The Route 1090, 1206, 4007, 4019, 3135, 4020

Total Distance 185 km

Filling up with fuel this morning and this little fella seemed more interested in crawling around the forecourt then in the greenery nearby

I found a twig which he seemed happy to grab hold of and placed him in a more suitable environment

Along the 4007 and to get the rest of this road network around Phop Phra mapped today

Absolutely loads of potatoes growing around here

One small unpaved section along the 4019 from N16.28.191 E098.48.025 to N16.27.882 E098.47.844 but apart from that a lot of good twisty asphalt roads were enjoyed today

Just when I think I have almost finished and this crossroads gives me some more options to discover

Some of todays roads were new ones for me and I didnt expect to find so many surfaced ones

Well thats to the south of Mae Sot explored for this holiday, next trip I can do some dirt tracks that link up with these asphalt ones

Two portions of lasagna and garlic bread for 180 Baht at SP Kitchen

The Route 1090

Total Distance 110 km

First stop was breakfast but no moo hunglay again and I was told theres only one place in town that has it.
I had a gai phad kapow instead but instead of using raw chicken they used already cooked chicken, it tasted okay though and was 30 Baht

Now to explore some off road, I take the 1090 towards Pa La Tha then take a left at N16.01.003 E098.51.289 and here the surface turns to unpaved

I stop here for this photo and I am immediately surrounded by flies

I guess this was the attraction for the flies, at least I hope it was that and not me

Its a pleasant track riding by the river at times and it reaches a paved road at N15.59.957 E098.52.082

I take a right and soon ride through a village

The road turns to dirt at N15.58.984 E098.52.591 and a bit further on I have the choice of either a bridge or a water crossing

The bridge looks wonky but I walk over and it feels safe enough

These come along and after checking out the bridge decide the water is their best option

I watch them go through and decide the bridge is my best option

This bridge leads to another village

In this village fuel is sold at N15.58.714 E098.53.667

I ride through the village and think that this is the crossing out

Then I spot a very useful bridge

Theres the odd bit of concrete here and there

I am never far away from water today

Another village in the distance

Where I stopped for this photo fuel was sold at N15.59.782 E098.56.201

The ESRI shows the track carrying on past the village for a short way, I ride to that point and now I am riding blind to see where it goes to

I think this is the ideal turnaround point, that water is fast flowing with a rocky surface

I watched them bounce around going through and I am glad I didnt try it myself

Riding back through the village

I take another track out from the village but after four water crossings in quick succession I turn back

On the ride back and some ants eggs are being harvested

A lot of eggs fell out of that nest

That got rid of the buggers

I ride back to Umphang then ride on to Pa La Tha to try to find the waterfall taking a right into Pa La Tha and then the road turns to unpaved at N15.50.282 E098.50.959

This bridge is a mixture of old and new wood with the offcuts of very recent repairs being left around

A lot of very recent burning and some of it was burning today, this tree was brought down by the fire as there wasnt enough wood left to support its weight

The entrance to the waterfall but its completely deserted and I see no one else here today.
I ride in and park the bike at N15.49.172 E098.51.603

The owner of Dot Com restaurant told me about this waterfall and even now its got a decent flow, it must be much better in the rainy season

Now to ride back down that burnt track

On the way back to Umphang I take a right at N15.57.511 E098.51.206, this is a dirt track and goes to Doi Hua Mot

I climb to the top and good views from here

A pork cheeseburger and fries for 110 Baht at Paulas Corner, not bad either

The Route 1090, 1167, 1288

Total Distance 222 km

I get off just past 8am and its a cold ride for an hour or so

I ride out for 80 km towards the Poeng Kloeng border then take a left onto a concrete road that goes down to Ban Kui Loeto

I ride around the village and theres fuel here at N15.49.603 E098.38.906

A bridge leads out of the village across the Mae Chan river

Then the road turns to unpaved at N15.49.542 E098.38.922

Plenty of workers to get this building up

These appear to want my photo

Another one of these bridges a bit further out

I found that at virtually every bridge crossing today there was a concrete road going down both sides of the river to drive through

Lots of solar panels seen today, fuel was available in this village at N15.45.646 E098.39.850

Another vehicle with its wheel off that had snapped off, digging a groove until it stopped

Back alongside the Mae Chan river

That looks deep and the water is hardly moving, I find a long bamboo nearly twice as tall as I am and push it right down, even with my arm in the water I cant reach the bottom so its over 3 metres deep here

Knowing how deep the water is no way am I trying that out

This girl has a hand pump at her house selling fuel at N15.42.538 E098.40.896

At last a wooden bridge

I had an interesting conversation with these guys, they were heading down the same track and told me it goes for another 60 km to villages but then its a dead end.
After 20 km I would reach a checkpoint and here I would need written permision to enter the wildlife sanctuary.
They had theirs and it was a medical trip for them

