Re(motor)cycled

Mecca of Asian Bikers

 Many of our regular riding kakis were unable to make this trip, citing family & work commitments. Left to their own devices, Lyneous and Jack hooked up with other riders, and on the 3^rd of December, left Singapore for Thailand, destination Mae Hon Son, then clockwise to Golden Triangle and before heading south to Chiangmai, to coincide with Chiangmai Bike Week on the 10^th.

Day 1-Around Gurun – Lyneous’ rear brake stopped working. Jack’s speedometer ceased functioning. No problem. Just keeping the Harley tradition going. Jack saved mileage on his tacho. Lyneous saved on his brake pad.

Day 2-Hatyai to Hua Hin – incessant rain. Again no problem, as we were all appropriately (waterproof-ly) attired. Hook up with Somsak. He will be taking the lead from here on.

Day 3-Hua Hin to Ayuthaya. Set out in the morning in HEAVY rain. Weather got worse before it got better after noon. Arrived Ayuthaya with plenty of daylight left. Visited the ruins of the old Capital and pretended to be interested. Dinner in a restaurant by the Mekong. It was beautiful. There were fireworks display as this was the week of the King’s birthday. Very nice and scenic view by the river in the twilight. As darkness fell, brightly-lit double-deck river crafts cruised up & down the river. These crafts were fitted out like a restaurant and you can see the well-heeled dining under the sheltered decks. There were even karaoke on board. Everyone was in a festive mood. Make good photo shots.

Day 4-Ayuthaya to Maesod. Rain has let up as we move further north. Weather was cool, meaning you can stay in your riding gears during fuel stop and not sweat. Excitement is growing. You can sense the mood. We were very near the entrance to the Mecca of Asian bikers, Mae Hon Son. At the Baan Rim Doi Resort in Maesod where we were supposed to stay, a misunderstanding caused four of us to be left without rooms. We had to check into another hotel. Anyway, the Baan Rim Doi Resort did not have aircon, hot water, TV, or any service to speak of. So no real lost. Those who stayed there complained of hard & lumpy beds the next day. After checking into a hotel we found, we went to visit the Friendship Bridge at the Myanmar/Thai border, near the Moei River. In the evening, we went to the ‘Happening’ place in town, which was the Bazaar (pasar malam) and ate fried insects and worms.

Day 5-Maesod to Mae Hong Son. Started off at 8am. The excitement was palpable. The entrance to Mae Hong Son was nothing short of stunning. A single dual-lane road bathed in sunlight led uphill into the mountains, away from Maesod. As we approached the crest and descended on the other side, the temperature dipped a couple of notches and the whole world seemingly dimmed. Rich, dark-green foliage surround the unpaved gravel strip as it descends into the middle of the valley. It was like a mythical, magical world. Karen tribe’s tiny hillside abode of wood and leaves dotted the hillside, hanging precariously from the steep slopes, supported by skinny stilts. I wouldn’t be surprise if the elves in Lord of the Rings make an appearance.

Then the business of having serious fun begins. There is no straight stretch of more than 20m. It was corners after corners, downhill hairpins that sweep upwards at the apex, deep and blind corners, nasty and tight, sandy corners, and potholes here and there. Speed is limited and you have to be alert. Although it was cool, I was soon perspiring from the exertion of hauling the heavy Harley in and out of the corners. I cruised for a while at 4^th gear and then started attacking the corners again. It was mind-blowing.

There was a stretch of about one kilometre where the asphalt was washed away, leaving a layer of loose earth. It was also a bit wet and slippery but we went through without incident. Another obstacle was an uphill track of about a hundred metres. It was very steep and the surface was rubble and loose stones and sand from a recent landslide. There were some anxious moments. A couple of GS stopped during the ascend and immediately tipped over. We went up one by one. Those who had made it came back on foot to assist those coming through. An Ultra with a passenger slithered some way backwards and when it finally stopped, it was pointing outwards, towards the cliff edge. He made it though, without falling. Well done, Hong Kong Chapter. Other stretches of loose gravel and stone surfaces followed. At one location, Lyneous and I rode behind a tractor-like machine that was levelling the loose earth surface.

I bet they never teach you to handle these at Eunos Test Centre.

When we finally arrived at the Imperial Tara Hotel, Mae Hon Son, I was both glad and disappointed that we had to adjourned till tomorrow. We covered about 300 plus kilometres but it took us nearly seven hours. There was probably an hour of delay here & there. It was a nail-biting ride.

