Ally and I met at the petrol station at the 1317/1147 intersection and headed south along the canal road. Ally has raved about the Ban Thi viewpoint/observation station so that is the main goal for me today.
The route
I had to get this photo:
The 2048 is a nicely paved road for the most part and Ally can handle it well:
We stopped near this orchard and could actually hear the humming of bees.
Ally was leading the way and showed me the wat (Wat Pratat Doi Wieng) overlooking the Ban Thi reservoir. Great views up here:
On the way down I spy this reclining Buddha
Looking back at the road up the hill to the wat:
We headed down to take a ride behind the reservoir. I have dreams of connecting to Lampang Province behind...
Ally leads across the dam
Looking back I see an awesome rocket launcher. I also realize that is near the trail that leads behind the reservoir so off we go. Maybe I can jump the reservoir with this thing
What a tree!
The single track leads behind the reservoir. There is quite a bit of sand and that gets worse as you near the runoff bed from the mountain range.
Reaching the dry river bed I see these signs and some signs that point upstream. Maybe next time?
That river bed and ridgeline is so tempting!
We make our way out and check out another reservoir a few kilometers south near Makhuea Chae
We both realize the Ban Thi viewpoint is back north so off we go. The viewpoint hill is not the biggest I have ever seen but I was not saying that at the top!
Ally!
The wat at the peak has many different interesting things to see, including barking dogs!
Ally walking up the observation tower
And the view! I was awed, but it will be even better with some clearing rain!
We head up north and follow the canal inside (east) Of Alpine Golf Resort. When it dead-ends at a canal tunnel we decide to head OVER the hill.
Ally coming down at the bottom of the hill
These cows were really on the run!
And the look back at the little hill we had conquered.
What a great ride with some great sites so close to Chiang Mai. What is the name of the mountain on the west side of the city? Doi Suthep?
;-)
JB
The route
I had to get this photo:
The 2048 is a nicely paved road for the most part and Ally can handle it well:
We stopped near this orchard and could actually hear the humming of bees.
Ally was leading the way and showed me the wat (Wat Pratat Doi Wieng) overlooking the Ban Thi reservoir. Great views up here:
On the way down I spy this reclining Buddha
Looking back at the road up the hill to the wat:
We headed down to take a ride behind the reservoir. I have dreams of connecting to Lampang Province behind...
Ally leads across the dam
Looking back I see an awesome rocket launcher. I also realize that is near the trail that leads behind the reservoir so off we go. Maybe I can jump the reservoir with this thing
What a tree!
The single track leads behind the reservoir. There is quite a bit of sand and that gets worse as you near the runoff bed from the mountain range.
Reaching the dry river bed I see these signs and some signs that point upstream. Maybe next time?
That river bed and ridgeline is so tempting!
We make our way out and check out another reservoir a few kilometers south near Makhuea Chae
We both realize the Ban Thi viewpoint is back north so off we go. The viewpoint hill is not the biggest I have ever seen but I was not saying that at the top!
Ally!
The wat at the peak has many different interesting things to see, including barking dogs!
Ally walking up the observation tower
And the view! I was awed, but it will be even better with some clearing rain!
We head up north and follow the canal inside (east) Of Alpine Golf Resort. When it dead-ends at a canal tunnel we decide to head OVER the hill.
Ally coming down at the bottom of the hill
These cows were really on the run!
And the look back at the little hill we had conquered.
What a great ride with some great sites so close to Chiang Mai. What is the name of the mountain on the west side of the city? Doi Suthep?
;-)
JB
