Advice needed - First trip to North of Thailand

[yychow0812]

Dear all,
I'm a fairly novice rider and planning a 2 up ride to the North of Thailand including a border run to Huay Xai these next two days. There is a ton of information on this site, a bit too much in fact that sifting through it all (as I have tried) to do has confused me even more!

I would very much appreciate if someone would be kind enough to give me some general ideas about routing, nice places to stop for meals (especially if owned by fellow riders) and where to stay overnight (also, whether to pre book via Agoda or to look for somewhere to stay on arrival), and whether the below itin is workable - not too tiring and not too late arrival as the evenings are too cold (I couldn't find my jacket liner)

My tentative itin is as follows:

26 Dec
Yasothon to Lom Sak

27 Dec
Lom Sak - Dan Sai - Nan

28 Dec
Nan - Chiang Khong (attend the Beach Party!!)

29 Dec
Chiang Khong - Huay Xai - Chiang Rai (border run day as my visa expires on 30 Dec)

30 Dec
Chiang Rai - Chiang Mai

31 Dec
Chiang Mai - Phitsanulok

01 Jan
Phitsanulok - Bangkok

Are there any must places to visit en-route? I've done stretches of 600 km in a day but wish to avoid this in order to get a good night's rest for the next day's riding.

Thanks in advance.

YY

 

[Lone Rider]

Difficult to say what you must see as I don't know what you like nor your more detailed itinerary but for your schedule on 27 December I did last year (and liked it very much) the ride from Dansai to the Thai/Lao border on the 2113 (might be badly potholed) and then the 1268, 1241 and the 1083 through the Mae Charim Wildlife Preserve to Nan.

On 28 December I would take Rd 1080, Rd 1148 and then the 1093 to Phu Chi Fa (might be quite busy though at that time of the year) and on further north to the Pratu Siam/Pha Tang Viewpoint on the 1093.

On 29 December I would probably ride from Chiangkhong along the Mekong (RD 1129 and the 4007) to Chiangsaen and then take the smaller roads southward to Chiangrai as Highway 1 (Mae Sai to Chiangrai) will be very busy.

Although it probably will be very busy on December 30, try to take the road via Doi Mae Salong (1098, 1130 and 1234) and then southwest to the 1089 and then the 3044 and 3037 to Wawi and on to Mae Suai and on to Chiangmai.

Hope this helps.

 

[yychow0812]

Difficult to say what you must see as I don't know what you like nor your more detailed itinerary but for your schedule on 27 December I did last year (and liked it very much) the ride from Dansai to the Thai/Lao border on the 2113 (might be badly potholed) and then the 1268, 1241 and the 1083 through the Mae Charim Wildlife Preserve to Nan.

On 28 December I would take Rd 1080, Rd 1148 and then the 1093 to Phu Chi Fa (might be quite busy though at that time of the year) and on further north to the Pratu Siam/Pha Tang Viewpoint on the 1093.

On 29 December I would probably ride from Chiangkhong along the Mekong (RD 1129 and the 4007) to Chiangsaen and then take the smaller roads southward to Chiangrai as Highway 1 (Mae Sai to Chiangrai) will be very busy.

Although it probably will be very busy on December 30, try to take the road via Doi Mae Salong (1098, 1130 and 1234) and then southwest to the 1089 and then the 3044 and 3037 to Wawi and on to Mae Suai and on to Chiangmai.

Hope this helps.

Thanks very much for your suggestions. The routing looks great, I will probably do as you suggest. Can hardly wait !

 

[KTMphil]

YY, below are two links with ideas of where to eat and stay on your way up north, good luck.



1. Places to eat


2. Places to stay

 

[yychow0812]

YY, below are two links with ideas of where to eat and stay on your way up north, good luck.



1. Places to eat


2. Places to stay

Yup, had already gone in and copied all the relevant names and GPS coordinates available. I recall reading in some other threads about other places that were not shown on the above two links, but it's great anyway. Cheers

 

[yychow0812]

Difficult to say what you must see as I don't know what you like nor your more detailed itinerary but for your schedule on 27 December I did last year (and liked it very much) the ride from Dansai to the Thai/Lao border on the 2113 (might be badly potholed) and then the 1268, 1241 and the 1083 through the Mae Charim Wildlife Preserve to Nan.On 28 December I would take Rd 1080, Rd 1148 and then the 1093 to Phu Chi Fa (might be quite busy though at that time of the year) and on further north to the Pratu Siam/Pha Tang Viewpoint on the 1093.On 29 December I would probably ride from Chiangkhong along the Mekong (RD 1129 and the 4007) to Chiangsaen and then take the smaller roads southward to Chiangrai as Highway 1 (Mae Sai to Chiangrai) will be very busy.Although it probably will be very busy on December 30, try to take the road via Doi Mae Salong (1098, 1130 and 1234) and then southwest to the 1089 and then the 3044 and 3037 to Wawi and on to Mae Suai and on to Chiangmai.Hope this helps.

Have been riding the routes as you suggested. Brilliant, thanks a lot. The 2113 to Nahaeo is quite potholed as you said. The 1148 to Chiang Khong is a real blast. The 1093 is challenging to say the least but fantastic views. I stayed on it almost all the way to CK even though my GPS kept telling me to turn around.Thanks once again. I think I will skip CM and go onto Pai and MHS instead.