinning games for hours on end.(Unlike at the Hmong community, where children played rather than watched).



And 'ball-tossing' was happening everywhere!



Naturally, there were plenty of food and drink stalls at the venue.










This dear old lady asked me to make a photo of her ... then asked for food!
No problems.



One of the friendly and proud Chinese-Thai teachers.



Some observed from a distance.





Some looked glum (despite the sensational hat).



Some looked happy.



And some looked tired.



Some tried walking on bamboo stilts.







And he just wished he could!



But meanwhile ...



Proud grandma.



Later that afternoon our two teacher guides-hosts put us into the school 'ute' and took us to this new Chinese Temple (Wat Gakow) at

N 20.23487
E 99.66125







Phil caught a bug at the Temple.



From days gone.



Then our two guides took us to the memorial for Khun Sa at

N 20.24860
E 99.66357

Tai Yai flags on the wall.



I've never been a fan of this guy and can't quite understand why he is, seemingly, idolised so I must do some research.




View attachment 14902

I told one of our guides this and he said, 'That's OK, I understand'.

A 'fast bomb'?



We were then taken to a Chinese Bun shop where we sampled the goods and chatted for a while.
Clean shop and friendly staff but those buns are not my choice for a snack.
I grabbed a tissue from a nearby box and ate it just for a comparison, which amused our hosts.



Opposite the shop is an archway to a Chinese language school where many of the Ban Hauiphung students go.



We were told that the students have very little motivation in learning English but are highly motivated to learn Chinese.

Hauiphung school is actually seeking volunteer English language teachers and I can connect anyone interested and qualified with the relevant person at the school. (PS. Since submitting this story a Canadian couple have contacted me about working at the school.)


Back to the New Year Celebrations, where the dancing continued into the night; well, until there was an announcement warning us that an electrical storm was approaching and everyone scrambled home! We later discovered that the warning was justified as we suffered a power cut for a couple of hours; which meant no relaxing waterfall in my room!

However, the gently flowing stream outside the room was soothing enough until the electricity returned.

Phil and I were intrigued by the dancing. We both felt the rhythm of the drums and the circular movement around a 'totem pole' arrangement was very similar to Native American dancing.
More research required.



We purchased a huge dinner which we failed to completely consume beside the river.


A tremendous event at an excellent school with friendly teachers and students.

(continuing)

 

[2wheels]

Friday 15th February

'Leftovers' for breakfast, then we packed and rode excellent mountain roads towards Doi Mae Salong.



Oh no, another convoy of cars from China slowing our progress.
One actually stalled on a steep uphill hairpin bend and had a hell of a time getting mobile again.

We enjoyed cake and coffee at the 'Fun Fun Inn' in Doi Mae Salong, me making a mental note to return
to this picturesque area when the sky is not covered with the wretched smoke haze.



The 'Chinese Martyrs Memorial Museum' took my attention and I made a note to stop and look closer next time.
I wasn't aware of the 'martyrdom' aspect. I also wasn't aware of the massive 'Chinese-ness' of this region.



We rode #1234 and the wonderful #1089 back to Mae Chan; the latter now one of my 'Top Three' roads.













There's also a large Christian Church presence in the area and active evangelism.







That night we went to the lively Mae Chan Walking Street.





We stumbled upon an excellent restaurant in a Resort just off Hwy 1.
I didn't have my GPS, so will ask Phil R for details as this is a place we highly recommend.
Not only is the venue pleasant, with quiet music, the food arrives promptly.

The menu, as usual, is fun.



(continuing ... homeward bound)

 

[2wheels]

Saturday 16th February


After a well-deserved 'sleep-in' we 'hit the road' for Doi Saket, taking #1211 but still being frustrated by the red lights of outer Chiang Rai.


The 'No L' coffee shop on Hwy 1. (When 'love' comes to 'shove' perhaps?)



This time only a brief stop at Charin to purchase some of their excellent jam.



A strange home beside #118.



Then a lengthy stop at the new 'Sweet Memory Valley' Restaurant/Coffee Shop on #118 at

N 19.27032
E 99.51144



From the outside this place appears rather stark and unwelcoming, mainly because of the lack of trees and shelter,
but once inside it is delightful. They young owner, Khun JZ, is very proud of what he has done there so far and showed us around.

By the time it is completed he will have invested 15 million baht!

The interior is based on a beach theme; the blue floor-boards representing the ocean and the off-white tiled floor the beach.
He is toying with the idea of putting stars on the ceiling.



