Ultimate 5 Day Camping Road Trip Of NT

[bsacbob]

First of all, i would like to apologize for the poor pictures, turns out my camera was between settings half the time

Day 1 & 2

Early as always waiting for the guy's on the Hwy 1 - 120 junction.



Including my stint from home, today's ride would be 300 km trying to put as many curves in the route as i could lay out.



Soon the rest of the gang appeared and we chilled of some refreshing coffee contemplating the trip.



Picking our way through the small villages a couple of landmarks u had not seen before






Before making the turn for the big dipper a noddle stopover was in order.



The famous archway marking the start of the 4018.






Reaching the viewpoint Justin admiring the awesome views.






A beautiful clear crisp day.



This viewpoint has never opened and what was to be camping areas have never been turfed a great pity it would be a great overnight spot.



Steve looking for chicken strips.



Enough hanging around time for some fun.









Through the Hmong village.






The 4018 is on the right day one of the best roads in the area, it was supposedly constructed to allow the army to bring in heavy military equipment during the communist troubles.






Some great curves, just a pity its so short.






Over the hill's and far away.






Quick gas stop at the new PTT in Wiang Kaen to hydrate and watch the wildlife.



Short potholed ride to the camp area and a few refreshing beers to mark our arrival.



Passenger ferry moring up for the night.






The upper area is nice and flat with showers and toilets nearby if you don't want to camp by the river.



The lower terrace is nice and flat and plenty of room for four or five tents.



Lot's of concrete shelters if you want to swing a hammock.



Justin's new one-man lightweight tent looks very snug.



Jim's Decathlon 3 man tent is simple and easy to pitch.



First time out for my Naturehike Cloud Up 3 man tent, pretty impressed for the money.






Back to the restaurant and time to crack open the JD Fire.






No trip would be complete without some drama, Justin had mislaid his insulin someplace and it was going to be a rocky night for him. Thanks to Marcel and his efforts to locate a supply locally.



Justin with his blood sugar all screwed up, out came the silly hat.



Kitchen in the restaurant a small slice of Laos in Thailand.



Pretty large Mantis, sadly we are all too drunk to grab a decent picture.



After a great night ( well for most of us) and well fed at the restaurant, the first job was to get Justin back on track so a detour was in order to grab some insulin.

Todays 350 km route.



A misty start as we packed our gear.






Fortunately, the local hospital in Wiang Chai had suitable insulin for Justin and a hefty bill of 250 baht we got underway.









Lot's of resurfacing work underway at the moment as we enter the dry season, hopefully, the work will last longer than a year but i doubt it.



Heading along the 1148 and turning onto the fantastic 1097 than making the turn north to the Laos border and our camp spot.

The 101 north is under heavy construction and a real mess as they widen the road to the border..



The muddy roadworks



We all made it to the campsite, although the, as i recall nice short dirt trail to site, was not so nice as i remembered and we all heaved a sign of relief to reach level ground.



Not surprisingly the who park area was empty even the power was off.



The camp spot and its grass spurs that would annoy the hell out of us all night.



Great views.






Quckly pitched up and ready for the evening















The restaurant area was pretty basic but the beers and the conversation flowed, but our minds all wandering to the ride out in the morning and what drama would unfold with our fully laden bikes.






A friend came to visit for the night.



Treated to a fantastic sunset as we all had a restless night and prayed it wouldn't rain otherwise we would be going nowhere in the morning.



To be continued...........

 

[bsacbob]

Day 3 & 4

Well, a restless night was had by all, it was not as cool as we had expected with the elevation at over 600 metres but the forest noises keep me awake most of the night mixed in with the odd gunshot from locals hunting.

Full of trepidation we all quietly decamped, all thoughts to the final climb at the end of the 3km dirt trail back to the village.

Today's route 240 km of curved loveliness lay ahead



One thing in our favour was no rain and we awoke to clear sunny skies.












The park is pretty small but reasonably well kept, although the toilets had their own eco system.



Seating eating area






The head of the trail which is paved of sorts, which actually made it harder as this was the steepest part and potholes disguised by leaves waiting to capture a victim.



Trying to grab a few shots whilst riding along was a pretty hazardous affair so they are pretty limited but you get the idea.






A few muddy sections made the road tyres useless as i got bogged down the previous day.



Jim taking an alternative line.









As usual, the pictures don't capture how steep it was over the short distance, suffice to say we all puckered up



Ruts steep descents and a 250 kg bathtub don't mix as my bike decided on a lay down for a while.



We all reached the end of the trail with not too much drama and the final climb ahead.






This was a bail out option instead of the climb, Jim checked it out and could bearly stand on the green slippy moss so that was a no go.









We had talked about ditching the panniers for fear of the front ends coming up, but we decided we had talked enough and time for action and bugger it.






Justin on the lightest bike was first to go, with grip it and rip it style.



Not sure why the bloody monk came for a nosey he was right on the chosen line.



Jim was last top go and was filling his pants, turned out his aggressive attack on the Ducati did the trick and made it cleanly.



Almost gives you an idea of the slope it only raised up 45 metres from the bottom to the pavement but over 80 metres or so it was steep enough.



We all made it safe and sound, the previous day the school director in the village had invited us for coffee in the school so we stopped for a layup.









The village drunk begging for whiskey money.






Turns out the school has 51 pupils and 6 teachers and one director, not a bad classroom average, the director left in the pictures spoke very good English and was happy to chat. We all agreed if we decide to come back again we would camp in the school playing field and mix with the locals and avoid the dirt trails saga again.



Since we are so close tot he Laos border we rode up to check how far we could go.









