This past week as part of a trip to Thailand, I rented a CB400 in Chiang Mai for five days. Chiang Mai is in the upper part of the country close to the Laos and Burma borders. In general, the landscape is mountainous with lots of flat areas in between. Unfortunately, the natives burn the fields off this time of year, so it was very smoky. Some of the fires were actually burning right up to the shoulder of the road.
Over the five days, I put nearly a thousand kilometers on the bike. Temperatures were in the mid to high 90's so with gear it was quite hot....especially in the city traffic. I brought over boots and jacket and bought a helmet here in the country. A "camelbak" sure helped with the water intake.
The mountainous areas don't have a lot of heavy traffic....mostly local pickups and lots of moped type bikes. A 400cc bike is very big here. Rental rates are about $25/day including insurance.
The roads in the mountains are a motorcyclist's dream come true....lots of twisties and very good paving. Hazards such as elephants in the road just add to the fun!
Riding in the city was quite challenging as you are amongst cars, tuk-tuks, samlors, push carts, and various other assorted vehicles, non-vehicles, and pedestrians! I mounted a video cam on the bike just to show the guys back in Orlando how insane it is. Lanes are marked, but totally ignored. Helmets seem to be worn during the day but not at night. All bikes practice lane splitting...both in the lane direction and across the lanes...anything to get to the front it seems. Having said all that, I haven't seen a single accident the entire time I've been here....Bangkok included.
I am on a slow internet connection. When I get back to the states, I'll post a couple of pics. It's a beautiful country and I'm already planning my next trip.
Jim
