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South by Southeast: Motorcycle Thailand

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Each year thousands of travelers head for Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand, ground zero for jungle treks, cooking courses and plenty of shopping. But good as Chiang Mai can be, it’s the regions beyond the comfy confines of Thailand’s second-largest city where travelers will find real adventure, an undertaking best-tackled by motorbike.

Northern Thailand’s vast terrain remains one of the country’s last great undiscovered areas, dotted with remote hill tribe villages, breathtaking hilltop vistas and laid-back mountain retreats. The best way to explore this vast region is by motorcycle trekking, an increasingly popular activity for savvy travelers looking to get away from the crowds in Chiang Mai.

There are several reasons why renting a motorbike is the best way to explore Northern Thailand. Touring by motorbike allows you to explore the area at your own pace, unrestrained by the limits of bus schedules and tourist guidebooks – you’re free to “get lost” on your own private adventure. In addition, the region offers an ideal environment for riding: traffic is light and the weather from November to February is mild and dry, with daytime temperatures in the 70’s. Most importantly, motorbike riding in Thailand’s North affords travelers the sheer thrill of area’s curvy roads and gorgeous scenery.

Earlier this month, I decided to try out a motorcycle trek of my own. I would head out from the Northern Thai city of Chiang Rai, riding nearly 300 kilometers southwest towards the lazy mountain town of Pai. Prior to starting my trip, I had zero days of riding experience. Curious to see what happened? Read below for more…

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Is It Safe?
Perhaps the biggest concern for anyone considering a motorcycle “trek” in Southeast Asia is safety. We’ve all heard the horror stories of the friend who rented a motorbike on holiday and ended up with a broken arm or worse. These are all valid concerns, but undertaken responsibly, a motorbike trek can be just as safe as a ride in a car.

If you’ve never been on a bike before, take a day or two in a parking lot or a quiet street to get the hang of the acceleration and turning. Learn the rules of the road. If you’re coming from the U.S., keep in mind they drive on the left in Thailand, not on the right. Make sure to also do some research on the type of bike you should rent. I opted for the small but nimble Honda Click. At 125cc, it’s easy to control for beginners and comes with automatic transmission. Lastly, make sure to get a helmet.

Navigating
Before setting off on my motorbike trip, I grabbed myself a Northern Thailand road map made by Groovy Map from one of Chiang Mai’s many English-language bookstores. The map proved invaluable – not only did it outline roadside attractions like waterfalls, caves and hot springs in both English and Thai, it also listed the condition of the roads as well as ranking them for scenic attractiveness. It’s also worth checking out the extensive itinerary ideas over at Golden Triangle Rider. David Unkovich, who founded the site, provides detailed information on models of bike, destination ideas and how to handle problems along the way.

The Trip

As we departed Chiang Rai, my initial worries about controlling the bike quickly faded from memory. My bike proved easy to handle and maneuver and soon I was tooling around like a pro. My concern was soon replaced by the sheer thrill of riding a bike through the rugged scenery of Thailand, wind racing past my face, humming motor below.

As I quickly discovered, touring by motorbike is just as much about the ride itself as it is about the destination. For every real “attraction” we planned to visit along the way, we spent nearly as much time simply enjoying the ride – leaning into the turns, stopping for scenic photos and chatting with owners at tiny filling stations.

That’s not to say there were no highlights. Some of my favorite sights along the way are listed below. Remember, the real beauty of motorcycle trekking is you’re free to change your itinerary each day as you please. Make sure to throw in your own adventures along the way.

  • Route 1340 – this curvy strip of road, just south of the Myanmar border, was among the most rugged (and gorgeous) I traversed. Plan to be alone, just you and your bike, with nothing but towering limestone cliffs, tiny mountain villages and curvy swithbacks to keep you company.
  • Doi Ang Khang – known among locals as “Little Switzerland” Doi Ang Khang makes a nice day trip from points further south. Stop by to enjoy locally-made handicrafts, fresh organic produce and plenty of killer views.
  • Chiang Dao Caves – Northern Thialand’s vast limestone rock deposits are dotted with plenty of caves. Many cave complexes, like the one found near Chiang Dao, make for an intriguing visit. Make sure to take a tour of the cave’s vast interior by lamp light, including quirky rock formations and plenty of reclining Buddhas.
  • Pai – this once-sleepy Thai hill town is fast becoming a mini-Chiang Mai. After spending a few days racing around on bike, Pai makes for the perfect antidote. Spend a few days enjoying Pai’s plentiful outdoor activities including rafting, hiking and camping. Make sure to stop into town for top-notch Thai and Western cuisine and lots of gourmet coffee.

