Recky tour - Chiang Mai to the Tibet border / Kawa Karpo at 6,740 meters (22,113')

KTMphil

KTMphil

Senior member
Joined
Jan 11, 2011
Location
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Bikes
2007 KTM 990 Adventure Suzuki DRZ 400
On Monday 27th May, 2013, I will be riding a BMW F800 gs as part of a "recce" tour from Chiang Mai to the Tibet border / Kawa Karpo at 6,740 meters (22,113'). Assuming this goes well and we like what we see, Reed, owner of Asian Motorcycle Adventures, will be offering tours on this route & you'll legally be able to take your own motorcycle from Chiang Mai, through Laos & China to the Tibet border hassle free. All the necessary temporary driving permits & motorcycle permits will be arranged for you, a hassle free adventure.


Con (left) wishing us a safe ride



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Reed will have a daily blog documenting our trip, he writes beautifully which will make it a great read, the first part/ introduction is below:


"Hello. My name is Reed Resnikoff and I am the owner/operator of ASIAN MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURES, a motorcycle touring company based in the beautiful northern Thai city of Chiang Mai.



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On Monday, May 27, myself and Phil Gibbins, an avid motorcyclist also based in Chiang Mai and the creator of the motorcycle website www.rideasia.net, are going on a rather unique motorcycle tour that will take us all the way up to the Sino-Tibetan border and to a town called Shangri-La.

We will ride two BMW F800 GS's from Chiang Mai through northern Laos on into Yunnan Province, China. Waiting for us when we arrive in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Province, will be the third motorcyclist on this trip, George Migliorelli, a round-the-world biker presently living and working in Hong Kong. George will be riding a Chinese-made 250cc dirt bike and trying like hell to keep up with Phil and myself.
We figure the entire tour will take around four weeks. It better because that is all the time the Chinese granted us on our visas.

Our ultimate goal is to reach the highest mountain left in the world whose peak has never been summited, Kawa Karpo at 6,740 meters (22,113'), sitting on the southeastern edge of the Himalaya plateau. The reason why no one has ever reached the peak has nothing to do with the difficulty of its flanks but everything to do with it being off-limits to foreigners as it is one of the four holiest mountains of Tibetan culture and the dwelling place of one of their most powerful goddesses, Shri Chakrasamvara. It is not a good idea to go messing with anyone's Gods because you never know.

Our base in this seldom-visited region is going to be probably the most exotic-sounding town on earth, Shangri-La. Shangri-La was made famous in James Hilton’s 1933 novel “Lost Horizon.” Yes, this town was created in the mind of a novelist but literary scholars seem to agree that Hilton based the town he called Shangri-La on a real place in Yunnan called Zhongdian by the Chinese and Gyalthang by the Tibetans. Those ever-resourceful Chinese, after becoming aware of this, officially changed the name of Zhongdian to Shangri-La and this is what has appeared on every map since then. Whatever, we are riding our motorcycles to Shangri-La. How sexy is that!

I will be writing a daily blog about this tour. I've never written a blog before. In fact I've never even read any blog by anyone else before, so please bear with my inexperience until I work the kinks out of this form of communication. And if any readers out there have suggestions on how I can improve the blog as it unfolds, I am more than happy to listen.

I will try to make this blog as informative and entertaining as possible and promise to sprinkle each report with photos and videos from each day's ride. I will be shooting with a Canon EOS Mark III digital camera with the brand-new 24-70 2.8 "L" II lens (for those who know). Hopefully I will be able to capture superb images to share with you all. In addition, we are also taking a bunch of GoPro HD video cameras for action footage. And in my pocket, ever handy, will be my brand-new Samsung Galaxy 4 smart phone that is supposed to take excellent images with its 13 megapixal camera.

I am sure Phil Gibbins will be taking along a camera or two, but he is out in the Thai jungle somewhere getting in some last-minute riding before going out for another month of riding, so I can't ask him at this time what camera gear he is bringing. I will inform you all when he resurfaces.

in each blog I will be providing a map so you can follow our progress or lack of it.
But to start off, I am including three maps at the bottom of this blog so you can get some idea as to where we are riding.
I had to use three separate maps because the territory we are covering is so vast and I couldn't find a single map to display it all.

I also want to inform you readers that I am an inveterate foodie (last time I wore a belt was 13 years ago), and a portion of each blog will be devoted to the foods we encounter and the meals we eat. Having lived in China for 5 years some years ago, I am most excited about what tastes await my palate. My stomach is grumbling just thinking about this.

