and we did it !

It can sometimes be mind boggling how things could happen just by pushing it through although you are not too sure how it was going to end. I mean, you more or less know that you wanted to do it and you, to a certain extent, have a rough idea of how you are going to do it. But in all that confidence (that you can do it), there are uncertainties deep inside your every sensible nerves that are questioning your decisions. I guess, its true what they say. The only sure way to know whether you can swim (or drown in the process) is to jump right into the water. And that was what we did! Not jumping into the water per se.... but worked our plan despite many naysayers that it was either almost impossible or would be very hard to do.

It all started with the notion (by Zack) that our "resume" is incomplete without the "thousand corner certificate" on it. I'm sure most bikers (if not all) know what the "thousand corner" is. If you do not already know, then google can give some education on it. But basically, its the routes from Chiangmai (Thailand) to few destinations northern of this beautiful city. And the official number given, the loop has 1864 corners or road curves (to Mae Hong Son).

The planning. If any, we casually talked about the "ride to thousand corners" during our breakfast ride to Port Dickson on the weekend of 10th Feb. Well, probably that was the trigger date. It all happened very quickly. On the same day, seven of us (Zack, Rik, Idrus, Razman, Capt Tasriri, Capt Bashah and me) agreed to do a three-day sting from 2nd March to 4th March to do a loop from Chigngmai-Mae Hong Son-Pai-Chiang Mai. While both captains needed time to check on their work schedule, the others were more or less committed (to a certain extent) to do the trip.

The plan was to fly into Chiang Mai on the earliest flight (Air Asia, ETD 0655hrs 2nd March) and return on the last flight (Air Asia ETD Chiangmai 1530hrs 4th March), rent bikes in Chiang Mai upon arrival (Pop Rider Chiangmai has proven to provide the best service!) and complete the loop before noon on the third day.

It wasn't until after three days later the plan would likely seem to materialize - when Zack and I bought the flight tickets. Soon after, Rik, Idrus, Razman and Capt Tas bought their tickets but they chose to return a day later, i.e. on 5th March. As the travel date got nearer, Capt Bashah reported that he could not make it due to clashes with his work schedule. And Razman also almost couldn't make it when his boss asked him to go to Perth end of Feb returning on 2nd March. Alhamdulillah he managed to bargain returning on 1st March, albeit landing in KL close to midnight that day.

So that was a brief background on how the "Six Shooters" do the "Mae Hong Son" ride. It is also worth to mention that at the last minute, Razman and I were accompanied by our wife whom we left to explore Chiang Mai the three days two nights (4D3N for Razman's) we went riding the loop.

DAY 1, Saturday 2nd March: Zack remarked, "as expected Ajisab would be last to arrive" in our WhatsApp group when I did not arrive at the airport yet at our agreed meet time of 5:30am. Everyone had arrived and checked-in well ahead of the 5.30am rendezvous time.

I was about fifteen minutes late - but still within time as we did not want to go in before our solat Subuh, which was at 6:08am. We were a few minutes earlier than subuh time when we passed the 2nd security check at Gate Q of KLIA2. The surau was a bit small, but we were fortunate to be able to solat with the first group immediately when subuh time came.

The two-and-half hour flight gave some of us good time to catch up on sleep/rest, especially for Razman whom had travelled from Perth the day before. When we landed, we split into two taxis. Me and Razman escorted our wife to check in at Tawan Court hotel while the others went straight to Pop Rider.

There were a bit of let up when we wanted to get to Pop Rider from the hotel. Three grab car that I booked cancelled after more than ten minutes wait each time. That held us back close to an hour. And Zack (with Idrus, Rik & Capt Tas) whom had already settled the bikes rental at Pop Rider was texting for us to hurry as we were supposed to leave by 11:00am. When we finally took a tuk-tuk, and after much explanations on where we wanted to go, we got there just in time.... five minutes before 11:00 actually. :-)

The bikes were pre-booked (without having to put in any deposits), so when Zack got there, the bikes were ready for his final checks. Zack took the MT-07 while I was given the CB650F. Everyone else got their choice rides :-) First compliment for Pop Rider - bikes were relatively new (less than two year old) and were in tip top conditions.

