31-day guided motorcycle tour throughout northern Laos and the Golden Triangle

Motorcycle tour through the Golden Triangle and Northern Laos. A 31-day motorcycle tour grand expedition! Adventure travel at its best.

If you have thirty-one days to spare, and if you love going on motorcycle tours through a couple of the most exotic and foreign lands on earth, this ultimate motorcycle expedition through the Golden Triangle and northern Laos should not be missed.
A motorcycle tour for an entire month through probably the greatest motorcycle terrain on earth--the foothills of the Himalayas.
Great riding! Great scenery! Great cultures! Great food! And much, much more. Adventure travel of the highest level.

After completing ASIAN MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURES ' One Month Thailand-Laos Expedition, you will have experienced just about everything there is to do and see in this region.

This expedition has been designed into two, distinct parts.

Part 1 of this motorcycle tour winds through the Golden Triangle area of Northern Thailand.

Part 2, the second and longer tour segment, traverses the wild and rugged terrain of Laos. We spend a lot of our time in Laos visiting many of the primitive hilltribe societies scattered about this region.

Part 1, through northern Thailand, is the easier (and shorter) segment of this expedition. The riding is all on sealed roads and pillion passengers are encouraged to join us. The overall touring conditions in Thailand are quite comfortable. Most sleeping accommodations are downright plush, and at nearly every meal we’ll be feasting on the best that the local cuisines have to offer.
This Thailand segment is designed to be easier on the body so that anyone wanting to share part of this expedition with a family member or friend can confidently do so. When the convoy crosses into Laos, a van will carry all the pillion riders back to Chiang Mai where they can catch a flight back home.

(Once inside Laos, there may be a seat or two available in the support vehicle for non-riding participants who wish to complete the entire tour. Please contact AMA for details: info@asianbiketour.com.)

For the next 2½ weeks, the riding and living conditions in Laos will sometimes lean toward the primitive and it will be like traveling centuries back in time. On a few nights we’ll actually be bunking down in some hilltribe villages. For the most part, however, we'll be sleeping in guesthouses. However, there will be several pleasant hotel and lodgings strung along our itinerary route that are quite comfortable for us to catch up on our creature comforts. The off-road riding is demanding, so all participants must be experienced off-road riders, and be in decent physical condition and health.

The motorcycle tour price covers the following items: an off-road motorcycle, petrol, three meals per day, each participant gets his own room for the duration of the tour, all entrance fees, tour guides, mechanic, and a support vehicle. Items not covered in the motorcycle tour price are: airfare to and from Thailand, the Lao visa, alcoholic beverages, snacks, and items of a personal nature.

Everyone is requested to arrive in Asia at least three days before departure, and everyone should arrive in Chiang Mai no later than 1 day before departure. A.M.A. will furnish you with a superior hotel room in Chiang Mai the night before the tour begins.

You should get a pretty good idea of what is in store for you with a careful reading of the daily itinerary below.

(For those without high-speed connections: there are many photos imbedded in this web page. Please be patient as they download.)

PART I: THAILAND

DAY: 00- Chiang Mai: Participants meeting and pre-tour orientation.

DAY: 01- Mae Sot. --350 ks. Our 1^st day’s ride is a long but easy warm-up, mostly over mountain-hugging highways to Mae Sot, a largish trading town on the Burmese border. Bustling barter is going on here in all sorts of commodities, including gems and handcrafted items for sure to be of interest to motorcyclists from Western lands. When you walk around the streets and markets of Mae Sot the fact will hit you hard that you are now in a completely different world than the one you left only a few day’s earlier.

Our motel-style lodging tonight is basic but comfortable, and you’ll go to sleep quite satiated as a great Burmese dinner is scheduled.

DAY: 02- Mae Sarieng. -- 220 ks. A thin and winding, sealed road hugs the Thai-Myanmar border and makes for a very enjoyable ride through remote areas where hardly any commercial development exists.

Mae Sarieng is a small Thai town and during your ride today you’ll get a glimpse into the rural, northern Thai life-style. Mae Sarieng also marks the start of the Mae Hong Son Loop, Thailand’s greatest and most famous motorcycle road. The Mae Hong Son Loop is considered the premiere motorcycle road in all of Asia, and stacks up favorable against any other renown motorcycle route in the world. It is a sealed road, well designed, and in excellent condition, and we’ll be driving over it for the next three days.

This evening’s lodging is once again a bungalow-style complex, and we’ll dine on cuisine, grown, raised, and gathered from inside this fertile section of Thailand. Thai cooking is famous all over the world and you'll begin to understand why.

