Chiang Rai – Golden Triangle – Chiang Khong

3rd May 2014   23’C   164km

There was a huge storm last night, which dumped a tremendous amount of rain. Fortunately, it has stopped by the time I had loaded the bike and was ready to leave.

I decided I would ride up to the Golden Triangle, and see the meeting point of the three borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. The ride started well, although about 20 minutes out of Chiang Rai, it started to rain and I had to stop to put on the wet weather gear. The scenery now has changed dramatically when compared to just a few hundred kilometres south of here. Now everything is very green and lush, not dusty and brown, and the rice paddies are a beautiful verdant green.

As the road climbed through through the mountains, it became very misty and quite cool at 18’C

I came across a section of road that was under construction, and it was a complete mess. Due to the rain the bulldust has turned slick as butter, and with the slight camber of the road a truck had come to a stop and couldn’t proceed, turning the slippery path into a single lane that traffic was trying to squeeze through in both directions. I was working hard to keep the bike upright, but had to stop due to the cars in front. When I did stop, the bike and I, started sliding sideways towards the edge of the road, and directly towards another stopped car. Having almost 400kg of bike, gear and rider sliding downhill is enough to make anyone’s sphincter clench, and it was a nervous few moments trying to halt the slide. At the critical moment, the car in front moved and I was able to pull off a little power slide to get out of there.

After a brief stop for photos at the Golden Triangle, I was back on the bike and riding through the and slippery section again, although now the road crew had put some sand down, which made things a bit easier.

Passing through minority villages and mountain passes, I rode into Chiang Khong. The first item to address was to sort out permission to cross the bridge into Laos for tomorrow. For some strange reason, motorcycles are not allowed to use the Friendship bridges at the borders. Crossing by motorbike means one of three options. Put the bike on a truck, or pay a ferry and then have issues reaching the immigration and customs offices, as they are at the bridge, or the option I’ve chosen, make arrangements for an escorted crossing of the bridge with the police and border service. I met with the fixer, Khun Na, who took all my paperwork and went to make the arrangements with the authorities. We agreed to meet at the customs house at 8am tomorrow morning.

The Ban Fai Guesthouse was right next door to Na’s coffee shop, and I checked in there before taking a walk around town and the temples.

I was very fortunate to have met David & Mai when I was in Chiang Mai, and they kindly invited me to dinner at their lovely home in the forest by the Mekong. A great evening was had, with a lovely meal, a few beers and great conversation. David and Mai are true adventurers, and their zest for getting out in the world and experiencing everything is contagious.