Adventure Touring in North Thailand - Golden Triangle to Fang

After an extremely relaxed ride that saw us make our way to the Golden Triangle, a room with a view of Laos and Thailand separated by the Mekong River was like an icing on the cake. 

We were looking forward to ride day 5 that would take us beyond the mountain town of Tha Ton to Fang. Just about 220 km to cover for the day, but a whole lot of scheduled stops enroute meant we were in for a long, long day on our motorcycles. Moreover, this day would be unlike the rest because of long patches of narrow and poor roads. However, as long as the ride made us fall in love with Thailand even more, we had no problems!

For a change, we had breakfast in our own hotel before starting our ride because the restaurant had an incredible riverside view.

Restaurant with a view!

The first scheduled halt for the day was the 1988-established Hall of Opium museum, the brainchild of the Queen of Thailand who visited the Golden Triangle and wished to educate people about the background of opium trade and its ill-effects.  

A result of over 10 years of extensive research, it certainly seemed as though a fortune was spent setting this place up- yes, even the landscape surrounding the museum was a delight to watch.

Entrance of the Hall of Opium

Getting to the Hall of Opium

While the entry fee of THB 200 did initially seem to be high, we anyways bought the tickets. Once you enter, a brilliantly illuminated entrance tunnel, 300 – 400m long leads you to the area where the actual exhibits are present.  

The brilliantly illuminated tunnel inside the Hall of Opium

We spent about 2 hours inside the museum- complete with photographs and a couple of short films that depicted daily life in the Golden Triangle during the days of opium trade and how this drug dominated life even elsewhere across the world. With numerous authentic paraphernalia such as weights, tools, scales, pipes and storage containers pertaining to opium production and consumption, it was sure enlightening. If not for anything, we at least read facts worth THB 200 related to opium and its trade! 

This sight is definitely not to be missed when you are in Chiang Saen!

Well said! :)

After somewhat enhancing our knowledge about the Golden Triangle region, we proceeded towards Mae Sai, the border checkpoint of Thailand and Myanmar, as well as the northernmost point of Thailand. The ride, as usual, is bound to make you fall in love with Thai countryside. The border town of Mae Sai (Thailand side) and Tachiliek (Myanmar side) are very busy in terms of the heavy trade that takes place between people across the border.

Choose among 2 roads to reach Mae Sai- we chose the countryside route (right turn here)

Welcome to Thailand from Tachiliek, Myanmar

With the border police who were excited to see us

Busy border town of Mae Sai

We then headed to capture some quick snaps of the famous 2^nd Friendship Bridge before making our way to the Wat Tham Pla, the monkey-temple.

2nd Friendship Bridge between Myanmar and Thailand

2nd Friendship Bridge entrance

Entrance of Wat Tham Pla

Inside Wat Tham Pla

Inside Wat Tham Pla

Inside Wat Tham Pla

Inside Wat Tham Pla

Inside Wat Tham Pla

Some narrow and winding curves took us to the Doi Tung Royal Villa, which has a hill-station type vibe to it. This picturesque town has a royal villa which serves as a holiday home to the royal family, mostly during the winters.

Just before Doi Tung

Entering Doi Tung

Botanical Garden at Doi Tung

Doi Tung Royal Villa

Doi Tung city centre

After Doi Tung is where the tricky bit started. Roads started getting narrower and the road started getting rougher. Our next destination, Doi Mae Salong, was just about 45 km away from Doi Tung but still took us about 75 min to reach. But boy oh boy, the views were simply mesmerizing!!!

Entering Doi Mae Salong

Klang Village 

Vistas at Mae Salong

Mae Salong is a Yunnan village whose inhabitants are known to speak both Thai and Mandarin. It was in this village that the Thai government had granted refuge to Chinese anti-communist refugees. However, none of those refugee-signs are visible now because the immigrants started tea cultivation to earn their living that has resulted in a self-sustaining economy. With an ancient and authentic feel to it and some incredibly beautiful tea plantations, we were in awe with the great valley views that this place offered.  

And not to forget, we got to see an amazing sunset. All in all, the purpose of visiting Mae Salong was met- tea plantations and sunset, we got to see both!

Beautiful sunset at Mae Salong

Curves to die for! :P

The ride from Mae Salong to Tha Ton is also along fantastic mountainous roads. With panoramic views all throughout, this place will leave you spellbound.

Welcome to Tha Ton!

We decided to halt for the night at the small buzzing town of Fang. It was about 8.30 pm when we checked into our hotel at this town, but nevertheless was an immensely satisfying ride day because we managed to cover everything that had been planned. The best part of our ride was over now with the last day was just going to be a highway stretch all the way to Chiang Mai.  

Crazy roads, mad bikes, immense fun

Fortunately, we discovered a superb place to chill with some live music and a fantastic bunch of friendly locals. It was the penultimate day of our Thailand ride, and it was now time to party hard. Not a bad way to bring in your 26th birthday! ;-) 

Party time at Fang!

Riding Distances-

1. Golden Triangle – Hall of Opium (2 km)

2. Hall of Opium - Mae Sai Border (30 km)

3. Mae Sai Border – 2^nd Friendship Bridge (15 km)

4. 2^nd Friendship Bridge – Wat Tham Pla (15 km)

5. Wat Tham Pla – Doi Tung Royal Villa (20 km)

6. Doi Tung Royal Villa – Doi Mae Salong (45 km)

7. Doi Mae Salong – Tha Ton (32 km)

8. Tha Ton – Fang (55 km)