A Visa-run to Mae Sai

As I'm living here as a guest of this wonderful land, I still have to leave my beloved Thailand every ninety days even if it's only for five minutes. While living in Bangkok before, I took the night train to Padang Pasar to enter Malaysia for five minutes and then made my way back via Hat Yai. Now living in Naklua (Eastern Seaboard) I did, until now, what most people do here. Many times I took the visa-run mini-van to Poi Pet or Had Lek. After doing this a few times I was getting bored of it and decided to make a change. This comes together with the fact that I have my own transport now. So I decided to make my own visa-run to Mae Sai, the most northern point of Thailand, a place where I had been before many times while on tour of duty. As it is a long journey to make this trip in one day I decided to cut the trip in two and make a stop-over in Lampang, also a place that I have been many times before. From Naklua I took the Chonburi bypass (Route 7) to take from there the Chonburi-Bangkok Toll way (Route 7) that ends at the Outer-ring road (Route 9) that leads in the end to Bang Pa In (120thb toll). I had lunch somewhere at a Jet/Jiffy gasoline station, which has become my favorite gasoline stations to stop because of their good service, clean toilets and good food at their Jiffy shop. From there on it's a straight easy and boring way to Nakhon Sawan (Route 32). Just about 10km before Nakhon Sawan there is a bypass to Tak (Route 1). Until Tak the road is very boring but you are passing Khampheng Phet (Historical Park) and from there you could take a short cut to Sukhothai (Historical Park). From there you could also take a short cut via Sawan Nalok and Si Satchanalai (Historical Park) to end finally at the road between Lampang and Den Chai. These short cuts are a very nice and beautiful trip through the countryside of the North of Thailand, but in time actually they are not a short cut. As I hade made these short cuts already many times before I chose to take the easy way to Lampang via the main roads. The road between Tak and Lampang (Route 1) is a good road that in the last 80km before Lampang is going through the mountains. It’s a nice trip and in the end, with just about 40-km before Lampang, there’s a very nice resting area along the road. I took a little time to stop here and enjoy the forest around me. I arrived in Lampang about 4 o'clock in the afternoon (leaving at 7 in the morning) and checked in at my favorite place, the Riverside Guesthouse (Rooms 200thb-600thb). Early in the evening, before it started to rain, I walked to a small but very good restaurant right across the road opposite of The Riverside Restaurant. It's always full of people who come to eat and drink here and it's also very cheap. It already started to rain when I walked back to the guesthouse and I took a book to my room to sit, read and listen to the rain. Yes, the raining season has begun.