I was going to ride to the checkpoint but after a few km decided to not bother as it was very rocky and loose bulldust too, it would just waste time that I wanted to use exploring another dirt track on the way back to Umphang

The old wooden bridge on the way back, I take a couple of the water crossings riding back

I get back to the 1288 and ride back 20 km then take a left to ride to Ban Tilochi

Its a pleasant ride to the village

With a wooden bridge going over the Mae Chan river and leading into the village

I ride around the village and am told theres no fuel here

I ride north out of the village to see where this track goes to, I asked if I could get to Mae Chan this way but was told no

A couple of km later it reaches the Mae Chan river with no bridge crossing

People are walking over a rickety looking bamboo bridge

Thailand never ceases to amaze me, here I am out in the middle of nowhere sweating my nuts off then the ice cream man turns up

After I have relieved him of an ice cream he rides of through the river, I decide to leave exploring this track further for another time

The footpath that people were walking over

A spaghetti carbonera for 110 Baht and garlic bread for 40 Baht at Paulas Corner, it was very nice too

The Route 1090, 1167, 1288

Total Distance 208 km

First thing was breakfast at a restaurant in town at N16.01.074 E098.51.787

I am in luck today, they have some moo hunglay left, its very well cooked here and I have used this restaurant for this meal quite a few times before

This was quite a spicy one, 30 Baht lighter I am full and off I set

The 1288 is a road that you never know its condition until you ride it, I have been along here before with a real bad surface for most of the way, today its a good surface for most of the way

About 12 km before Ban Poeng Kloeng the surface is just deep dust and very slow going for 10 km

I reach the border and here I stop for a break in the shade as its been a hot ride to here.
The soldiers come out and chat, asking me where I have come from and saying no crossing into Burma here today

I stop at a shop for some refreshments and this Burmese gentleman sits down and in good English asks me where I am from and going to.
He works at the refugee camp between here and Umphang and tells me that although he is busy today, on a free day for him he could get permission from the soldiers to cross over and then we could ride about 30 km into Burma to look around and get some photos.
A shame we couldnt do it today though

The GPS shows a track heading north and going to the border not too far from the main one so I ride to it, the track turns to dirt at N15.47.966 E098.34.956
I ask the soldier here if I can go to get some photos from the top of the hill, he says yes and I take my jacket off and hang it on the bike then I ask if I can take the bike and to my amazement he says yes.
I dont hang around and quickly ride into Burma before he changes his mind

Obviously the GPS has no tracks showing but at least I can negotiate my way back easily enough which is very useful

The stones are stood on edge then one team sends one spinning across to knock the other sides stones over

I ride out as far as the river which I take to be the Da river as the GPS mentions it nearby

The plan was to ride along this road and then I would be near to the main border crossing
I was only going to ride to the small village and return the way I entered as although it would be good to see the looks on the soldiers faces if I rode through, possibly the soldiers at the crossing that let me through would find themselves in trouble.
Plus it would mess it up for others who wish to try this.
I suddenly reach a T junction, left would be to the main crossing, right went further into Burma but there was a checkpoint here with people inside the booth.
I decided a quick u turn was the best choice and quickly shot off throwing a nice big dust cloud up behind me, if anyone followed me I certainly could not see them and I rode back into Thailand after a pleasant little jaunt inside Burma

About 3 km from the border I come across what I thought was a puncture being repaired as a wheel was off

But then I noticed the engine was upside down, I give them a hand and we manage to get everything back upright again

Thats why the wheel was off, somehow they had tipped over from the top, the driver was bleeding from the face and the woman was limping a bit but nothing serious

The guy on the right spoke some English, he shook my hand and thanked me for stopping and helping, they were only 3 km from home and help was on the way.
There was no more that I could do so I rode on

I stop at the Nam Mae Chan for a break and these lads are enjoying the water

A lot of green algae in here today

Riding back and a few fires going

Dot Com restaurants lazy cat

Chicken, garlic, onions and fries for 120 Baht

The Route 1090

Total Distance 123 km

A shot of the 1090 heading towards Pa La Tha

I ride around the small village of Pa La Tha

Then its down to the river and a new suspension bridge has been put up since I was here two years ago

I get halfway across then this guy rides over

Thankfully the bridge is quite stable and he passes easily enough

Fuel is available from hand pumps at N15.50.492 E098.51.123 and at N15.50.276 E098.51.163

Now its time for breakfast in the village at N15.50.298 E098.51.046

No chicken here but they had pork, to start with they had no rice only noodles but a plate of rice suddenly appeared although it was cold

I thought why not fry the rice too then it will be hot so I got moo phad kapow fried rice, not bad and only 30 Baht

