Thread: Harley Davidsons in Thailand ~ Frankie takes a Ride, or four?

This thread is going to take me a few days to hammer out between work and being kinda under the weather. I've got a few thousand photos to wade through and maybe forty or fifty prepared. Bare with me

From Mid Feb though last Sunday (may 24) I've spent fourteen days (or so) on the road in Northern Thailand on a few different Harley Davidsons. Although we only covered about 2500 miles (4000 kilometers) we spent most of that time on twisted mountain roads, Steep switch back descents and narrow village back roads. I have over 3300 photographs from these rides to go through and I've gone through them twice for different reasons. Don't worry, I'll not post them all.

All our rides started off at Richy's shop, RichCo Motorsports at about 9:00 AM. Anyone that knows me will tell you this is not anywhere near my normal wakgn hours. I do make exceptions for special occasions. I usually get there early for the coffee and rolls. Richy has started up a Harley Davidson Rentals business and provides tours on Harley Davidsons in Thailand with late model Fatboys and Dyna Glides. I was elected as photographer and scribe. I also got to test out the fleet and find a ride I wouldn't mind owning as soon as I can get the house done.

Our first ride started out with four riders one passenger and a chase truck. Four Americans, one Canadian and an Ozzie. The route was From Chiang Mai up 107 to Chiang Dao, this is short run perfect for getting in sync with folks you've never rode with. We end up at the cave there, I've been a few times and Cave bore me. The ladies selling herbs are fun to banter with while others go into the caves.

For the first ride I got this bike:


The ride up to the ChiangDao turn off is typical Thai highway, through Mae Rim, Mae Tang; four lanes, wide, sweeping curves and plenty of civilization; not too busy but certainly not empty. Eventually we get into some good two lane mountain road, fresh air, a river beside you with good surface, a short bit of construction, before long more civilization and the road straightens up a bit. Before we hit Chiang Dao Town we cut off left for the cave.

I like the look on this ladies face as four scooters disturb her otherwise quiet morning:


Did I mention THe Candaian had a BMW on this trip? Consider it mentioned. We gave a bit of shit for have such and ugly bike, He got even in the switchbacks later in ther day. The BMW is up for sale he's got his Dyna back together and has lost interest in the German machine. Dunno what he wants for the Bimmer but I can find out. Nice bike, kind tall, might get nose bleeds think it's 1200 somethign or other.

A shot of the Lagoon:


We loafed around I mentioned I had shots of the inside of trhe cave no one went in, We sat inthe shade and talk over the the next leg of the route. This was bit more arduous and longer. We were headed up to the Doi Ang Khang Project, and we were taking back roads.

This road impressed me with it's scenic beauty, the photos I took did not. Needed rain. I'd get it in the coming weeks....


We hung a left, heading north on highway 1178 where we'd veer off to the right along the Burmese border towards Doi Ang Khang. The road quickly gained elevation, and we were in Pine needle littered switch back country, the air was cool, crisp at times and I had not perfected my "shoot from the saddle" technique, in later rides I got better at it.

There was a breif moment when I had a few too many KPH, a somewhat too thick layer of pine needles under me and a little pucker factor. Happy to say, the bike and I came out unscathed, can;t say the same for my shorts though.

Theres a couple photos of the gardens at Doi Ang Khang and a view, or two, along the way.

Some where along the way we pulled into a small village called Ban Ngop. really nothing more than a couple buildings a small market and a large parking lot. What they needed the parking lot for, I have no idea. There appeared to be several settlements inteh valley below us but we saw only the proprietor of the market. From what I can gather this is primarily a chinese settlement some remenants of the KMT that fought in China then Burma and now raise tea and give Chinese lessons.

Nice view from behind the public toilet, Oh yeah they had a market AND a publixc toilet.


Chinese lessons, Anyone?



Harley Davidsons, On tour in Thailand: (and one BMW )


One of the reasons There aren;t more photographs of the surrounding areas and all the interestng things you see is...

We all just wanted to ride! We were following the chase truck and he stopped at place like this, Looking back I'm glad he did but at the time? There was alot of "Why are we stopping" groans and "let's get going" gripes. We did; get gong that is. There are milder roads to Doi Ang Khang, but none more interesting or challenging. We were in ascent so teh switchbacks were just fine. It forced to a pace where we could enjoy the secnery, but stillhad to concentrate on the ride. Photography was the furthest thing from my mind.

