Northern Thailand on a Scooter

I have lived in Thailand for 3 years now and like many other people, I own a scooter. The hustle and bustle of Bangkok is a nightmare. 18 hours of every day, the traffic is horrendous, so the only way to get around is by bike. It can be dangerous, but it's great fun and it saves you loads of time.

Anyway, last Christmas I decided to take a drive up north and experience some of the quieter roads. Other than seeing some beautiful scenery, engage with some country locals, I had no real plans.

My first leg was to Ayutthaya and it took me about 2 hours to get to there. It's only about 85km from Bangkok but I was exhausted by the time I got there and so I checked into a hotel and spent the rest of the day chilling and checking Ayutthaya out.

Ayutthaya was the second capital city of the old Siam Kingdom. It's a beautiful place with some fantastic ruins from the 14th and 15th centuries. Even if you're only in Bangkok for a few days, it's worth a day trip just to see the temples and ruins.

Next morning I was up early for a long drive. I wasn’t sure how far I was gonna get as I was exhausted after just a couple of hours yesterday, so the best thing was to just play it by ear.

I headed north and the scenery got much, much nicer. I was still relatively close to Bangkok but the change was incredible. Hardly a person, or car for that matter, in sight. With the sun roaring, I had a long lucent asphalt to myself, and with shimmering rice fields on either side, it was a much more enjoyable ride.

I kept driving north up through Lopburi and Nakhon Sawan provinces and kept going for a few hours, and for some reason I didn’t feel tired. I got up to Phitsanulok, which had become my target, but realised that I still had more in me and so kept on going until I reached Sukhothai.

It’s in this region the landscape starts getting hillier. After the long straights, the hills were a welcome sight. I got there just before sundown, and then got a hotel, and grabbed a couple of beers. It was a much longer ride than yesterday’s but much easier. I came to realise it was the abhorent traffic of Bangkok that actually exhausted me. It does every day, haha.

I then spent my next full day chilling in the wonderful Sukhothai. Sukhothai is a beautiful place. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it was the original capital of the Thai Empire in the 13th century. The old city is best experienced on a bicycle. The ruins and lakes make for a wonderful setting, and it’s a great place to spend a day or two.

After a day’s rest I was ready for another ride and so made the short 3 hour journey over to Mae Sot and it’s the first time I encountered any mountains in Thailand.

Mae Sot isn’t a place I’d recommend to spend Christmas Eve. It’s a border town on the Thai/Burmese border, but it’s where I wanted to start the famous Mae Hong Son loop. So, seeing as though the festive period was upon me, I checked myself into a nice hotel, and pampered myself before a big Christmas Day ride, early the next morning.

Christmas Day is special for many people. And it was one reason I wasn’t so sure that going away on my bike and being alone was such a good idea. The very next morning, that idea quickly evaporated.

I’d heard how beautiful the Mae Hong Son loop was and so I wanted to experience it, and luckily I did it on Christmas Day. It was my longest ride – 10 hours – to Mae Hong Son town, and I can honestly say, that if it wasn’t for the sun going down, I could easily have carried on going.

The scenery was quite simply spectacular. Quiet country roads up in the mountains on a beautiful sunny day was one of the best ways I’ve ever spent a Christmas. Nothing but nature and the odd do-it-yourself petrol pump made it an incredible experience.

Along the way, I came across the odd village, where I’d stop for refreshments and to see how they did their thing. The villagers don’t care about what’s on in the news, or what's happening in Bangkok even. They just live their lives by looking after one another. And the best thing is their happiness was obvious. It was refreshing to see how humanity can still live so sophisticatedly primitive.

The next day was the short ride over to Pai. Pai is a great town, and I recommend it for sure. It’s a chilled out town, with some great bars and cafes. I can’t actually believe, after coming to Thailand for 20 years, it was the first time I’d ever been there. Anyway, I stopped there for a few days to do some hiking, drinking and more drinking.

Then I spent a few more days up in the mountains, along the Thai-Burmese border, driving from town to town, not really knowing where to go, but not caring either. I was just enjoying the freedom, the scenery, and not having to care about other things. I say I didn’t care about things, but when my brakes overheated and gave way while I was steadily descending the mountains, my care went into overdrive, haha. Being an inexperienced rider, it was quite worrying. ANyway, I made it down safely and headed to Chiang Mai, where I was meeting my girlfriend for the New Year celebrations.

If you’ve never done a long bike ride, I really recommend it. The feeling of freedom on the quiet roads, with the fresh country air and magnificent scenery all around is something I will remember forever. As much as I love my scooter, however, I realised it isn’t an ideal long distance travel companion, especially when you’re descending some steep mountains. But would it put me off doing it all again? No way!