We were dropped off at a different shop - which only cater smaller bikes. The "big bike" shop was a few doors away.

After a quick feul-up at a nearby PTT Station (plus a pre-ride pit stop, i.e. coffee and snacks at the Amazon Café - more than half an hour), our journey began.... It was around 11:45am (local time) when we rode out from this station.

For the first couple hours of the ride, we get to know our respective loaner bikes, familiarizing with its handling and character. It was also a plus that the road out of Chiang Mai are "normal", with dual lane and not that busy a traffic. We were doing around 100kmph...

As per our homework, the temperature during day time was in the 30⁰C region. After about 100km from our starting point, we made our first pit stop in a small town called Amphoe Hot.

We were greeted by some local bikers here... while language was a bit of a barrier, but with biker language (hand signs and gestures), we got along quite well :-) Some of them could speak manageable English. So when we introduced ourselves as "old men" while pointing to the wordings on our t-shirt, everyone had a good laugh....

Fairly rested and re-hydrated, we moved out from the service station and continued our journey. The "corners" started soon after from the first pitstop. We were starting to climb hills on curvy roads.... feeling excited and cautious at the same time...

About 40minutes and 30km later, we made a photo-session stop at Bo Kaeo Pine Tree Garden. Felt like we were in some Salem High Country or something... hehehehe…

Back on the road..... we headed towards Mae Sariang. According to our plan, we would be spending the night there. However, after a re-discussion and considering it was still early, we agreed to proceed to Mae Hong Son and spent the night there. Mae Sariang town is actually situated within the Mae Hong Son district. Not far from the Pine Tree Garden, we crossed the Mae Hong Son district border. Rik, the 4th rider in our line up made an unplanned stop for a photo moment. The other 3 riders (Zack, Idrus and Tas) was already ahead... but they eventually came back... :-) Note: first unplanned sudden stop. :-)

Welcome to Mae Hong Son (District). From here it would be about another approx.170km to MHS town.

From that border (signboard), it was around 3:40pm when we arrived Mae Sariang town, specifically at this halal restaurant which was conveniently located nearby the Masjid.

The meal (rice, gulai daging, fruits + plain water) came to 600baht for the six of us. It was rather tasty + everyone was really hungry!

Right after filling our tummy, to the masjid we walked....

Razman was pre-occupied with his boss on the WhatsApp - some work issues he had to attend to...

Next, was to fill up the tanks of our bikes now that our own tank is full. Its to the PTT again. If I recall correctly, the X-Max only took 160baht while the 600cc bikes took 200baht to fill up the tanks. By now, we would have covered 270km from our starting point (Pop Rider Chiangmai).

Once again, we continued our journey on this first day of the trip. The time was just after 4.40pm we headed out from Mae Sariang. Just as we came into the next town, Khun Yuam, we pit-stopped again at a PTT Station - not for refuel, but for rehydration and toilet visit. The distance between the two towns is approximately 100km. It was just past 6:00pm when we arrived the petrol station.

From here, it would be another 70km to MHS (Mae Hong Son) town. And as indicated by Google, the travel time (in a car) would be about one hour twenty minutes - that would be at an average speed of about 45kmph. Nightfall here was at around 6.45pm local time. We headed out at around 6.15pm from the service station; and with 30 minutes of daylight we reckoned that we could still pass the mountains and curvy roads with enough visibility.

As planned, Zack led the pack followed by Tas, Rik, Idrus and Razman. I was the self-assigned sweeper. However, just as we entered into the town area, Razman slowed down and signaled for me to overtake. That I did. The four rider upfront were getting faster as we were heading out of town and the traffic were less busy.

With the slight curvy roads and traffic, I was trying to keep with the group (so that I would not miss any junctions that they make) and at the same time glancing my rearview mirror to make sure Razman was following. With all the similar headlights, I really could not tell that Razman was already way behind. And as we were coming into the mountainous road again, I have lost sight of the group upfront and could not see Razman at the back.

