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  1. #26
    Northern Hermit
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    Quote Originally Posted by nedwalk
    how are the running boards holding up?
    They got a knife edge. First ten scrapes made a racket like you would not believe. now just a mild Skreee! I am not a fan of floorboards. I prefer pegs two sets. a set up fron near the frame knuckle (where it used to be on pan/shovel/evo) and a mid set usually right off the old rear Floor board mounts. it ain;t Arlen Ness Blingy but 6 or seven hours inthe saddle it's nice to have options. Don't like that heel shifter either, gets in my way; I never use it.

    The fatboys are a decent machine comfortable for the most part. I'd change teh bars for a set of flanders #2s (7" high Ape hangers) with 3" risers, change the pegs, pipes, lower & stiffen teh rear a bit and change the fenders. Add a sixth gear simply because I can and add about 12 - 20 Cubic inches - built for idle to about 6000 RPM. Add duals up front for sure, add lighter wheels put a 200/55 X 17 on the rear and stickier tires. Then go out and see if I couldn;t scrape the primary and pipes a time or two. floor boards are like training wheels, ya know?


    Quote Originally Posted by nedwalk
    looks like the old fella at the cave was fairly 'sleeved' up too
    Poor guy live as a hermit along side a main highway. No one stops, no room for buses, Think we were his first guests n weeks. His eagerness to get us in teh cave... Dunno man would he let us back out? He had tats down to his ankles and up to his neck. Didn't ask but I imagine it's all blue ink in between.
    When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty -- T. Jefferson


  2. #27
    Thailand Expat nedwalk's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by friscofrankie
    lower & stiffen teh rear
    only trouble with that is, being a softy the bloody swingarm tends to 'dig' in when your hunting through some tight bouncy twistys, my old 86 was a bastard for it, actually bounced so hard out of one and snapped the rh shocky and all down the undercarriage was scraped to the shithouse, l/hand cambered roads,
    i used to ride me mates heretige on an island here 12k of sealed road only and ferkin hard on the tyres, he was forever replaceing running boards until he gave up and put pegs on, me missus has a nice scar on the top of her foot, we were working at the pub and it started raining , stupid woman thought she would/could move the bike out of the rain, she got her foot caught under the board as it fell and pulled her foot out, peeled the top skin of like a potatoe , the joys of motorcycles..good report your doing there, actually given me a few marketing ideas for yas too

  3. #28
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    I've had this one get a slightly sideways on a couple. This is no drama. Harleys have always done best when ridden loose onto turns the rae cmes around and feels so naturally right only an inexperienced rider would over react. the one I like riding best is a bit over soft, IMO. Not looking for rack hard but firm. I grew up on rigids rode them for decades until "other things" got in the way of riding. Teh ST feels alot like a rigid but easier on these old bones. Be nuts to try a rigid on these roads at 57 years old, although I still just might. somethign to be said for losing 200+ pounds and adding 30 - 40 ft -lbs of torque, ya know? Had one bike, with an open belt drive, stroked, just a leetle bit. First that scrap in lefthanders, the cluctch bell, when it hit one of them reflectors would bring the rear wheel off the pavement a tad. that was thrill only moved me line about 3 inches or so. You had a split second to wonder about a high-side, never happened but you always wondered.

    Most if these photos are slated to be reduced to a size that fits in teh column layout ot gallery layout I've written for the company's site. The site is 100% operational but a bit short on content. (much of thread will be considered "notes" for parts of it) There's a couple links in the OP (snuck 'em in after postnig). Feedback from testers and frieds indicate everyone wants 'more pictures' so I'm gog through the 3335 photos and thought while I did, I'd share.

    Tires are wear parts if I can find a set that wears decent for 5 - 10k, stick, but slide gracefully, this is what I want. Everytime I can get th rear out just a hair or two) for just an instant I know I'm where I want to be. STs ain;t road racers, they ain;t "sport bikes" but they do controlled slides beautiful. Anyone thinks the twisties ain;t just made for jammin on a ST at a very identifiable edge just ain;t rode one.

