Border Run

It's time to renew my visa, so I pick up a 400cc Honda rental for the run from Chiang Mai to Mae Sai. Whilst undertaking the obligatory pre trip repairs (the rental bikes are kept in terrible condition around here) I become suspicious of the front shocks, and, when I find that I can push them down to the end stops and hold them there, I decide to take the bike back and swap it for another. The guys at the bike shop assure me there is nothing wrong with the shocks but I'm not believing them. I pick the next best of a bad bunch and head off.

Not far out of Chiang Mai it becomes apparent that the replacement bike has its own problems. This time the fault lies with the front brakes, which, after a couple of uses, begin to emit a metallic screech on every application and rapidly loose all but the bare minimum of functionality. In the cause of safety the trip ends up being undertaken in a rather slow and paranoid manner. Fortunately the roads from Chiang Mai to Mae Sai on the Myanmar (Burmese) border are pretty good.

The countryside through this part of Thailand is truly beautiful; Pristine and perfectly squared rice paddies set in cleared hollows amidst the bush, beautiful and well kept teak-wood houses, sweeping curves of road over the bush clad mountains. The bike leans beautifully on the corners as I comfortably rest back in the seat, allowing my outstretched arms to support most of my weight whilst absorbing the warmth of the sun.

The northern area of Thailand gives the appearance of being comparatively well off. Unlike the slums of Bangkok there is no evidence of starving children or people living in squalor. The people I meet all seem quite friendly and most of them have some grasp of English as well as being able to decode my pidgin Thai.

I stop every hour or so for a rest and a drink. I think it's the combination of the coldness and the sugar that makes Fanta such a refreshing drink on these occasions. I figure I'll go as far as Chiang Rai today and then head for the border in the morning however I'm making great time and, having actually managed to get up and leave Chiang Mai early, I arrive on the outskirts of Chiang Rai before mid-day.

I stop at a restaurant and Hotel complex and enjoy a cold beer and some fried pork and rice. (Thai lesson: Pork is 'Moo' Moo is the noise a cow makes but 'Cow' is rice. Milk comes from a cow and is white which is a good way to help one to remember that white is 'Sii Cow' (literally 'the colour of rice'). Cat is 'Meow' (which is easy) and dog is 'Maa' (make what you will of this) but contrary to rumours abounding in the west except among a few of the Burmese hill tribes these are not generally considered food here - so I eat Moo with Cow and not a morsel of beef is involved!)

While I relax and savour my meal I soak up the peace of the country, the chirruping of insects and the calls of the lizards. This to me is the sound of Thailand. I decide to push on to Myanmar, do my thing, and return to spend the night at this lovely tranquil place. The border is a mere sixty kilometres away and I figure the whole thing will only take me three hours or so.