Khun Jame called this a "jumping snake" and assured us that the bite would not be too bad. Well, after how he described these mountains as "not too bad," his credibility has dropped considerably. I'm riding well around the snake!
On the third day of our trip, we left Mae Sariang early on Monday morning heading north. Khun Jame described the day at breakfast as mostly flat with some rolling hills. Jeez...
Here is the GarminConnect link:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/1920711
and the MotionBased link:
So, in three and a half hours of riding, there was 2,102 meters (that is more than 6,000 feet) of climbing, represented by that really jagged line above. It was either up or down, but hardly ever flat after the first kilometers. After two days of hard climbing on Saturday and Sunday I was starting to feel better and the jet lag was going away, but those hills, those hills.
But, for every uphill there was as spectacular a descent, here past a small community center.
But by mid-day, we decided to break for lunch, have some beers and load the bikes in the van for the final kilometers into the boom town of Mae Hong Sun.
The town of Mae Hong Son was packed with Thai and other South-east Asian tourists, who have come for the Chinese New Year. The best hotels in the center of town were full and we ended up staying a rather high priced place just on the edge of this small town, The Mountain Inn. There was a pool, garden, air conditioning and good Wi-Fi. However, the best is that there was a restaurant in town that served hamburgers and pizza. After four days of Thai food,which I love, I was eager for something a bit more substantial for the trip up the mountains.
It is now dawn on Tuesday, 27 January 2009, and we are headed up over the mountains to Pai. This is a town at the foot of the mountains where many tourists come to experience the Shan culture and also to see peoples from the Karen and Hmong tribes who come down out of the hills. The tourism board of Mae Hong Son actually gives certificates to the drivers who successfully drive the curves between the two cities.. the route we will take this morning.
However, the plan is to get all the way to Pai and then to take a rest day before continuing through the mountains to Chiang Mai on our last day of riding. Time for breakfast and an early start.
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