    Floorboards are comforatble, no doubt, them wiggle mounts for the floorplate rubber are sweet. But This being thailand you occasionally get to muscle a 720 lb monster up hill a bit, nothing to it but plant your ass and use all the strength your legs got to waddle back. FUckin shins still bang the damn things. No big deal but I got nicks and bruises on my shins about 6 inches above me ankle that don;t eve heal now Gotta get me some pegs.

    The whole fuckin custom bike scene these days seems to be an Arlen Ness bling-bling kinda scene. Arlen Ness was in Hayward I was 40 miles up the road, we built different things I never sliked his stuff, he was show had no go coming fromhis shop unless he hired it done, looks to be the same now days. Dude name of Bob Mumroe in my neighborhood did most his design and fab work back then. I wonder if it's stillthe same.

    Ordered a J&P catalog but choices are limited. Always liked my scoots to look more business like. Just too much shit about the quality of hte chrome and too little about weight saving and quality of hte build. Hell even PM has gone all showy and blingy. Used to be where you got shit that worked damn well. Now I'm sure it stillworks, ny confidence in them is strong but ALL THAT FUCKIN CHROME! adn them fuckin whels!

    Good thing I got a friend with a machine shop and a stock of different sized billets. He tells me he can make the wheels I want, if I can draw 'em. I can draw 'em. Looks like I'll be making some things from a chunk of metal. I kinda like it that way. Reminds me of the 60s & 70s when we made a lot of our own shit.

    Quote Originally Posted by nedwalk
    actually given me a few marketing ideas for yas too
    Come up for a ride and bring 'em on. We'll take you places where farang don't go (too often anyway).

    Baut back to th trip(s); I got a load more of rides to post (about 2500 more Kilometers to Mae Sod, Sukothaim Nan Phayao Mae Hong Sone ins clear weather and sme fantastic Panoramic shots in crystal clear air. I got a rain storm frm hell to tell y'al about and getting stuck in an abandoned hotel garage, finding guy to take us in feed us beer and snack and beg us not to leave on a stratch of road I ain't never seen no one And other less-than-prefect things that make a ride memorable. I'll need time to edit and crop the pics, I'll get a post or two up tonight I hope, But the business of living gets inteh way sometimes. Meetings and work.

  4. #29
    Thailand Expat nedwalk's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by friscofrankie
    Anyone thinks the twisties ain;t just made for jammin on a ST at a very identifiable edge just ain;t rode one.
    singing to the choir

  5. #30
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    Pai, in the morning. I've always considered Pai a lay over, rarely lingered for more than a overnight rest and a meal, after three days of Khao Tom, noodles and Thai "western" breakfasts I was looknig forward to one of he best breakfasts in North Thailand. My favorite breakfast joint, "The Burger House," is closed; gone fishing. At least I know they'll be back after Song Khran.

    You offer tours. You tell people you offer the uncommon Thiland experience. Pai has more to offer than some Magic Hippie Disneyland experience; you get out of town and ride a few back roads It is nestled in a beautiful valley. We had some time so we explored a bit. BUT, without a few of those "common Thailand experiences" people don't feel they "done Thailand." One of those stereotypical "Thai experiences," an elephant ride:


    There are two ways to ride and elephant up on one of those hard platforms, perched uncomfortably and precariously - swaying to & fro, holding on fro dear life; or bare back up on his neck. This is comfortable and enjoyable, But rarely offered to inexperienced toursits. The elepant likes it better too. We didn't ride but discussed tours and availabel options. My riding partenrs loves these guys, Buys 'em bananas and talks to 'em.
    They seem to like it:


    We had an easy day today but it was the last day. Time to kill = time to ride. Why we love this road:


    AND:


    The road from Pai hits Highway 107 in Mae Taeng. We headed north to Chiang Dao Nest for lunch. Chiang Dao nest serves Western food. There's a few Thai meals on the menu but they make excellent western food, braised lamb shanks, NZ tenderloin, And a damned good western breakfast. before the nest Though I stop at teh cave to get one of them "contrast" shots:


    This is a no parkign area But teh Folks there let me park for a bit to get a couple shots. Really didn't turn out all that well, I didn;t want to linger. Chiang Dao Nest is just down the road from the cave, I like their driveway, when it's dry at least:


    A great place to linger over a good meal:


    The gournds are laid out for relaxation. I could spend a few days here, doing nothing:


    But with a Motorcycle waiting to hit the road, the urge to move on was stronger. Not all roads in Thailand are twisted.


