Wrapping it up here

So, it's my last day in Thailand. Tomorrow at this time, I'll be in the Hong Kong Airport, spending down/exchanging the $220 HKD I inexplicably have. My bike is packed and I'm pretty much ready to go. I'm definitely ready to throw away the one pair of shoes I brought with me; they smell disgusting.  I'm staying in Silom, which is boring, but a. close to the shop that packed my bike for me and b. close to public transportation. It lacks backpackers, which is a plus.

The last couple of days in Chiang Mai were uneventful. I failed at shopping, and sort of failed at tourism. The touristic-industrial complex is strong in CM, and that made it less fun to take treks/tours/whatever. The one tour I did involved, among other thing, a visit to a "Karen Long-Neck Village."  Some Karen women (they're
Burmese refugees) used to wear multiple brass rings around their necks, making them appear elongated. Now, they live in shitty little touristic villages, have revived the practice to attract tourists. Seeing youngish girls with brass coils around their necks, wearing beauty queen make-up, and selling crappy tchotchkes was probably a low point of the trip.

I decided against visiting the tiger cubs after I rode past Tiger Kingdom and saw loads of tour buses in the parking lot.

While I failed in my primary objective of, you know, riding my bicycle through Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand, I did succeed in my secondary objectives of riding an elephant (meh) and eating durian (yum!) One is, by the way, explicitly prohibited from bringing durian into the metro.

A friend with whom I used to travel would make a list of her ten favorite things at the end of her trips. I love that idea.

Here's mine, in no particular order (I'm not including the amazingly cool people I met along the way):
The little kids in the villages along the Mekong River, waving manically and shrieking, "hello!!"
The Angkor temples
Pork and pumpkin larb at Makphet restaurant in Vientiane
My first sunset over the Mekong, in Kampong Cham
Wandering through the back streets in Luang Prabang
The first twenty minutes of bicycling in Cambodia, when I was filled with optimism
Noodle/chickpea gruel breakfast in Mae Hon Song
Watching Muay Thai on Channel 7 with a Lao family in Nong Kwiah
Bicycling through the rice paddies between Chiang Kong and Meng Rai.
Slow boat from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai

I'll be in NYC Tuesday night. My last three weeks of summer are already filling up with professional development, co-planning, regents scoring, socializing.

XOXOXO

Rain!! (pictures)

So, because I was somewhat disorganized, I ended up in Thailand with two weeks left to my trip, when I really only wanted to spend a week here, to shop and get a pedicure and eat some tasty food.

I've ridden, and loved, motorcycles for years, although don't currently have one because it's not fun to ride in NYC, and it IS scary. (Mom, you're gonna HATE this post--you might want to stop reading now.) And, for some years, I've wanted to do a moto tour of  SE Asia, but never pursued it because a. it seemed to be really expensive, and b. moto companies don't seem to offer their expensive tours during the summer, ie, monsoon season.

However, it is possible to rent motorcycles in Chiang Mai. And, north Thailand has some amazing roads. SO... I rented a Honda Phantom ($20/day, incl insurance) and took off for four days around the Mae Hon Song Loop. (Mae Hon Song is the most remote and mountainous province in Thailand. It abuts Myannmar, and has a significant Shan population.)  The Honda Phantom is a 198cc Thai-made single cylinder cruiser. It's a very silly little bike, and has roughly the same power as a lawn mover.

Day One: The road to Pai is famous for it's insanity. Roughly 100 kilometers, and 764 curves, many of them hairpin. The road goes through the mountains, and has ridiculously steep inclines. This would have been tremendous fun on a real motorcycle (I could have rented a CBR 250!) on a day that wasn't raining. However, it WAS raining (I rode through rainclouds) and chilly. I'm a dumbass, so hadn't considered the possibility that it might rain. Therefore, I did this ride in a t-shirt. I spent the night in Pai, which is a cool little tourist town. I almost stayed for a few days, but I had A Mission.

Typical picture from Day One:

Day Two: The road to Mae Hong Son is not as twisty as the road to Pai. It does, however go through rain clouds. The Nice Man at my hotel suggested I buy some rain gear, but I'm a HUGE dumbass, and didn't listen to him. Here I am on Day Two, in front of what is probably a lovely vista, but who the hell knows.... What a fun time I was having!!!

I stopped in Soppong and bought a rain coat, and about ten kilometers later, it stopped raining. I also ate some revelatory noodles, which were definitely among the top five things I've eaten on this trip. All in all, a good day, even if it ended with my spending the night in Mae Hong Son. which is sort of a pit (but you can buy Bianchi carbon bike frames at the Internet shop!)

I was excited to get back on the road, until I had breakfast at the morning market. Noodle soup, thickened with chickpea flower, with chickpea fritters alongside. I considered staying in town to eat them again, but I had only four days for this ride, and had to keep moving. I memorialized them in a picture, of course. Here it is: the best breakfast of this trip, and possibly of my entire life.(Just spent a few minutes googling them, and found nothing.) The chickpea fritters--Thai pannelle, really--were fresh out of the fryer and served with dipping sauce. I should have had a second bowl.

Day three, no rain. Day four, more rain. I wish I'd organized myself better.  That ride really wanted seven or eight days, so that I could visit the hill tribe villages, waterfalls, caves, etc... I am DETERMINED to come back to north Thailand, and spend four or five weeks really checking things out.

I have three days in Chiang Mai, then I travel to Bangkok. Two days in Bangkok, then home. I still have some time!!

This computer is fast, so will take advantage and post some more photos from moto tour.

I was extremely optimistic about Thai halal spicy fish balls, but they were vile. 

Shan Burmese Buddhist temple someplace between Pai and Mae Hong Son. 

This monk was surrounded by cats. Temple did not smell great.

Gigantic wicker Buddha

Holy crap, this was a beautiful ride.

 So, on the bicycle vs. motorcycle touring question: People smile at bicycle tourists more than they smile at moto tourists. And, bicycling definitely gave me a sense of accomplishment that motorcycling doesn't. But I got to see more on the motorcycle, and it's just generally more fun. Also, I have way more motorcycle experience than I do bicycle experience, and I trust motorcycles more than bicycles. Eh...

Still on the agenda: I'm going to hang out with some tigers, and maybe check out some elephants. Also, I'm going to eat A LOT  of mango with sticky rice.

XOXOXO