He even has sheep there! (But they're not on the menu).





The pond is heart-shaped and the path to the sala and beyond is Cupid's arrow going through the heart.
Khun JZ is a romantic.
Land is being prepared at the back for a Sun Flower plantation.



Time-lines dedicated to his wife.



The menu is more than adequate and the prices reasonable.







I believe the 'Blue House' and 'White House' will become Guest Rooms.



So after assuring us that some shelter for bikes and cars will be erected Khun JZ added that he is planning to have the
official opening of 'Sweet Memory Valley' during Songkran. I wish him well; he deserves success for such a bold and unique venture.

www.sweetmemoryvalley.com

Back home to Doi Saket, avoiding the threatening rain.

Total distance exactly 700 kms!




CRF? Still liking it!


Thank you Phil R and Khun Pim for being excellent hosts and also to Ajarn Chalermpol and the staff and students
of Ban Hauiphung School. See you again!

 

[2wheels]

Oh shyte.
Too many wasted hours here today.
Don't know what's not happening!

The pics appear in the draft but appear in the thread as 'attachments'.

 

[Captain_Slash]

Good photos (those that show) and report there Ron

 

[Ally]

Ron

I have told you this on many occasions, the most recent was this afternoon. I am now going public.

We both live in this small place called Chiang Mai, my home is 35 minutes from yours.

I would like to sit with you whilst you create a ride report so that I can understand what causes your reports to fail in their insertion of images so often.

I am not about to make a fool of you as you type or ridicule you afterwards. All I would like to do is aid the process of your & everyone of your readers enjoyment, rather than prolonging the stress you so obviously feel from this.

Can you please agree to this sooner rather than later.

Thank you.

Ally

 

[Gnasher328]

I saw somewhere that the pics only have a 'life' of an hour. If you do not finalise the post within that time they are discarded, a preview does not sem to hold them. That is the main reason I have managed so few posts, I would like to be able to save a draft then return to it later for a review.
Tim.

 

[2wheels]

Ally, is it only my reports that suffer this problem?

And today I did agree for you to monitor what I do when I do my next report.

Is it likely that I have a router problem, seeing the images can be successfully inserted in my drafts but get lost when posting a thread?

Can you rescue this particular thread?

 

[2wheels]

That's news to me and very interesting Tim, thank you.

True Ally?

 

[Ally]

Correct!

View attachment 14818

It is clearly stated there for you

Ally

 

[Lone Rider]

Yes, this "one hour photo life time" is one of the reasons why I normally upload my picture to a photo sharing site like Photobucket, Smugmug, etc. In this way I can take my time making the trip report in Wordpad or Notepad and save it a .txt file (don't use Word as this puts in a lot of formatting notes in the file). You can put in the pictures by just copying the URL from Photobucket or Smugmug or other photo site and insert it where you want it in between the text.

Once I am ready (and this may take as long as you need - you can take days if needed), I just copy the whole text file to RideAsia, just click Preview Post (you might have to click the bitton "Go Advanced" first and you can have a look at how it looks, make the necessary changes and, once happy with how it looks like, post it on the forum.

Another advantage is that with this method the pictures remain yours instead of the owner of the forum and you can still access and/or re-arrange them in case you have been locked out of the forum for whatever reason.

 

[LivinLOS]

Just sign up to flickr free.. Use flickr uploader from the desktop to 'dump' them online simply and quickly.. Then link them with IMG tags..

Not only does it mean you dont have any of the forum issues.. You have them resized for the web by flickr.. You retain control of your pictures and have a nice online backup. With flcikr pro (paid annually) you can sort them, tag them, have slideshows of sets or collections.. Really great site.

Of course any of the hosting sites will also work (PBase, DropBox, picasa, etc etc etc) I just really like flickr for all the integration tools for desktops, cellphones, etc etc.. Picasa probably comes a close second with its 'web folder' desktop mirroring.

If Ally was to install the VB flickr mod, you can even embed animated slideshows etc.. Quite slick.

 

[2wheels]

Thanks Auke and LivinLOS.
I'm subscribed to 'Photobucket' so will try this report again using that; once I'm re-motivated.
If that doesn't work I'll go to 'Flickr'.

 

[Ally]

Hi folks

Rather than immediately diversifying or suggesting software issues and possibly complicating a simple process, is it possible for you (2wheels) to show me what & how you do it today, tomorrow even the following day. Finishing this report by hook or by crook is not the way to progress.

