I follow the highway, and eventually see a sign that says Pai. It's not on my GPS, but I decide to take it anyway. It appears to be a short cut / by pass. Whatever it was it was nice smooth flat road, without a single car or bike. So I test out the top speed of the bike, and hit about 120kph.
Speaking of speed, I still have no idea what the speed limits are anywhere. I generally just go either as fast as I feel comfortable under 90kph, or at the speed of the faster cars.
Heading toward the mountains I pass a few fields and stop to take a photo.
I finally hit the twisty bits and it's fun. The roads are in good condition, there is little traffic. I am still scared about leaning the bike to far, but I take the corners faster this time. Only issue I run into is some Thai truck driver who thinks he's in America. He was driving on the wrong side of the road competely, no idea why. And he didn't try to move outta the way either. I had to quickly move over to the shoulder to avoid getting flattened. Made my heart race!
Most of the cars on the road are utes, seems to be a good choice for the local Thais. They can load their scooters in the back, and when they have to transport people they just sit in the back too. It seems like 80+% of the cars out here at utes, 10% are 4wd's and the rest are a mix. There are also a lot of expensive looking utes/4wds.
I reach a lake by the side of the road, and again stop for some photos. There are some locals fishing, just throwing a line with a hook and some meat into the lake. And some expensive looking houses on the other side of the lake.
On the mountain side of the road, there are tracks up the mountain. Dunno if they still get used, but that's some real 4wd'ing to get up there! From what I can tell, they are from trucks who were installing the power lines. (This was one of easy/tame tracks)
There are also a lot of small trails heading off to the bush, would be great to explore if you had a couple people with you. Maybe next time.
After taking the photo of the track, I realise my sandles were too close to the exhuast and have melted. Smart Rowan.
I hit the real mountainous section now, similar to the clyde (for those who live in Canberra) but a lot longer and with heaps if hairpin corners. The road is in decent (minor pot holes, bumps in the road) to very good. The road is pretty empty, although the occasional farm animal will be in the middle or on the side of the road.
I get stuck behind trucks/utes sometimes, and have to wait a while to overtake. I am not game to overtake unless there is a nice straight I came make sure nothing is come flying down the mountain the other direction. There is also the occasional crazy Thai driver on the wrong side of the road.
I am also not game to pull over on the side of a bend to take photos, and on the straights there is always trees blocking the view. But this was basically the view from the bike:
Too bad for the garbage.
I arrive in Pai, and spend a while trying to find a hostel with wireless. Not finding any after asking half a dozen places I settle on
GPS Map - Click the circles to see images. Click the link to see all GPS details and photos:
Day 4 - Chiang Mai to Pai on Tarmac at EveryTrail
Map created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging
See all photos for today: http://picasaweb.google.com/envyme/Day4
