NORTH THAILAND FLORAL RIDE - DAY 3

10^TH DEC 2012: LAMPANG – LAMPHUN – DOI INTHANON – KHUN YUAM – MAE HONG SON (350KM)

I woke up early as I am going to tackle the mountain today. To my surprise, the car park was full with vehicles. Where did they come from? They were not there last night. The car park was so full that there was no space at all for me to ride DREAM to exit the hotel compound (even though I hv take off the panniers). The worker helped pushing the hand-brake-off cars aside to give way to me, and after about 30mins, I managed to exit. I supposed those cars belonged to the locals living at the apartment next door. 

Khelang Hotel, Lampang

Full house parking lot

Lampang Clock Tower

It was very chilly riding along the winding route 11 to Lamphun. There was one time that I was honked many times, and as I was getting pissed off (bcos I hv no idea what mistakes I hv done to deserve the honking), the car overtook me and the inhabitants waved at me wildly. LOL...they were Malaysians. I put a big smile on my face, especially when the girl emerged from the sky roof of the car and took shots of me. Cool. I overtook them and gv a nice post to the girl by standing on my foot rest while riding. 

Arriving Lamphun, I was unsure about my ongoing route, and while I was checking the map, a girl and a guy approached me. They were the one inside the car just now. We chatted for a while, and they helped me to locate my upcoming route using google maps inside their smartphone (that was the time when I decided that I must buy smart phone after this). 

With Nisa

And Afzal

We said goodbye, and I continued riding via route 1015 to Sanpatong – route 108 to Chom Thong, but taking a right turn at route 1009 to Doi Inthanon. I hv to pay B200 for the entrance fee, and additional B20 for my motorbike. 

The ride to the peak took about 45mins. The sun was shining and the sky was so very blue. It was a beautiful day. 

There were many people, especially locals at the peak as today is a public holiday. I spent around 40mins here. 

After that I continued on via route 1192 to Mae Cham – route 1263 to Khun Yuam. The view along route 1263 was beautiful. I love the white wild flowers and the colourful grass weeds – brown, pink and beige in colour. Wild sunflowers were among the most dominant view here, making the road sides turned yellow and so beautiful. 

Intersection to Route 1192

 

 

However, the road here was narrow, steep and with lots of potholes filled with sands which make it slippery for two wheelers. I took about 3 hours from the 1192 intersection and was pretty exhausted by the time I reached Khun Yuam. Since it was already 3pm, and I need to rush to Mae Hong Son to claim my certificate before the office closed, I rushed my way via route 108 as fast as I can. The road, even though winding, was nice and wider compared to route 1263. I managed to arrive MHS at 4.30pm and get my certificate at the office. This place sure brought back lots of memories. 

My second 1864 corners cert, for this year lah :)

Then I searched for a place to stay. I dont want to stay at Morning Coffee GH, instead this time, I tried Palm GH, near the temple and the lake. After bargaining, I got a nice room with fan and TV for B350. Then I went to the town and visited Mr Amnat, the guy who sell Tshirts at a shop near the lake. 

Me: Hello
Mr Amnat: Hi, welcome
Me: Do u still remember me?
Mr Amnat: I'm not very sure.
Me: Remember last few months, there is one lady who came here with motorbike?
Mr Amnat: (scratching his head...then...) Ohhh yes....I remember. Wow, u come again to Mae Hong Son?
Me: Yes, last time with my guide. This time I'm alone.
Mr Amnat: What? U come alone? U so brave. Wait...I want to show u something.
Me: (I can guess what he wants to show me). What is it?
Mr Amnat: (Pointing to Are Nim's mementoes). This girl also come here alone with motorbike.
Me (Laughing). Yes, I know.
Mr Amnat: She's so small but her motorbike very big.
Me: She may be small, but she's strong.
Both of us laughing and we have a nice conversation. Mr Amnat insisted that I write another mementoes and stick it on the board of his shop. He's very happy that brave Malaysian girls visited his shop. LOL...

That night was spent lazing by the lake and checking out the night market. Things sold here were dirt cheap. If only I come by car.....sigh...