From Lampang to Chiang Rai

The next day I woke up early and had breakfast in the Guesthouse. Although I now live here long enough to be able to eat Thai food in the morning, I still prefer a continental breakfast with a croissant, jam, tea and orange juice. After breakfast I left Lampang to go to Mae Sai to make my visa-run. I chose to take the road via Phayao which is situated along a lake. This route goes through beautiful mountains and I made a stop in Phayao to drink a cup of tea while sitting at the waterfront of the lake. By the way, along the waterfront road are some beautiful examples of old wooden Thai Houses. After Phayao I took to the road to Chiang Rai to pass it and to continue to Mae Sai. From here it's about 15km to the famous Golden Triangle. Mae Sai is the most northern place of Thailand and the border town between Thailand and Burma. It's a small town with one long main road with a lot of shops along it. It's a trading post with Burma. A lot of Thai people like to come here and shop in Mae Sai or in the opposite Burmese town Tachlitek. I did not come for shopping but for making a visa-run. The main road leads straight into Burma so I parked my car near the border check-point and walked to the Thai immigration to leave Thailand and getting an exit-stamp. I walked straight ahead to the Burmese immigration to get a one-day visa for Burma (250thb) and walked again straight ahead into Tachlitek town. The center of town is actually one big market where they sell (illegal) CDs, VCD players, imitation cigarettes and all other kind of things imported from China or made in Burma. Be aware that the Thai customs will be checking when you are entering Thailand again! As I was hungry I walked past all the shops and at the end I ended up in a small restaurant next to a deserted park. There where about five or six Burmese man talking, eating and drinking. And of course there were three very cute Burmese service girls. In the corner at the wall there was sitting a soldier with his iron killing toy made in China (a Chinese AK-47). He was boring like the rest of the people and when I was sitting there he had a chat with a passing friend and he just left his iron killing toy next to my table. I choose not be recognized as a terrorist and asked him to take his gun with him. Better to be safe than sorry. After lunch I walked back to Thailand and, passing through Thai immigration, I again received a 90-day entry-stamp. As it was still early I decided not to stay overnight here in Mae Sai but to return back to Chiang Rai (Route 1) and find myself a nice place to sleep there. After a one hour drive I was back at Chiang Rai and I parked my car near the Wang Come Hotel to walk around and look for a nice hotel or guesthouse. I finally found Baan Bua Guesthouse. It's tucked away in a small soi and has about six big rooms (220thb) and six small rooms (180thb) all with fan and hot shower. All the rooms are renovated apartment rooms and in between there is a very nice garden to sit and have a drink. In the evening I walked through Thanon Sanambin (behind the Wang Come Hotel) where there are a few restaurants and bars. By the way, if you are in to western food (and Dutch especially) then you should check out Aye's Restaurant at Thanon Phaholyothin (opposite the Night Bazaar) managed by Khun Aye and her Dutch husband Hans. In the evening I was so stupid to visit one of the almost deserted bars of the famous Thai nightlife. Well if you are ever looking for a good place to get depressed and kill yourself then this must be the place for it. They will probably not even bother to clean up the mess.

From Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai

I woke up early in the morning to continue my tour to Chiang Mai. There are a few different routes to take. One of them is more to the north via Mae Salong and Fang (Route 1089 and 107) almost along the Burmese border and passing the old KMT villages where everything is still written in Chinese and where you can drink locally made green tea (that is exported as Taiwanese green tea). I chose to take another way, the first part of the short way to Chiang Mai and halfway I left the beaten track and took the mountain road to Phrao. It's a very beautiful and scenic route all the way. First the easy part (Route 118) passes beautiful valleys and rice fields dotted around small villages of what were once hill tribe people. Then, going up the mountain road (Route 1150), I saw the clouds hanging between the mountains and I stopped at a beautiful view point to see deep in the valley the Akha villages in the green jungle. At Phrao I took Route 1001 to Chiang Mai. You could also continue on Route 1150 and later take Route 107 to Chiang Dao where there are some very nice and beautiful elephant "training" centers (Teang Dao) which are of course actually made for tourists. I arrived in Chiang Mai in the afternoon about two o'clock and checked in at my favorite guesthouse in Chiang Mai, the Orchid House at Soi 5, Thanon Thapea. It's located in one of the many small sois between Thanon Thapea and Thanon Loy Khro. The guesthouse has about 35 rooms in the price range of 150thb-300thb depending on the kind of room. They have a restaurant but around the corner there is a good and cheap restaurant that will serve more choices of food at any time of the day. In Chiang Mai I met some Dutch friends of mine and we had a drink, some food and a lot of fun. Chiang Mai is not only the home of backpackers! Thai are calling Chiang Mai the second city of Thailand and they will tell you about all the traffic in Chiang Mai. But that is not true, the city itself is a mostly low-rising city within the middle the old city surrounded by the remaining old city wall and moats. The city is built along the banks of the Mea Nam Ping and all over the city can be found old Burmese style temples and chedis and pagodas. In the night you can visit the famous Night Bazaar (in my opinion a real tourist trap) but just at the other side of Thanon Thapea is the real Thai market, just next to a little China Town.