Slowing down (below 30kmph), it was about 15 minutes later that Idrus came back wit the rest of the group exclaiming "Razman accident!".

And the fear that every rider had when riding in Thailand suddenly cloud my feelings and mind. It was already dark. We hurried back to Khun Yuam town. When we finally arrived at the "accident" place, Razman looked panicky and was explaining to the police officer whom have taken control of situation, how the accident happened. Apparently, an elderly man on a scooter hit Razman as he (the man) was trying to make a right turn or maybe a U-turn. That man was on the same direction as Razman before the incident happened.

The Honda Scoopy sustained damages to it front right and side - direct hit to Razman's bike, broke the front footrest.

It was already about 7:00pm when we made our way to the police station. Language was definitely a big barrier. After convincing the officers that the other party was at fault, they seemed to be unsatisfied. As we were still trying to figure out how to manage the situation, some family members of the Scoopy rider came to talk to the officers. A while later, the "uncle" as Razman dubbed that elderly man, came with bandages almost everywhere.... hahahaha.... well... we were already cautioned by many that these people would do anything to pinch the blame on us foreigners if and when we get into such accident.

Much appreciated Rik for relentlessly calling everywhere to get a grip on the situation...

Anyway, as the nights progressed, we were really hitting a brickwall with the police officers. At first they were saying Razman just needed to pay a fine of 800baht after the other party admitted he was at fault, and each party would repair their own bikes. But as more family members came, the officers finally held back Razman's bike, passport and license and ask him to return in the morning for further "investigation". The reason given, that uncle had gone back to the hospital to have his head checked for internal injuries and the police need to get the doctor's report first before deciding anything.

broke the footrest

At the same time, Rik were making calls to Anas Mustang (a well known Haadyai biker whom has helped many Malaysian/Singaporean bikers in Thailand) and few other contacts in Satun, Bangkok and Yala. After the "decree" by the police officers were imposed on Razman, we had no choice but to spend the night in Khun Yuam. Yoont Hotel was just few steps away from the Police Station. We checked-in around 9:00pm, all tired and exhausted and frustrated and....... But the discounted room rate of 600bhat cheered us a bit.

Zack had migraine; Razman was upset, Idruz was always happy, Tas was always smiling, Rik was "cool", I was all of the above... hehehehe…

One of the advice given by Rik's contact was to inform Pop Rider of the incident. That I did, through FB Messenger which had been my mode of communication with them. We tried calling Pop Rider on the phone, but no one answered. We were informed by Mr. Kin (owner of Pop Rider) himself at the end of our trip, he was sickly that night and was out flat - thus the reason he did not pick up any calls.

DAY 2, Sunday 3rd March.

We woke up refreshed. Though Razman had a good night sleep (according to him), he did not go to bed with 100% peace of mind. His now would be an unforgettable quote was "aku kena masuk jel ka?" hehehehe… that was the question he asked Rik before he was consoled by Rik and Idrus which finally enabled him to go to sleep.... maybe not as peacefully as others. Some were with exhaust dreams, some were with grinding machine... hehehe...

It was barely 7:00am (local time) when Idrus and Rik came to our room and said "ada masjid dekat-dekat sini jer. Mesti ada kedai makan. Jom carik breakfast." Quite understandable. Our last proper meal was around 4:00pm yesterday in Mae Sariang. Last night, we only had some bottled juice to drink. No food, except maybe for some titbits that Idrus and I went to buy at the PTT station while we were "waiting" at the police station.

So we walked the town in search of the masjid.... Our experience, where there is a masjid, there would surely be a halal makan place nearby... but.....

A makeshift masjid or surau or mussolla….

Morning walk in the sleepy Khun Yuam town... searching for a place to eat.

We found the masjid, which was actually a small place used by the Muslim community here which we were told by locals are small in number - less than ten families if I recall correctly. So, no nearby makan place obviously.