We arrived at Doi Ang Khang in time for a late lunch. They have a very nice hotel there. I didn;t get the number. The place is rather boring some might call it idyllic, it is beautiful, but with an almost new Dyna glide waiting inthe wings you really go care less about wanderign the gardens. You wanna eat and get on the road.

The hotel lobby was inviting:


The restaurant was out back. Not a bad spot; if you gotta stop and eat may as well be here:


Some hors d'orves:


We also had some Hang lae, and naam prik Ong laab - northern style and few otehr dishes one of the crew had french fries, they looked like shit but every thing else was excellent.

The garden:


Now. CAN WE RIDE?

The next leg of our journey was all descent on a sharp, narrow switch back road without a number as far as I can see. to our left, Myanmar to out right Thailand. We passed a few Motorcyclist onthe side of the road with smokin brakes some we lectured on the use of gears to control descent most we just made sure were OK and kept on our merry way to Tha Ton.

Tha ton was our first over night stop. Now thai ton is sleepy town on the Mae Kok river. Picturesque, quiet. Did I mention quiet? There's a run down karaoke down some back alley where the derlict homes are more interestng that the Karaoke girls abnd beer bar in town.

So. Anyway. The view from our resort:


Even the workers can;t resist taking a moment to contemplate the beauty of nature:


the walk way to my room:


Derelict old house near the Karaoke:


View across the river:


After checking these thngs out We all jumped in the truck and headed down to fang. There's a jumpin little joint there and four farangs walking in seems to garner the attention of ever young lady in the joint and the ire of ever young man... Looked interestng, thought we'd stay a while; the band was damned good. Worth the trip want to go back, even though there was fresh blood out front.

WE had an early day heading ut to Chian Saen and "The Golden Triangle" there as a "Long Neck village to visit Doi Thung and it's coffee and more switchbacks so have a mere half dozen beers we tumbled into the Truck, leaving the fresh blood and young ladies to those nice young Thai gentlemen.

A few miles out of town we stopped at soe "Long Neck" village actually got Akkha and a couple other ethnicities living in separate parts of the village. I've heaqrd and read so much about these 'tourist villages' I'm glad I went. many of the old style thatched roof hut have satellite Dishes and there were a few girls chatting on a cell phone. These people are in limbo chased fromtheir village in Myanmar unrecognized by the Thais Could more be done for them? I really don;t know, with their way of life they seem to be in a spot they would want to settle in on their own... You hear stories, but after being there. I wonder how much is hyperbole and how much is true. not the place for ti her I guess, we were n a mission to prove routes and check out trouist attractions for the customers of this new business.

This is my favorite shot frmothat morning:


I liked this old lady, she didn't speak Thai, I think I met her grandmotehr last weekend though. You look at the lines in her face, you know her smile is genuine and seen often.


We spent an hour or so there and I've got enough shots of the life there for a full article but I wont bore you with all that we were on the road to Doi Thung then Chiang saen. Switchbacks, pine needles coffee. A short stop at Doi Thung Nat Park for a bite and coffee and we headed down the hill. eventually we lost the truck And decided to ehad out on our own, somf of the folks were tired of the Downshift, downshift, brake, brake accelerate, up shift , downshift, deccelerate, brake, brake routine and wanted some hiway miles. I was on a lightweight Dyna I was enjoying it but sure could understand that two days of this was wearg thin.

We made it into Chiang Saen, found our hotel in time for a few beers across the street and a Moo grata evening Think some of hte fellas found a massage place not sure.

Ah, rest:


the next day was our last, we had to go north a bit then head home on the 118. The 118 is a great road for a 100 - 140 Kph cruise. I'll get to that in a minute or maybe tomorrow.

Originally Posted by madjbs

I was at the Harley shop in Dubai the other week and there were literally a dozen middle aged guys there all looking to buy the latest Harley branded leather cap or head scarf!

Ahh, you met Rigger then?



Nice Beemer.

