6. Mae Hong Son loop

A quick Christmas update of the blog, Merry Christmas all! ๐ŸŽ„  

The Mae Hong Son loop takes you through the mountainous, forested province of, yes, Mae Hong Son, connecting small towns along the way. It is fairly popular with tourists but mostly on motorbikes and scooters, I didn’t see any other cycle tourists on the route. 

Leaving Pai I said goodbye to this cute creature that lived at the hostel. Don’t be completely deceived by the innocent puppy eyes, this little terror had a habit of stealing shoes and having a good chew on them! ๐Ÿ‘Ÿ 

The valley in which Pai is nestled. ๐Ÿ–ผ️ 

Riding out from Pai, I felt on top of the world and soon made it to the first pass of the day. Quite an elevation gain but I just put Bertha in bottom gear and thought happy thoughts. ๐Ÿ’ญ 

The scenery, day after day, kept delivering. I got quite a bit of respect for being on a bike, even receiving a round of applause when I crested one pass and pulled into the parking lot of a viewpoint. ๐Ÿž️

Making good progress towards Mae Hong Son. ๐Ÿ˜️


Despite the challenges of the constant undulations, these were mellow days of riding….

….taking in the Burmese influenced temple complexes….

….and meeting friendly locals. ๐Ÿ™‹‍♂️

Mellow, until I was struck by a bout of food poisoning! Good progress checked! It is fair to say that this firmly stopped me in my tracks! ๐Ÿ›‘ 

Fortuitously, out in the mountains, at my most nauseous peak (๐Ÿคฎ), I ventured down a forest track in search of a quiet spot to camp and rest up. I met two forestry workers and, through the language barrier, tried to explain my predicament. Without hesitation, they offered to drive me back to Mae Hong Son so I could medical assistance (really, I just needed a quiet hotel room to rest up in). So, before I knew it, I’d backtracked to Mae Hong Son and….

….although the room I checked into was just a mattress on the floor with a pillow and blanket, the sense of relief was overwhelming . You don’t want to be stuck in the forest worrying about toilets, water and shelter when you’re contending with food poisoning. ☠️ 

The silver lining of all this was that I got to spend a couple of extra days in Mae Song Hon, which is a charming little town. While my stomach was too fragile to indulge myself at the night market….

…. I enjoyed visiting it all the same. ๐Ÿฅ—

After a day’s rest, I had to concede that it hadn’t been the worst illness I’d ever had and that I was probably OK to continue. My appetite was completely suppressed for a few days and I warily eyed up any food establishment before entering but, burning so many calories, you have to eat. 

So, eat I did! Not such a hardship in Thailand where the abundance and tastiness of food just keeps delivering. ๐Ÿฅ˜ 

Friendly lorry driver pulled up in front of me, jumped out of his cab and thrust a big bottle of water into my hands! The network of guardian angels here is alive and kicking! ๐Ÿชฝ


It was a real pleasure to camp along the loop. ๐Ÿ•️

Sheltered spots were easy to find and, when there were people around to ask, permission to camp was readily given. ๐Ÿ‘ 

I love the soft night soundtrack of tropical bugs chirping away, perfect white noise to drift off to. ๐Ÿชฒ๐Ÿชณ

I recruited a guard dog for one of my camps. 

Before I knew it, I was back in Chiang Mai, in time for Christmas. Christmas Day was lovely, lots of reading at the hostel/in cafes, yoga in the park and plentiful good food. ๐Ÿง˜‍♂️ 
Three nights in Chiang Mai ended up becoming four, and, just now, I’ve booked in for a fifth night. It’s just too easy and comfortable to be here, my new favourite city!



















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