Biking across Northern Thailand

Posted by Arda on June 26th, 2007 filed in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand, Activities, Adventure, Thailand travel

By Andrew Bond

If mountain bikes truly are for mountains then Northern Thailand must surely be their Shangri la. Covered in seldom used single-tracks, rural dirt roads and thrilling descents, and drapped in tropical vegetation, the mountains of the region are a biker’s paradise. The prospect of spending a week in the saddle through some of Thailand’s most mountainous terrain left me with mixed feelings of exhilaration and exhaustion. Luckily, the Spice Roads’ tour company has cleverly designed the trip to take place over a leisurely nine days and somehow avoids the steep climbs, but rewards the cyclist with some breathtaking back road routes between Chiang Mai and the Golden Triangle.

Day one begins not on bikes but on a boat, as we are ferried to the far corner of the Mae Kuang reservoir north of Chiang Mai, and I’m intrigued by the prospect of being deposited on a far bank that no cars or motorbikes can reach. Today, we are told by our guide Woody, is mainly single track as we head towards Mae Ngat dam.

“Mai pen rai, every year I get lost this part,” Woody mischievously explains as we plunge deeper into the sub-tropical growth, following tracks that are sometimes barely noticeable. This charade goes on for a couple of hours and we don’t care - riding a trail that hasn’t been used in ages adds to the sense of adventure. We pass through a forest of the giant yaang naa trees – the type seen towering beside Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai, and we seem miles from any human habitation.

At times we have to dismount and walk our bikes over rocky streams and eventually we pop out near Buatong waterfall, where lunch is waiting for us hungry cyclists. Northern Thailand is covered in gorgeous waterfalls but this particular one emerges from a spring and is covered in an unusual limestone deposit, giving it an interesting veneer. From here, we hit the road, onwards to Mae Ngat dam before thankfully arriving at the plush Royal Ping Resort.

We set out early the next morning for Chiang Dao - a distinctive and isolated mountain north of Chiang Mai, and the road to it meanders through a narrow cutting that is draped in morning mist with sheer rock faces looming on either side of the asphalt road. This is Thailand’s third highest peak, and the caves at the base are a honeycomb of adventure. The thirty-minute tour through the dark network is a welcome change from the saddle, but some of us - having been here before - opt to visit the Tuesday morning market in the nearby town.

Spice Roads have timed it perfectly, and market’s like these give a fascinating glimpse into Northern Thailand country life. The colourful Lisu have come down from the hills for the day, hawking their embroidery in a kaleidoscope of colour that matches our lycra cycling gear. Also on display are some bizarre root remedies including one that promises to cure ‘all pocks and syphilitic eruptions around the neck’! We also get the impression that fruit is the mainstay of the economy in these parts and it becomes quite obvious as our route zigzagged for the rest of the day through undulating terrain covered in orchards. At one point we even stop to witness an ancient rice mill in action as it clanked, and vibrated like a relic from the industrial revolution.

Every trip has its clowns, and by day three the characters on ours had become unmistakeable. We have along with us a group of ever-polite Singaporeans who are so ridiculously kitted out that even NASA would be overwhelmed. They have shown up with every imaginable gadget, including GPS and two-way radios, heart rate monitors and cadence meters, enough portable tools to perhaps build a rocket launcher and their titanium full-suspension super-light bikes that cost more than the entire annual budget of some the villages we would be visiting! Of course, this was all proportionately opposite to their riding ability, but we were given a useful commentary of stats throughout the trip such as, “Altitude: 1440m la, bearing: 20, 52N, 98, 30E, wind speed…”. On our first day, as we entered the maze of single tracks, we were subjected to the likes of: “Ong Chee, ah, report position ovah,” squelch squelch, “OK roger that, ovah,” “We are approaching river with water in it, ovah,” along with periodic warnings like “hole” and “rut” and “snake!”, which would echo down the line.

After a night in which we had the entire Alpine-styled Chiang Dao Hills Resort to ourselves, we set out again on another nicely scheduled flat ride that skirts the massif of Doi Angkhang. This close to the Myanmar border, we observe a difference in cultural influences, most notably the multi-tiered roofs of the Shan’s Buddhist temples. The area appears sleepier, economically depressed, even dry and dull and it makes me feel like we have entered another country.

Later in the afternoon, we finally approach the border town of Tha Ton, riding along dykes between irrigated fields, as we dead-reckon towards a giant Buddha on the hillside above the town. Tha Ton is a tiny town that sits astride the Kok river as it enters Thailand through a gap in the adjacent hills. Although it attracts tourists primarily as a starting point for boat trips down the Kok river, it has a fascinating and colourful Chinese Buddhist temple on the hillside above the river, which includes a Theravada sect temple – complete with novice monks – numerous statues of dieities and other icons and a giant Buddha further up the hill.

By now we have covered 250kms, and our legs are beginning to ache more and more. The Singaporeans have spoilt us with all sorts of iso-tonic aids and relief tinctures, and the fellow from California – the one who kept joking ‘hey man where are the girlie bars’ – has thankfully fallen silent. Luckily some respite has been cleverly scheduled into the tour, and the following morning we take to boats once more to negotiate the hilly terrain by way of river.

