Off we go - Chiang Mai to Mae Chaem

Yesterday marked our departure from Chiang Mai. While we only made it 0.3 miles without stopping (for breakfast, laab for me, cereal for Brooke), the tour got off on an optimistic start with a brisk northerly breeze pushing us south towards Doi Inthanon. We tried to stick to the tiny side roads meandering through the rice fields, but frequently ended up on the highway, which was acceptable riding but otherwise unremarkable. As we turned off the highway, cars became less frequent and our pace slowed dramatically. We were both in our granny gears, frequently toying with 2mph on climbs up to 15%. Brooke marked the first walk of the tour, but felt ok about it because the motoscooter behind her had to dismount and walk as well. Our goal had been to get to the park border before stopping, but when we came across a very nice lady running a homestay in the tiny village of Ban Khun Wang, we decided to end the ride around 5pm. The PoPoPingPing, named after her two daughters, ended up being great. We had a tasty dinner with vegetables grown in the nearby royal experimental farm, and then ended up talking to the owner for about two hours as she gave us an impromptu lesson in very basic Thai. Thai is yaak di ma.


She sent us off the next morning around seven with tea, hot chocolate and rice soup fueling us through several Hmong villages along the 1500ft climb to the park entrance station. Another 1500ft climb followed, which was less pleasant with abundant weekend traffic from Chiang Mai heading to Doi Inthanon. While it was difficult, I sided with Brooke that we should bypass climbing the mountain (Thailand's highpoint at 8400ft) and come back some other time with road bikes. Instead we dropped into the pleasant town of Mae Chaem and called it an early day at 4 hours and 30 miles.  We'll see what Mae Chaem has to offer, and then head north and west over what is supposed to be a fairly rough road to Khun Yuan tomorrow.


Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 12, 2018 at 4:13 AM

    I thought yall conquered Doi INthananon last year?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownFebruary 12, 2018 at 5:21 PM

      Nope, this is as close as we have been to the top. I've left within 24hrs of the race to the top three years in a row

      Delete

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