A bit of a ride in northern Thailand, part three

Don’t forget to check out the first and second part of this trip if you haven’t already!

So when I last left you our band of intrepid explorers had arrived in Nan and a plan was afoot for the next day.

A big plan.

A dramatic plan.

An exciting plan.

A plan to do, in fact … pretty much nothing.

Wander round a couple of temples and take some photos, perhaps.  Have lunch beside the river.  Maybe take a nap.  Ok, definitely take a nap.

How plans changed.

Day 5:  Nan to … um … Nan

Just before 9am I received the following message:

"Am thinking of doing a bit of riding around…"

Even by Stuart’s epic standards of understatement, that probably wasn’t exactly an accurate description of the next ten hours.

Stopping briefly at Wat Chae Haeng (personal highlight: a golden rabbit), we sped eastwards out of town through the trees and rapidly-decreasing traffic of route 1168.  As the highway numbers climbed so did we, the flat fields giving way to mountainous ridgelines and the remnants of what once must have been dense teak forests.

The road wound backwards and forwards for hours, always searching for a passage through – or often around – the steep peaks of this little-travelled part of north-eastern Thailand.

Thinking the first part of the ride was impressive, after turning north at Mae Charim I started to understand why Stuart had been so insistent that we didn’t give our butts a rest today.  Put quite simply it was the best ride of my life.

Largely dirt roads only a few years ago, our route was now smooth tarmac for almost the entire distance.  A few parts showed signs of landslide damage after the recent flooding and were being actively worked on, but even they were flat enough to maintain a decent pace.

I counted a total of three minivans and half a dozen scooters for the entire section from Mae Charim to Bo Kluea,  Wide sweeping corners promised epic views every few hundred metres and never disappointed.  Every time we stopped for a photo our grins were big enough to dazzle the non-existent oncoming traffic.

That right there was why we had done this road trip.  No matter what lay in store for the rest of the week that ride made it all worth the effort.

Something I really needed to remember a few hours later.

Stopping for an early afternoon drink in the junction town of Bo Kluea we had a decision to make.  A straight run through the pass to Pua and back home, or a much longer loop up to the Lao border.  Whether it was the adrenaline or just a desire to prolong the fun as long as possible I don’t know, but we barely even discussed the options before pointing the bikes northwards once more.

The long way round it was.

The road narrowed and worsened within minutes, requiring slower speeds and more attention to avoid putting the bike over a cliff.  The views of course just got better, but I couldn’t help but notice an increasing chill in the shadows serving to remind us that time was rapidly passing.  We needed to keep moving.

Village dogs barely raised an eyelid as our bikes rattled past inches from their nose, and the shy smiles of children playing in the road suggested that farangs like us weren’t a common sight around there.  Only a matter of miles from the border, I was reminded of my time in Laos eighteen months earlier.  It is a beautiful, simple part of the world, and I love it.

Stopping briefly at the immigration point to gaze longingly into Thailand’s laid back neighbour, we were soon dropping down out of the mountains and picking up speed as we headed towards home.  With well over 100km to go and the sun rapidly falling in the sky, it was always going to be a race against time to get back before dark.

It was a race that we lost.

Despite blasting along the highway at speeds far faster than was sensible, we were still at least 45 minutes from safety when the evening gloom turned to pitch blackness.  One thing that I had always sworn not to do was ride the roads of SE Asia after dark.  There was a good reason for that.

Cars loomed out of the night, their headlights completely blinding us.  Pedestrians and unlit scooters owned the side of the road, pushing me out towards the middle where passing trucks missed me by inches as they weaved past.  Bugs splattered in my eyes continuously as I tried to spot the corners and potholes before I hit them in the darkness.

And then we found the roadworks.

As a cloud of choking dust rose several feet in the air and I struggled to keep the bike upright on the rutted, invisible dirt, I genuinely thought I was going to die.  Slower and slower I rode, willing the road to return to tarmac more with every passing second.  It took several minutes – and felt like a lifetime – before it eventually did.

Slowly counting down the mile markers we finally made it back to Nan in one piece, after what was undoubtedly the longest hour of my life.  Hyped up on a combination of fear and excitement I didn’t stop shaking until at least half an hour and three vodkas had passed.  Two days later I was still scraping insect parts from the corner of my eyes.

It had been a hell of a day. 

Hopefully the final part of the trip would be a little less insane…

Distance travelled: 338km (yes, that’s ridiculous)

Stayed at: Phailueng Guesthouse, Nan – again a bit of a bargain at 250 baht for a quiet room with fan, and the hot shower got quite a workout that night.

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