Plus the bowl of soup was included too

The owner wanted to show me their very large pig

A bit further along and I have never seen this deep chasm here before, I guess the exceptionally wet rainy season was the culprit here

A few km past Pa La Tha and the road tuns to unpaved at N15.48.862 E098.52.744

Its just this unpaved track now, for about the first 12 km I was riding along in 6th gear at 60 kph as it was easy going, good progress for offroad and probably at the KLXs most economical too

After 16 km of unpaved I reach here at N15.44.188 E098.58.941

The barrier is down but theres no one around to talk to so I push the bike under and ride on

Not far and the road forks, I take the left for a few metres to climb up here for some views

A view from all four directions, I see no wildlife at all from up here

In fact this is the only evidence I see of any wildlife.
A guide I spoke to in Pa La Tha said after the barrier its just a forest track and he was right too, I rode for 5.5 km on a mixture of wet dirt where there must have been some rain here recently and a sandy surface.
I got some more photos but then a pick up full of rangers and some wildlife people from Bangkok came the other way and told me this is a restricted area and strictly no admittance without authorisation as this is a wildlife sanctuary and not a NP.
I rode back to the entrance barrier and here they asked lots of questions then deleted my photos from inside the barrier apart from those I took from the lookout tower.
I was further warned its dangerous to ride in here as there are tigers, leopards and poachers with guns who might have shot at me.
So all in all the trip didnt turn out as planned as I wanted to ride a lot further south

Now riding back towards Pa La Tha

Every time I have visited Umphang I have climbed up there

Then across onto that one

From there I walk to a few more peaks before climbing back down then walking about 2.5 km back to where I left the bike.
A good days exercise and one I was looking forward to with the GPS to see how high it is.
Today I looked up there, took the photos and reluctantly conceded I am not in the condition to do it again at the moment, a combination of too many pizzas and old father time has caught up with me, perhaps some time in the future I will manage it again

A sign I never expected to see in Umphang, at N16.01.086 E098.51.782

The owner, a German spent ages telling me how lovely his pizzas were and how his customers keep telling him that his are better than any of the Mae Sot ones.
I have news for him, they arent, Casa Mia in Mae Sot do a bigger, thicker and and a better tasting one for the same price

I asked for onions, mushrooms, garlic and green peppers, he wrote it all down then when it arrived the green peppers were missing

130 Baht and it was okay, but would have been better with the green peppers

The Route 1090, 1167

Total Distance 240 km

Once I get a fair way out along the 1090 it quietens right down to a lovely twisty road with not too much traffic on it

Plenty of these on todays ride

Quite a few water crossings in total today

Its been two years since I last rode down to Umphang but I dont remember seeing this building abondoned and in this state before

The view from the scenic viewpoint

I check in at the Umphang guest house at N16.00.229 E098.52.128 where I have always stayed when in Umphang

The grounds, and as its now during the week I may possibly have the whole site to myself

Parked right outside my accommodation

My 200 Baht room, I was initially given a room with a tv in it for 300 Baht but that was soon changed for this one

My own toilet /shower with hot water.
I remember my first few stays here from 2003 onwards when it was only cold water and 100 Baht a night, after a few years they put the hot showers in and upped the rate to 150 Baht.
That was very welcome as the water is freezing here

Spotted in town, is it the number of bends in the road between here and Mae Sot or the mileage to somewhere?

I have enough time to ride the 1167 to the Burmese border

The border and the asphalt finishes at N16.07.144 E098.44.658

Looking into Burma

It looks like mass burning has taken place in Burma

There is no one around so I ride on into Burma along this dirt track, I did this a few years ago on the Bm for a couple of km until I reached a small village.
A guy spoke good English there and said if I rode much further I would encounter an army checkpoint which I considered to be unwise so I then rode back

Its been burnt in lots of places, I ride over the log bridge on the way in and through the bed of the stream on the way back

I am about 1.5 km inside Burma now and its time to get a few photos and return

I am just short of the village I was in before and can hear noise coming from there, as theres always the possibility the army are now in that village I now turn around and ride back

The bumpy track on the way back

Just before reaching the border I have to wait for this man to move over a bit

Once back over the border I am only on the asphalt for a very short time then take a right at N16.07.031 E098.44.656 onto a new dirt track that has been made since I was last here

It runs parallel with the border for a while

Then it turns inland but I am running low on fuel and if it just goes to a dead end after a fair way I could have problems so decide to turn back

Not the nicest sign to see, there are lots of these signs going off to the Burmese border side of the track

Now to ride back to Umphang and get some fuel. I manage to find gasohol 91 at one fuel station, something that was not available here two years ago

My usual eatery in Umphang at N16.01.089 E098.51.487

The owners two friendly dogs soon come around when they smell the food

Pork, fried garlic, fries and onions for 120 Baht