Updating the North Thailand GPS map and a few other tidbits.

[Lone Rider]

Updating the North Thailand GPS map and a few other tidbits.

Had a few days to spare and, as the North Thailand GPS map needed some checking and updating, it was off to one of my favorite areas - Nan. As I was anyway in the neighborhood, I added an extra day to collect more info and hopefully finding answers to questions I had on the "war" which happened some 30-40 years ago between the Thai army assisted by the remnants of the Kuomintang army against the communists. I did find some answers but at the same time many more questions have come up, so I will have to do quite a bit of reading and asking questions and probably also some more trips to make.

Had also got an email asking about the Pu Du border crossing which was supposed to be opened soon and athough the plan was to update the Nan area, it would not be a huge detour to have a quick look and see whay was going to happen. Early morning off to Phrea and then along the 1216 and the 1083 to the Pu Du crossing - beautiful weather and great views

The Kaeng Luang Rapids in the Si-Nan National Park but, as there wasn't much water flowing at the moment

Pu Du Border Crossing. See also my post here: http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-...uttaradit-province-paklay-laos.html#post28574

More to come later..................

 

[bigntall]

Pulling up my chair and waiting for this, good stuff. Is the war you mentioned between the communist insurgents connected with the Vietnam war efforts or something else? Do tell what you've uncovered. As always I'm a bit confused . No maps for me to peruse....is the Pu Du border crossing the same one at Khoen Tao? Thanks Auke.

 

[Lone Rider]

Pulling up my chair and waiting for this, good stuff. Is the war you mentioned between the communist insurgents connected with the Vietnam war efforts or something else? Do tell what you've uncovered. As always I'm a bit confused . No maps for me to peruse....is the Pu Du border crossing the same one at Khoen Tao? Thanks Auke.

To start with the easy part, here is the map showing where the Pu Du crossing is located (with thanks to Phil who put it up in the Red Tape Border Crossing section)

To answer your other question will take a lot more time but basically the insurgency problems in Thailand were related to the Vietnam war with Vietnam becoming a communist country after the Vietnam war, followed by Laos which also became a communist country. The Thai government and the US, fearing a domino effect, thought that Thailand might follow that path as the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT) got support from armed element infiltrating Thailand along the border with Laos. They poured in a lot of resources and with a lot of help of remnants of the Kuomintang army which had settled in Thailand they overcame these problems. I will not put this all up on RideAsia as it is not bike related but just one of the things I am personally interested in.

Anyway, once you are back from the US we can talk about it more. Just to wet your appetite, here are a few pictures from stuff taken from one of the captured CPT regional headquarters on the Doi Yao mountain range (around 1970/1971) showing involvement of the neighbors (apologies for the bad quality of these pictures as they were taken in a museum with the stuff kept behind glass and there was a lot of reflection from the windows of the building)

 

[KTMphil]

Didn't know that museum existed Auke, you always pull something out of the hat in interesting areas that others by-pass, nice find!

 

[Lone Rider]

OK, here is part 2 starting with some more pictures from the museum as well as another place I stumbled upon. The pictures from the latter place are even worse as there were many more reflections from the windows.

On the way back from Pu Du I took the very quiet 1083 again to see the Si Nan National Park.

The Buddha statue at the entrance of the park

Views from the camping grounds at the National Park where early in the morning you might see the "clouds rolling off the mountain"

The Thai flag on the top of the mountain - must be for sure the longest lanyard to raise the flag early in the morning

Early morning view from Road 1091 to the north-east

After a few freshly brewed cups of coffee and a pleasant chat with Marcel (Brake034) and Pun, his wife at his place in Thoeng it was off to do some more exploring and map updating

The Km. 21 viewpoint on road 1155

Doi Phatang

Pratu Siam at Doi Phatang

Doi Phatang - Hill 102 (center and about 450 meter from the car park) and Hill 103 (about 950 from the car park) on the right

The bell at Hill 102

Ban Hat Sa in Laos on the Mekong as seen from Doi Phatang

On the way down from Doi Phatang met this monk with a buggy. The monk told me they had problems with the water pump but when I offered to help, he told me that a mechanic was on its way from Chiang Khong so the problem would be solved soon. Probably took a bit more time than anticipated as the next morning I met them when they just came down from Doi Phatang and they were being towed by the 4WD who was with them when they had problems.

Early morning view of Laos from Huayxai

Next morning popped into Wat Phrathat Doi Mae Ya Mon as I had been there earlier when they were still constructing the stupa

Trucks on the new bridge from Chiangkhong to Huayxai

Buddha statue in the Pha Lae Cave (take the turnoff at N19.93568 E100.42495 at Rd 1155 and drive 1.5 km offroad to reach the cave)

Collapsed brideg along the way to Wat Pa Tham Pa Lae Nisapharam

Curves at Rd 1155

Curves at the 4018 to Phayaphitak

More curves at the 4018, the 1155 and the 4058/1093

Phu Chi Fa seen from a distance

Just a few views along the way home

 

[Loop]

Si Nan National Park is a bit of a hidden gem here in LOS,nice empty roads and great scenery.