My proof reader is on strike.
It's Morning time in the Frankie household. I'v got a mug of Doi Thung Coffee, my voice is still lost in the either. Igot a few more photos from the first ride a few of the second then I'l have to go back to crop & edit.

Now. Where was I? Ah yes, t'was the night before elephants and the ride home. The whole point of this, and subsequent rides was to work out routes, activities, options. You go on a tour in Thaiand, you get in a van, you ride to some touristy destination buy some baubles, bangles or nic-nacs, get back inthe van and do it again. We wanted to make these tours a real ride, options. Do you like switchback roads? rolling mountain roads with sweepeing curves? out of the way seldom seen places? "Iconic tourist destinations?"

After a typical breakfast buffet at the hotel picture above, we headed up along the Mae Khong River to "The Golden Triangle." The whole ride has been in the Golden Triangle but The Thai have named this one town "Golden Triangle" You can see Myanmar and Laos while standing in Thailand. The place has been buit up inthe last years the ride in was full of typical Rural Thai moments and I had a few opportunities to shoot some photos.

I also had a chance to tr and shoot around buses full of Thai, Japanese and Chinese tourists I've got more than a few shot with raised hands and pocket cameras in them. I'll save them for my "I hate live view cameras" thread.

I Liked this shot, sort of highlights the contrasts of Thailand:


I have no idea what the abandonded dome structure is, but it makes a nice back drop to a crew of Harleys waiting for the cattle to cross.

few kilometers down the road:


Like I said, contrasts.



There was a string of elephants strolling by with their mahouts and Richy, fuckin Richy, he's gone native I tell ya, he thinks it's a good idea to get a shot of the elepants along these hot scooters. The mahouts are tryng to back the pachyderms up close and photogenic-like, the elephants is trying to sniff out what the hell this shiny piece fo metal is. Every body but Ricy cringes as he starts sniffin up close like. You gotta wander what an elephant can do to a 750,000 baht motorcycle when it's trunk gets burnt by a hot pipe. Lucky they got more sense than the people around them, no?

The elephant spent an inordinate amount of time sniffing my seat, left a trail of slime to remind me of her, she then comes over to check me out. Now, that amorous look in her eye has me worried until one of the tiny little dogs that look like mini dobermans comes out and tells her to fuck off.


This is a scary moment folks, Elephants do NOT like tiny, noisy animals and this guy is noisy. The Elephants both start making loud noises, and gettin kinda bouncy, I ran the other way. The mahouts have talent, and the trust of their animals, they got everything under control and I was able to come out of hiding.

To tell the truth, these 'attractions' bore teh shit out of me. We went up the hill I shots some pics of the 'Triangle' the haze of a february morning renders panoramic shots unworthy of publication even on this internet back water. We boogied off for some cooler weather, had one more bit of drama, I was in an inside curveholding a mid-lane line at about 100kph when thes asshole in a pick up decides to pass in teh apex of the turn. There is a rule for riding in thailand, never commit 100% to a line, be ready to change your line in an instant. I didn't commit100%, I altered my line, but by doing so I scraped a bit of chrome and then hit a little (30cm) soft dip in the road. I gotta tell ya I love the way a hog recovers for a oversteer slide. No drama, made me look like a pro it did.

We rode without stop on to the Wat Rong Khun. If you travel in the north, you've should take the time to seek this wat out. It's an amazing bit of art, not jsut the wat but the grounds, teh out buildings, the details throughout the site assures you will miss some things and each return trip willfind smoethign new and interesting.

When we arrived there was this guy flagging everyone into a parking area, I ignored him and fond a great "no parking" area where I could shoot the Dyna with a dramitc backdrop. I got eh scoot positioned, then to get a decent angle was layng inthe middle of the street, No one was around, clear shot, a couple of trucks even stopped with smiles on their faces as I tried to capture the shot. Then this happens:


What teh fuck cold I do? I smiled and thanks her for improving my shot with her stupid face, stood up, let the trucks go by and started all over again. I got the shot, had to smile, her naivete helping to feel somehow superior for a moment.