DAYS: 03 & 04- Mae Hong Song. -- 170 ks. An excellent biking day through impressive forest cover over the Mae Hong Son Loop. We’ll stop at several hilltribe villages along the way, including the Longnecks, or Giraffe Women (Padong). We will also visit some famous temples, one of which is an historic Shan-style wat built entirely of wood.

We spend the night in this provincial capital that surrounds a lovely, central lake. Tonight we dine Kan-Tok-style, which is a northern Thai dinner accompanied by live folk entertainment. After our third great meal in a row, you will realize that the food on this tour is definitely one of the trip highlights.
Deluxe accommodations this evening, and the next, in an upscale resort hotel.
Our second day in Mae Hong Son is a rest day with optional short drives visiting the various points of interest in the surrounding area

DAY: 05- Chiang Dao. -- 260 ks. We finish up riding the Mae Hong Son Loop, then jump onto a major trunk road for a bit, but end our biking day on smaller, secondary roads. We’ll explore the Chiang Dao caves and visit with some more of the various hilltribe groups that are settled in this area.
Our lodging tonight is in an exceptionally beautiful garden resort set amidst stunning scenery. Another memorable dinner will be served.

DAY: 06- Doi Mae Salong. - 210 ks. Extremely narrow, tight, and winding mountain roads with hardly any other road users to get in our way. All of the riding is over sealed roads, but many parts are broken up and deteriorating. Exceptional biking today and exceptional scenery all day long.

In the morning, we visit a small-scale Burmese border market selling mostly produce and household supplies. It is the mixing with and watching the locals bartering and buying that makes this stop so enjoyable. Our lunch stop is at an experimental agriculture project surrounded by lovely gardens in a lush park setting.
Doi Mae Salong is one of the more unique stops in Thailand. It is home to the remnants of the Chinese Kuomintang Army who fought in support of Chiang Kai Shek against Mao Tse Tung during their Communist Revolution. A few of the old generals are still alive. After their defeat by Chairman Mao’s Red Army, they were driven out of China into Burma, and then into Thailand where they have been residing ever since.

There is one magnificent hilltop temple we visit here, and there’s also a lively hilltribe morning market. The main street is lined with stalls selling hilltribe articles and consumables. Manicured tea plantations surround lofty Doi Mae Salong, and this small town so strongly resembles a rural Chinese village that you would swear you are actually inside China.

Our lodging tonight is in a hotel complex consisting of individual chalets high on a ridgeline overlooking Myanmar. A scrumptious Chinese banquet is on tap.

DAYS: 07 & 08- Mae Sai. -- 120ks. Another exceptional riding day on extremely narrow, tight, and winding rural roads, through more spectacular scenery with hardly any other road users to contend with.

All of the riding today is once again over paved roads, but just like yesterday, many sections are broken up and deteriorating. Some parts are so steep that you have to keep your arms braced stiff into your handlebars to keep your body from sliding off the front of your bike!

In the morning, we pay a visit to the drug lord Kun Sha’s former headquarters. Kun Sha was finally driven out of Thailand in the early 1990’s by the Thai army after several years of running battles. After that we visit the mountaintop temple, Wat Doi Tung, where it is said if you ring each one of their hundreds of bells you will be guaranteed a place in heaven. An offer like this doesn’t come along very often!

Our routing rides the demarcation line between Myanmar and Thailand, and some of it is still under dispute. Heavily patrolled and guarded, we will pass through several army checkpoints as we ride. In the afternoon, we will actually visit a Thai army camp that keeps watch on a Myanmar army camp that keeps watch on the Thai army camp we are in. Only a hundred meters of open field separates the two.

After dropping down from the limestone crags above Mae Sai, we visit the Monkey Temple where hundreds of monkeys have the run of the grounds. The more energetic bikers can climb the steep steps into a mountainside cave to view the exotic prayer halls deep inside.

Our lodging in Mae Sai is a modern Western-standard high-rise hotel right on the Thai-Burma border. Mea Sai is the northernmost town in Thailand and is the crossing point into Tha Chi Lek, Myanmar.

The following day is

another rest day. We spend it inside Myanmar taking a walking tour of Tha Chi Lek and its many points of interest. The bicycle rickshaws lined up at the crossing are a fun alternative to walking. Everything under the sun is for sale in Tha Chi Lek, from fine crafts to fine gemstones including the world-famous pigeon-blood rubies. Many of the products sold in Myanmar are illegal in the rest of the world, such as tiger penis and bear gall bladder, and Tha Chi Lek is not on the World Wildlife Fund’s list of favorite places. A famous fortuneteller resides in town and puts on quite a show for those wanting celestial insight into their future.

