Two days worth of riding in one! Today was one of those days where you just keep going…and one of the reasons why it’s a joy not to book accommodation until late in the day of.

It was a soggy day - varying from sprinkles to medium intensity rain - for most of the day.

So it was also a long day where i kept the focus on riding, turned on the audiobook (three body problem, almost finished now), kept the rest stops short and the pace high.

I started retracing the route back to Erawan falls, stopping twice along the way for fuel, coffee and water. The rain had started by this point, and the notable thing from this part was the number of motorcyclists coming through on the other side! I spotted no less than 4 groups, 3 of which were large with 10+ bikes. Mostly on BMWs, and all very friendly.

Lying Buddha at Sangkhla Buri - quick roadside snap

Then i pushed on through the national park, into the winding roads and passing small villages. This was the scenic route, which i took to avoid the (boring) highway 323. It is so nice barreling down country roads, with the whole width to yourself (most of the time).

That is - until all of a sudden Google Maps blurted in my earpiece “in 600m, take the ferry.”

Me, surprised that there was a ferry on the route

Ferry? Little did i know, Google had decided to (instead of a section of twisties) direct me to the local ferry. Just as well as it had begun to rain, and i was keen for a break. This ferry took me across a narrow stretch of the Sinakharin, from highway, cutting out a particular jagged section of the 3199.

View from the ferrySandeep, struggling not to slip on the sheet metal

The surface was steel (very slippery steel) so i stayed close to my bike in case it were to fall.

Then, the road on to Ban Rai became more and more deserted, as the going became more and more remote. In the blink of an eye (or rather, a few chapters of three body problem) i was in Ban Rai, crossing a few mountain ranges in the process. It was only 3pm, Ban Rai did not seem to have much to offer, and i wanted to reclaim some time in Chiang Mai to properly wash my riding gear (it is getting a bit smelly now…). The road on to Tak was 5 hours according to Google, and an extra hour for Mae Sot. I decided to press on, and stop when i was feeling tired.

U and V bends crossing the mountains into Ban Rai The mountain range in the distance is the one between Tak and Mae SotThai tree plantations

This next section was exclusively small country roads of varying quality, along agricultural land. The main crop in these parts seemed to be trees of some kind. And this got more and more remote - probably the furthest I’ve been from a major town in Thailand. The route varied from long, empty straights while crossing the plains between the ranges, to extreme curves when crossing the mountains.

At one section on the straight, i was really giving it some throttle, noticed that an upcoming bridge was slightly raised with a bit of a slope - but decided to continue on anyway…and a second later, both wheels were in the air. The landing felt hard (and i was unprepared) and while there were wobbles, i recovered, slowed down, and then stopped for a breather. Not doing that again!

I reached Tak by 6pm, and had already decided to continue on to Mae Sot, which was just across the mountain range. Another 10 minute stop, and it was back on the road. Now, it was getting much cooler than it had been for the last two weeks. In Malaysia it was 34-38 degrees. Southern Thailand had been 32-35 degrees, and now it was 28-32. While crossing the mountains it actually dropped to 21 degrees. Maybe I’ll stop sweating soon!

The road to Mae Sot was sublime. Three lanes a side of highway, twisting and turning through the mountains. And maybe one car/truck every kilometre. I used all three lanes available, and had a great time carving lines through the mountains.

Cloud covered mountains between Tak and Mae Sot

And by 7:30pm I arrived, chose a hotel, and went for a spot of dinner. All in all, about 10.5 hours on the road today incl breaks, covering 730kms.

Tomorrow; Chiang Mai!

Some stats:

• 730 KMs traveled
• 36g coffee consumed
• 50.9L added
• 1 unique interaction
• 8273m ascent / 8303m descent