How I got this Deserted shot I'll never know:


I've been here a dozen times; the artist, Chalermchai Kositpipat, keeps adding things and I'm sure I miss some stuff. I liked this sculpture:


Still, we were n a ride. Everyone was ansy to get on the road, yours truly was no exception. I always look forward to a ride down the 118, there is a a bit of flat a bit of hill, more flat, and then the ride through the mountains comnigh in the Chiang Mai. Warm, cool, hot, cool again. The problem with this ride, though; it was the last leg of one fo the best rides I have ever been on. We stopped onteh way home for pie, it's nto far out of Chiang Rai situated on a tributary f the Mae Ping River shaded and teh pie is fantastic. I stop there whenever there is time been dog it for 6 - 7 years now. Still don;t know the name of he joint, but if been down 118 I'm sure someone has told you to stop there.

We got into Chiang Mai abotu 17:00 hrs, sat arond Richy's shop drinking Leo from the can and gonig oer the ride, we scratched a few routes off the agenda as too advanced for people new to Thailand we added a few sights and listed a few options. On tour, there will be a briefng every morning over the included breakfast (had to find decent breafast hotels or joints in each over night destination) and routes, hazards and options will be discussed and decided on by the group.

Now; my coffee's finished, my first ride is finished I'm gonna break for breakfast and a shower.

I'll get to Ride Two, the Mae Hong Son Loop with a day of Inthanon thrown in. I'd practiced my "from the saddle" shooting and there are a few good road shots. There was also a forest fire raging throughout the region, teh haze messed with the pnaoramas, but rides three and four were either during or just after rainstorms and them babies are clear; we'll get to 'em in order.

The day after we get back, I get a call. "Let's map out some more routes!"

So here's the plan; Richy has a business to run, so me an this other fella are tasked with mapping out the One Day Inthanon, Three Day Mae Hong Son loop and the Four Day Combined tours. We've also been tasked with mapping out some more one day tours in the local area. Basically we are on a mission that states; "get on these two Harley Davidson Fatboys, ride around Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son provinces, shoot lots of photos, find places to drink, places to eat, tings to do, places to stay and explore as many backroads as you can. We can assemble it all later, get us options. Come back in four or five days"

Jeese, tough job. Somebody's gotta do it. It takes aboust 5 - 6 weeks to get some work done, generate a bit of income for "pocket money" and free up some time that coincides with that other fella's. By late March, we got time, still no rain. SO. This is good. And bad.

Monday morning starts with us eatng gooey cinnamon rolls and fresh brewed coffee. Richy's moping around his mechanic is doing a last minute pre-flight check on the two 2006 EFI Fatboys. The look on Richy's face as we roar off down his street, on his motorcycles, was priceless. I felt sorry for 'im. For about twnety seconds.

This trip we've got no support truck so we'll be arrying our own gear. My backpack has a laptop, two cameras extra batteries, chargers for all my electronics and clothes for five days. We' are completely on own, have vague destinations and no clear schedule, some how this doesn't bother me.

That other fella. We took him to the doctor about his face, "Nothgn I can do" is all the doc said:


^First of 1445 photos I'll take on this trip. We probably stopped every thrity minutes for photos, pity we have to drive a tad aggresive in the twisties to make up for lost time.

The stops were handy for slammin a tasty ice cold water down while shooting a ew shots. First stop some where along the road to Inthanon:


The business is providing experienced Thailand riders to herd a tour around norhtern Thailand. the sales point is late model, well maintained harely davidson motorcycles. Both of these are fleet bikes and you will see a few shots of them stuck in front of stuff typically Thai. Hope y'all don;t mind.

Wstopped at a market on the way up Inthanon, I watched as a tour group piled out of their van, eyeballing the scooters they parked next to. An inner, self-satisfied grin escaped and we ended up being "interviewed" by the tourists. This seemed to happen at almost every stop. Seems two dudes on scooters is less intimidatng than four. Either that or we just had naturally friendly faces.

We stopped at a quiet wat to get some contrast for the photos. This one would have been much better with a single scoot, maybe I'll head up there on my own to reshoot it, tough job and all that...


As teh ride progresses you soon figure out which bike I was riding at that time. we swapped 'em at one point and that bike became my ride for all time. We rode up to the summit we'd both been there so we parked for a smoke, a drink and a couple shots. This one I used for a Banner on teh site:


OK shoot some pic gulp some water hot-box an LM daeng and head down hill. $00 baht each well spent? Just before the second check point we turned right into the mae chaem valley. The road is narrow, older but still has good surface. About 5 kilometers down the road we cam to a small dirt 'road' with a village gate and a stand doing a land ofice business selling somthing:


Should got one of the scoots in there, oh well.

