Even more Thai Cycling

On the beach in Phuket.

Hey, I am travelling again!  A bit anyway.  Thanks to Covid-19, much of the world has remained closed off for all of this year, and foreign travel has been very difficult, although of course I should put this in perspective - my not being able to visit new countries is a lot better than getting sick or dying, as sadly many people have.  Still, I have managed to get back to Thailand, which for all of the grumbling I hear from expats has opened back up faster than any other country in Asia.  When I arrive the rules say tourists can only avoid quarantine by staying in Phuket for at least a couple of weeks, which is hardly a hardship, there are beaches, the usual temples and other tourist attractions, and some rather nice walking through the jungles.  Domestic travel within Thailand is still quite restricted, in the end I get away from Phuket via a long, long minivan trip to Bangkok, then after a night in a hotel, another long overland trip, the train up to Chiang Mai.  Despite now being fully vaccinated, I need to get various Covid tests along the way, and of course, this being Thailand, obtain all manner of documents.  It sure is nice to finally return to my house, it has been a while.

The farm I stayed at in Phrao.

So, I should do some sort of trip and write about it, yeah?  Well, there are still restrictions on travelling between provinces, in theory this involves filling in online forms in Thai, although I suspect many people aren't bothering and indeed I drive to neighbouring Lamphun a few times without difficulty.  But, Chiang Mai province is a big place, and I succeed in planning out a decent cycle trip that doesn't cross a provincial border.  First day is a shortish ride north along the river Ping, interesting to see that you don't need to get far away from the city in this direction before the river becomes rather narrower and faster flowing.  I stay the night in a resort, it is very pleasant although pretty quiet, the restaurant is shut though it's easy enough to find another a short ride away.  More serious riding the next day, to begin with a long stretch along a fairly major road, but then I turn right, into the mountains, I'm off the beaten track now.  Where previously I was passing luxury resorts and the expensive houses of Chiang Mai civil servant types, now I pass through hill tribe villages with houses built from bamboo.  And of course I'm going up, destination for today is Phrao, a town set in a small area of flat plain surrounded by hills, there's really no way to get there without climbing.  Well, I manage it, though I fear I am a little out of condition and unsurprisingly have to push the bike at times.

Riding the dirt track was worth it for the views.

Phrao is, of course, not much of a place.  I do have a really lovely place to stay, on a working farm with views over the paddy fields to the nearby hills.  I won't get dinner there, and I think that even without Covid, I wouldn't find a bar open in Phrao.  I do find pizza - of a sort, here they have decided that mayonnaise would be a good substitute for that weird 'tomato' stuff the foreigners use.  Well it has calories.  I get more of them the next day, traditional Thai breakfast is a sort of rice porridge with bits of pork in it, there is also a lot of fruit, and some interesting, gelatinous things baked in banana leaves, I think they are essentially rice, but there is also some sort of nut in there, quite tasty.  It all provides power for the day's ride anyway, a lovely one today, firstly over the flat terrain surrounding Phrao, and then along a small river into a gorge, heading up into more hills of course.  It is actually easy enough going, this is the main route back to Chiang Mai though there isn't much traffic, and it is a beautiful road to ride along.  I'm not following the main route the whole way though, rather I have a 'scenic short cut' planned - what can possibly go wrong?

Crossing the bridge at Mae Kuang.

Well at first the new road is lovely, more or less flat and through a conservation area, I'm riding through forests with none of the roadside shacks and piles of rubbish that sadly disfigure much of Thailand.  There are signs warning me of monkeys crossing the road, though I don't see one.  This route should be taking me towards the substantial Mae Kuang reservoir so I'm expecting to start going downhill, and sure enough I do, very steeply.  And then up again, and up, and down - seems I am in very hilly country now, this is hard work, and on quite a few of the slopes the road diminishes to a mere gravel track, I am glad my brakes are in good shape!  A fair bit of pushing ensues, but it's OK, and I'm rewarded by glimpses through the trees of the reservoir itself some way below.  One last long, steep descent and I'm rather surprised to find a large and impressive suspension bridge, connecting what are essentially dirt tracks on either side.  A good place to take a few photos, the reservoir is certainly very scenic.  All downhill from now, and not much further, I have a resort booked in the rather hi-so region nearby - again, no luck at the resort restaurant but I find a rather nice Italian place not far away - home made ravioli and tiramisu!  From here it is a very short fourth day of riding back home, I'm there for midday in fact - time for a rest!

Photos to go with this trip can be found here.