    And there ain't nuthin wrong with that.

    We heaqded north for about 5 - 10 kilometers and trned off heading for Phrao. The road here is fairly flat with a few sweepers with good surface:


    Plenty of side roads to explore find some out-of-the-way spots for a photo op or two. This view we found down a narrow road through a moo baan gate down narrow, rarely used sois. At the edge of the village I guess you could say:


    That's Chiang Mai town proper behind them thar hills. Takig this pic, I realized we were close to teh end of the ride. We got into town just as the sun was setting, traffic still heavy (by Chiang Mai standards).


    This was one of the finest rides I've ever taken. Weather beautiful, no drama very little traffic, a great lace to stay and a few good meals along the way.

    We took a few weeks off before our next ride (5? 6?) That one would take back up through Mae Sariang, on to Mae Sod, to Sukothai, Nan, through Phayao and back again. It also took us through some serious rain and some drizzle. There had been a couple weeks of on and off rain and we expected to get wet. We got wet, and on one night, we got soaked.

    I'll get to that ride in a while.
    Last edited by friscofrankie; 01-06-2009 at 10:13 PM.

  6. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by nedwalk
    looks like the old fella at the cave was fairly 'sleeved' up too
    He looks more Japanese than Thai. Are those missing knuckles on his left hand?



    Excellent photo-journal Frankie. Please keep 'em coming.
    Last edited by JoGeAr; 31-05-2009 at 06:15 PM.

  7. #32
    Elite Mumbler
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    Quote Originally Posted by friscofrankie
    Mae Hong Son to Pai is the shortest leg of our trip. You can go it in about 3 hours if you push it. This is deep descent switchback country with plenty of first and second gear curves.
    About ten years ago I went from Pai to Mae Hong Son and back in a day on a Honda Wave. It was a great trip and a fun road to ride. It would have been more fun on the bike you had though. Good pics.

  8. #33
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    This is awesome,
    Keep them pics coming, I appreciate the effort involved.

  9. #34
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    Awesome stuff

    Brilliant narrative and photos, kind of makes me want to take my ol kawasaki zzr400 for a spin thru those corners

    While she's no hog, for a 400cc, she's a biggish bike that loves to be thrown into corners.

    Kudos for the photos, I must try that trek!

  10. #35
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    I sit here with a stiff sore back, looking over Jervis Bay, NSW, Oz land and dream. Of warm weather, cold beer, Thai food and great scenery (not that Jervis Bay isnt beautiful, but its grey and cold this morning). Could sure use a thai massage right now but have to get ready for work.
    Is there a possibility for a novice rider to get on a riding tour and be safeish? I rode an old AJS 500 as a stripling. Whenever it fell over, not while riding, by the way, it too two of us to right the bloody thing. Here in Oz, everybody i knew that rode either broke at least one bone or died riding. Kind of puts you off the bike riding here.

  11. #36
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    Great stuff Frisco

  12. #37
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    I just drove the road Chaing Mai-Pai-Mae Hong Song-Mae Sot. What a great trip.
    Now i have to figure out how to get my 1970 Triumph up there and do it on that.

    The road from Mae Sariang to Mae Sot follows the Burmese border and it would be a great trip on a bike as very little traffic. Check it out.

    Also on the road between Pai and Mae Hong Son stop at Soppong and check out the Soppong River view Inn. Great palce to stay and great food as well. ( its 1 km to the Coffin Caves from there).

    Outside Mae Hong Son u can visit the Kayan Hill tribe camp Nai Soi (long necks) Its about 18 kms north and not as visted as others. You can see some pics here,
    Zenfolio | Richard Reitman Photography | Northern Thailand

    Thanks for the story
    "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol or insanity, but they've always worked for me" HST

    View my pics

  13. #38
    En route
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    That is a brilliant shot.

