Tucked up in a lovely valley in the mountains of Northwestern Thailand is one of the world's coolest destinations, the laid back boom town of Pai. Famous as a counter-cultural mecca and frequented by both well-off young Thais and foreign off-the-beaten-track foreigners, this has been the destination of our bike trek. Most travelers make the drive directly up from Chiang Mai, but we have taken the back route, looping around Thailand's highest mountain, out towards the west, up from Mae Sariang to Mae Hong Son and then up the backside through Soppong and down into Pai from the west.
We left little teak chalets in the fog before sunrise, hoping to climb in the cool of the day and also to avoid the traffic. Some of the pitches were so steep that weaving back and forth from one side of the road to the other was the only way to keep momentum going up. The road is pretty much deserted until nine or ten o'clock and safe for switchbacking.
It was more or less a 1552 meter climb (about 4600 ft) in 20 km with some flatter parts, a couple of downhill stretches (no, please, I don't want to lose precious altitude) and some brutal vertical hairpins. Without knowing the route, I probably held back a bit too much, since I really didn't know if it was a 1000 or 1500 meter ascent and if there would be any really brutal pitches (there were not.)
Following our early start and fast climb, we were up at the top well before mid-day and screaming down the other side towards Pai. Although I later came to my senses and thought better of it, on the long sweeping descent I considered turning around at the bottom and going back up to the top to descend again. My legs felt surprisingly strong after five days of climbing. And, this side of the mountain had a road that was much better built, with fewer steep grades.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/1937735
One of my quests, on this trip and the forty or so times that I have been to Thailand, is to find the best Phad Thai ever. In the interest of the quest, I ordered a Phad Thai at a small restaurant in Pai, when we pulled into the center of the town and waited for Khun Jame to find a good place for us to stay.
We loaded the bikes and drove to the other side of the river, about a kilometer outside of town and ended up at a place called Pai Puhfah, which has nice thatched huts with bamboo mat interiors:
Hotel costs have been really reasonable. Tonight we are paying 1000 bhat (about US$28 each) but there is also free wi-fi. Last night we paid 550 bhat and 1500 each the night before. Food has been really cheap. My phad Thai this morning after the ride was 30 bhat, less than a US$1. I'm guessing that we are spending about US$45 per day average for food, lodging, gas and our share of Khun Jame's expenses.
Tomorrow we pedal back towards Chiang Mai, hoping to get in about 100 km of riding before we throw the bikes in the van and drive the rest of the way back to the hotel and our final night.
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