DAY: 09- Chiang Kong. -- 200 ks. Winding, sealed roads, in good condition for a change. Half this ride runs alongside the Mekong River, the 12^th longest in the world.

In the morning, we visit an Opium Museum where you’ll learn how this ancient drug shaped the history and cultures of this region. This will be an excellent indoctrination for later on in the tour because in many areas in Laos we will actually witness the opium poppy being cultivated and harvested.

After that, we stop for a group photo at the exact apex of the Golden Triangle--the point where Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand converge, separated by the Mekong flowing down out of China.

We sleep tonight is in a rural guesthouse on the banks of the Mekong, overlooking the Lao border town of Huay Xai, which we will cross into the following morning. Another northern Thai feast awaits us.

The following morning the significant others accompanying us on this gentler half of the tour will depart for their flights back home, while the rest of the convoy will cross over into Laos for Part 2, the down and dirty part. And it will be like stepping through a time warp into the biblical era.

PART II: LAOS

DAY: 10- Vieng Phoukha or Dan Sai. -- 130 ks. Our exploration of northern Laos starts on a graded dirt road heading into the foothills of the Himalaya massif with three mountain passes to climb and descend. This road is the old Route Coloniel #3

built by the French in their Indochina glory years. It follows the contours of an even older opium caravan route that was still in use by drug traders until quite recently. This road, unfortunately for off-road-loving motorcyclists, is earmarked for improvement within the next decade, and it will become a segment of the Trans-Asia Highway linking Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, and China.

There are several stream crossings to make today, and you will get your first glimpse of the Asiatic primary forest---woodland-clad mountains still in its original condition from time immemorial and never disturbed by the hand of man.

Depending on our progress we will either stay in a traditional village of the Thai Leu ethnic group, or continue further on into Vieng Phoukha, a largish town (by Lao standards) with a mostly Hmong hilltribe population. Neither town has electricity or running water and tigers can still be heard roaring in the night-time jungle. No electricity.

DAYS: 11 & 12- Luang Nam Tha. -- 65ks. Great jungle trail riding through parts of a protected national park with many primitive hill tribe villages spaced along the way. Several more stream crossings to make. Fantastic scenery and views all the way into distant Myanmar and China. A cave visit is a possibility. We stay in a wonderful rustic ecotourism guesthouse complex on the Nam Tha River. A special Laotian feast is planned, accompanied by traditional musicians and singers. For those willing to try it, local-brewed moonshine, made from fermented rice, will be freely flowing.
If we arrive early enough there are many interesting things to do in Luang Namtha. There is a remarkable hilltribe cemetery, and several of the surrounding villages raise silkworms and then processes the cocoons into silk thread for weaving. Finished textiles can be purchased directly from the

weavers. An ancient chedi being renovated from bomb damage suffered during the Vietnam War will be another one of our stops.

On our rest day, the morning market is a must-see. After that, we take a leisurely rafting cruise down the Nam Tha River through a national park. Along the banks are many isolated, river-based hilltribes, and we stop in some of them. We are surrounded by magnificent jungle all day long on this rafting excursion and many past participants on our tours consider this a trip highlight. Part-time solar-powered electricity.

DAY: 13- Muang Sing. -- 80ks. Excellent riding day through the mountains and forests over a deteriorated sealed road. We will stop along the way at a couple of hilltribe villages and you will witness firsthand how people lived their lives a millennia ago. We should be able to see some opium fields on today’s ride. And we will also visit an ancient and deserted chedi in the foothills.

Once we reach Muang Sing, we will make a short side trip and ride right up to the Chinese border. In the center of Muang Sing is a very rural morning market frequented by dozens of different hilltribe groups. And there’s a crafts cooperative that sells many types of weavings, carvings, and handicrafts at prices you will not believe.

Our lodging will be in a very basic hotel, but we will have private bathrooms with running water. Part-time electricity by generator.

DAY: 14- Udom Xai. -- 170 ks on a deteriorated sealed road, some parts completely eroded down to the raw roadbed. We climb and descend two

more mountain passes, and for most of this day we will be driving though forests and mountains. Along the route are some hilltribe settlements of varieties we have not yet seen. If we are lucky, we may catch one of their festivals or funerals and surely they will invite us in to partake.
Around mid-day will take another detour up to another China border crossings. These border-crossing towns are always full of interest and color.
We spend the night in Udom Xai, a dusty provincial capital full of Chinese traders and hilltribe folk selling their products collected from the jungle. Our accommodations are in a basic guesthouse with private bathrooms, running water, and electricity. Internet service will be available for the first time since entering Laos.

