Total distance 341 km

A nice early 8am start and out along the 1143 the workers are busy in the fields

A bit of low cloud but its not cold

A shot from the lovely 1143

At Chat Trakarn I take a left onto the 1237

Not far along here I come across this squashed Banded Krait, this was one unlucky fellow as hardly any traffic is on this road even in the daytime and as this is a nocturnal snake it probably got hit by the only vehicle on the road last night

Its very good scenery along here

The 1237 is one fine road

With plenty of curves

Its been two or three years since I last rode along here and I had forgotten just how good it was

At the end of the 1237 I take a right onto the 1268

Not very far along at N17.35.935 E100.54.115 I take a left on a narrow steep concrete road, the road goes up then round in a loop with these buildings at one spot

Brilliant views from up here

Looks like the helicopter is catered for, here its N17.36.913 E100.54.466

I ride up a dirt track and at the top at N17.37.016 E100.54.593 its 1185 metres, I didnt realise I had climbed so high

Up here its siesta time for the workers

More stunning views from up here

I must return here in the future to see how it looks once its finished

Time to ride the steep descent of 2.6 km

Along the 1268 and I have stopped at this shelter before taking cover from the rain, it looks like some extra building work is taking place here now

I stop at the Changtok Waterfall at N17.28.559 E100.58.393

The twisty 1268

Just past it is the Khing Waterfall at N17.28.469 E100.58.548

This sure is one fine piece of road

I reach the Hueang river which is rather brown from recent rains

Theres an awful lot of Monks wandering along the 2195 today

A very friendly little fella

Now its feeding time

The 2195 splits and I take the inland route

Now I am riding along the narrow path to see the Hueang/Mekong confluence

Well I was, landslides have completely blocked the path

The closest I can get to it

I ride up to the big Buddha statue overlooking the confluence at N17.49.148 E101.33.291

The view from the top, from here I ride back along the 2195 until I take a left onto the 4014 at N17.46.320 E101.34.924, 1.5 km later at N1745.749 E101.35.442 I take a left onto an unnumbered road that becomes the 2154 at Ban Klang

I cross the Loei river and meet the 201 at N17.51.175 E101.39.501 after 15.1 km from the 4014

I check in at TongKhong Guest House as usual but its moving in a few days time just up the road, A pasta with pork here tonight for 120 Baht.
Get the gdb file here …

Total distance 267 km

At last the weather appears to be back to normal and today I was able to ride without wearing a pullover and tracksuit bottoms on under my airflow gear, plus the waterproof liners came out as well, in fact todays temperature was just perfect riding weather

I took hwy 11 south for about 15 km then a left onto the 1214

Lots of brown water flowing today and this small reservoir is overflowing

Now on the 1143 and what a fun road this is

I take a right onto the 1296 towards Wat Bot

Then at N17.14.170 E100.20.139 I take a left onto an unnumbered road that later on becomes the 2036/2015

Theres a good flow coming out from the Khwae Noi Bamrungdan Dam

After 12 km I stop at N17.11.353 E100.25.229, this is where you park at the entrance to the dam, no vehicles are allowed in but its okay to walk

This wet season saw it filled to capacity from nothing in only three wet seasons

The level in january 2010 was a lot lower

In december 2008

I climb to the top of the tower for these aerial views of the reservoir

Last year I rode my bike in the back way through the National Park but it was an awkward ride, now its probably impossible.
I rode from the road on top of the dam across to what is now an island in the left of the picture, it doesnt look like its possible to do it again now

The security guard here walks around with me chatting away, I dont know much of what he is saying but I gather from him that these have a nasty sting

I rode across that in january, I dont think I would even want to risk it on foot now

December 2010

January 2010

December 2008

Theres lots of posters promoting this place

Time to ride on enjoying the 2036/2015 and the short unmade section has been completed so its now asphalt all the way to where I turn off

The Khwae Noi river that I cross over is well up on a year ago and obviously here its now part of the reservoir

In january 2010 it was still flowing along

The old road is completely submerged now and a month or two ago when the dam was completely full the old suspension bridge would have been under water too

January 2010

I dont fancy trying the old bridge out today

I walk a way across the suspension bridge for some photos

Walking across here when its submerged wouldnt be a very good idea either seeing as how some of the boards are missing

After 52.4 km at N16.57.961 E100.35.776 I turn left onto the 4028

On januarys ride it turned to dirt after 1.2 km but today its a new asphalt surface for a reasonable way