You are receiving this blog because sometime in the past you had contacted my company expressing interest in a motorcycle tour.
If you do not want to be bothered with receiving any more of my blog posts, just ignore this email.
But if do you want to follow this tour, please do the following;
Go this url:

Shangri-La Here We Come - A Motorcycle Touring Blog from Chiang Mai, Thailand to the Tibet-China Border. - Asian Motorcycle Tours - Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam Motorcycle Tours

then click on the RSS feed icon on the right-hand side of the webpage.

If you know someone who might be interested in reading daily reports about this trip, please forward them this url or email.

Thank you for your attention and I do hope you enjoy our trip. Remember to look at the three maps below.

Best Regards, Reed Resnikoff.

Below is the first map, showing our starting point in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We will enter Laos at Huay Xai and cross the Chinese border southwest of Mengla.

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This second map shows the northern part of Yunnan Province, where Shangri-La and Kawa Karpo are located.

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The third and final map shows most of western Yunnan Province. The map relief will give you a good idea of the terrain. Kunming is the capital city of Yunnan Province and this is one of our stops on this tour. At the very bottom of this map you can see Mengla which is the first major Chines city we will hit.

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If you want to keep updated with this blog, go the below url and click on the RSS feed icon on the right-hand side of the webpage. Once you do that you will receive every subsequent blog I send out.

Shangri-La Here We Come - A Motorcycle Touring Blog from Chiang Mai, Thailand to the Tibet-China Border. - Asian Motorcycle Tours - Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam Motorcycle Tours

Thank you for your attention. Best Regards, Reed Resnikoff
--
Asian Motorcycle Adventures

Mobile: (66-[0]80) 493-1012

info@asianbiketour.com

Asian Motorcycle Tours - Motorcycle Tours throughout Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and more

Follow us on www.facebook.com/AsianMotorcycleAdventures --
Asian Motorcycle Adventures

Mobile: (66-[0]80) 493-1012

info@asianbiketour.com

Asian Motorcycle Tours - Motorcycle Tours throughout Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and more

Follow us on www.facebook.com/AsianMotorcycleAdventures" .





Asian Motorcycle Adventures Co. Ltd.
is registered, fully bonded and insured
with the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
International License No. 21-00553
 
Our ultimate goal is to reach the highest mountain left in the world whose peak has never been summited, Kawa Karpo at 6,740 meters (22,113'), sitting on the southeastern edge of the Himalaya plateau.
Click to expand...

Hope it works out well for all in the group.
Looking forward to reading the report.
 
KTMphil said:
On Monday 27th May, 2013, I will be riding a BMW F800 gs as part of a "recce" tour from Chiang Mai to the Tibet border / Kawa Karpo at 6,740 meters (22,113'). Assuming this goes well and we like what we see, Reed, owner of Asian Motorcycle Adventures, will be offering tours on this route & you'll legally be able to take your own motorcycle from Chiang Mai, through Laos
Click to expand...

Sounds great, look forward to the report, especially in light of recent reports of organised tours not being allowed into Laos. http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-...883-dont-run-illegal-tours-laos-beware-3.html

The whole issue seems very confusing so hopefully after this one you'll be able to clarify what riders can and cannot do, regarding Laos.
 
Phil, if you two are going that high you seriously need to look at your oxigen intake! It is very easy to get height sickness, check with your doctors and take Diamox with you!
 
From an aviation perspective breathing for a pilot should be assisted by supplemental oxygen above 12,000ft if I remember correctly. 22,000 ft I'm sure this has been discussed/covered before the group gets there!
 
brake034 said:
Phil, if you two are going that high you seriously need to look at your oxigen intake! It is very easy to get height sickness, check with your doctors and take Diamox with you!
Click to expand...



Marcel - I was there a few months back and didn't get any headaches
 
Better be safe then sorry Phil, height sickness can be much worse then a headache!
 
Have a wonderful trip you guys.

Look forward to reading all about it.

Ally
 
Made Houay Xai, Laos, no hassles at immigration, smooth sailing.

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Ice cold BeerLao over looking the Mekong and Chiang Khong in the distance

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Never sent from an I-Phone
 
Good luck with the trip Phil and looking forward to reading about it
 
The new Boten Laos customs and immigration building ahead...lots of gold paint needed

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Never sent from an I-Phone
 
Support vehicle and bikes all inspected and ok'd for Chinese temporary registration



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Thank God we weren't in this line for roadworthy certification


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Part 2 of Reed's blog on our trip below (& what a coincidence!!!):



Dateline: Tuesday, May 28 – Blog #2.

Welcome to the “Shangri-La Here We Come” Blog.

Present Location: Huay Xai, Laos – the border crossing town opposite Chiang Khong, Thailand. To reach Huay Xai we had to take a ferry across the Mekong River.