We sat there a few minutes and watched steady stream of customers pull up buy a small bundle and leave. I just knew this had to be somethign good.

Cicadas

Oh no thank you I just ate, really I couldn;t. Hell woman ain't you supopsed to fry 'em first? eventually we got away without trying the kai mot daeng or any things else insecty and rode into the valley.


man, I love this job:


Twenty more minutes and we found some shade for the bikes (hate sitting on a scorching hot black seat) and noodles on the river for us.


You ride and you ride. You find small joints like this you want to linger, you look over at teh scooter, down the road. Linger? Get on with it? you comprimise, you finish your noodles before you leave.


Noodles under out belt and more cold water we head out of Mae chaem Valley to Highway 108 to Mae Sariang Where we'll spend the night.
This road looks a bit rough but it ain't. Actually smooth and practically devoid of potholes for such and old road in Thailand; amazing.


You'll notice some road dirt on the filter. I came to the conclusion early one to remove teh lens cap, and add a UV filter to protect the lens while riding. I had the camera strapped on bandolier style set to auto with a spot meter and focus so I could usually get what I was shooting without stopping or slowing down (too much)
I can clone the dirt off, have and will but for this thread You get it raw folks.

Gee all this road, no traffic, Picking a Monday was a pretty good idea, No?


The road was much like this al teh way to Mae Sariang That other fella had a hotel in mind. I had a guest house in mind. His hotel had a guest house, on the river open plan old style Teak. 700 baht I didn't even dicker.


We found a Moo Grata dined royal and collapsed 'til the next day.

I'll get to that

The next morning My riding partner opted for the "american breakfast, You know sausage, Bacon ham eggs toast and Tea (he's Ozzie). I took a look at the menu, the food the Thai guest were eating and order Khaow Tom. I won that round.

First look out side my room in the morning:


The guest house had rooms right over the river and a sitting/dining area over the river. Guess I should post one pic of the view. Tell you what We stopped ther for lunch last weekend and I got some of a couple guys netting fish I'll post 'em later.

After breakfast we swapped Bike I got the Charcoal one he got the grey. I liked the charcoal one much better all pretty much the same just felt looser, but more road feel. Maybe I just like dark colors:

Two fatboys waitin for two other fatboys to get on 'em and ride:


We took a few short rides out of town just to see where they led. They led back to town. But for a short ride it was packed with things to see people to talk to. being able to speak a bit of Thai helps on these rides, This is not tourist country and people DO want to stop and talk a few minutes. They are not shy come up to you and start prattling away, very little surprise when you asnwer back in their own (sort of) language. I didn't get many people speakng northern language (thank god) so at least they cut me a little slack.

Wandered down some narrow village streets (paths?)


Getting the above shot I held up a couple in a Pick up. They graciously waved me to complete my shots and smiled very nicely as I the repsoitioned the bikes so they cold go on. Took five minutes. How many times have you waited patiently for five minutes while someone blocked your path to take a photo?

OK, OK move along...


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?


The haze was terrible every where we went. Washed out the photos of the views somethgn terrible we were tolearn later that there were fires ragng all over the route to and from Mae Hong Son rode through a patch of fire with 10 meter or so flames even. Getting back to teh hill top chedi:


The view (you can see the what I thought to be accumulated road grime, it wasn;t):


you can also see the haze this plagued the whole trip but I only noticed when trying to get those broad views.

Arty, contrasty shot:


Well, we were burning daylight and we had a stop in Khun Yuam before Mae Hong Son some 180 kilometers away. the road beckons, Who were we toignore a beckoning road?

The Road. Beckoning:


Roadside stop, Damn that haze:


Monday was a wonderful day for traffic. Tuesday's just as bad:


WE stopped at teh Japanese - Thai friendship museum. It's airconditioned but the story is a bit... Well stop in spend a few minutes and see for your self. There's a bunch of Japanese relics like helmets bayonets and other stuff and a five or six minute movie go for the ari con get another slant on the Japanese occupation of Thailand.