After dinner in the small town of Mae Hong Son, we went to look for ‘happening’ as usual, and not for the first time, we ended up looking foolish.  Because it didn’t only rained but poured. We ended up sharing the sidewalk with a Karen tribal lady street vendor, sheltering from the rain.

Day 6-Visited the Long-Neck Woman in the morning. In the village, there is also another tribe where the women have gigantic piercing in their ear lobes. They fit earrings the size of roti prata kosong into the ‘holes’ in the lobes, rather than hang little earrings from tiny holes like we do. I don’t know what tribe they are. In the meantime, news came in that our intended route to Pai was impassable due to landslides caused by the rain. We had to take another route to Chiang Dao, our next destination. The alternate route also runs through peaks & valleys, and also through a settlement of remnants of the Kuo Ming Tang, who escaped China during the Cultural Revolution. The Thais have graciously allow them to settle in this hill where they practise their culture and tradition in peace. The route took us through clouds and temples in the sky. It was spectacular. The corners were still beckoning and as challenging as those of the previous day. We were separated into 3 groups and I was in the middle, with several Harleys. At one stage, the boys from Hong Kong decided that enough was enough, rev up and shot off. I immediately followed suit, overtaking a couple of Harleys on the way. It was quite a high speed run that got us really close to the edge. We must have gone through at least twenty corners at speed before I finally caught up. By then, we had to slow down, because we had also caught up with the lead group. That boy from HK can ride! Great fun. Checked into Chiang Dao, minus one ball.

 Day 7-Chiang Dao to Chiang Rai via Maesai. Nice easy ride to the Golden Triangle. This part of the country is really calm & scenic. The pace of living is a step back. People here seems to have more time to sit around, talk and smile, or just simply stare. It is so laid-back, unlike S’pore, or BKK. Took some photographs and then head for Chiangrai for the night, then Chiang Mai the day after. Check into Porn Ping Hotel, Chiangmai.

Day 8 & 9-Chiang Mai Bike Week 2005 was held at the beer garden of Imperial Mae Ping Hotel. It has a fairly large open ground for bike parking. The beer garden was huge and can accommodate nearly a hundred 4’ table, plus a number of bike clubs’ stalls. Attendance was overwhelming, so much so that latecomers do not have to pay as all tickets & event tees were sold out! Happening man!

Day 10-Return leg. We rode back to Hat Yai , stopping over at Hua Hin. Some of the bikers stop-over at BKK and trucked their bikes to Hat Yai. They either took the train or flew from BKK to Hat Yai to collect their bikes and continued home.

 Day 11-On the way from Hua Hin to Hat Yai, my rear turn signal bracket nearly fell off, again, in keeping with Harley tradition. Lyneous’ brake started working again sometime back, when we were in the hills.

Day 12-14 (Dec. ’05) – Hat Yai to S’pore. One of the bolts securing my air filter to the carburetor fell off. This was near Pagoh. What a bike!

Other matters

1) At Sadao border, a Hayabusa fell on Lyneous Harley while parking. Busa’s tank damaged. The Harley only suffered a slightly twisted rear brake pedal and small dent on heat shield.

2) Busa hit a pothole and edge of rear rim damaged. There was a small leak but it managed to come home without incident. Have to pres the tyre before the ride every morning. No more high speed.

3) Again same bike, starter failed. Had to push start. Minor inconvenience.

4) GS1150 develop intermittent problem. 3-hole-fire. Managed to come home too.

5) Penang biker damage his lower arm when he came off his KTM at Maesod. It was a downhill left-hand right-angled nasty. Damaged bike & rider rescued.

6) GS1150, Penang biker overshot a corner and flew over the roof of a hut while coming downhill. Landed in a pond. Bike’s front end and rider’s ego crushed.

Epilog

The saying that you must have a dual-purpose or a tourer to ride MHS is just a myth. On this trip, there were all sorts of bikes and all made it, except for Superman and the KTM. But that was largely due to riders malfunctioning, not the bikes. GS, African Twin 750, Gold Wing, Hayabusa, one STEED ridden by a Caucasian lady! (whom we met along the way), KTM, Fazer, Multi Strada, CBR, GSX-R, R1, Harleys……they were all there! The difference is whether you get there sooner or later. And since this isn’t a race, it doesn’t really matter, does it?

North Thailand is a beautiful country. To be able to see Thailand and to feel the ambience from the open environment of a bike is something else, something that everyone should experience.

December 2005. Mildly edited Oct. 2020

 …downhill, deep left-hand turn, negative camber, blip, drop to 3rd, tap brake, lean into it, lean more,  floorboard dragging, apex, twist of the wrist, and out……exhilaration!

Recycled material