Gadling writer Jeremy Kressmann is spending the next few months in Southeast Asia. You can read other posts on his adventures “South by Southeast” HERE.

Bowermaster’s Adventures — Sea Shepherd Conservation in the Galapagos

by Jon Bowermaster on

While Sea Shepherd‘s chief cheerleader and trouble-inspirer Paul Watson is holding forth from his ship, The Farley Mowat, continuing its chase of Japanese whale hunters off Antarctica and (recently) being arrested on a thirty-year-old warrant in Portugal (where he had gone to attend a meeting of the International Whaling Commission) … the Washington state-based environmental group’s second-most visible campaign is ongoing in the Galapagos.

From a very prominent, second-story office just across from the main fishing dock on Santa Cruz, Alex Cornellisen manages the Shepherd’s Galapagos operation. At the moment, it is a two-person band. His focus is on trying to keep a global audience alerted to issues of over fishing and illegal fishing. To that end the group has already donated a boat to the park rangers, to help them enforce the marine reserves rules and regulations. A veteran of Shepherd’s Antarctica campaigns, Cornellisen is happy to be in the slightly less-amped environment of Galapagos. That said, his predecessor was chased out of the country when the shark fin “mafia” put a hit out on him.

Bowermaster’s Galapagos — Chapter VI from gadling on Vimeo.

“In Ecuador you can get someone killed for $40,” says Cornellisen, standing on the balcony of his office, looking down at the main dock where small fishing boats are unloading legal catches. “So you have to take threats seriously here.” His primary concern about the Galapagos is that while there are plenty of rules against illegal fishing, enforcement is difficult.

“Last year we were responsible for several raids which resulted in the confiscation of about ninety thousand sea cucumbers, and about thirty thousand shark fins. But there is an enormous amount of illegal fishing that still continues. For example, the legal quota for sea cucumbers last year was about two million allowed to be taken out of the park. Only about 1.2 million were reported, yet there was an increase in illegally caught and confiscated sea cucumbers. What was not being reported just ended up being sold in the illegal markets.

“It’s not just a few Galapaganians doing the illegal fishing. There’s a big group from the north, from Costa Rica, that comes here to take shark fins. They catch them within the park’s marine reserve and then take them out of the supposedly protected waters where they are sold mostly to Asian countries, like Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

“All this shark finning has an impact on tourism, not just the fish population. If there are fewer sharks to observe, there will one day be fewer tourists coming to see them. Without sharks the whole ecosystem will crumble and then the question is will tourists continue to come to the Galapagos?

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“Enforcement in the Galapagos is not as efficient as Sea Sheperd would like to see. Plus, there’s a lot of corruption in the local Navy. Sometimes the Navy will alert illegal fishermen that the park officials are in the area. I’ve been coming to the Galapagos ever since I first joined Sea Sheperd in 2002 and every time I come, for a month or so, we catch poachers. So it is possible. They are absolutely out there and we know how to find them and pass the information on to the park. But the Navy often warns off the poachers so that by the time the park rangers arrive … they are gone.

“Unfortunately we don’t have any jurisdiction to apprehend the poachers, so all we can do is notify the park and start pulling in the long lines, which is mostly what they use to fish for sharks.

“I think it would certainly help if the park rangers were armed. If you go to a supermarket in Quito you see a security guard with a gun protecting bags of potatoes. Here we have this beautiful pristine ecosystem called the Galapagos Islands, and the park rangers have absolutely no jurisdiction whatsoever, they are not even allowed to carry batons. I think that the park rangers should definitely be armed. I think if the word got out to the illegal fishermen that the park rangers were armed and capable of making arrests, I think it would be a lot harder for poachers to come in here and take sharks or any other species.”