Our First Leg of The Ride.... From our calculation, Khun Yuam is halfway around...

After that not so successful effort to find a halal shop for breakfast, we decided to turn into our contingency plan - buy food from 7-Eleven! In Thailand, its a sure bet that 7-11 carry halal stuff. bread, biscuits, jam, canned tuna/sardines etc. You will not go hungry here.. :-)

they even sell sim cards... cheaper than the kiosk I must say...

Razman's appointment with the police officer was at 9:00am. We had ample time to enjoy breakfast at the hotel's patio albeit bring-your-own food and coffee. And as were starting to feast, Rik received a call from Pop Rider. Apparently, Anas has spoken to him and had given Rik's phone number. The arrangement was easy enough. Go to the police station, call them (Pop Rider) up and have the officer speak to him. They will sort it out. And true enough, barely fifteen minutes later, Razman was "released" :-)

However it took more than an hour before he could leave the station as they entered his statement into the computer, printed it, then re-write everything back into their report book - handwritten the exact report from the computer print out... hehehehe….They clearly require a Lean Six-Sigma process. But the most important thing was, Razman was not at fault. Also, they brought in an English teacher to do translation of both reports from Razman and the Uncle. She would read out the translated version to Razman for accurate account of the incident as reported by the Uncle.

Uncle in White Shirt; English Teacher in blue jersey.

With that invaluable episode and most valuable experience out of the way, we checked out from the hotel and resume our journey for the second leg - destination Pai, about 180km from Khun Yuam. Of course we'll be stopping at Mae Hong Son for lunch and equally important, for our thousand corner certificate... hehehehe…

But before we could do the ride, Razman's bike would need some repairs, in particular fitting a new footrest as it was broken from the accident.

Half an hour and 200baht later, we were again on our way.... Dirt cheap considering they had to modify the fitting to the footrest as they do not have an original part. Also, both the front and rear left signals were broken. Those were not replaced, but were glued back to place by the shop.

The Mechanic

As we left Khun Yuam, our thoughts (I'm sure) were with mixed feelings. As I said earlier, it was a good experience which we hope no one has to go through again. Fifteen after leaving the town, we were back in nature with winding roads and greenery on either side. Calming and serene. Going at an average speed of less than 60kmph, we reckoned that we would be in MHS just in time for lunch.

Along the way, we made a short stop at a viewing point - Phaong View Point. The scenery was very nice. Sorry no pictures shared by those whom took some here...

Phabong View Point along hiway 108, about 50km from Khun Yuam (almost one our ride)

Idrus either flirting with her, or trying to get a good deal on the stickers (which everyone eventually bought @ 100bht for 3

Next stop, Mae Hong Son town, which was about 18km and twenty minutes ahead... The time was about 12:45noon when we left off the Phabong Viewpoint. Our stomach was already playing the keronchong then. Luckily though we had our own foodtruck …. :-) I reckon, these would keep 'em stomach at bay until we reach the MHS halal makan place...

It took us more than twenty minutes to finally reached our googled destination - the halal restaurant in MHS. And as we painfully learned, it was the only halal makan place in town. And they do not open on weekends, i.e. Saturday and Monday.... hahahaha....

So, it would be a late lunch for us. Or maybe straight to dinner... hmmmmm… After a quick discussion, we all agreed to go to the MHS Chamber of Commerce office to collect our "achievement certificates". It was already 1:20pm. And some of us were really hungry. But we had no choice but to look for food in Pai, where as were informed had a number of halal makan place there. But from our calculations, we would reach there around 5:00pm... almost dinner time..

Alhamdulillah we got the certs... but the loop is yet to be conquered!

After almost half an hour at this establishment, we moved out heading towards Pai. We were a bit stretched for time if we were to reach Pai before dusk. However, we needed some refreshment to cushion the empty stomach and maintain our energy. So, we made a pit-stop at the town's PTT Amazon Café.

