Left Mae Salong at the usual time. We are heading for Chiang Dao.
The first part of the morning saw us hugging the border between Myanmar and Thailand. We have transited from Chiang Rai into Chiang Mai, passing Mae Ai, then Fang. We rode along the northern edge of Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park, along the Myanmar Border. Pretty sure we encroached on Myanmar soil along this route at times. Around the base & mid-level Doi Ang Kang, KM7’s attempts to locate the access to the view point ran into dead ends. With about 20km before our destination, KM7 made a last ditch effort to connect to the Myanmar border via Chiang Dao National Park, as this vast area of reserve is called. We turn right and got off 107, and head north. It was the usual narrow road around the foothill surrounded by green fields. Barely 7km into this track, we came to a police barrier. The Ban Nong Khaem Border Patrol Police were on duty and we were told to turn back any as further north is Myanmar’s territory. Well not really. I believe they were conducting an operation in this area. So we backtracked to 107. Beaten. Have to call it a day and head for Chiang Dao Good View. (see video). https://youtube.com/shorts/Cc1ueq2EVVM
The welcome drink at the lobby of hotel was Cannabis Water. Contained in a 10l glass jar, with some glasses in a tray, upon a small table at the entrance of the lobby. Experiment on cannabis consumption by Western Sciences showed that it can calm the tremor in Parkinson’s Disease patients, enough to enable him to feed himself and drink from a glass without spilling. Maybe I should drink some so that I don’t shiver & shake when I meet those steep & tricky corners in the mountains.
Most remarkable during our stay here was a chance meeting with a Caucasian on a Royal Enfield Himalayan. We saw him during dinner at the restaurant. (You know, bikers will notice other bikers.) After dinner, while hanging out and chilling in the patio of one of our rooms, he passed by and we exchange greetings. He came back later and approached us while smoking a joint. He offered us the joint but we politely declined. But we chatted for a while and he went back to his room. But then he came back and this time, he dropped us 2 fistfuls of hemp. This one is a local breed, he said, indicating to the green stuff on his left and this is a hybrid, the one on the right. Just mix with hot water and drink it like tea. It’s got medicinal properties, he went on to say. Not wanting to be rude, we accepted his gift. He bade us goodnight.
Can you imagine a total stranger coming to you and just give you stuff like that? Do you think we drink it? Or what? Why did he approached us? What made him offered us the joint? What were we doing? What actually went on? Why did he returned with the medicine? What happened in the end? Did the hemp went up in smoke? Stretch your imagination a little. Treat this like an interactive narrative with multiple alternative endings, depending on what you choose, at different stages. Did this incident really happened? Or is it hogwash? You decide.
Jaywalker Wondering on Dec.29
2 wheels and an engine 