  14. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by friscofrankie View Post
    As we wandered through the vilage we could see a chedi on a small hill top. We made oour way with a couple false turns, u-turns and the help of a nice lady taking veggies to market we found the gate to teh Wat. We parked out front (one of teh bikes had new pipes and they were a tad LOUD (fixed on our return). I walked up to the teak hall where a window was open and colled a Halloo. There was some small animal movement right down in front of me. turned out to be a very nice gentleman with about 24 - 30 inches of height. His legs, body and arms were about the size (length) of a 5 - 6 year old I guess. But such a friendly fellow. I explained our desire to ride the bikes up the hill and shoot some photos I also explained we were pretty damned noisy. I asked to take his picture, he smiled and repeated Mai Mai Mai, until I explained I just wanted his face that I thought his face was handsome and interesting. I wasn't lying what do you think?

    I wouldn't say handsome, but definitely expressive, and gentle looking. Well done.

    I've enjoyed reading this travelogue, and the pics are excellent. The silver Harley is really nice. I've been to many of the areas you've been, and it is one of the most beautiful areas of Thailand. Keep them coming.

  15. #40
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    I sent this to several buddies in US who ride bikes, I ride a 110 cc rental all winter in Pattaya. Have a 2006 250 cmx honda in Florida, a whosey Harley haha. love bikes.

  16. #41
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    Brilliant thread. Shame you didn't notice those fugly motorbikes in the foreground of most of your otherwise excellent pictures, though.
    Last edited by benbaaa; 02-06-2009 at 03:22 PM.

  17. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by Phuketrichard
    The road from Mae Sariang to Mae Sot follows the Burmese border and it would be a great trip on a bike as very little traffic. Check it out.
    THat will be the next ride I post. We rode from Mae Sraiang - Mae Sod - Sukothai - Nan - Phayao and back.

    Quote Originally Posted by Phuketrichard
    Also on the road between Pai and Mae Hong Son stop at Soppong and check out the Soppong River view Inn. Great palce to stay and great food as well. ( its 1 km to the Coffin Caves from there).
    Too close for a over nighter from MHS but nice. Always want to linger, but... The road, the road.

    Quote Originally Posted by Phuketrichard
    Outside Mae Hong Son u can visit the Kayan Hill tribe camp Nai Soi (long necks) Its about 18 kms north and not as visted as others. You can see some pics here
    Ah and that would be the fourth ride we took the boat down river and wandered around he village. Much perfer the Village out of Tha Ton to be honest, less push but the school was interesting. and we will be taking some supplies back on the next trip.

    I've still got ov er a thousand photos to wade through and two more rides to cover. Unfortunately, I also have bills to pay and a healthy appetitie to feed. I try and get teh next 2000 kilometers up inthe coming week. THanks for all the positive feedback.

  18. #43
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    doing good FF

    have fun

  19. #44
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    Quote Originally Posted by benbaaa
    Brilliant thread. Shame you didn't notice those fugly motorbikes in the foreground of most of your otherwise excellent pictures, though.
    Heh. Eliminator redded me for that.

  20. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by benbaaa
    Eliminator redded me for that.
    The truth hurts sometimes...

  21. #46
    Thailand Expat nedwalk's Avatar
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    gotta agree 'FATBOYS' are ugly.. now FXST-B;s are whole different thing

  22. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by nedwalk
    gotta agree 'FATBOYS' are ugly.. now FXST-B;s are whole different thing
    Each his own, I guess. I am not a big fan of harley's 'customs' The FB is a good platform, Too bad they lost the ST standard from their line. That was a great bike to start with.

  23. #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by benbaaa View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by benbaaa
    Brilliant thread. Shame you didn't notice those fugly motorbikes in the foreground of most of your otherwise excellent pictures, though.
    Heh. Eliminator redded me for that.
    you redded me for something much less innocuous

    so no sympathy

  24. #49
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    Great thread frankie, just great.


    Impressed you found some life in Fang- we drove through it slowly, saw nothing, and kept driving. Which is how we ended up in ThaTon- a great result, I do like that place.

    I wonder how much those 'derelict' wooden places on the river in ThaTon might cost?