Time check, just after 2:00pm. The plan was just to rehydrate, and maybe have some light snacks from PTT's 7-Eleven. But Rik & Idrus found halal packed rice instead. So, it was as good as full lunch for us...:-) What initially was to be a 30minutes tops rest ended up to be about 45minutes.

The six bikes, L-R: Zack, Rik, Idrus, Tas, Razman, Sabri.

Re-energized, we returned to the road at almost 3:00pm. Destination, Pai, slightly more than 100km away and about 100km and two hours and a half travel time. If we do not do any stops, we should arrive Pai by 5.30pm, with just enough time to do our jama' ta'akhir solat.

About half an hour into the ride, Rik made another sudden stop upon seeing this "1864" signboard. And yet again, Zack Tas and Razman was already upfront, whom again eventually made a U-turn and came back. Good call by Rik to stop for a photo-memory. But it caused worry to the others whom were in front. It didn't occur to me to catch up with them - which I should have done since I was riding a "fast" bike and was the sweeper... err...errr….err....

Note: Location, km1095, Tambon Mok Cham Pae.

They befriended these two French girls whom was riding on Scooters from Pai going to MHS. Didn't ask for their names though...

What was supposed to be a short stop became an extended photo session with doing solo pose as well as some selfies with the two frenchicks by some of us… hehehehe… you know who you are :-)

With another 80km and close to two hours of riding to do, we bid adieu to the two teenagers and pushed on. Time check, approximately 3:30pm and with two hours to reach Pai, we would still be on schedule... About forty five minutes into the ride, we came to the Pang Mapha Viewpoint.... of course we had to stop for some photo record. and this time, Zack were signaled by Rik on the stoppage.

This time, it was really a short pitstop. Razman crossed the road to buy some smoked banana. Came back just in time for us to pose yet another record for the album.

Photo taken by a helpful local lady whom also stopped for the nice view here...

That would be our last pit stop for the day. And we just right on time arriving Pai, going straight to Pai Mosque. Time check, approximately 5:30pm.

After completing our religious duties, we were ready to find some food for dinner. The folks here were most friendly. The masjid is also a center for tahfiz, thus many young students gathered round to look-see our bikes...

We were greeted by one of the qariah member whom asked if had booked a hotel. He further suggested for us to stay at his hotel which was nearby. While we did not really commit to stay there, Rik made a quick google and said the hotel was "okay".. But the first order of business was to find dinner. And we were given direction by another member of the masjid whom could speak Bahasa Melayu of a reasonably good makan place. So off we went trudging through the "walking street night market" which apparently is a regular thing here in Pai town after 6:00pm.

The street night market was just starting... and we walked looking for the halal makan place...

We found the place in no time. Looks promising... so we ordered food. Although the proprietor could converse in "some" English, there were miscommunications all over!

Most of us ordered Char Kuey Tiaw…

While the noodles came as ordered, Zack and Rik faced some difficulties with their order of Lamb Briyani. In the end, mixed up with white rice, briyani, lamb, chicken and what nots. The drinks ordered were also in a shamble. But what we did not expect was that the total price for the not-so-special dishes plus soft drinks were in excess of 1,300BHT !!! We were in disbelief and surprised! But it was what it was.

Going back to the masjid to perform our isya' and maghrib solat (jama' ta'akhir), we met the gentlemen whom gave direction to the restaurant earlier. And he was surprised that we had gone to a different place! Another miscommunication.... hehehehe… The restaurant he directed us to was actually a bit further than the one we patronized that evening. Anyway....

Right after, we checked into the gentleman's hotel, MP House situated about 500metres away from the masjid. After a quick shower, we walked back to the night street market...

With nothing in particular to buy, we stopped at a stall selling pulut mangga and had some, plus tapau a couple for later :-) The kid minding this stall could converse in fluent Bahasa as he studied in Malaysia for twelve years before coming back home here in Pai.

the kid with his back to us, preparing pulut manga...

Back to the hotel.... we would tonight have a peaceful rest....

Not a stressful night as before... :-)

It was 16^oC in the early morning when we rode to the masjid for subuh….