Today’s Destination: Boten, China, which is the border crossing town from Laos on into Yunnan Province, China.

Yesterday’s ride from Chiang Mai went well.
Distance was about 300 km. and it took 4.5 hours.
We skirted storms all the way – they were to the north and to the west. Curtains of rain were visible in many places. Black clouds blocked the sun. Many times the road was puddle-covered and we just missed rain by minutes. Several times we rode through sections of light drizzles that were more refreshing than annoying.
It was hot and I rode in my body armor with nothing on top.
Temperature hovered in the low 30′s Celsius.

We arrived in Chiang Kong for the customs and immigration drill at 1:30. Paper work took around 2 hours and the 1 km ferry ride across the Mekong took another 2 hours. This was because there’s a lot of truck traffic between Thailand and Laos and archaic barges powered by equally-archaic ferries take a very long time to load and unload a never-ending fleet of 18-wheelers.
We were number 4 in the ferry queue and sat treading water in the middle of the Mekong until it was our turn to unload.
On our ferry were 10 fully-loaded 18-wheelers filled with fruit. I was truly concerned that with all that weight our barge would sink but further figured the ferry operators knew what they were doing. The lorry’s ultimate destination is exactly where we are heading today, Botan, Laos, where their will transfer their cargo onto Chinese trucks.

In another few months a bridge will be completed 7 kms. south of Chiang Kong and will vastly speed up the border crossing process. I envision the whole exercise to take no more than one hour.

Strange Pre-Tour Doings

I’m sure everyone has heard the term “the mysterious East” and, boy, am I ever becoming a firm believer in this.

This above statement is coming from a dyed-in-the-wool atheist and probably one of the least spiritual persons in the world. But mysterious and unexplained things (all positive by the way) are currently flowing through my personal and my business life. Undercurrents of karma, fate, and divine interferences seem to be following me and there is just no rational explanation for any of it. I’m just an innocent bystander watching it all unfold around me.

There are two more persons on this tour that I did not mention in yesterday’s blog: my assistant and right-hand man, Pae, and his wife Oy. Pae will drive the 4×4 support vehicle and Oy is his passenger and simply coming along for the ride. She is a partial invalid and doesn’t get around much and she is very excited about coming on this tour.

Some of you receiving this blog know Pae from my tours and are well aware of his gentle character and serious but joyful demeanor. However, both Pae and Oy have special talents which they do not care to publicize. When Pae is not helping me on my tours, he is a healer. And Oy can see into the future. When Oy reads a palm she says it is like watching a video of that person’s life unfold.
I cannot testify as to Pae’s skills because I have never been sick. But several times in the past, Oy has asked to read my palm and she sees and knows things that have happened to me and will happen to me that there is just no way she can be aware of. Scary, no?
Before every tour, Pae and Oy make offerings to their God, who they call their Master, to ask him to grant protection to all participants, and so far he has protected himself, myself and all of our participants admirably, except for a couple of fractured ankles last touring season. But hey, this is motorcycling and shit happens no matter how careful one is.

But let’s get back to this Shangri-La tour. As mentioned in blog #1, our ultimate riding goal is to reach Mt Kawa Karpo, which is the home to one of the Tibetans mightiest Gods, Shri Chakrasamvara, who is the wife of Shiva, one of the three main Gods in Hinduism.
Doing research on this deity, I found a likeness of her on a tapestry displayed on the internet. This is that image:

Tapestry_ShriChakrasamvara


At this point I need to digress. Over the years I have picked up a few antiques during my travels. My favorite purchase is a bronze, 18″ high statue of a fierce women warrior with a multitude of heads and wearing garlands of skulls as a sash. Macabre, but it caught my eye because of its bodacious uniqueness. I had never seen anything like it before, or since, and it sits in a prominent place in my apartment.
Here is a photo of my statue:

Statue_ShriChakrasamvara


I couldn’t believe my eyes. On the tapestry I saw on the internet is the same God as the statue that sits in my apartment.
There are millions upon millions of Gods in the Hindu religion, so it is at least a one-in-a-million chance that the God that resides on Kawa Karpo is the same as my statue. And now I am undertaking a long journey to this very Gods home. Coincidence? Maybe? Probably? But weird. So weird.

Something impelled me to buy this statue instead of all the other antiques in that shop.

And something impelled me to take a motorcycle trip to Tibet to the base of a holy mountain.

When I showed this to Pae, he told me this is not a coincidence, that this God is calling me to her and that something awaits me there.

Stay tuned. Regard, Reed
 
Finally obtained some internet, we're finding many of the hotels in China only have wifi in their lobby/ reception areas.

