I am a traveller in the true sense of the world - forgive me if that sounds grandiose or egocentric but its simply the plain truth. My parents were travellers and my siblings and I grew up on stories of travel in distant places that were almost mythical. My father rode a vespa across Europe in the late 1950's and through the Middle East to Israel. Then he put that shitty old bike on what was called a "Tramp Steamer" and rode it down to Ethiopia. From there he somehow made it over the next several years to what was then known as Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where he met a beautiful English lady who had recently arrived there after leaving Malta. These are the skeletons of my parents stories and the details were extracted from them piecemeal over the years we grew up in boring suburbia after my parents had conformed to mainstream life - dad a commuter to an office in the city and mom a housewife.
We used to pour over the giant atlas that was obligatory in every household and trace the rivers and roads that my father had followed, trying to pronounce the names of the places he had visited and imagining what it must have been like. There was never a doubt in my mind that I too would explore the world like my father had, and five days after my 17th birthday my mom dropped me at the airport where i boarded a plane to the other side of the planet to start my travelling adventures. I had worked full time since 14 years old so was armed with enough travellers cheques (remember those) to explore the world for at least a year.
Fast forward several decades and here I am living in South East Asia. Still travelling and still planning the next trip. Once you have tasted the world it's very difficult to go back to that suburban dullness from where you escaped.
For this post I'd like to talk about my travels of 2020/2021 - those covid years when essentially moving around globally was near impossible. Instead I explored Thailand by motorcycle.
Most of the riding I did was on the bike pictured - it's a Triumph Bonneyville T100 - its a 900cc twin cylinder with a modest 55 HP. Its comfortable on long rides, corners beautifully and has all the overtaking power u need, even with two riders and full saddlebags.
When most people think of Thailand they picture tropical beaches, palm trees and hot humid weather. To be honest that too was my misconception until I explored the mountainous border areas to the north - on both the Laos side and The Myanmar side. Its cold! Like proper cold - as in you cant ride in the early morning without freezing. Zoom in on the person in the background of the above photo - they are wearing a down jacket - temperature was around 8 degrees celsius that morning I remember.
The following routes are what I can recommend for anyone looking to explore a side of Thailand that is far from the beaches and tourists of the South - From Mae Sot on the Myanmar border there is a winding mountain road that heads north for two days that eventually connects with the Mae Hong Son Loop and spits you out in Chiang Mai. Its simply one of the greatest motorcycle roads in Asia.
The other route that cant be missed is a road known simply by its number - the 1081. It's in Nan province and it skirts the Laos border through the mountains of the Doi Phu Kha National Park. Its beyond words how amazing this road is. Its often racetrack quality but the views are so good that mostly you want to cruise along at 60km/hr just to admire the scenery.
I would say the best motorcycle roads in Thailand are for the most part western standard, sealed tarmac in very good condition, with inevitable roadworks at different times. If you have the right bike though you can get in to even more amazing areas but be prepared for very rough riding and little or no phone signal, so if you break down or crash you need to be prepared. I have got myself and my bike in to a couple of sticky situations last year, as pictured below......
You dont need a big bike, or a new bike, or a fast bike to explore Thailand's motorcycle routes - just a helmet and the spirit of adventure.