The road between Khun Yuam and Mae Hong Son get interesting. Just perfectr for a hunt, if you know what I mean. Smooth the curves are laid out in a rhythm great adhesion a faint skreee! of hte floor boards as they scrape the pavement sound welcome in the apex of each turn. You forget you have a camera, You forget to look at the scenery. In the groove two scoots traveling like they are on rails. then you coe into Mae Hong Son, throttle back, down shift and putt into town young kids on motorbike pull up next to you want to talk. pretty girls ride by demurely smiling up frm a downcast gaze (rellay wish they just watch the damned road, one alsmot got tangled up in my front wheel)

Take a right a few blocks into town then a sharp left. Plant the bikes along the lake, order a couple Leos bucket of ice call it a damned fine day:



The scoots became an attraction along the river several folks wandered over for a gander asked if they could take a picture. Of course they could. You can ride just about any kind of motorcycle in Thailand. Thailand runs on motor bikes but ride up on a hawg, you got friends you got people wanting to talk about the fact that there is no chain or how small they look. You got a gaggle of school kids wantig to clown for the camera n front of 'em:


The hotel we planned on stayng in had a tour coming, this was a good thing IMO the tour business provides hotels and breakfast, but I'm on my own budget andsaving 500 baht every night is just fine by me. I knew a guest house up around the corner. They had two bungalows waiting, 500 Baht:


WE had dinner at a place called Ran Kai Mook. If you are in Mae Hong Son go there. it's right off the main drag, everyone knows where it is. The food is excellent and resonable. Some say it's the best Thai food in Mae Hing Son. All I can say is it is damned good eatin.

We had a look around found a place to share a beer or three with some OK lookin dames and tucked into our bungalows before midnight. Woke up the next day to gongs clangin, and all sorts of racket. Some youngster was doin his Naak Phra thing that day. Got all gussied up for the occasion too:


and that was our cue to leave town we had some back roads to explore and were kinda lookin forward to those 1864 curves we kept hearin about. That is the end of my prepared images I'll have to work over a few of our stay in Pai, the ride through Chiang Dao Phrao and home again tonight or tomorrow.

I ain't done yet.

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. We took a few side trips off the main highway. Down a dirt driveway to a couple's home where they made silver jewelry were offered jewelry to view and BBQ chicken and sticky rice, then to a cave you can ride a boat through; we didn't.

The road to Pai takes some concentration and a bit of work. You are shifting breaking shifting accelerating almost the entire tim I managed to get a few shots from the saddle though.

if you love to ride, roads like this gotta hold a special place in your heart.


About twenty or so kilometers out of Mae Hong Son our Harley Davidson brake warmed up nicely, we came to a small valley with a thin Ribbon of Asphalt winding it's way across. In the middle was a "Coffin Cave;" tiny place to pull over drink some of our already warm water and take a photo of two.


This old guy come shuffling out of a door set into the cliff side, never spoke a word, just smiled and gestured an invite. We had road to ride and declined. Maybe next time.


Lot's of Road. A back road going no where, how would we know if we didn;t go?


It's warmed up by this time we stopped and watched some kids cooling off; only slightly jealous. After all, being in the wind keeps us cool, it's only when we stop...


So we got back in it; the wind that is...


The ride from Mae Hong Son is full of panoramic views, and stunning landscapes. I stopped and took dozens of photos. The fire haze washed most out. I took more last weekend so I'll make up for not posting now. Later. We left Mae Hong Son around 9:00 or 10:00AM arrived Pai about 4:00PM. Checked into a small guesthouse bungalow without air but shaded and cool for 300 baht the water warm, sheets clean. We parked the scoots and ended up eatng Thai food, drinking iced Heinies until the joint closed, why leave with a view like this:


We found a place that served "Israel Food" after teh joint closed, they were closing too. We cajoled the proprietress to fix us a couple of plates feta cheese cucumber & tomato salad, hummus, pita, I forget what else I had, only that it was good. Made me think of greek food.

Tomorrow we planned to end the ride with a trip to Chiang Dao, nto for the caves but for the Food at Chiang Dao nest, then a few Kilometers north to the turn off for Phrao and a straight line, (sorta) home. I'll post later.