Houdini's Travels

It was a gift for me to spend 2 weeks in May 2010 with my son Mario cycling from Farnham, Surrey, to Switzerland, and I am grateful for this experience. He and Lea had been living in the UK for 18 months, and Mario wanted to cycle back, whereas Lea returned with her father and [...]

Click on map to enlarge My biking was in the very north of Thailand, both trips started and ended in Chiang Mai, for trip 1 summary click here. Marked on the map above are the routes of my 2nd bike trip out of Chiang Mai. On the last day, the 17th day, I rode a [...]

13.11.09 Day 17 day trip around Chiang Mai, 159 km, Stand 1649 km This was the last biking day before I had to return my Kawasaki. Lan needed it for a group trip. The trip around Doi Suthep was wonderful biking, a potpourri of all types of roads that I had experienced during my two [...]

12.11.09 Day 16 Lake above Mae Suai – Chiang Mai, 221 km, Stand 1490 km On my second last day with the bike I drove from the beautiful lake back to Chiang Mai. The first 10 km were great, and the 53 km across the mountains between the main road and Phrao were just stunning. [...]

11.11.09Day 15 Mae Salong – Stausee bei Mae Suai, 120 km, Stand 1269 km Slowly it got time to move closer to Chiang Mai. Getting more courage day by day, I decided for a route across the mountains on an unpaved road, not passable during rainy season, as it said on the map for the [...]

10.11.09 Day 14 Mae Salong, 8 km, Stand 1149 km The day began in the fresh morning air with a short walk and 718 steps, leading up to a pagoda above the village. A couple of great Cafe Lattes followed at „Sweet Mae Salong“, a serene coffee shop with a beautiful view into nature and [...]

08.11.09 Day 12 Chiang Rai – Doi Mae Salong, 89 km, Stand 1056 km 09.11.09 Day 13 Offroad to Toet Thai, 85km, Stand 1141km Finally I got the courage to try an off-road route, from Mae Salong directly across the mountains to Toet Thai, the village of the former drug and war lord Khun Sa. [...]

07.11.09 Day 11 Chiang Rai, 80 km, Stand 967 km A roundtrip into the valley of Kok River (Nam Kok) ended, after diversions, as originally planned, up on one side, down on the other. I did not see the „motorcycle bridge“ as indicated in the GT Riders’ map and I just went on, thought there [...]

05.11.09 Day 9 Chiang Khong – Pu Chi Fa mountains – Ban Huak – Thoen – Chiang Rai, 261 km, Stand 887 km Not as planned in the town of Chiang Kham I ended the day, but in Chiang Rai, as I craved a real nice bed wit 2 sheets and warm blanket after the [...]

04.10.09 Day 8 Chiang Khong, 17 km, Stand 626 km A sinusitis made me take a rest day in Chiang Khong at the Mekong. I have it, probably, from riding in T-shirt and shirt, without jacket. The temperature is not as high up in the north as in Bangkok, for example, or at the beaches. [...]