Pretty well paved seeing how it must get almost no traffic, the road continued to the border and we spotted a pretty rutted dirt tail that would take us back tot he main road, but enough dirt for today so U turn was in order.









Doubt this bridge would hold up for another rainy season.






Safely back to the 101 and those bloody roadworks.






We stopped by to see Marco at the Siam Garden GH for a coffee, sadly Marco has been under the weather and had no food or coffee but he did recommend the La Cusine restaurant in Pua.






Turned out to be an amazingly good place, btter still it had a user friendly toilet !!!















After the slog down the 101 to gas up it was on to the fun stuff and the beginning of the 4015 then the glorious 1081- 1256.






The viewpoint on the 1256 was for once mist free so we could enjoy the stunning views at the higest point of 1715 metres or so it said.









A nice level camp spot is also on offer with toilets and showers, would make a good overnight point for a later ride.






Now this is a corner !!!!



From Bo Klua its the 1081, which is undergoing a lot of resurfacing works but its still an incredible ride.












Coffee time at the Atlasnan Coffee shop, a real gem of a place made even better by the exuberant young girl serving.

N18.97674° E100.96695°



Well, it had been quite a day, not in terms of distance but i think we ticked all the boxes today. A check in at the Rapeepong Hotel at only 560 baht including breakfast was very good value (although we did pass on the breakfast).

N18.79151° E100.77943°



Nice clean rooms and comfy bed a real find.



A short away was th Crossroads serving cold beer and bangers and mash i'm in heaven.



With Johnny now in tow it was time for a hearty breakfast with 350 km of paved roads ahead it was to be a good day.



Crossroads breakfast yummy









Heading to Na Noi and the fantastic views










The 101 to the 103 is still in a shit state after years of work, you have to wonder if they will ever finish it.



The last section before the 1148 is the 1188, not ridden by many is a fun but narrow road.









Some lovely views and corners and traffic free.






Passing by the farang unfriendly Magic Mountain Coffee we soon reached the campsite and after a bit of pricing confusion we headed to the camp ground .



One of the rangers kindly grabbed some fire wood and set up a fire.












After a small tip, he returned later with more firewood in exchange for some pictures with the farang people.









All pitched up for the evening, it had indeed been a great day and some of the best riding you could find..

 

[Captain_Slash]

You seem to be well into the camping thing Bob

 

[bsacbob]

You seem to be well into the camping thing Bob

At this time of year it can be very enjoyable, especially as in this case you are travelling with a bunch of like minded guy's

 

[bsacbob]

Day 5

After several visits from the rangers and another this morning complete with video footage, it was time to pack and get the hell out.

Short ride back for me taking in the later stages of the 1148.



Have to say the Naturehike Cloud Up 3 worked out very well, no condensation and easy to pack.



The clearing up process, nice camp spot and no issues with fires.






The whole area is surrounded with some fantastic karst ranges.



Impressive skyline.






We had all been eager to get to the camp last night we had all been on vapours, time for a splash and dash.









Still plenty of curves left to enjoy the ride home.







Well that was it another great trip with a great bunch of guy's. I will post GPX files of the routes and waypoints soon, only 1400 km in total but what fun.

 

[bsacbob]

Waypoints and tracks

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[bigntall]

This trip was a perfect combination of twisty scenic roads with no boring long stretches...……...….well maybe Jim had a few riding up from Pattaya. I met Steve in Mae Krachan off the 118 and 120. kickstands up quickly and got to enjoy the 120 fast flowing curves out and down into Phayao. We were lucky as the 120 this time didn't even have any damp spots under the tree's in the corner as it often does. Must have been a warm evening the night before.

Got to catch up with Jim in Phayao. I don't get to ride with him as much as I used to since his relocation down south. Great to have him back for some corner carving and camping.

The first night drew a concern as I wanted to inject my evening insulin, I use two types of insulin. I brought two bottles of each type of insulin on the trip for backup. My stupid eyes didn't catch that one bottle of Regular type insulin was empty and when I injected during the day at lunch the bottle must have gotten dropped somewhere during lunch and didn't make it back into my insulin pouch. A very special thank you to Marcel (Brake034) and his wife as well as David and Mai Bailey at Baan Sakuna Resort for calling their local hospitals to see if they stocked the required insulin. Since Thailand doesn't have a large incidence of Type 1 diabetics like myself, they usually don't carry the insulin type I need. Sure enough neither of the smaller hospitals in their area had them. Marcel doesn't know me at all except via this forum. A call was placed for his assistance in contacting the hospital in his area and between himself and his wife they were hot on the trail. A huge Thank you to both couples in their attempts to ascertain whether the hospitals carried the insulin. Marcels wife even contacted our lunch spot where I was guessing the insulin was lost to have them check around in the dark for the long lost bottle. Since no insulin was located at the closer hospitals it was back to Chiang Rai for a pop into the Government hospital just outside of town. A huge tip of the hat to Bob for knowing about this hospital as we didn't have to enter the main city of Chiang Rai and could get back on the road quicker.

I owed the boys quite a few beers for throwing that wrench into the road trip. A huge thank you guys. This is where riding with like minded and people you know counts.

The rest of the trip was a glorious dish of twisty turns, laughs, tall stories, snoring, drinking, late apex's, and fun times. Bob found a wonderful camp spot for that first night right on the river, actually the second night was great as well with a nice viewpoint.. We had the places to ourselves which makes it that much more special. A great excuse to get to test new equipment and wear out tires. Looking forward to the next one after a few dirt bike trips get completed.

 

[merantau]

Great report. Thanks for sharing. Thailand looks a really wonderful place for riding

 

[bsacbob]

Here is a short video posted by Steve, thanks for putting it together mate.