A quick update on the trip. Managed to hook up with David Bailey in Chiang Khong to say goodbye & then off across the Mekong on the ferry



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Riverside Hotel in Houay Xai, Laos - 800 Bht with Kong views, decent value


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Cool old truck in Houay Xai

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A bit different from Reed's truck


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Laos views

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"Last time I was here this was a dirt track - serious" !!

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This fallen fruit on the road from the tree above was absolutely treacherous



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Container transfer point at the Boten, Laos / Mohan, China border


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Easy ride from Houay Xai to the Boten, Laos / Mohan, China border

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The new, gold Laos customs and immigration office at the Boten Laos international border crossing almost finished


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500 meters out of Laos, through no-mans-land & you're at the Mohan, China international border crossing/ checkpoint


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All cleared in and up to Mengla for the night, hotel 800 Bht

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Mengla town, quite modern


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We'd been told this local restaurant did excellent food, looked scary from the outside!!

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Locals were right - excellent

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Twice cooked pork (fried and then steamed)


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A Chinese Harbin beer to wash it down with

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Bamboo in a spicy soup

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Mengla street food

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Today (29th May, 2013) - Mengla to Mo Jiang. Easy sweeping highway ride on the new road, this was a great place for lunch.


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Making sure the new Go-Pro mount stuck well to the helmet

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Civil engineering marvels along "Asia Highway 3" , a plethora of bridges and tunnels


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Exiting the tollway at Mo Jiang, the toll gate wardens got very excited when they saw us


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This is how one of those huge tree roots on the truck might end up


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Thinking Mo Jiang would have nothing of huge significance, it's the city with the most twins in the whole world! They even have a festival every year to celebrate this.


They are ALL twins in the photo below


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800 Bht in Mo Jiang, one of the best value hotels so far


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Tomorrow Mo Jiang to Kunming about 260km, probably 4 1/2 - 5 hrs of moving time. Reed's friend flies in and then we head north to the Tibet border.
 
From Reed's blog re entering China (if you're wondering why Reed writes to well, he used to write for the Wall Street Journal):


Problem is I have so much to tell but so little time to do it in. This blog will have to be brief because I am beginning it at 10:30 p.m., am exhausted, have to try to fit in some sleep, plus I write slowly.

Today's ride from the Lao/Thai border to the Chinese/Lao border was one of those magical, wonderful days that come along way too seldom in one's life. This was one of the best motorcycle roads I have ever ridden in Asia, and I've ridden just about all of them.
With this being the beginning of the rainy season, the weather was perfect; sunny blue skies with not a dark cloud to be seen, and not too hot either because a lot of this ride was at altitude. Traffic was ridiculously light.

The road to Boten is now entirely sealed and seemed to be newly sealed at that, as smooth as any road you'll ever ride. In the early days of mc'ing in Laos, today's ride would have taken a full two days of pounding, back-breaking, treacherous, dust-covered off-road riding. But today on the Beemers, Phil and I blasted it in under three hours, all the while with the widest of smiles plastered across our mugs.
I can't imagine a better mc for this road. I'm curious to see if this statement holds up over the duration of the tour - I doubt it, though, and I am sure that at some point I will curse my existence for bringing the Beemers.
I am sort of new to this bike. But after riding 250cc trailbikes for so many years, the F800GS's have tons of power all across the rpm range with little vibration and it handled the 6 mountain passes and the countess curves magestically. I even scraped my toes a couple of times despite its lofty ground clearance. It is a comfortable bike to be spending many hours on. If I had to describe this mc in two words, they would be "smooth & gentlemanly." This is a gentleman's bike.
Only 2 complaints: I don't like the horn position and I don't like the turn switch position or the turn switch cancel position.

It took two hours to cross the border into China, actually three because there is a one hour time difference with Laos. With these Asian border crossings, paperwork is a bitch. It didn't matter that we had scores of rubber-stamped documents from a dozen different Chinese government departments, the customs inspector informed us we were missing one esoteric piece of paper and tried his hardest to send us back into Laos. It looked like the 11th-hour squeeze was on. But our border agent cleverly called his head office and had them fax the missing document and all was good with the rubber-stampers.
In the two hours at the border, not one person in uniform cracked a smile.

We ate dinner tonight at a local eatery, down a side street, down another side street, and then a left into an unmarked alley. We had a spicy tom yum bamboo shoot soup, two plates of a wild vegetables picked from the forest, minced beef with basil and garlic, and pork leg smoked then steamed. Everything was delicious and super-fresh. I hope this is a portent for meals to come.
 
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