Before leaving New Zealand, riding the newly-announced bikepacking.com route ‘The Lanna Kingdom‘, was one of our only set plans and predicted highlights for Thailand.
The 8-9 day loop from Chiang Mai, in Thailand’s mountainous north, explores nearly 400km of awe-inspiring views; leg-burning climbs; awesome gravel descents; an extremely cool and funky town; and amazingly hospitable hosts along the way. Rach might’ve even developed a crush 😉
Rolling north out of Chiang Mai on our trusty (but heavy) steel touring bikes, we still didn’t quite know what we were in for. Early February each year (we had come to learn), is known locally as “burning season” – where real blue sky just doesn’t exist, photos look flat in colour, visibility diminishes, people flee the city for the clear-aired southern beaches – and still smoking farmland and forest can quite literally surround you.
11/02/24 – Chiang Mai – Ban Thung Luang – 58km (95m elev)
Day 1 – Out of the city
After shifting some gear around and dropping Rach’s panniers with route creator Triple Cats Cycle, she was now sporting a very naked bike for the upcoming hills (read: steep Thai mountains) we’d already had the brief pleasure of experiencing. We were doing things slightly differently however and heading directly to a music festival we’d heard about, not far off the official route for a couple of days relaxation first (it turned into four nights…).
Leaving Chiang Mai (Thailand’s 2nd largest city) early in the afternoon on this well-designed section of route, was NOTHING like leaving Bangkok by bike a month earlier. In fact, with the speed we were surrounded by rice paddies and heard gravel crunching under our over-inflated ‘highway spec’ tyres – it almost felt like we’d only left a little village.
Staying on the official Lanna Kingdom route for around the first 40km before vearing north, we’d got the best bit of the riding out of the way early. After a quick 15km stretch of highway riding, dinner consisted of a roadside selection from the now usual 7-Eleven buffet, before riding into a 350THB highway hotel just after darkness.
Glamorous 7/11 dinner sitting out in the dirt while people lined up to use ATM. Need hotel with pool to try find hole in Tom’s sleeping mat as has been causing some shit sleeps. Common theme is that we are usually the only ones staying in these ‘resorts’ on the outskirts of towns.
Rach’s diary
12/02/24 – Highway Resort – Shambhala – 40km
Day 2 – Doesn’t quite count
As far as sticking to the Lanna Kingdom heading – this doesn’t. We were taking a brief detour to a music festival we’d heard about through our earlier hosts in Bangkok.
Emerging from the hotel swimming pool and drying ourselves off after finding and successfully(?) patching yet another hole in the bloody cheap sleeping mat, we only had a short 40km to smash out on the highway north.
Shambhala needs an article all on its own (check out our gallery below), but once we’d settled in it was pretty hard to leave again quickly. With fire twirling and live music being a highlight on night one – we decided on some RnR and to stick around for its next appearance later on in the weeks program.
16/02/24 – Shambhala – Ping’s Place Homestay – 58km (973m elev)
Day 3 – Tourist Tax
Saying goodbye to the warm fuzzy festival vibes, we hit the road again. Once we were back off the highway and rejoining the official route, it was nearly time for lunch already (plus a few cheeky Chang’s) overlooking local kids playing on bamboo rafts in the river below – before the road slowly tipped up for the afternoon.
The afternoon’s goal was simply to follow the river valley another 18km up to the highly anticipated Thung Yung Homestay (Ping’s Place), a talked-about highlight of the route.
Rode up valley with all the elephant sanctuaries – sad to see that elephant rides are still being offered. We saw what felt like more than 100 elephants essentially in captivity. The paid tourism alone is enough to keep putting more and more of these beautiful creatures into what is just a big zoo.
Rach’s diary
Riding up the valley was absolutely beautiful, with rolling ups & downs past cascading rapids and many inviting swimming holes below. Eventually the road produced a sign “Ping’s Place” – with the direction arrow as typical in this part of the world pointing upwards. A quick sweaty slog up to the mountain village, with our check-in process seemingly taking place in a grocery store minutes later, and a hike-a-bike up to the homestay itself – we were here!
Unfortunately Ping wasn’t home during our visit limiting the hyped-up ‘homestay’ experience we’d experienced elsewhere, but his family eventually emerged from the kitchen with a plentiful spread of local vegetarian cuisine we enjoyed near an open fire watching the sunset. They must know cyclists get hungry!
In almost typical North Thailand fashion, we spent the night tossing and turning wishing we were instead in the tent. You see, mattresses (and I use that term loosely) mostly either come in hard, rock-hard or solid variations. I didn’t check under the sheet here, but this one positioned on the floor could’ve possibly been carved out of marble?
17/02/24 – Bruised hips – Wiang Hueng – 51km (1,708m elev)
Day 4 – Hot, Dry, Dusty
‘Waking up’ to another gorgeous day and large spread of vegetable soup, banana spring rolls and plate of fruit, we thought we were off to a winner! Until the bill arrived that was…. On booking earlier in the week we’d accepted the 600THB (roughly twice what we normally paid for accom) for the upcoming experience. It turns out they quote per person rather than per room – leaving a rather sour 1200THB (our most expensive night in two months in Thailand, incl all-inclusive resorts!) taste in the mouth. Would we visit again or recommend this highly anticipated stay? Unfortunately not.