  25. #50
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    ^^ & ^^^ You boys wanna discuss reputation there's a thread for that. Now shut up; I'm tellin' a story

    At the end of the Mae Hong Son Loop (with a few side trips) ride we sat down and made notes planned about for tours with variations. Then me an this other fella gets and idea! We go and tell Richy we ned toplan a few more routes, and will be taking off again ina few weeks. This time we don't even invite him.

    Things work out so we got free time between the 7th and 15th of May. Now the weekend of the 6 - 9 is a holiday soe people got three day weekends, most people. Maybe not the best weekend for a ride. So we plan on a start Monday.

    The route is Mae Sariang -> Mae Sod -> Sukothai -> Nan and return home through Phayao. Four nights, five days of some mighty fine roads. The first idea is to make the ride through Mae Sariang to Mae Sod in a day. This is not a good plan for a tour. The ride to Mae Sariang is a half day jaunt (3 - 4 hours), the ride to Mae Sod can take the better part of a day's daylight.

    I head in early have a nice breakfast at the Rose Guest House, still get to the shop before anyone else. We fool around the shop for a half day, checking brakes, brake lights, indicators tire pressue and ogling catalogs and motorcycle magazines, discussing changes the bike we're riding could have, building virtual dream bikes. You know; the knd of stuff boy wil do when they got time to kill and a room full of scooters.

    We head out to mae Sariang long after the traffic dies down. I've packed even more shit for this trip and have a duffle bag strapped to my bars. Hell I lived for a couple years like that got eerythign I need.

    I took a few shots on the way to Mae Sariang but you've seen most of that, and we were on a bit of a hunt this trip, Familiar with the road, light to no traffic. There had been a few days rain since out last ride and this made eh cenery greener, made teh ride feel cooler. One green shot


    I have no photos of interest from Mae sariang from this trip, not one. We slept late had few side trips (again) and I shot some photos but they got lost. later on the ride I lost some other shots as well. After teh last ride. The camera had turned over 11k photos, the four days riding inteh lements and a years worth of photography, lens swaps, etc made me think to get teh camera cleaned by a technician here in town. They did a damned good job. BUT. I have no ideaq why, they set my camera to shoot Jpeg instead of raw photos. WTF??

    I discovered this after a shoot at the historical Park in Sukothai. I got some reat shit there, some of magazine quality. As I was moving files from my Compact flash to the notebook I noticed I was moving *.jpg files instead of *.arw files. Now this pissed me off more than somewhat. I had been drinking beer chaang most fo teh late afternoon and evening, My ride partner and I going over the shots, with lots of OOOOoos and Aaaahs. I discovered the setting fould up. picked up my tripod and threw it against teh wall. and in a fit of anger unfortunatly, trshed teh images onteh ship BEFORE transferring them to the comp. They may have been slightly reworked by the camera and a bit less sharp But I'm sure I could have used some. The ones taken after hours with the help of a nice watchman insde teh talking Buddah shrine were fantastic and unless we delayed a whole day irreplacable.

    Oh, well next trip and another 100 baht note... Lookign forward to gong back might take a few beers to share with the watchman. Got some great shots of his kid onthe hawg too.

    THe road to Mae Sod; It's been a while and I remembered dirt road, soe rough old, narrow roads and virtually no traffic. The dirt portion is new, There is stil some of the old stuff left. and the traffic situation has not changed.


    Plenty of places to stop for a rest, if that's what we wanted. This plae had runnign water (a stream) and a beautiful view. but the shower facilities left somethign to be desired, we moved on.



    Every little burg we rode through we had children and adults standing by the road, waving & smiling. You just gotta love rural Thailand.


    (camera intentionally left inthe shot)
    The road quality fluctuated from rough, to smooth and back to rough again for about 60 kilometers or so. No problem with scenery like this we were in NO hurry.


    backroads like this:


    Fellow travelers? Or traffic?


    Eventually you dump out onto the Border river, Mae Nam Moei. Across the river, Myanmar. You can barely make out some ominous clouds rolling over them thar hills. We stopped for a bit after riding through a bit of drizzle congratulating ourselves on "riding through" it. No patrols, no one watching here is your border.


    Right. I packed up the camera and stashed in my bar bag,expectnig a bit more rain. But things stayed pretty clear all teh way to this village abot 100 Km north of mae Sod. I pulled over to get some shots of the village. These kids started flooding out. as I opened my bag to retrieve may camera several of them dashed across teh street think maybe I was goign to hand out treats or clothes or??