 

[BWG950S]

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i252/offroadlanna/Ride%20Asia%20Forum/Nan%20and%20Pha%20Tang%20area/IMG_4545.jpg

The monk sure has a nice Buggy!

 

[Lone Rider]

The monk sure has a nice Buggy!

Yes, I was also very surprised to see a monk with a buggy - not sure it was his but there were only 3 people, 1 buggy and a 4WD so he must have been somehow connected with these things.

 

[brake034]

It was a pleasure meeting you Auke, yesterday Phil popped in too on his way from Chiang Khong.
Seems that the trucks are passing the bridge now, hope not too long before they will open the bridge for cars and motorbikes.

 

[skeedary]

Auke I too was there only recently and was also fascinated by the communist movement that was finally shutdown by the Thai army specially formed and trained to fight in the mountain terrain after many previous unsuccessful attempts by the regular army. The museum also mentioned that the communist numbers were swelled by a large number of disillusioned university students from Bangkok that were gratefully welcomed to their ranks and were issued with a firearm as a welcoming present. The story enfolded that a truce negotiated by the current beloved King, was accepted by both sides and the communists layed down their weapons but apparently a strong local communist belief still remains. I like many others on this site find this past Thai history most interesting.

 

[2wheels]

Yep, you're The Man Auke; always something new and interesting.
Great photos of the curvy bits too ... enticing.
When can we expect an updated map?

 

[Lone Rider]

When can we expect an updated map?

In practice I prepare a new version of the map at the start of the new riding season so around October. However, for people who contribute to the map I am always willing to have the map compiled whenever you indicate that you would need the new map earlier (this will then be an inter-mediate version as I am adding stuff throughout the year).

However, I depend on the people who compile the map for me (I only prepare the raw map - basically just a text file - which is then handled by others who give me a few free copies which I can give for free to other people) so I prefer to keep it to as few times per year as is possible.

 

[helbob]

Hey, looks like you had a good time there :-)
I like the roads on Pha Tang and Phu Chee Fah very much. I hope you been on Phu Pha Sawan Viewpoint too ;-)
It is the walking path from Phu Chee Fah Lodge 2km up.

A famous vehicle who give much fun, i never saw that in thailand

helbob

 

[Lone Rider]

Hey, looks like you had a good time there :-)
I like the roads on Pha Tang and Phu Chee Fah very much. I hope you been on Phu Pha Sawan Viewpoint too ;-)
It is the walking path from Phu Chee Fah Lodge 2km up.

A famous vehicle who give much fun, i never saw that in thailand

helbob

Yes, I like that area also but had not been there for some time so it was time to have a look again - many new resorts and guesthouses but most were closed. There are quite a few buggies in Thailand and you can rent them for a ride in Mae Rim at the X-Center on Rd 1096. No idea how much they ask for a ride and I guess they will only rent them out for a few hours. They are not registered and therefor are not allowed to be used on the normal roads.

 

[KTMphil]

"Epic" Mr. K - Thank you.

 

[bigntall]

Auke - A fantastic report, as always. So many of us are bike centric, as this forum properly positions itself. However the true beauty of riding over here is exposing oneself to the diverse cultures and history that spread about this land. Sadly many expats live a life over here that shelters them from these people and places. Lovely to see you setting an example for us all. Looking forward to a good chin wag with you over an espresso when I return and learning some more about the history. Excuse the continuous paragraph as my "enter" button is refusing to enter. Auke are the museum descriptions in Nan written in Thai or Thai and English? Do you know how long the museum has been there? Again thank you for the informative post.

 

[Lone Rider]

Auke are the museum descriptions in Nan written in Thai or Thai and English? Do you know how long the museum has been there? Again thank you for the informative post.

All the descriptions were in Thai and there was no one around who could have explained things. In fact, when I arrived, the museum was closed so had a look through the windows and what I saw, did wet my appetite to get in. There were two young army guys but one was far to busy taking on his mobile phone and the other just tried to ignore me by looking to the other side. Got in my car and could almost see them relaxing but, unfortunately for them, I just drove to the back side of the museum as there was another entrance. When they saw old whitey poking his head around the corner again they could no longer ignore me and then they produced a key to open up the museum. Looks like it does not get many visitors - they did have three overviews of the battlefields with buttons you could press and a light was supposed to light up but none of them worked anymore - but still interesting to see all the things on display.

 

[Just Bob]

Thanks Auke.

 

[Loop]

Sadly many expats live a life over here that shelters them from these people and places.

I`m quite happy that the vast majority don`t stray from the beach or the bars and ruin what we have up here now.