Pai to Mae Hong Son by Motorcycle

After relaxing in Pai , we decided to take on what is known as the Mae Hong Son loop, so the next task is to get from Pai to Mae Hong Son. We were debating whether it would be better to just chill in Pai for a few days and see the sights or continue with the loop. I am extremely glad we decided on the latter, and continued. Honestly, I don't think I have ever seen anything as beautiful as this stretch of road. The roads are much easier to drive on and the scenery is simply so beautiful it is hard to believe it is real in parts. It truly gives a new meaning to the word 'breath-taking'. This journey is about 107 km from Pai, we departed at around 1pm from Pai with the aim to arrive around 5pm. 

Whereas on the road from Chiang Mai to Pai, there were many people on the road making the same journey, I think I seen only one other person making the same part of the loop. 

It only took about 5 mins to get out of Pai. It is highly recommended to make sure you have a full tank of gas prior to leaving Pai, as there didn't seem to be any filling stations along the way. It takes less than 30 minutes to see the most breath-taking views imaginable on these roads. Honestly it is hard to put in words and the photos really don't do it justice, this is incredibly scenic. Added to that the roads are much more suitable to less experienced riders. 

Our journey along these roads is best described as gliding along taking in the sights. We stopped regularly for coffee and cold drinks at the many little coffee shops and mom n pops stores along the way. 

We stopped at the house shown below, in which a lady had converted the front of her home in to a little restaurant. Again the price for 2 plates of food and drinks was somewhere in the region of 120 THB for freshly cooked meals, truly incredible! As you can imagine, in a rural area like this you are unlikely to find English speakers, however, you should be able to get what you want with some hand gestures and smiles. 

Many times along the journey you will constantly be shocked after thinking it can't get anymore beautiful than this, and within a few kilometers you will be struck by incredible views of the mountains and architecture. The green buildings shown below is something I have never seen before in all of Thailand. 

We arrive in Mae Hong Son at around 17.30 in the evening and make our way towards walking street. The entire town seems very sleepy, I recommend heading towards walking street which has some food stalls and a bar over looking the lake. This lake is serene and the temples in the view below truly give a nice feel to the place. 

We get a room at Piya Guesthouse, which is located right on the lake near walking street. Click on the image below to open in Google maps. The rooms here are lovely, they have aircon and a nice seating area around a swimming pool outside. We paid 700 THB for the rooms which feels incredibly cheap for the location! 

After a quick shower and change we went about 20 meters down the road to the walking street and watched what appeared to be high school students playing music. We ordered some sushi and somtam both at incredibly cheap prices. We then took a walk back down towards Coffee Bar and went upstairs for a meal and a few beers. Hope you have packed your mosquite spray if you are around that lake at night! 

I can't recommend this trip highly enough, it really was a great experience!