From Chiang Mai to Phitsanulok

After two days in Chiang Mai it was time to head back home. I could have driven home in a straight trip of nine hours as I did once before, but I wanted to see something more than only highways that I had already seen so many times. So I chose to take a sight seeing route and I started via the old route from Chiang Mai to Lamphun (Route 106) that begins just after the old bridge (at the very end of Thanon Loy Kroy) over the Mea Nam Ping. It's a beautiful road with big old trees on both sides and here and there some old Thai wooden houses with Lam Yai or Mango yards around it. Lamphun itself is a small city with rich cultural history from the old Lanna kingdom and there is one beautiful example of Brumes temple architecture. And for the Thai Lamphun is famous for its biggest Lam Yai and Lychee yards, which are of course for sale along the road around Lamphun. After Lamphun I followed the highway between Chiang Mai and Lampang, Route 11 (only 97km) but at the signs "Khuntan tunnel" and "Doi Khuntan" I left again the beaten track to get lost on the small roads of the country side. Of course in the beginning all the road signs were in Thai and English, but further along the road it is Thai only. As I still have not mastered the Thai written language after a while I made some wrong turns. Luckily after I while I crossed the first check-point for what was Doi Khuntan National Park and after that the road became smaller and smaller. At one point there is a dead-end road that ends up after a very (very!!) steep path at the railway station of Doi Khuntan. The railway track from Bangkok to Chiang Mai is passing Lampang and going straight through Doi Khuntan National Park. As there are some mountains even at one point it is even going straight through a mountain and that's where the mentioned "Khuntan tunnel" is. I stopped here and had a drink at the picturesque railway station that still looks the same as it did when built under the reign of King Rama V. I went back to the intersection and continued my trip until the next split of the road. That's where I took the wrong way and ended up right inside the trekking park of Doi Khuntan. Again I turned back and took the other way to end up finally in the middle of a small village where I could not find my way out. When I managed to get out I saw that I missed a very small road sign in Thai that leads under the railway track to the crematorium of the local Wat. I tried it and to my surprise the road indeed did continue after that, but the asphalt or cement road ended after ten meters. Well, I had nowhere to go and the all day to get there, so I just drove on. After a group of ten houses the concrete road reemerged again and I was back on track again to Lampang. And within 45 minutes driving I was again back on the highway between Chiang Mai and Lampang, but now about 10km before Lampang. I drove into Lampang and had lunch at Big-C. As it was still early I decided to continue my trip in the direction of Phitsanulok, but not over the boring highway. From Lampang I took the road to Den Chai (Route 11) and continued to Uttaradit. This is again a beautiful trip through the mountains of the north of Thailand. I love the mountains! Near the intersection Den Chai is a market where they sell very beautiful and cheap wooden chairs, doors and all other kind of things. Just before Uttaradit on your right hand side there is a very good restaurant built in a country Lanna style. This area is famous for its teak wood that is sadly disappearing very quickly.

I arrived in the beginning of the evening in Phitsanulok and checked in at the Amarin Nakhorn Hotel. This was once an up-scale Thai business hotel, but is now slowly degrading to a Thai up-scale short-time hotel. At least it is still up-scale, the price is reasonable at 450thb for a room with TV, Air, min-bar and a big bathroom. This area was once the red-light district, but that, together with the nearby and famous night market, is also disappearing. Well, the karaoke's and massage saloons may have gone but the girls are still there, and now on the street nearby an old almost gone Thai-Chinese hotel. After I had a cheap but terribly bad dinner in the hotel I went to sleep early. The last part of my tour was simple and boring, a straight highway trip from Phitsanulok to Nakhon Sawan and Bangkok (Route 117), then to Bangkok via the Outer-Ring road (Route 9) in the direction of Bang-Na and then the Chonburi-Bangkok motorway (Route 7) to Chonburi. From Chonburi I went via the Chonburi bypass straight to Naklua.

Even with a lunch on the way you can drive this trip in a little bit less than six hours. Home sweet home again!