Author Archives: Alistair Todd

Typhoon Nesat has been down graded to a tropical storm but is still heading towards northern Thailand. The flood waters in Chiang Mai have receded and clean-up crews are out, but heavy rain to the north might cause problems tomorrow.

Today is mostly sunny, so I rent an ER 6 with an unfortunate number plate and go for a blast. Two-wheeled freedom feels good, only slightly marred by the lack of protective clothing and total lack of confidence in Thai maintenance skills. Fun bike though, very fast steering and good low-down punch. Views from Doi Suthep spoiled by rain, but what a road. If you come to Thailand on a bike, do that road. Two lanes going up, no traffic, and 5 miles of sinuous, well-cambered tarmac snaking up into the clouds. Great fun, and quite challenging in the wet.

The night bazaar area is no longer flooded so I check out what’s on offer. Apart from food and drink, Thailand is so much more expensive than Vietnam and Cambodia. I can’t find a decent knock-off watch, and even the knock-off lonely planet guides are twice the price they are in Cambodia. It’s mostly just over priced tourist junk, and the town is mostly just a tourist town. It’s a little busier now the flood has gone, and the den of iniquity that is the Loi Khor road is an entertaining way to pass an evening. When the night bazaar comes to life it’s quite enjoyable, and there’s some nice food on offer, if you like to take chances…

It’s a much more enjoyable town when it’s not flooded.

Flood waters receding a little.

Today mostly involves mountain biking from the top of Doi Suthep with a couple of californian vegan lesbians….

Pretty hairy ride to the top in the back of an overloaded pick-up truck with a crazy driver. Bikes equally lacking any efforts towards health and safety.

Wet, slippery, muddy, dangerous but very entertaining ride down dirt roads and a bit of single track through the forest and jungle. Not a challenging ride on a good bike, but on such poorly maintained pieces of junk it was quite tricky. At least two participants crashed, simply because the bikes were so crap.

Recover with an hour of swimming practice in the hotel pool, before heading out to enjoy more of Chiang Mai’s nightlife.

The most happening place in a very quiet town…

Chiang Mai is bigger than I expected, but relaxed and much more modern than Vietnam. Spectacular Buddhist temples of gold and red with orange robed monks, and I forget my camera battery… mobile phone isn’t really up to the job.

The place seems very quiet. It’s still too early for your average backpacker to be out on the town, but all the bars and restaurants are empty.

Flight went as planned, and from the air I didn’t see any suggestion of flooding. On the ground it’s a different story. The area around the river is flooded, and the river is very high. More rain and it will spill over the walls and make things very difficult.

The hotel I picked is in the flooded zone near the river. If I had chosen one in the old town, I’d be able to get around in the dry, but this one was a good deal and had good reviews. I don’t mind having to wade through the floods to get into the town, just as in Siem Reap, and it won’t be a total loss if it gets worse and I’m stuck in the hotel, which has a pool and a restaurant, but I’m really hoping I’ll be able to get to Chiang Kong on Sunday and continue the trip.

Meanwhile, I’m hoping there are still enough areas above water to be able to have some fun.