It was around November 1986 when Harri the Finn and I decided to go back up to Thailand for a recharge for about 3 weeks. We parted company immediately but met up again in Bangkok. Took the slow train to Surat Thani and had some rest and relaxation in Ko Samui. Bored with that after two days, we hit the hit the skies again and went on to Chiang Mai.
There was a small book store there with a couple of expats (It has been 25 years since I was there last, but their information was spot on)
Harri had an epiphany. "Let's rent a couple of bikes and go to Mai Sai" So, 25 yrs old, armed with all the correct enduro equipment, runners, shorts and T shirt and our shoulder bags that took care of everything commonly referred to as mum, we headed off.
It wasn’t far into the trip before the rain got the better of us and we stopped and bought some jackets and pants which have significance later on. Harri was smart enough to have a cap and I purchased a red scarf to cover my forehead as it had blistered with wind burn.
We continued and had 1 more stop on the way as it astounded us how they get those statues up these narrow roads.
Without further delay, we continued on to Mai Sai and arrived around 5pm
and stayed at Chads Guest house where we enjoyed all the local customs that evening.
The next morning we went up to the boarder and at that time were not allowed to cross, I believe they are a little more lenient these days.
And a bit of a sticky beak on Loas
And a general potter around before heading back to the guest house for a good night’s sleep (HA!)
We decided to go to Tha Ton and the next morning, Chad, with his perfect directions said, “Just go down that road and you will find it”
Well it started off a 3 metre wide road, sealed but quickly turned into a dirt road, There were forks in the road where we used our 1986 GPS (guessing positioning systems) taking what looked like the most used.
A couple of hours passed and we checked the fuel, not looking good but in true adventure spirit, pushed on. As luck would have it we came across a petrol station.
There were about a dozen mehkong bottles with fuel and we asked to purchase the lot but were flatly refused. So we had to do with 1.5 litres each. The other advantage was we finally got some more directions, not as good as Chad’s though.
The track was getting thinner and thinner and what’s a trip without Harri going through some mud.
We continued along some fairly small tracks, one took us to the top of the hills where we had some good trail riding along the ridges.
It had dawned upon us we were probably in Burma but as luck would have it we came across a group of men brandishing flintlock rifles. My choice of scarf colour was not that good as it was the “uniform of the communists” at the time, Blue jacket and red scarf!
Mum to the rescue!
Yes, traveling with 4 hipflasks of Mehkong can do wonders. So we shared a drink and explained we were form Australia. Threw some more Mekhong to them for directions and we were off. Needless to say, two minutes down the track we stopped and discussed our stupidity.
Before long we were back down in the mud again and about 1 hour more of that we came across a village so time for a rest we got 2 bottles of coke. I’ll never forget Harri’s comment at the time. “That mongrel in Hadyai charges us 2 baht for a bottle and here its only 75 stang AND they have to lug it over mountains and ford creeks AND they wouldn’t take the 25 stang tip”.
So back on the road which had been graded to 1 car width over a hill and there it lay before us, 4 lane super highway under construction.
We were hammering along at about 90Ks Harri in front, me a little more ginger. All of a sudden I see Harri and his bike in the air, back on the ground and stopped, waving me off.
The bridges were log bridges layed in the direction of the road, not across. The lip at the start gave Harri enough air to get to the other side, needless to say, we forded the rest of the creeks.
All in all a great trip, one of those I will never forget. Thanks Harri!
There was a small book store there with a couple of expats (It has been 25 years since I was there last, but their information was spot on)
Harri had an epiphany. "Let's rent a couple of bikes and go to Mai Sai" So, 25 yrs old, armed with all the correct enduro equipment, runners, shorts and T shirt and our shoulder bags that took care of everything commonly referred to as mum, we headed off.It wasn’t far into the trip before the rain got the better of us and we stopped and bought some jackets and pants which have significance later on. Harri was smart enough to have a cap and I purchased a red scarf to cover my forehead as it had blistered with wind burn.
We continued and had 1 more stop on the way as it astounded us how they get those statues up these narrow roads.
Without further delay, we continued on to Mai Sai and arrived around 5pm
and stayed at Chads Guest house where we enjoyed all the local customs that evening.
The next morning we went up to the boarder and at that time were not allowed to cross, I believe they are a little more lenient these days.
And a bit of a sticky beak on Loas
And a general potter around before heading back to the guest house for a good night’s sleep (HA!)
We decided to go to Tha Ton and the next morning, Chad, with his perfect directions said, “Just go down that road and you will find it”
Well it started off a 3 metre wide road, sealed but quickly turned into a dirt road, There were forks in the road where we used our 1986 GPS (guessing positioning systems) taking what looked like the most used.
A couple of hours passed and we checked the fuel, not looking good but in true adventure spirit, pushed on. As luck would have it we came across a petrol station.
There were about a dozen mehkong bottles with fuel and we asked to purchase the lot but were flatly refused. So we had to do with 1.5 litres each. The other advantage was we finally got some more directions, not as good as Chad’s though.
The track was getting thinner and thinner and what’s a trip without Harri going through some mud.
We continued along some fairly small tracks, one took us to the top of the hills where we had some good trail riding along the ridges.
It had dawned upon us we were probably in Burma but as luck would have it we came across a group of men brandishing flintlock rifles. My choice of scarf colour was not that good as it was the “uniform of the communists” at the time, Blue jacket and red scarf!
Mum to the rescue!
Yes, traveling with 4 hipflasks of Mehkong can do wonders. So we shared a drink and explained we were form Australia. Threw some more Mekhong to them for directions and we were off. Needless to say, two minutes down the track we stopped and discussed our stupidity.
Before long we were back down in the mud again and about 1 hour more of that we came across a village so time for a rest we got 2 bottles of coke. I’ll never forget Harri’s comment at the time. “That mongrel in Hadyai charges us 2 baht for a bottle and here its only 75 stang AND they have to lug it over mountains and ford creeks AND they wouldn’t take the 25 stang tip”.
So back on the road which had been graded to 1 car width over a hill and there it lay before us, 4 lane super highway under construction.
We were hammering along at about 90Ks Harri in front, me a little more ginger. All of a sudden I see Harri and his bike in the air, back on the ground and stopped, waving me off.
The bridges were log bridges layed in the direction of the road, not across. The lip at the start gave Harri enough air to get to the other side, needless to say, we forded the rest of the creeks.
All in all a great trip, one of those I will never forget. Thanks Harri!