DAY: 15- Phongsali. -- 235 ks. A long and exceptional riding day through a wide variety of road surfaces, none of it smooth. We will pass only a couple of vehicles per hour. The bad road conditions are not terribly difficult, but it will force us to keep our speed down to avoid frame-bending potholes. This road was built by the Chinese government in the 60’s and has barely been maintained since then. Each rainy season piles on more damage.

Much of the day we ride through primary forest-clad mountains. We will pass many extremely primitive hilltribe villages where many of the women still go around topless.
In the town of Boun Tai we will explore the remnants of an old French fort in a state of total disrepair. Later in the afternoon we’ll drive through perhaps the thickest and densest forest cover on the tour and this road is total riding enjoyment for motorcyclists.

Phongsali is the northernmost province in Laos, surrounded on all three sides by China. The cities' population is around 25,000 and very few of the inhabitants even speak Laotian, as they have their own language. Phongsali is seldom visited due to its remoteness and lack of transportation. It is a picturesque town built high in the mountains at nearly 1,400 meters and looks exactly like a rural Chinese village.
We stay in a basic but comfortable hotel with private bathrooms and hot water. Part-time electricity.

DAY: 16- U-Thai. -- 200 ks. A bumpy ride over a decayed road mixed with unsealed portions. Wonderful scenery all the way. Excellent forest cover. Very mountainous. Another fantastic motorcycle ride, winding, climbing, descending, undulating. No signs of modern development at all. Very few towns and villages.

U -Thai is the very last town at the top of Laos and it is extremely remote. Most of the people hardly resemble Laotians at all; they are of Chinese origin, use Chinese currency, and the Chinese language is spoken. The rest of Laos seems far, far away. No electricity, running water, or any other amenities at all. We will continue northwards past U-Thai to visit yet another Chinese border crossing town and then return to U-Thai over the same road because there is only one road that goes through these parts.

The highlight in U-Thai is their ancient wat. At over 600 years, it is the oldest wat in Laos and perhaps the oldest intact wooden temple in the world. A truly magnificent structure and it is hardly known to the outside world. The monks in charge are quite friendly and curious about foreigners.

Tonight we must deal with the most primitive lodging conditions on this tour, but it will be only for this single night. One lousy guesthouse is the sole sleeping facility available here and we will be the only Westerners in this town for sure.
No electricity.

DAY: 17- 130 ks. Ride back down to Phongsali on the same road we rode up on. Or we could stay overnight instead in one of the many interesting and scenic hill tribe villages along the way (I have a certain one in mind). Lots of traditional hill tribe costuming is still worn in this region and many of these people will have never seen a Westerner. Another great riding day.
Part-time electricity.

DAY: 18- Nam Bak. -- 310ks. Our 2nd longest driving day in Laos, on the usual conglomeration of deteriorated roads with parts unsealed, but you’ll enjoy every kilometer of it. Nam Bak is a river junction town surrounded by deep forests and high mountains. Many Akha hilltribes live in this

region. We sleep tonight in basic guesthouse lodgings seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Part-time electricity by generator.

DAYS: 19 & 20- Xam Nua. -- 275 ks. The old capital city of the Pathet Lao and a very strategic place during the Vietnam War. Very remote and this road is hardly used. Today’s roads, Routes #1 and #7 are Vietnamese built, but it is in the same sort of condition as all the others over the past week, alternating between unsealed and decrepit sealed. The last 60 ks are steep and mountainous and nearly all of it dirt. Remarkable scenery all day with extensive sections of limestone karst mountains.

Xam Nua is close to the Vietnam border and their influence is heavy in this provincial capital. Basic lodging tonight once again. It’s a rough and long ride into and out of Xam Nua so well take a rest day here and depending on our energy levels, we’ll explore this little-explored town and region. Part-time electricity by generator.

DAYS: 21 & 22- Plain Of Jars. -- 215 ks. One small section of good sealed road, but mostly deteriorated sealed and dirt much like we have been experiencing. Some sections of mountains will be deforested along today’s route and we will be riding nearly all day at over 1000 meters, topping out at over 1500 meters in several places.

