The Second Time Around

I lean the bike into another corner. The road I’m on twists through the mountains along the Thai side of the border with Myanmar. The slopes are covered in forest; the valleys are a patch work of small fields, dotted with villages. I’m sweating inside my riding gear, under the fierce tropical sun, but as long as I’m moving the wind provides some relief. And the scenery, the sheer joy of dancing the bike along these winding mountain roads, and the experience of riding through SE Asia is absolutely exquisite.

There’s elephant poop on the roadside! That gets my attention. I’m mentally ready for goats, dogs and suicide chickens, but elephants! That puts a whole new perspective on hitting a deer. I decide to focus a little more intently on the road. And sure enough, coming around a corner, just a few kilometers further on…

We’re now in phase 2 of our SE Asia adventure – a 25-day motorcycle trip through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, with Bike Tour Asia. We took a week-long break between tours, in the beach town of Pattaya, Thailand, but it was pretty much all downtime with nothing too exciting to report. Now we’re on our second time around, but with a different itinerary, on mostly rural back roads. Liz is riding shotgun in the support van.

And it’s not all riding. We take frequent frequent water, coffee and snack breaks. Sometimes there a nice view, a waterfall, or some culturally significant point. One morning we take a boat up the Pai River to visit a Karen village. The Karen are one of many hill tribes that live in the mountainous areas of SE Asia. They are sometime know as the “Long Neck” people, because the some of the women wear heavy brass rings (actually one continuous coil) to elongate their necks. Some people have raised questions about this practice. On the other hand,  it’s part of their cultural identity, and the women I speak to tell me it’s a free choice. About half the women we see choose to wear the rings, half don’t. It feels presumptive and condescending for me to judge from my western perspective. Would I wear the rings? No, but then I don’t like tattoos and body piercings  and would never get one of those either.

The Karen make beautiful handwoven fabrics and embroidery. It’s a sea of colour walking along the village’s main street, with the fabrics hanging in the shops and bougainvillea growing wild. We buy a lovely turquoise scarf to use as a table runner.

The next day we visit an elephant camp where I get an elephant hug. Again, it’s a bit of a mixed situation ethically. The best place for an elephant is in the wild. But elephants need a lot of room and as human population expands there is less and less habitat for elephants. There are only a few wild elephants remaining in Thailand. If elephants are to survive, it is likely to be in a managed environment like the elephant camp. Is like being wild? No, but they are cared for lovingly and given free time to walk in the jungle and bathe in the river. It costs about C$30,000 a year to keep an elephant. Our visit helps pay for that.

There are other stops at markets, temples and such, but for me the riding is why I’m here. I’m on a Triumph Tiger 900. It’s a great bike, nimble and powerful. Sometimes I ride with the group. Often I and some of the other more experienced riders plug-in the coordinates for our next stop and go at our own pace. I’m faster than some, slower than others. Motorcycling is essentially a solitary pursuit and I like the freedom of riding on my own. The twisting mountain roads with sweeping curves and tight hairpin corners are both a pleasure and a challenge to ride.

At the end of each day I’m hot, sweaty and tired, but very, very happy. And the hotels at the end of each day are fabulous, a step up from our previous tour. There are jungle cabins, infinity pools, king beds and great food.

Unfortunately, one of our group had an unscheduled encounter with a guard rail. They’ll rejoin us in a few days after some time to heal up, but their riding is over for the trip – another passenger in the support van. It’s a reminder to stay alert and ride within your limits. This is not a cruise down the freeway. Road conditions vary and there are unique hazards.

This is particularly true after we cross into Laos. The border crossing itself is relatively painless. As I wrote in a previous post, Laos has a more relaxed, easy-going vibe than its neighbours. However the roads are another matter. Laos is a poor country, and the paved highways were built by Thailand and China as part of the latter’s “Belt and Road” program. The Thai engineered roads are good, but the Chinese ones are crumbling after only a few years. The Laotians can’t afford to maintain them. Huge potholes are everywhere, and there are long sections where the road is nothing more than rubble. This is a result of the pounding from the heavy trucks that rumble to and from China. The roads are also very narrow, and Laos is a mountainous country. When two trucks meet on a tight corner one has to back down.

We take it easy. You never know what lies around the next curve – sand, gravel, a giant pothole, livestock, another truck, or someone in the wrong lane trying to pass their own truck.

The mountain landscape is stunning. Unfortunately the view is a bit hazy and limited. Smoke – it’s the burning season. In Thailand the stubble is being burnt off the rice fields before the rainy season starts. Here in the mountains of Laos, people still practice slash and burn, subsistence agriculture.

Still, it’s great riding. Children on the roadside smile and wave as we pass by. The adults we meet are unfailingly friendly, if confused why a bunch of rich people would spend their money to ride motorcycles through their village. It’s certainly not how they would spend the money! Can’t say I blame them. 

Yesterday we visited a Hmong village and school, which our tour company supports. (The Hmong are another mountain tribe). We stopped on the way to buy supplies that had been requested. The teachers at the school were very happy to get the text books, notebooks and pens. The kids were more interested in the candy we brought.

Some things are the same around the world.

Here’s the link to the photo gallery for this section.