Started the day with a big steep climb on rough jungle roads… followed by another steep climb, and then another… the walls we faced after biking around a corner were just never ending.
Rach’s diary
Amazing that we are actually in the middle of the North Thailand jungle, as we get to viewpoints all we see are distant layers of hazy green mountains.
At one point we passed an Austrian bloke pushing his near-vintage mountain bike up one of the climbs, heavily laden with his worldly belongings (see our gear list for an idea). He’d been pushing all day and his mate had gone ahead. Possibly after having watched us ride up a steep slope towards him – he wasn’t full of conversation.
Came across a rickety swingbridge towards the end of the stage (missing the odd slat or two and with the whole thing on a slight lean), but after watching a local on a fully laden scooter easily tackle the steep approach, then casually ride over like it was nothing, we had the confidence we needed.
Pulling into a motel in Wiang Hueng at the end of the day we discovered the Austrian’s mate was already there. Exchanging ‘war stories’ about the day he mentioned he’d cycled almost all over the world in the last 5 years, but the roads in this area are the toughest he’s ever tackled! His mate eventually turned up once we were cleaned up and a few beers deep – absolutely buggered. They were now going to take the next day off before deciding whether to continue the route…
18/02/24 – From the bottom – To the top – 19km (1,103m elev)
Day 5 – Doi Dam
Not a massive day by any measure, but Rach’s first ever 1,000m+ continuous climb today – and it didn’t get off to the best of starts. Convenience food breakfasts from 7/11 getting a little old and creating some friction. Without much else choice in town it was was it was however – energy was required for the upcoming climb.
Starting off on a paved surface before quickly turning to gravel, this climb was just a hot slog knowing that the destination and tonights campsite would be well worth it. Other than a ranger station about 3/4’s of the way up there was really nothing else of note.
When we arrived the Doi Dam rangers were exceptionally friendly, offering us snacks, water and somewhere to rest for a while before the final 5km to the summit. Taking the opportunity, we hung out for a little while chatting with them about the area and soaking up the view. They also assured us that despite fears, there were no tigers in the surrounding jungle (we were close to Myanmar now after all…).
Arriving at the top late in the day we met a couple of very friendly local kids who upon seeing us gather wood for a wee bonfire, reached into their scooter and produced a very hefty chunk of Khao Pook Nga (a traditional local dessert made from roasted seeds and rice). They eagerly demonstrated how to cook it over the fire, before leaving us alone for quite a stunning mountaintop evening under the stars.
19/02/24 – Doi Dam – Pai – 51km (1,130m elev)
Day 6 – Thank fu#! for Snickers
Waking up early to take in the sunrise, we were greeted by a brisk 6°C morning and a stunning sight of fog blanketing the townships below. Knowing breakfast was at the bottom of a descent, we took our time packing the bags before finally setting off.
Brrrr! Early wake up to watch sunrise, very cold! Puffer jackets make an appearance again. Beautiful oranges and pinks in the sky. Long, slow descent from the mountaintop on rutty, rough dirt road – washboard judders, agony on the hands. Fun to do some of this technical stuff too!
Rach’s diary
As is usually the case, the ‘road’ down wasn’t quite what we expected (this is a ‘bikepacking’ route after all…). By the time (1hr 45min – 23km) we arrived at the ONLY little noodle shop around, the first hunger of the day was starting to set in. Only 30km and a few more ‘small’ climbs separated us from our planned rest days in Pai now.
More climbs, two arsehole ones in a row. Found a fully melted Snickers bar in top tube bag which was frantically licked off its own wrapper.
Rach’s diary
These remaining ‘small’ climbs turned out to be tough little buggers, with gradients kicking up over 18% in the heat making them feel even longer than they were. Encountered some excited locals at one stage with a sack rudimentarily attached to a long bamboo pole on the side of the road – turns out they were harvesting red ants eggs from branches high above us by shaking the nests from underneath. Judging from their excitement at being successful, these eggs are either extremely valuable, tasty – or they were just glad they didn’t get bitten too much…
Intermission….
After arriving in Pai, letting the bodies rest for a day and enjoying some extra calories – we were torn on just how to, or where to proceed. We’d heard about the famous 600km Mae Hong Son motorbiking loop which also passed through Pai. We had the option to either ride this (taking the long way back to Chiang Mai but missing the rest of the Lanna Kingdom), or swap our bikes for ones with motors for a wee side-quest.
After a coincidental dinner with an English cycle tourist (also Tom) who’d cycled both the offroad Lanna and the 100% paved Mae Hong Son, our minds were made up. We were leaving Pai with more horsepower (only just however…) for a weeks exploring on three wheels, before returning to Pai to collect our bikes and finish what we started. The adventure continues…..