The Plain of Jars is one of the great mysteries of the world. 1,000 huge stone jars that no one yet has figured out the who, why, when, where, or how of, are strewn around this area in 5 scattered clusters. They are a very bizarre sight and are earmarked to come under UNESCO World Heritage protection. Recently, Stonehenge-like structures have been discovered, which we will visit if time permits. There’s also an amazing ancient chedi to the south of Phonsavan that we’ll try to see.
Our stay both nights in Phonsavan is in a guesthouse that produces the greatest Laotian/Asian cooking I’ve ever tasted. Every single dish will be a rare treat. Their restaurant is also uniquely furnished top to bottom with unexploded ordnance, as Phonsavan’s main industry is scrap-metal war debris. The Plain of Jars is an excellent stop, possibly a tour highlight. Part-time electricity by generator.

DAYS: 23 & 24- Luang Prabang. -- 265 ks. Another enjoyable riding day over the same kinds of road surfaces we have been experiencing.
Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage City. It was once a royal capital and it is still one of the most important Buddhist centers in Asia. Much French Colonial architecture remains all over town and Luang Prabang drips with charm and atmosphere. There is a great craft markets for souvenir purchases. Superior French cooking and wines are available, and this will be our first taste of luxury in the two weeks since we entered Laos. We stay both nights in a nicely furnished and quite comfortable, Western-standard hotel with satellite TV.
We spend an extra day in Luang Prabang, and one of the best ways to enjoy this compact town is simply by walking. There will

be an organized excursion scheduled for the afternoon that will take us to an incredible Buddhist shrine, the Pak Ou riverside caves.
People from all over the world fall in love with Luang Prabang, and it is becoming increasingly more popular every year. There is a lot written about Luang Prabang in all the guidebooks and on the Internet if you want to delve deeper into this destination..

DAY: 25- Vang Vieng. -- 230 ks. Paved all the way and in fine condition. All the bad roads are now history on our Lao segment. Another beautiful ride past incredible karst scenery. The limestone mountains around Vang Vieng are riddled with caves and we will visit some of the most impressive ones.
Our lodging tonight is in a charming riverside hotel.

DAYS: 26 & 27- Vientiane. -- 335 ks. This is our longest riding day in Laos, but it should be a snap on a well engineered and sealed road.
Vientiane is the capital of the country, and in it are many interesting things to see and do, so we will spend a rest day here devoted to sightseeing. There are several old and important stupas scattered around town and Vientiane has one of the best crafts markets in Southeast Asia.

We spend the two nights here in a posh, Western-standard hotel in the center of town getting warmed up for our return to “civilization”.

DAY: 28- Khon Kean, Thailand.-- 200 ks. We ride back into Thailand over the Friendship Bridge. After customs and immigration we hop onto the highway for a 150-kilometer drive to Khon Kean, where we will spend the night in a good, Western-standard hotel. Khon Kean is a typical, medium-sized Thai city.

DAY: 29- Sukhothai. -- 365 ks. Sukhothai is another UNESCO World Heritage Site and we reach it using modern Thai roads in good condition. Sukhothai was once the capital of an ancient Thai kingdom and the setting is now park-like with the old ruins and chedis mostly restored. There is much written literature available about Sukhothai in all the guidebooks and on the Internet. Depending upon our arrival time, we will visit the ruins either in the afternoon or the following morning

DAY: 30- Chiang Mai. -- 300 ks on a major trunk road back to Chiang Mai. Tour complete. No sightseeing stops planned today to delay us from ice-cold celebratory beers awaiting us at our hotel.

(DAY: 31- An extra day is built into this tour in case of any unforeseen circumstances. If we have kept to our schedule for the duration of the tour, we will spend this extra day at one of the itinerary stops towards the end of the tour.)

MINIMUM TOUR KILOMETERS: 4,500, or 2,700 miles.
(This only covers the distances between itinerary stop to itinerary stop. Not included in this total is any sightseeing riding we will be doing)

Tour price for the entire 31-day tour: USD6,900, includes everything except airfare, visas, alcoholic beverages, and items of a personal nature.

2005 31-DAY THAILAND-LAOS MOTORCYCLE TOUR EXPEDITION:
October 31 to November 30, 2005.

2006 31-DAY THAILAND-LAOS MOTORCYCLE TOUR EXPEDITION:
February 1 to March 3, 2006.
October 31 to November 30, 2006.

2007 31-DAY THAILAND-LAOS MOTORCYCLE TOUR EXPEDITION:
February 1 to March 3, 2007.
October 31 to November 30, 2006.

USD6,900.
Pillions possible only for Thailand segment. Some seats may be available in the support vehicle for the Laos segment.

Contact AMA for details: info@asianbiketour.com