~set out runnin' but I take my time~

Seven things I learned about riding a motorbike in Thailand:

7. Painted lines are to be treated as imaginary until lives are at stake
6. Driving at night is foolish- you can see the gorgeous landscape better during the day
5. Kilometers were invented to make Americans feel like they're going faster
4. Strap headphones backwards to the helmet for cruisin' music
3. Stop often to take pictures
2. The human face makes for a terrible windshield
1. Riding full throttle for extended periods of time makes for horrible fuel economy - but gas is very cheap :-)

I spent 6 days cruising through the gorgeous Mae Hong Son loop complete with over 1800 twists and turns, many hairpin turns among them. The scenic drive takes me through lush green mountains covering NW thailand.

I got delayed an extra night around the actual town of Mae Hong Son when the opportunity presented itself to go on a hilltribe jungle trek guided by an actual White Karen tribesman who spoke remarkably good English. The journey was fairly rough as I was drenched with sweat for 4+ hours of climbing each way. We even had to wade through a river knee deep. But in the end, I was rewarded with a pretty unique taste of tribe culture

and a few snake and monkey sightings along the way.

In the village where we stayed the night, only two families remained as the tribesmen, after hundreds of years of settlement, are following their children to the cities. It's a bit sad but understandable. I guess the 21st century will eventually catch up to everyone. Meanwhile that 77 year old lady you see climbs 4-6 hours down and up the mountain every week to see her 26 grandkids at a settlement at the foot of the mountain! Hard work and healthy food can do that to you.

But I'm okay with no work and delicious unhealthy food for the next 2.5 months! Off to catch a bus to Laos.

Sawat-dii Kahp