    Scaed the hell out of me, fuckin asshole flyng by at 130 KPH wouldhave ran one of them kids over and not even blinked.


    THe throng continued to grow and a few pick ups flew by at 130KPH I figured we were more a hazard than attraction so I snapped one more pic and we left.


    I kept the camera out since we never found any more rain. Needless to say, This ensured a down pour soon enough. We rode through the village and on down to Mae Sod, stopping at one place for a drink and moving on. The rain began to lightly fall, You instinctively reduce your speed, Running into tiny droplets at 100 KPH begins to sting, Your glasses begin to fog you tilt them a bit to get more ventilation, the skies begin to darken. The tiny droplet become larger, more frequent. Pulled over under a tree as my riding partner kept going repacked my camera, The rains came in buckets. The ride moves along at 30 - 40 kph, down to 20 kph.

    Suddenly the sun is gone. It's dark and I can;t see 20 meters in front of me. The rain and road splash has me soaked as though submerged. Looking for my riding partner. Not onthe road, only a fool would do that, but looknig for somewhere to stop out of the weather I see nothing, This is not surprising I jsut can't see. Eventually I decide to take refuge. We were headed to Mae Sod, So we'll meet up there. I find an abandoned hotel with , DO TELL! a two-car car port, with tile floors and completely sheltered from the rain, which is by now your typical, tropical, torrent. I am soaked to the bone, My gear is soaked through and through. Why, OH WHY, didn't I grap that small tarp I was eyeing when I bought the duffle?!? I've got to watch teh road, there is a very good chance I rode past my partner. Or the crazy bastard might even come back lookin for me.

    Sure enough he comes up from behind. hand held over his eyes puttin along in first gear, I get his attention. Who could miss a half naked fat bastrd wringing his clothes out on the side of the road? THE scooters are a welcome source of warmth in the carport. I lay my wrung out shirt over the tanks and engine, they may not dry but they'll be warm when I put 'em on.

    Out of Nowhere (I thought) this Long-haired Hippy lookin Thai comes to visit us with an umbrella and smile. He's got a small place that sells beer adn food a few meters down the muddy driveway, and we should come in and get dry. OK getting dry was a bit optimistic, but if you gotta wait out the rain you wanna do it with a beer in your hand or a wet fuckin shoe? The place was thatched but you could find a few spots that didn;t leak, we asked for a couple Leos and a plat of fun food, yo know; cashews, peanuts that kind of thing. Guy brings out a platter with western-Thain fusion salad to knock your socks off, spicey tart adn a hint of slatiness; and peanuts, cashews, pickles, a bucket of Ice and a couple Big leos. By Now I wondering, does this guy have the keys to his sisters hotel? We had two large Leos each, clean the platter of every thing edible and the rain began to lighten up. I think we had about 20 - 30 Km to Mae Sod. We thanked the guy for his hospitality, paid him less than 300 baht (300 is what he got he could keep the change) and hit the road after cleanign the mud off our boots.
    The chil factor over comepletely soaked clothes at 40 KPH is cold enough to set you to shivering when you've been soaked and chilled for hours. I shivered all the way to our hotel. We got into Mae sod adn the only thing open was KFC. IN fact it wasn;t open. They close at 9:00, it was 9:00, but people were eating, they let us in so we could fill up on Mashed potatoes and gravy.

    At the hotel I took all my clothes out and gave them to the guy behind the desk after makign sure he had a dryer handy, with instructions to dry everything. I kept the least soaked pair of levis and tee shirt. Mae sod was a gohst town, we took a stroll adn found a bar. there was an acoustic guitar player and a violinist. Absolute joy to listen to. We spend the evening drinking bad brandy. listenitn to excelletn reditions of pop tunes.

    I'll post some photos of the hotel later, an interesting place; compeltely covered with teak carvings on thr walls, the ceilings, the furniture marble and teak, some rosewood thrown in. 400 baht a night. Such a deal.
    Last edited by friscofrankie; 04-06-2009 at 01:09 AM.

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