Day 3, Monday 4th March: As agreed, we were all packed and ready to roll out by 7:00am. But, the hotel owner (could not remember his name now) came out around 7:15 with "breakfast" when were almost finishing with our bread and tuna that we bought earlier from 7-eleven.

me with the hotel owner, Hj. Mohd Saddiq of Yunan origins.

Second round of breakfast..... nasi goreng courtesy of Hotel MP.

Group photo before bidding goodbye to this very nice Haji Mohd Saddiq....

We left at 7:30am, half an hour later than plan. We needed to be at Pop Rider shop by 11:00am, else we would have to pay an extra day for the bike rental. Pop Rider count the rental by the hour, i.e. 1500BHT for 24 hrs (the MT-07/CB650F), 1200BHT (X-Max300/CRF250/CB500X). From our calculations, it would take a good three hours to get to there from Pai, with a 130km distance.

It was really really cold as we eased our way from Pai to Chiang Mai. The winding roads, mostly descends kept our speed well below 50kmph, except for few straight stretches where we could hit 100kmph. But that was about it. Thus the 3 hour ride for a mere 130km.

L-corners and U-corners were abundant on the entire loop route...

Note: as I was writing this, I found a halal restaurant along the Pai - Chiengmai route, about 40km out of Pai nearby Ban Mae Sae checkpoint.

Anyhow after two hours of riding under the cold weather (less than 16^oC) we were shivering on our bikes. I for one needed a pitstop. Alhamdulillah Zack detoured into Tambon Ki Lek for a short breather, ease-ourselves (kencing lah tu!) and also a final top up of fuel to our bikes.

Time check, 9:45am when we left the PTT Station in Ki Lek. This last stretch to Pop Rider Chiang Mai is 35km with travel time of 45minutes. The estimated time as given by Google map was quite reliable. We arrived Pop Rider safely just after 10:30am, despite the rather heavy traffic as we came into the town limit.

The busy Chiang Mai Traffic.

Note: As we were nearing Pop Rider shop, there was a police roadblock and we were all pulled to the side.

"You Malaysian?"

"Yes"

"show me Malaysia Licence"

:-)

BEST! That's the rating we gave to Mr. Kin the owner of Pop Rider.

Now, officially that ends our ride. It was a very pleasing experience for each one of us.

From Pop Rider's shop, we took a tuk-tuk van to go to Tawan Court hotel where Razman, Idrus, Rik and Tas would be spending another night. As for me and Zack, we would be leaving the same day on the 3:30pm flight. Thus, after a bit of freshen up in their room, we made our way to a nearby halal restaurant for lunch. And from there, I hailed a GRAB to the airport.

Final group lunch in Chiang Mai before Zack & I go the airport.

Zack & me all set to fly out (together with my wife).

The rest of them... shared with us pics of their extended vacation in Chiang Mai.....

Day 4, Tuesday 5th March: Idrus, Rik, and Razman (plus wife) were the last to leave Chiang Mai on the 3.30pm Air Asia flight. Capt Tas had taken the morning flight today. He originally had booked for his family (wife & three kids) to come to Chiang Mai on this trip. But a sudden family matters has rendered them to cancel their trip at the last minute.

In summary, we did a 660km ride (including a 60km doubling back at Khun Yuam during the small mishap that Razman had to endure). In total, the fuel spent was from 600 to 650BHT. The two nights hotel was at 600BHT each. We pooled 500BHT for meals and probably each of us spent about the same amount for our personal titbits, drinks and snacks. The pool was only for group lunch and dinner ~ and we only had one proper lunch plus one proper dinner. The day-2 lunch was paid individually. By the time we had our final lunch together with the wives, there were only 200BHT remaining from the pool. Thus everyone chipped in to make up the difference.

There you have it. The epic ride in a record time according to our friends whom have this route before. We did it! Over 600 kilometers completed in 48 hours including the overnights and pitstop.

For those whom are still thinking about doing a similar ride, just get done already!

That's what I'd say.... :-)