Today was the first day i felt cold while riding! Temperatures dropped to low 20s during the day for the first time, and it was a properly soggy day.

The plan was to ride north along the Thai Myanmar border, and then cut over to Chiang Mai via highway 108 at Mae Sariang. This compresses two days worth of riding, so i get a bit of extra time in Chiang Mai to do washing, try to fix my tablet, and prepare for Laos and China.

Setting off at 9:45, the first stop was just 8 kms away, the Thai-Myanmar border. There is a market which seems to straddle the border fence (which is the river Moei). There is a platform constructed where Myanmar locals sell across a barbed wire “border fence “ (in quotations because this seems to be for show only), with armed Thai guards patrolling along this wall. They are selling everything from cigarettes, alcohol, viagra, to fresh produce like garlic and other staples like dried fish.

Thai Myanmar border (the little fence)

I had no interest in buying anything, so after a quick look, i jumped back on the bike and started heading north.

not happy that i didnt want to buy his contraband (he was ok with me taking the photo)

The trip was fairly uneventful - just enjoying the road (starting with gentle curves across the plains, with hairpins in the mountains), until the rain started. This was a different type of rain to that in the South; whereas in the South there would be a short and sharp shower separated by a longer stretch of dry, hot lands, this rain lingered. There were still dry patches thankfully, but these were far and few between. The rain also increased in intensity, peaking the typical Sydney-rain-shower level.

map check + wipe my visor stop

It was in the mountains, with my hands drenched with rain (my rain gear and boots held up pretty well) that i felt cold for the first time. I say this without meaning it in a negative light! I was incredibly grateful to be on the road, in the twisties in the wet. In some respects, this is a natural state of the road and an authentic expression and interaction with the environment. In one moment, my ride was briefly interrupted by a herd of water buffalo.

“please don’t hurt me please dont hurt me” as i ride past

It had been almost 3 hours in the wet twisties when i reached Mae Sariang.

This stop was entirely practical and quick. To recharge myself and my bike for the upcoming section to Chiang Mai. I was exhausted after the riding and consumed no less than:

• 1 pack of gummy bears (grape flavour)
• 1 Cadbury chocolate bar (30g)
• 3 packs of berry flavoured candy (some sort of cross between nerds and gummy bears, very yummy)
• 2 lactose free yakult equivalents

Some may disapprove, although i consider this a reasonable substitute for lunch, and the sugar a necessary fuel for the ride ahead.

After lunch, the rain grew in intensity, the road less twisty, and the traffic multiplied. This was Highway 108, and the main corridor connecting Mae Sariang to Chiang Mai, well traveled by commercial traffic. Along this route, I had started listening to Ken Liu’s interpretation of Lao Tsu’s Dao De Jing, and I am really enjoying this. I can see this as something i return to a few times on the journey forward.

In between rain showers on highway 108

I reached Chiang Mai after another 4 hours of riding. The final stretch from Hot to Chiang Mai was ironically not hot at all - the rain turned into a downpour, and the roads started flooding. While my gear held up okay (save my gloves which are not waterproof), i could not see through my visor! And riding with the visor up wasn’t an option either (the droplets were big enough to be painful when riding at ~100kph, and quite blinding). I slowed down and pushed on.

Today was a very tiring day of riding - I’m looking forward to the next few days of rest. Like in Phuket, I’ll cover this in one single update.

Some stats:

• 472 KMs traveled
• 29.7L fuel added
• 20g coffee consumed
• 1 unique interaction