Met up with the fellas bright and early in Bangkok and we escaped the big smoke before the morning rush hour- A pair of Ducati Multistradas, a Triumph Spring ST, BMW K1200R, and a GSXR Blasted up to Ayuttaya where we stopped for breakfast- We made excellent time, not much traffic, road conditions getting better, still some rough stretches between Nakon Sawan and Kampaeng Phet, and again between Kampaeng Phet and Tak. The highway 12 over the mountains from Tak to Mae Sot was good fun and I got a bit ahead of the group- The road is a bit rough and slippery in spots, but mostly good fun and amazing scenery- We arrived in Mae Sot around lunch time, parked the bikes across the street from Bai Fern and enjoyed some excellent food and cold beers- this weekend is off to a great start!!
We stayed the the Queen Palace Hotel which was a hell of a lot nicer than the sticky old Pornthep where I usually stay, yet still walking distance from the center of town- http://queenpalacehotel.com/?lg=en Big clean room for only 700 Baht, breakfast included, free WiFi and a pool. Not too shabby, though I did get a bit pissed when I found one of the bell boys lounging on my bike and he kicked it getting off... :huh We walked in to town and pigged out at the Krua Canadian restaurant- wow! :dg After that meal we were all in need of a walk so we wandered down to the area with the bars and clubs but it was still early and everything was very quiet. A few beers and we headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow we have a long day ahead of us as we ride the border road from Mae Sot to Mae Hong Song
Woke up to cool weather and clear skies! Quick breakfast at the hotel and we're ready to roll. We needed to gas up as once you're out of Mae Sot there aren't any real gas stations (just the occasional barrel of who knows what with a hand pump) until you reach Mae Sarieng some ~230km to the north. Asked a local for directions to the nearest station and the joker sent us through the morning market. We certainly turned some heads rolling through the crowded market on our bikes. Finally we find the station, top up our tanks, and we're ready to hit it! The 105 from Mae Sot to Mae Sariang is a real mixed bag. It starts off nicely as you ride north out of Mae Sot- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9IduR22jAA Following Neil on his Triumph Sprint ST and Dom on his BMW K1200R- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoaAb4wWn4o It's a gorgeous day! Everything is nice and green, no burning, clean air, fantastic views! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLCixvUCrMU Some low clouds and I thought we might get wet, but we lucked out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th0SrGtU3Gc Some sections are brand new and are liter bike heaven, while other parts are in such poor shape that you'll be wishing for a dirtbike or 4x4. Here's one of the better sections, in the middle of nowhere, looks best in HD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZmY6MXmjDY
What an road! In the middle of nowhere, not a car to be seen Amazing Thailand indeed! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMswGuOXt7o Rob sums it up nicely here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btxd8J0Ri_w
Here's Neil looking pleased on his Triumph Sprint ST- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFZp-XrpzvY Sarge on Kawasaki ER6n and Grant on Ducati Multistrada- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqPB-IIxpUo&NR Shortly after we hit some construction. You can tell that by next year this will be some more awesome blacktop- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m4mH8QM4j4 And that's kind of the theme for the 105. The good parts keep growing and the crappy parts keep shrinking. But wow, some of the crappy parts are really in dreadful condition! Check this clip- the road is so rough that it broke the wheel off a truck. :eek1 You can see the wheel in the road on the right and where the truck ground to a halt on the left. Good luck getting a tow truck in there! I reckon they'll have to fix it on the spot. And it seems they'd already spent a night in the jungle as there was a day old campfire next to the truck- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-leMmOWCeA