Sharpen your ice axe, Ouray Ice Park opens tomorrow!

by Kraig Becker on

Global warming? Where? Thanks to unseasonably cold temperatures, the Ouray Ice Park, one of the premiere ice climbing locations in the world, will be opening tomorrow, a full week ahead of schedule. The park’s website credits a new water system, a dedicated team of ice makers, and two solid weeks of cold temps for allowing them to open earlier than ever.

Located in the Uncompahgre Gorge, near Ouray, Colorado, the Ice Park is a unique and popular destination for ice climbers from around the globe. When it opened in 1995, it was the first site exclusively dedicated to ice climbing anywhere in the world, and it has remained a top destination for the sport ever since. The park is maintained by a group of volunteers who work the climbing routes and ensure that the massive walls of ice are safe for others. This year, that crew has a new water system that provides more water pressure, which means harder and more stable ice. The results, according to park officials, is the best climbing conditions in Ouray ever.

Each year the park plays host to the Ouray Ice Festival as well, which includes major climbing competitions and clinics, live music, parties, and seminars put on by top climbers and mountaineers. The Ice Fest serves as a major fundraiser for the park and helps to provide resources to keep the place open for climbing each winter. As a result of this great event, the park remains fee free for adventurous climbers looking to to get a winter workout. The 15th annual Ouray Ice Festival will take place from January 7-10, 2010.

More regulation on Antarctic shipping proposed

by Kraig Becker on

While most of the world is focused on a certain conference on climate change currently underway in Copenhagen, a similar meeting is being held in New Zealand this week, where tighter regulations on travel in and around Antarctica are being proposed.

More than 80 experts from signatory nations to the Antarctic Treaty have gathered in Wellington to discuss ways of protecting the fragile Antarctic environment, while also making it safer for ships passing through the icy waters of the Southern Ocean. Some of the proposed regulations include the banning of so called “heavy fuels”, which could potentially wreak havoc on the environment and a comprehensive review of design and construction of all vessels, including passenger ships, traveling in the region.

In order for these new regulations to be ratified, the treaty nations will need to vote on them, but considering such countries as Russia, the U.K., and the U.S. are backing these changes, it seems likely that they’ll be adopted. The ban on heavy fuels, for instance, would go into effect in 2010 if it receives enough votes, meaning that all ships moving through the region will need to use fuels that have less of an impact on the environment should something go wrong.

The International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators, a voluntary organization whose purpose is to promote private travel to the frozen continent, is made up of travel companies that book travel to Antarctica. The IAATO has also come out in support of these new resolutions, while also introducing its own guidelines to ensure that its members provide a safe, and environmentally friendly, experience for travelers to the bottom of the world.

Antarctica remains a popular destination for adventure travelers, and it is gratifying to know that steps are being made to protect it and keep safe for future travelers to enjoy as well.

National Park Service pledges $875k for trails

by Kraig Becker on

The U.S. National Park Service has announced a number of updates and improvements to existing trails throughout the park system, and backed the plan by pledging nearly $875,000 specifically ear-marked to complete the initiative. The “Connect Trails to Park” project will be funded from a grant program created last year to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the National Trails System.

Created back in 1968 with legislation that mandated the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails, the system now consists of over 52,000 miles of trails. 11 of those are National Scenic Trails with another 19 being designated as National Historic Trails. Over a thousand other hiking routes are listed as National Recreation Trails as well.

All told, 17 projects will receive funding from the grant, which is designed to “restore or improve existing trails and trailhead connections, provide better wayside and interpretive services, encourage innovative educational services, support bridge and trailhead designs, and provide planning services for important trail gateways.” In other words, we can expect improved infrastructure on the projects that are receiving funding, which includes the Continental Divide Trail and the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, amongst others.

These infrastructure upgrades kick off the “Decade of National Trails” initiative that will see similar updates on a number of other routes in the years ahead, leading up to the 50th anniversary of the trail system in 2018.

To see the complete list of trail upgrades, and where the money is being spent, click here.