Chiang Rai - Mae Sai Two Days in Thailand on a Harley Davidson

This is a fantastic ride through lush forested mountain roads perfect for your Harley Davidson, a dash across the high mountain valley rice fields and more mountain roads. The roads are well maintained with plenty of passing lanes and broad sweeping turns.

The main artery between Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai is a ride up out of the Ping River valley through tropical mountain forests on wide, new roads. The ride to the first destination, "Wat Ruang Khun" is a ride through some of Thailand's most beautiful countryside. It Just keeps getting better.

The ride to Chiang Saen; rice fields and small towns, In Chiang Saen we'll meet up with the Mekong River and head north to the "Golden Triangle." Historically, the Golden Triangle represented a large geographic area of Burma, Laos and Northern Thailand where opium poppies were grown and the product traded. To be completely accurate, your entire ride is in the Golden Triangle. The opium trade in Thailand is all but wiped out. Crop substitution has been quite successful.

Today "The Golden Triangle" we are heading to is the point where Laos, Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand converge. The River Ruak joins the Mekong here, you can look upon all three countries. Boat trips into Laos for a short shopping and sight-seeing trip are available without visas required.

A short ride into Mae Sai completes the day's ride. Mae Sai is an active border town with shopping on both sides. We should get in early enough to afford a few hours on the Myanmar side of the border. The market in Tachilek is interesting even if you are not interested in buying. There are hundreds (thousands?) of shops selling everthing from clothing & gems to dried fruit and whiskeys.
 
There is a small gem market street on the Thai side you may want to explore as on teh Burmese side, you really should know your gems when shopping there.
 
The evening is your own, or maybe the group will decide to do something together. if you are feeling adventurous, go out on your own for a wander or ask your guide to recommend something.

The next day's ride has a couple of options depending on the riders. After breakfast, you can spend the morning exploring the shops and local attractions or we can get on the road. We'll be heading to Tha Ton back in Chiang Mai province.
 
If we get an early start we'll take the longer, winding road up through Doi Tung National Park riding through tropical pine forests, if you like good coffee, it is grown and roasted in nearby farms. You can get a cup at the park headquarters
 
The other route is more direct but equally scenic. Eventually we end up at the Paduang "Long-Neck" tribe village. Not only is this an opportunity to buy a few souvenirs such as hand-woven textiles, it is a chance to see how they get their name.

We'll get back on our motorcycles and travel south to Chiang Dao, for a late lunch at Chiang Dao Nest. Gourmet western food is on the menu, at reasonable prices. They have a few Thai dishes as well. After a leisurely lunch we'll head into Chiang Mai city.

• 8:00 - 8:30 AM Briefing over coffee & pastries
• 8:30 AM Depart Chiang Mai
• Ride north to Wat Ruang Khun (the “White Temple”)
• Relax, grab a bite if you're hungry; wander the grounds
• Head out to Chiang Saen and the “golden triangle"
• You can take a short boat ride into Laos sightseeing or shopping
• Take the back roads into Mae Sai, a border town on the Myanmar (Burma) border
• Spend the night in Mae Sai, maybe head across the border for a bit of bargain hunting (time permitting)
• 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM breakfast at the hotel
• Dash across the border for shopping (if time didn't permit the day before)
• Departure for Tha Ton is flexible depending on the group
• If we get an early start we'll travel through Doi Tung National Park on our way to Tha Ton (great Arabica Coffee grown there)
• Karen Long-neck village in Tha Ton
• Ride South to Chiang Dao for a late lunch at the Chiang Dao Nest gourmet restaurant
• Ride into Chiang Mai

*Note on "Hill Tribes"
The 'Long Neck" (Paduang) village we will visit is a real village. The people living there live according to their traditions. They are not actors on a stage. While visiting you may notice some of the traditional thatched homes have Satellite TV and occasionally you may see one them on a cell phone.
 
These are not people living in a bubble; they are real human beings making the best of their lives. Most have been persecuted across the border from Myanmar and have found a way to make a living. Although set up as an attraction. This is their life. Old traditions have not died, the modern world has not completely passed them by.

We'll ride our Harley Davidsons down quiet, well maintained back roads to this driveway to Chiang Dao Nest for a late lunche