Tony's Place & The Smokey Mountains of Nan

[Ally]

This ride wasn’t going to be a photo expedition, it had 3 purposes.


Firstly I wanted to give a monk some shoes. A few months ago, along with Pe’Took’s friends, we went to a very poor temple near Sirikit Dam & made merit in the guise of arranging for the construction of some buildings at the temple. The solitary monk in residence was literally falling out of his old shoes so the idea sprang to mind.


The second objective for this ride was to deliver a wall map to Tony & Wan over in Nan at their new restaurant location within Nan city.


But most importantly for me, this ride was to get out of the house for a couple of days, get on the bike, ride some tarmac and be free from the computer!


It didn’t all go to plan but I really enjoyed it none the less

The roads were a dream to ride, I had a real treat with the ferry crossing and the food & hospitality in Nan were to be the icing on the cake for me.


As for stopping to take photos, especially at this time of year with the smog filled air & whited out sky, whats the fun of stopping the bike when your in the middle of a long yiiii haaaaaa! in your helmet?!!


The monk… he told me to go away with animated arms and aggressive voice & words. He didn’t want new shoes !

Here is the building underway at the temple.





Pak Nai ferry

















200 Baht well spent. 2 cars & 2 bikes & 15 minutes to take in the breeze.

Tony's place in Nan was a busy place the evening I was there. I am not surprised, the menu looks good and the food I had was delicious.







Making the most of the low water & taking silt - looks like a lengthy operation.




There is a guy in the water here filling his boat bucket by bucket with silt.



This will look better after the wind & rain.






This rang some alarm bells for me. I saw many trees that were shedding their green leaves. That just cannot be natural.



And Talad Nat on the beach ! Making the most of the low water. I am stood on the stepped embankment.




I like looking for geological signs, there are plenty along here.



You can almost feel the upward thrust of the rock all those years ago.



Ally

 

[lakota]

I've yet to visit Tony's place. hopefully after songkran and a bit of rain I'll make the trip.
Good on the Monk. I've always thought proper monk's don't wear shoes.

As for the Trees shedding Green leaves, I just wonder if they would normally have leaves this time of year. it's unusually green I think except for the burning ofcourse

 

[2wheels]

Nice, and you captured the reality of how things are at this time.

What's the story re those side boxes Ally?

 

[Ally]

Nice, and you captured the reality of how things are at this time.

What's the story re those side boxes Ally?

Hey Ron, that's very timely that you should ask !

I was clearing the desk after a week's clutter & was about to spout about them

As you know I have not really been one for luggage before but now I have a bike that begs to go places where an overnight is essential, I looked into something to suit my minimal needs.

I went to Kawasaki & inquired about their luggage options and was shown a few suggestions on a showroom bike & in catalogs and to be honest I felt the blood drain from my face when they showed me the prices.

I believe luggage costing upwards of 19,000 baht is ridiculous if you are trundling around Thailand with a toothbrush, a spare pair of undies & things like shoes for monks etc.

I hit google and looked at online options and saw Givi boxes fitted to Versys & other similar bikes & especially the size not being so large that they would dwarf the rear end - packing crates like some of these round the world riders are using. I was certainly not after an ugly top box or rack for a soft bag, that would look so wrong.

I saw some options explored on gt-rider.com here Tweaking my Versys and then also saw ChiangNoi's bike on a forum somewhere & liked the look of the Givi E21.

In Bkk the E21 side boxes including the rack system is available for 7,000. In my searches I found that Chiang Rai Saddle Bags also supplied them at the same price. I had no hesitation to pop into Woraphat & Marty before the recent monthly ride with them & ordered a set which I asked to be EMS'd to Chiang Mai. Incidentally, Kawasaki wanted 9,500 for the same.

Fitting is very simple, you are given lots of options with the materials in the rack system pack.

I am amazed at how sturdy these boxes are & how practical they are too. If you haven't used them, then perhaps a simple explanation will help.

Each case has 2 lugs at their inner side base which fit onto the rack and with a firm press at the top of that inner side onto the rack, a locking catch system grabs the box. With a key, you can open the box, lock it or when in position 3, press a red button & the box ejects from the rack.

The handles on top of the boxes mean that you can easily carry them by hand away from your bike.

I have given them several washes with forceful jets of water sprayed into all nooks & crannies and the inside remains dry.

Hope that's enough story for you Ron.

Ally

 

[lakota]

Very timely indeed Ally,

I have a set put aside myself at CR saddlebags. will pick them up monday. I had the same thoughts about luggage too.

 

[KTMphil]

Surprised the Monk refused your generosity, very sad. The ferry ride across the Sirikit Resv'r is a great trip that most never do & the road to the north (now with the new tarmac as you reported) is a dream.


Looked real smokey over there.



More on our trip though there here:


http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-...rts/2780-nan-sirkit-ferry-reed-resnikoff.html

 

[Ally]

In case you are interested, as mentioned earlier, I was delivering a map for Tony's wall. Not just any old map but a huge version of the Nan Road & Off-Road map.

Since moving to this new location, Tony has been trying to build a collection of interesting things for tourists to look at whilst in the restaurant. He contacted me a while ago saying he was finding it hard to get a decent map & of course I knew where to get one of those.

Phil was only too pleased to give Tony the map free of charge, after all Tony is offering a good service to many of the riding community by making sure they get decent food when they are in Nan.

Wan & Tony chuffed to see the detail of the map in their area.



Tony found the right space on his wall for the map.



Good on you Phil, a very nice gesture.

Ally

 

[2wheels]

trundling around Thailand with a toothbrush, a spare pair of undies & things like shoes for monks etc

" etc " !

 

[Ally]

Ha Ha ! You have to spice up 7/11 ham or sausages with mustard!

Never leave home without it

Ally

 

[Captain_Slash]

Good to see the Versys get a good outing Ally, its a shame the haze is so bad over in Nan now

 

[marcusb]

I just rode up to Nan last week trying out the new bike. I was also surprised and curious about all the green leafs littering the highway. Any chance it is smoke related??

 

[Ally]

I just rode up to Nan last week trying out the new bike. I was also surprised and curious about all the green leafs littering the highway. Any chance it is smoke related??

Mmmm just been googling again & apart from people having trouble with their house plants, there were not to many answers.

If it were due to daylight changes or clogged pores from smoke or ingestion of smoke then surely there would be browning process & then dropping (photosynthesis ending) but these were definitely green as you know.

The water table must be a big issue here and also the fact that vegetation has gone & exposed the soil to the heat & therefore easily vapourising any resident moisture.

Scarey eh ! ?

Ally

 

[monsterman]

either the monk does not like your choice of new shoes , or perhaps he didnt like the versy's ... mai pen rai you had a great trip .