SECRETS OF THE MAE HONG SONG LOOP

DrGMIA

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2011
Location
Pit stop after 6th ride around the world, in USA,
Bikes
Oldest 1931, newest 2016, numerous makes and models in between on several continents
"Oh, the pain. Oh, the pain." So said one of my acquaintances when he heard some of the secrets discovered while researching the Mae Hong Son Loop.
What secrets? Secrets like who Cheap Charley'd a massage girl in Mae Hong Son when the massage did not end happy. Secrets like who got lost. And secrets so dark they can only be whispered in bars in Chiang Mai or Bangkok, the whisperers not wanting the perpetrator to know how many others know about the missing money meant for the monks.

One of the hard parts of my work as a journalist is to sniff out facts. Facts like how long it took to build the Memorial Bridge just outside of Pai, and then how long it took to re-build it, and then how long for the third re-build. Often the facts are blurred with rumor, opinions and people not wanting to admit they do not know.

This time my loop through Mae Hong Son was slower than usual, in part because I was fact checking, and in part because I was doing photography for a series of magazine articles.

At one stop a man on a Chiang Mai AX1 rental from Dang Rental walked over to where I was pointing a camera and asked about my strange riding gear: padded pants and a unique Bohn Body Armor shirt. He had been hunting riding gear before leaving and wanted to know where my secret supply shop was. I told him, "Not in Thailand."

He was an interesting traveler, going solo through India on a used Enfield, and then trekking through Nepal and now in Thailand on a motorcycle headed to Lao. His profession was as an extreme sports professional, and from there he had gotten the travel bug. From Romania, he spoke excellent English and we had a chance to trade travel stories for a few minutes. He was extremely interested in the new GPS map of North Thailand and I told him he could find it in Chiang Mai at the Rider's Corner, soon around town and on the Internet.

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The Romanian traveler’s nickname was "Onion" and he was having what he called a "super ride" on roads he said were far better than those of his native Romania.

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Just outside of Pai I met this group of travelers from Singapore. We traded bike stories for a few minutes, and then discovered we all knew a Singapore couple who had circled the world of their Africa Twin, stopping at my studio in America for repairs. One of the riders remembered me from being described on their website. The secret for all of us was how small the Internet has made the world for global travelers, they asking me about rumors they had heard about a better road, that being #1148.

The Memorial Bridge was a forced construction project using Thai workers by the invading Japanese forces as they advanced on Burma during World War II. When the Japanese retreated they destroyed the bridge. The Thais rebuilt it, but over time it deteriorated and was eventually abandoned. Eight years ago I rode across the bridge that was little more than two-three planks. One this trip I found the bridge re-constructed again, now as a tourist attraction.

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Re-riding the Memorial Bridge reminded me of how much the area around Pai had changed in a few short years. Where Pai was once a sleepy little village with long haired backpackers hoping to find a sleepy dope smoking extension of the famed “Hippy Highway,” today I had to wait for four gray mini-vans of tourists to finish taking pictures so I could again drive the bridge. The secret to doing this kind of adventure riding, the adventure in not being caught, is to do it early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

Part of this fact finding mission was to confirm dates and happenings, confirming what some held to be secrets. An afternoon was spent in Mae Hong Son researching arrival and departure dates of parties as well as historical happenings. The language barrier often presented a barrier, but when people discovered I was working on a book project or magazine article they often found me a translator. This was the case in Mae Hong Son when I needed information from the monks at a certain wat. The younger monks hustled to find me a translator when they discovered I was researching parts of their wat. They were great fun while we waited and very interested in my motorcycle and where I was going in my travels. One even offered to trade me his food bowl and orange robe for my motorcycle. When all I offered was a sticker from a fellow whose moniker is “BBQ,” he happily accepted it.

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Checking into the Piya Guesthouse in Mae Hong Son we were carrying the flags of the http://www.rideasia.net and Rider’s Corner via our T-shirts, and warmly received when we explained their facility might make it on to a respected international web forum or site.

While riding the Mae Hong Son Loop I was again reminded that not all motorcyclists find the numerous mountains and curves easy or fun. The epiphany was when seeing the numerous white spray paint outlines on the pavement done by the police. When an accident happens the police spray four half squares which depict the wheels of a car. Then they spray an outline of a motorcycle where it ended up, often at the front of the marked car. In Mae Hong Son I saw the white spray painted outline of a body spread eagled on the street. Curious, I made inquiries and was told it was from the Chinese New Year celebration, just a few weeks before. The secret was the “don’t drink and walk drunk in front of a truck.”

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This BMW driver went by me like I was driving a 50 cc Vespa. I caught up with him Mae Chaem during a lunch stop. When I walked past his motorcycle I took a second look at the front tire.

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I had seen more than a few worn tires in Thailand over the years, but never a front tire worn down to the cords on one side like this one. Usually it was a rear tire from the power and sliding.
Obviously this driver had been pushing his BMW to limits I had seldom seen off a race track.


After seeing how worn the BMW driver’s front tire was I went back to my motorcycle and got my camera for the above photos. The owner and his friends were watching me take photos from the restaurant. When I walked in and sat down they asked why I was taking a photograph of a tire, a reasonably good question.

I answered in my best Thai/English/farang something like, “Hello, nice to meet you. That is a very impressive front tire you have. What secret do you know that I do not on how you are going to keeping driving like you did when I first saw you?”

The owner smiled and laughed after looking at his tire, then said, “I will drive from now very slowly.”

I gave him and his two riding pals each a sticker and business card, asking him to let me know how the next 100 kilometers of his day of adventure riding went.

As I did not see him on the side of the road on into Chiang Mai, I assume his secret driving style worked, another secret of the Mae Hong Son Loop.
 
When all I offered was a sticker from a fellow whose moniker is “BBQ,” he happily accepted it.
Thanks for the secrets Dr. G, but aren't you worried about causing another earthquake?
 
Is this really the "BBQ," the only motorcycle rider known to have tagged every province in Thailand?

If so, then the secret of the earthquake, monk and MOTORCYCLE SEXPEDITION - ABSOLUTE RIDING sticker best be kept MHSL "eyes-only"...until some tale-teller finishes a recondited publication. :D
 
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