To continue on the tradition of well documented solo motorcycle road trips, I decided to embark on another endeavor in the spirit of motorcycling. I got a Honda Forza 350 🛵 in SG this time (after riding it in the northern Thailand trip two years back), found I like it a lot. So, since it’s the National day long weekend, so what else I can do to celebrate the birthday of my beloved nation of Singapore then to ride to Betong Thailand through a different border? 🫨🫨
I’ve always wanted to do the northern Thailand loop after completing MHS road trip some time back. I wished to ride up there from Singapore directly but it requires more time and currently I’ve sold off all my motorbikes. Luckily renting a bike in Chiang Mai is easy so there was no excuse. Also Thailand opened travel without the need for quarantine from May 2022 and I need to clear some leave from work; this happened to be the perfect opportunity to go.
Planning the route was challenging as google maps doesn’t allow for more than 10 waypoints in total. I also wanted to balance the distance rode each day, so it took a couple of iterations to somewhat decide on the below. Found this link to combine multiple waypoints for route planning: https://www.morethan10.com/home/en
Even after all that, the itinerary was not confirmed, thus I only booked for the Chiang Mai accommodation on the first day and reckoned I will play by ear for the rest of the trip, depending on where I was.
Route of the planned loop
After much research on the web, the trip will be roughly as follows;
Day 1: Chiang Mai -> Aruno Thai -> Doi Ang Khang -> Fang -> Chiang Rai
Day 2: Chiang Rai -> Mae Salong -> Doi Tung -> R 1149 -> Mae Sai -> Golden Triangle -> Chiang Khong -> Phu Chi Fa
Day 3: Phu Chi Fa -> Route 1148 -> Pua -> Bo Kluea (R1081) -> Nan
The famous Mae Hon Soon loop in Thailand that was in the checklist of many motorcycle touring enthusiasts. Chris was the one that suggested this for our yearly trip. Since its a motorcycle trip I didn’t need to think twice. While I wanted to ride there from Singapore, at least two weeks of leave is needed and time will be tight. Also riding up there in my Burgman 200 might take awhile. Thus we decided to fly there instead and rent a bike for our adventure.
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