The rubber tappers busy at work

Its this lovely surface for 15.6 km

Then at N17.05.321 E100.34.866 its an unsurfaced road

But not too hard going

I cross the Khwae Noi river again and a bit more water here than in january 2010

December 2010

January 2010

After 9.3 km of unpaved its back to asphalt at N17.09.567 E100.34.238.
I stop a few km later in a village for some photos

Then its on along this nice twisty road back to the 1143 and after 19.1 km of asphalt I reach the 1143 at N17.15.494 E100.33.560

I stop for a break at a scenic spot along the way

It looks like the shelter got damaged since my last visit

A refreshing bit of colour here

The lovely bendy 1143

From here its a pleasant scenic ride home to Uttaradit

A buffet at the Inter tonight for 140 Baht at N17.36.552 E100.05.056

It includes the all important ice cream.
Get the gdb file here …

Total distance 379 km

After 18 nights in Nan it was time to move on, an 8am start on a cloudy cold morning but at least it wasnt raining

I take the 101 then the 3171 to Wiang Sa then its the 1026 to Na Noi before getting on the lovely 1083 where these pictures were taken after climbing to about 850 metres

The cloud is beautiful when it looks like this and not pouring the wet stuff on me

As usual I see more animals along this road than people or vehicles

The Nan river is brown, I guess from the recent rain

Theres a minibus full of Thai tourists up from Bangkok and they are enjoying the river

The 1083 sure is a lovely twisty road

This small stream has more water in it than usual

At the end of the 1083 I take a left onto the 1123 and at N18.17.459 E101.06.194 I ride towards the Lao border still on the 1123

The asphalt finishes after 7.9 km at N18.20.543 E101.08.301 and I ride another 100 metres to N18.20.618 E10108.301 before turning back

A nice roadslip here

Time to ride back and take a right to try out another side road off of the 1123

At N18.18.594 E101.06.028 I take a right onto an unnumbered road that is asphalt for 4.4 km until N18.20.410 E101.06.522, then it is dirt for another 300 metres to an army camp at N18.20.542 E101.06.510

A photo from the lovely twisty 1241

At N18.05.848 E101.07.368 I turn left at this sign to check it out

4.9 km later I arrive here at N18.06.212 E101.09.584 but no visas here

The border market which is apparently quite big on a saturday is now winding down

Now I am riding along the quiet 1268

Some work is going on at the entrance to this village

Perhaps they are going to hang somebody from it

I take a right onto the very twisty 1239 then take the 1047 to Uttaradit checking into the Numchai Hotel as usual at N17.36.716 E100.05.219

Then its a lovely pork ghoulash with Pasta at the New York Steakhouse N17.36.626 E100.05.144 for 160 Baht.

Get the gdb file here …

Total distance 281 km

First stop this morning was at Cockpit to try to get an annoying slow puncture finally fixed. It went flat on me going into Buri Ram a week ago today and the Michelin shop that plugged it for me didnt do a very good job and they needed three different dog shyte patches before it was deemed fixed. It lasted for three days before going down with a slight leak from around the dog shyte plug and needed pumping up twice a day during my rides. Cockpit didnt seem to have the dog shyte plugs and instead took the wheel out then burred a large area inside the tyre before glueing an internal patch on. This took over an hour and at times there were three of them doing the job but when the bill came it was for only 80 Baht. Once again thanks Cockpit and it now appears to be fixed

I took the 102 west out of Uttaradit for about five km then took a left onto the 1046, some greenery along here even if it was only rice growing but still better than fires though

Then it was the 1198, 1180, 1195, 1308 and the 1113, all dried up along here

I reach hwy 12 and turn right onto it for a boring seventy km ride to Tak, as the road narrows to single carriageway theres actually a bend in it. Good thing I hadnt nodded off or I would have gone in the hedge. At the junction with hwy 1 I turn left onto it for a few km

Then its a right onto the 105 and once along a few km theres some decent bends along this road

This is more like it and easily the best road that I ride on today, apart from the 105 the journey between these two towns is pretty boring but I rode it purely for the pleasure of riding the 105 from Mae Sot to Mae Sariang tomorrow

Oops I guess this driver didnt enjoy the curves along the 105 as much as I did

Are petrol tankers that safe that they dont explode when on fire?