Thank you

ally

 

[2wheels]

Thanks Ally; tomorrow?
Meanwhile, if you think it best (as I do) to delete the entire thread for a fresh start I will be pleased.
I have saved the text.

 

[Ally]

See you at 10:00 Ron, we can use the current thread & get that sorted out very easily.

Ally

 

[2wheels]

And some nice pics from Phil Ross.

 

[2wheels]

re 'Khun Sa'

Khun Sa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"It is claimed that Khun Sa surrendered to Burmese officials in January 1996, reportedly because he did not want to face drug smuggling charges in the USA. The US DEA had promised $2 million reward for his arrest. Khun Sa left the Shan States for Rangoon, but he was never arrested by the government. Burmese officials refused to extradite him, and he lived the rest of his life in the Rangoon area with significant investments in Yangon, Mandalay and Taunggyi."

 

[2wheels]

re Mae Salong and 'The Martyrs'

500px / Adrianna Tan / The Curious Chinese Town in Northern Thailand


"As it turns out, Mae Salong is settled predominantly by the descendants of the former 93rd Division of the Kuomintang army. As they were losing the war to the communists, this division was the one that was told to stay put, move south — through Burma, then eventually to Thailand — while the rest of the Nationalists scuttled over to Formosa, now known as Taiwan. The 93rd Division's main operation, for a time, was to wait for General Chiang to 'take back the motherland'. They could then be activated for an invasion from the south.

We know how that story went.They continued waiting, funding their military operations (namely the purchase of arms) through opium, which they produced and sold. This helped give this northern bit of Thailand the infamous Golden Triangle reputation, if you were alive some decades ago. Today, there is no more opium, only tea; and their descendants are now Thai citizens, rather than Taiwanese. They received citizenship from the Thai government as a reward for their service in fighting Thailand's own communist insurgency during those dark days post-WWII."

 

[2wheels]

re 'Santikhiri' and its interesting history.

Santikhiri - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"According to a CIA report in 1971, Mae Salong was then one of the largest heroin refineries in Southeast Asia.[SUP][11][/SUP] Only in the late 1980s, after Khun Sa's army was finally routed and pushed over the border into Myanmar by the Thai military, was the Thai government able to make any headway in taming the region - part of which involved crop substitution plans and giving the area a new name. Santikhiri meaning "hill of peace" was introduced by the Thai government in an effort to disassociate the area from its former image as an established opium zone.[SUP][12][/SUP] King Bhumibol Adulyadej and other members of the royal family made regular visits as a sign of their support for the old soldiers who had fought against their own country for Thailand.[SUP][9]"[/SUP]

 

[2wheels]

Powerful (and somewhat controversial) message from The Akha Heritage Foundation.

http://www.akha.org/upload/flyers/akhapamphlet.pdf

 

[2wheels]

Ally, thanks for your 'hands on' tutorial (the best way to learn) re 'attachments', folders, 'go advanced' etc.

 

[2wheels]

Here's where we rode.
From Doi Mae Salong we rode #1234 and connected to the delightful #1089.

View attachment 14980

Thanks Phil G for map.

 

[Ally]

Ally, thanks for your 'hands on' tutorial (the best way to learn) re 'attachments', folders, 'go advanced' etc.

Your welcome Ron, glad you found it useful.

Ally

 

[bigalmorris]

Fantastic ride Ron...It's lovely that people are so prepared and willing to be photographed and that with just a smile in their environment, they are part of a stunning picture..well done mate

 

[2wheels]

A friend sent this doco re Khun Sa.

Khun Sa - Opium Warlord of the World - YouTube

 

[Just Bob]

"A real 'fruit salad' of people and colours."

Glad to see you moving away from the cakes and pies.

What a great experience! Fantastic photos! Big thanks!

 

[2wheels]

Glad to see you moving away from the cakes and pies

So you didn't see the photo from Charin then Bob? :RE
Thanks for the encouragement.

Thanks Phil, Colin and Alan too.
Regards

 

[Just Bob]

I would love to sit down with this woman with a translator to hear the history she has witnessed.

Prettiest girl in Thailand;
View attachment 14973

 

[2wheels]

There's a gold mine of Oral History to be collected Bob and I'm wondering if it's being done.
It seems to me that the various Christian groups who are so active in the area should be doing so; they seem to be 'cashed up'.
I can't imagine any Thai government funding the collection of Oral Histories from ethnic groups!