From Koh Samui, I flew up to Chiang Mai, a city in the north of Thailand. I stayed at a hostel there with a lot of really nice people, some who were there for a short time, and others who were there for longer stretches–travel bloggers and the like. Chiang Mai is known for having a large expat community.
Chiang Mai was touristy, but still fun. The first day I was there, I visited a town about three hours north, called Pai, that had been recommended to me by multiple folks at the hostel. Motorcycles and scooters are such a part of life in Thailand that it seemed like going by motorcycle would add to the adventure of the trip. I had thought by this point about renting a motorcycle to travel through Vietnam, and this seemed like a good test-run opportunity before committing to a longer term trip in Vietnam.
I’d taken a motorcycle training class in the US, but I didn’t actually have any real road experience. So when I arrived at the motorcycle shop, I was pretty nervous about riding the Honda CRF 150–engine wise, smaller than the bikes I’d ridden in my motorcycle class, but by weight and height, more unwieldy than I was used to.
It took some getting used to, but as I set off down a backstreet on the test ride I was happy that I managed to get going without stalling–something that had plagued me in my motorcycle training course. Things weren’t completely smooth after that, though. When filling up at the gas station, my foot got caught next to a curb and I nearly fell body-first, motorcycle and all, into the gas pump. It was clear I would have to be careful.
Riding in Thailand was easier than I expected. The roads were well paved and the traffic system wasn’t too crazy, especially not compared to India, which was really in a league of its own. It took some getting used to on the bike, though, and I was just getting acquainted with how to actually ride a motorcycle outside of a parking lot. At one point going up a tight uphill turn I didn’t drop into a low enough gear fast enough, and my bike stalled out. I’d managed to get over to the shoulder of the road, but the bike wouldn’t start up again and I couldn’t figure out why.
I tried everything, but thankfully it wasn’t too long until some locals came along who were more well versed in motorcycles than I was. They spoke little English, but they were suggesting we point the motorcycle downhill and one of them would hop on and try to start it while it was going downhill. I couldn’t believe this and I said that was a bad idea multiple times, but they kept on insisting. And this was a steep hill. And they were both under 5’6” and I, at 6’2”, found this bike too tall for me.
They were insistent, so I acquiesced, thinking it was a good idea I opted for insurance on the bike before I left. Somehow, though, as one of the guys is riding the bike in neutral down this steep hill, he manages to get it running. The next problem was actually stopping, because the bike was too tall for this guy to put his foot down. So he navigates over to the side of the road and puts his foot up on the jersey barrier while the other guy and I run after him nervously laughing. We shook hands and I said my heartfelt thanks before, more carefully this time, making my way up the mountain road.
I made it to Pai in one piece. It was a sleepy town. And I’d heard this, but its was definitely true that it was the type of place you go to get away from anything busy. So after about two hours I was ready to head back. It took longer than expected to get on the road back, though. I’d stopped at a beautiful park called Pai Canyon, but unfortunately slipped off the side of one of the narrow paths and fell about fifteen feet down through rock and brush.
Thankfully I was mostly unharmed, but I had to spent some time cleaning up the cuts on my leg and arm before heading back to Chiang Mai.
This meant about two thirds of the three-hour route home was in the dark. I did my best to take it slow on the way back through the famously curvy 762 turns.
I spent the rest of the time in Chiang Mai doing tourist activities, notably a great cooking class there where we learned how to cook Pad Thai and Green Curry.
All in all it was an amazing place, and I could see myself living there in the future if it perhaps weren’t so hot. I headed off to Cambodia excited to see what it had in store.