That stuff leaking out smells like petrol and when I ask I am told benzine, I noticed that none of the recovery workers were smoking

I get into Mae Sot early afternoon so I take a ride to the border and see that the Moei is rather low

A bit further along the Moei away from the bridge

I walk to the middle of the river and its only about 20 cm deep, plus warm water too

Fajitas at Krua Canadian tonight for 140 Baht, hot and spicy too

Total distance 313 km

Time to move on and I have just spent probably my last night at the Tongkhong Guesthouse as Bens lease runs out at the end of the year and the owners want it back to change it. Sad really as I have been staying here for the last six years when I am in Chiang Khan

I take the 201 for five km then its a right onto the 2154 followed by a left onto the 4014 then a right to ride the brilliant 2399 again

It doesnt seem to get written about so obviously its being negleted by GT Riders when they are in this area

The only fire that I see today thankfully

Some happy workers out in the fields

Surely the above picture must make some of you want to ride along here

A brilliant road from start to finish whichever way you ride it, finally it finishes at the 203 where I turn right and ride to Phu Ruea

I take a right onto the 2013 and this is also good in places

At Nakhon Thai I take a right onto the 1143 and enjoy lots of this fine road

At the 1143s finish its a right onto the 1246 to Thong Saen Khan and here its a left onto the 1214 followed by a right onto the 1244 then a left onto the 1047 which brings me to hwy 11 where I turn left then do a right into Uttaradit

Buffet at the Inter Restaurant tonight for 130 Baht

Including ice cream

Total distance 321 km

I take hwy 11 north for a few km then its a right onto the 1045, this road is pretty mundane for a while then perks up further along

I like how they have done this

I dont ride up to the top as I have been there countless times before and its not like it will be overflowing today

Leaving the dam the road is now the 1146 and when it reaches the 1047 I turn left and ride to Nam Pat. Here its a right onto the fantastic 1239

I get to ride this road for the second time in three days and thankfully its a dry ride along it today and these bends can be enjoyed a lot more

There is a newish section in the middle where care is needed as theres lots of loose chippings on the surface

This older surface that goes to the 1268 is great

I reach the 1268 and turn right onto it

Everything is colour matched around this house, the dirt, timber supports, house, roof, pile of stones, motorbike and even when the dog ran out it was the same colour as the windows

The 1268 is a thoroughly enjoyable road to ride

Phu Soi Dao Waterfall

Its a lovely warm dry day, at the moment anyway

As I am climbing the hills about twenty km before Na Haeo the cloud really increases and the temperature sharply drops

Its starts raining as I stop for this picture, luckily theres a shelter here so I stay under it

The same picture thirty minutes later as its pissing down now with thunder overhead. I stay here for just over an hour until the rain eases right off. I ride on and the roads are soaking wet for a long way so I definitely did the right thing stopping

The sun comes out and its nice and warm again now

Chang Tok Waterfall

Khing Waterfall, both of these are along the roadside

I reach the 2113 and turn right then take a left onto the 2195 virtually straight away

I really like this road

Now I am riding alongside the Hueng river

You could jump across to Laos from here

There are some potholed bits along the 2195 but by and large its still a great fun road. I take a right onto the 4014 then a left onto the 2154 and this brings me to the 201 about five km south of Chiang Khan, here I do a left and ride to Chiang Khan checking in at the Tong Kong Guest House as usual

A large plate of spicy pork and spaghetti for tonights meal at Tong Kong

Total distance 305 km

We had a good spell of rain in Uttaradit last night so it was nice and fresh this morning with a fair few puddles about. I took the 1040 out of town then took a right onto the 1204 to Tron then a left onto the 1214

Hundreds of ducks in this field. Back in the nineties I stayed at a Thai friends house out in the wilds north of Suphanburi and the family had hundreds of ducks in the harvested rice fields, it was amazing finding duck eggs here there and everywhere, and they are very tasty too

Some mountains in the background, I ride to Thong Saen Khan then take a right onto the 1246

Then a left onto the fantastic 1143

This is one of the great roads around here

I take a right onto the 1296 towards Wat Bot

Lets go see how the Kwainoi dam is filling up, with a name like that it should be in Kanchanaburi province

After 14.3 km I take a left onto the 2015 although the number doesnt appear on the km markers at this end, only a lot later on

Plenty of water being released today and the smell of sulphur is quite strong here

Theres a lot more water in the dam than I expected there to be

This reservoir has certainly filled up quickly in one wet season, the water level has already gone down since the rain stopped

December 2008

December 2008

I ride down to what I assume is the hydropower plant, the stench of sulphur is overwhelming right here

The electricity supply looks like its coming in and I cant see any evidence of electricity being produced. Is this purely a dam for irrigation purposes I wonder?