It involves squeezing ourselves and bikes into unstable long boats, much to the bemusement of some loitering Kareni hill tribe folk who probably think we are absolutely crazy to be tackling this province by bike. Today we ride only 20kms. The route follows the river bank on a dirt road that passes several rural villages before arriving in Baan Ruammit – a hive of tourist activity with its elephant camp and handicraft shops. Bikes are now traded for elephants and the tour deviates from cycling to trekking. But 15 jolting minutes on the back of a lumbering elephant leaves me wishing I had never left my saddle. Before long, however, these stoic beasts are effortlessly trundling up steep unbikeable paths and I concede that cycling would’ve been a bad idea.

Spice Roads had advertised the trip as a ‘cultural adventure’ and they weren’t wrong. Within an hour, we come upon Baan Ya Fu – a Lahu village that will host us for the night. Here there is no electricity, no road access in the rainy season and few conveniences, yet the locals seem content and busy. Our usual four-star accommodation has been traded for a bamboo long house, short on comfort but rich in atmosphere. This tiny hamlet of 400 really is something to write home about. To the metronomic thud of a foot-driven mortar, we wander around the small lopsided village. There are kids following us around curiously, playful puppies tumbling in the dust, chickens aimlessly strutting around, and dogs and ducks keeping a keen eye on each other. An exhausted sow lies helpless as a clutch of hungry piglets attack her shrivelled udders. The locals regard us suspiciously, for the Lahu are one of the shyest of the hill tribes, and I can’t help thinking we have turned their village into a human zoo.

Day six starts with a trek down the hillside to Mae Sa waterfall, where we pick up a transfer to the base of Doi Mae Salong. Today we will tackle the first of the hills, with a bet on to see who wimps out. Mae Salong is an interesting community of tea growers of Chinese descent. Their previous generation arrived here as Kuomintang exiles who were unable to reach Taiwan when they fled Mao’s communists in 1949. Apart from all the tea fields and obvious Chinese character, the town enjoys wonderful views – earning itself the description ‘Little Switzerland’.

Fortunately, the climb is all on asphalt and the ordeal is over in less than two hours. Exhausted and sweaty we coasted into the town amid the bustle of the evening market – awash with colour of the Akha hilltribes and their wares. Later we are rewarded with a fantastic panorama from the striking Wat Boromathat perched on a nearby hill – from where we gaze out of the previously off-limits territory that was once the domain of notorious drag baron Khun Sa.

After a half day descent on thrilling dirt roads, followed by a welcome afternoon off, the final leg of our tour sets out on dirt roads and single track through some unusual karst scenery interspersed with rice paddies. But ahead of us, the imposing Doi Tung mountain has a 1000m ascent. Doi Tung is the northernmost elevated position in the country and was the scene of some cross border spats with the Burmese in 2002. It also attracts plenty of Thai tourists to the flower gardens developed by the late Princess Mother who had a winter home here.

Getting there by bicycle is not recommended. With trepidation, we tackle the steep inclines to reach the revered temple at the summit. When you’re moving at 5kph with a seemingly endless climb around each corner you have plenty of time to question why you volunteered for this madness. But the sense of achievement and satisfaction of summitting unaided is fantastic, especially when you see the views.

To the southeast is the whole Chiang Rai valley and after a further short climb, we are humbled by the stretching expanse of Myanmar to the north. With scarcely a sign of human habitation anywhere, we feel like we have reached the edge of a frontier. In fact, the very edge. The road we are on demarcates the border as we pass both Thai and Burmese checkpoints facing-off metres apart. Spotting some tempting single track to my left, I feel the urge to take a sudden dive down the hillside into Myanmar, but our guide points out some rather twitchy looking Burmese soldiers nearby. Instead we descend on some hairy switchbacks before coasting into the dusty frontier town of Mae Sai - popular with visa runners, gamblers and porn shoppers. No one is interested in hopping over the border and we are eager to press on to the Golden Triangle. Full guide to Thailand

And so we follow a single track along the banks of the Ruak river until we eventually reach the mighty Maekong and the end of our journey. Exhausted after 500kms, we all posed under the famous ‘Golden Triangle’ sign in the little tourist town of Sop Ruak. Behind us was the distinctive sandbar that indicates the point where three countries meet - the symbolic centre of an area once famous for opium production and smuggling. All there is left to see now is a couple of opium museums, tacky souvenir shops and the interesting historic town of Chiang Saen, 10kms south.

But we’re all done with touring and collapse into the minivans for the easy route back to Chiang Mai. In all we had clocked up 45 hours in the saddle, recorded six flat tyres, endless photo stops, nearly a dozen instances of severe cramp, two retirements (the Singaporeans!) and plenty of aching bottoms, it was time to go home.

Spice Roads runs a whole host of tours throughout South east Asia, including Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam, ranging from 1 to 10 days. They include good quality bikes, professional support, 3 & 4 star accomodation and cultural interest. For more details visit: www.spiceroads.com/ or call 66-(0)2-712-5305. Alternatively, for a single day downhill trip from Chiang Mai, the Moutain Biking Chiang Mai tour company offers excellent day trips for the adventurous, with all gear provided: www.mountainbikingchiangmai.com or call 66 (0) 1-024-7046.