December 2008

Those two red lines are 2.5 metres apart so I estimate that the water level has dropped 3.5-4 metres already

The tremendous pressure that the water is coming out at is certainly producing some spray and turbulence in the river

I wonder what he wants to do when he grows up

I leave the reservoir and ride on, just down the road there ia a roundabout with this monument in the middle of it

Theres some good bends in this road now and last year I only rode to the reservoir then turned back so today is my first ride along this section

Then I come to an unmade section, theres a few of these minor roads around here that are red lines on my Thinknet map which means that they could be asphalt, dirt or a mixture of both

Following a lorry along here is not much fun I can assure you

3.2 km later its thankfully back to asphalt

And some more good bends

I have rode quite a few km since the dam but I can still see the reservoir

Zoomed right in, it must cover a fair area

I cross a river that flows into the reservoir, its the only one that I see going in that direction

Two old bridges crossing this river

It doesnt look like either of them get much use nowadays, certainly not the middle one

There was a feature on how long nature would take to reclaim the planet if mankind just vanished, a year or so ago. It was frightening the speed at which all trace of us would disappear, looking at these bridge pictures I fully understand

I carry on riding along this pleasant road until I am about ten km from reaching hwy 12 then I take a left onto the 4028 signposted to Chat Trakan, this is another road that is not numbered at this end on the km markers

Its asphalt for 1.2 km then becomes unmade and as its another red line on my map I have no idea of whats ahead

Its not too hard going and the scenery is good enough thats for sure

After 8.7 km of dirt its back to asphalt again, but only for 2.3 km. I notice that the asphalt is in the villages, perhaps this is the dust free roads program that was reported on recently

Quite a pleasant looking house, I expected this road to be mainly deserted but theres countless villages all the way along

Its quite a pleasant ride, I come to some road widening and theres a sign saying that asphalt will be done here, so in a year or so perhaps most of this road will be asphalt, it will be a good little track then

I cross a river and I reckon its the same one that I crossed on the 2015

I reach asphalt and its like this now for the fifteen km back to the 1143

Some good decent bends too

I reach the 1143 between the km 40 and km 41 markers, I turn left onto it and ride back to Uttaradit the same way that I left after enjoying two new fun roads today

Its the New York Steak House for tonights meal, owned and run by a German called Klaus

Six minute pork steaks and fries for 120 Baht plus 50 Baht for the extra fries

Put together and 170 Baht for this tasty filling meal

Total distance 282 km

Todays trip was to try to find the road that goes across the mountains north of Tha Pla to Phrae. I took hwy11 north for a few km then took a right onto the 1045 and about fifteen km later I took a left onto an unnumbered road

Hopefully those clouds dont drop their contents on me again today

I reach the 1163 and turn left onto it

A few km later just before Tha Pla I take a left onto the 1341

It doesnt take long for this road to come alive, its one that I have never rode before and its a very good find

Great scenery already

The river that I saw earlier to my left now passes to my right and flows on into the Sirikit reservoir

To think that many times I have passed this way and never rode along here before

Another section on maximum zoom through the trees

This roads in good condition and theres just no traffic on it at all

After eighteen km of the 1341 I reach the unmade section, I was hoping for more asphalt first though

Its a flat compact surface and not hard going

The scenery just gets better though

Unlike yesterday its a warm sunny day today

Exactly five km later its back to asphalt again

As I am climbing higher up I can see the Sirikit reservoir to my right

Its great riding along here today

After 5.5 km the road is now numbered the 4001 and I expect it to turn to unmade at any time, the surface isnt so good now

But the scenery never tails off

After two km the long unmade section starts

Not far along and this guy is tending to the crops

The clouds getting a bit lower

The tracks still pretty easy going

Theres some buildings here

Which are now deserted but were accommodation for officials at one time going by the information in the deserted office

The higher I climb the better the views of the Sirikit reservoir

I am possibly at the highest point that I can get to by road now

The views from the top of the world where I am standing today

Its beginning to look a little more like rain now

Looking to the west there is nothing but mountains as far as I can see. I believe I am probably the first gt-rider to ride this road as I am sure that it would have been written about before otherwise as its an awesome experience up along here

I ride along a bit further and this sheds here with a notice on it

At the entrance to this place

Can somebody please tell me what this says

Now its started raining and I reach a very short piece of concrete road

A bit further on and the rains stopped and I find this building with both a metal roof and sides

Theres an old calendar laying around outside but its a few years out of date

The surface is still mainly flat and if/when it ever gets surfaced it will be an even better fun ride

I finally meet some real live people up here as up to now I have only seen the one person

Notice the knobbly tyres on the Honda Dream

Table and chairs further along, but for whom?

Its looking brighter now

I reach a couple of shacks and the dogs rush out to greet me

I wonder whats the meaning of the two effigys either side of the road

The kettles on but I didnt bring any coffee with me, some electrical items on the chair and I do notice solar panels in places up here in the mountains

Plenty of different animals around here today

I notice the legs are tied

The Phantom coped perfectly well with todays trip but a motard would be the dogs bollocks up along here

Its brightened right up now and its very warm again

I wonder what that is in there

After a thirty nine km offroad ride which was good fun I reach the 1022 which is where I rode to in the opposite direction from Nan two days ago

I ride along the 1022 until I reach the 101 and turn left onto it, what a horrible road this is, its a four lane concrete highway thats extremely unpleasant until I come to the left turn that is hwy11 to Uttardit. Now the 101 is just a normal asphalt road and I carry on towards Lampang, when the road splits I take the left and I stay on the 101 to ride to Si Satchanalai

Its funny, usually I love this scenic road, but after what I have rode today it just seems so bland

Just before I reach Si Satchanalai I ride across the new bridge that was being built on my last visit and I see that the Yom river is very low indeed. I ride on and take a left onto the 102 and back to Uttaradit after a fantastic days riding that went a lot better than expected. Todays trip across the mountains could be done on most bikes without too much trouble, hopefully somebody else will give it a try as believe me its well worth riding

I eat at the Inter restaurant and have a buffet for 120 Baht

Theres lots of other dishes at this one

Even chicken and chips, plus it also includes ice cream

Total distance 321 km

It was an overcast morning as I rode out of Nan, at Wiang Sa it was raining slightly and here I turned onto the 1026 to take the longer scenic route rather than the direct 101, hwy11 route. I ride to Na Noi in slight rain then take a left onto the 1083 and its looking misty in the hills

At the viewpoint I cant see anything because of the low cloud, the roads are soaking but thankfully not slippery. As I am moving between destinations the bike is fully loaded and all the extra weight at the rear isnt helping the bikes roadholding as the front ends light but no sliding from the front tyre

As I descend a bit it soon clears and by the time I reach the bridge its stopped raining and the road is dry

No thats not smoke coming out from the trees, its low cloud

I reach the end of the 1083 and turn right onto the 1123 and now its raining again

Whats that strange looking thing in the road

Oh its a puddle, I have seen loads of them in the UK but they are rather rare here in Thailand at this time of the year

I reach the 1047 and turn left onto it

Its beginning to brighten up a bit, the rain has now stopped and the road is almost dry too

The 1047 is a well surfaced road from start to finish and a joy to ride

A great surface and bends like these

This house actually has tiles that match the house colour

The 1047 ends and straight ahead is the 1268 which I take

I stop in Ban Khok for a snack

I ride on and a few km down the road it starts raining quite heavily

The rains set in now and the sky looks as black as arseholes (another UK saying) It stays raining the rest of the way along the 1268

I take a right onto the 1239

This road is one long bend but extra care is needed along it today, I am getting wet now but its not cold, things could be a lot worse, I could be in that shithole called the UK for instance where I would be very cold and wet. My Brother e-mailed me yesterday telling me that the snow has now gone and normal weather has replaced it, rain

Bends after bend and not a bad surface either

I stop at a village where these women are taking the stones out of tamarind

Then a little friend turns up

I bend down to stroke them and they both jump up on my knee

I wonder what happens to the stones from the tamarind, I doubt that they get thrown away. I remember staying somewhere years ago where they roasted the stones of something then cracked them open with their teeth, perhaps this was it

I am given two large lengths of this pineapple and it had to be the juiciest one that I have ever known

Time to ride on and the rain is starting to ease

Soon I come to a brand new surface, shame I cant really enjoy it. I plan on taking this road when I go from Uttaradit to Chiang Khan so hopefully it will be a dry day then

Its finally stopped raining and beginning to clear up and the road is drying out too

Some good photos today because of the weather

A dry road at last

Its dry now for the rest of the way and I can enjoy the remainder of the 1239 to Nam Pat

At Nam Pat its a left onto the 1047

What a great road this is too from beginning to end

I stay on the 1047 ignoring the signs to take another road to Uttaradit and I am rewarded by having this great road virtually to myself

Now its dry and warm I am beginning to dry out myself

Just before reaching hwy 11 its the rice paddies

I ride on to hwy 11 turn left then after a few km take a right and ride into Uttaradit where I check into the Num Chai Hotel as usual. I am given my usual room and its still 140 Baht a night

Then its off to the New York Steak House and I enjoy one of Klaus’s lovely pork ghoulash and pasta meals for 140 Baht