When I planned this adventure I discovered that no foreign cyclist is permitted to traverse the road to the Northern border of Myanmar and Thailand so I determined then that I’d fly to Chiang Mai from Mandalay rather than cycle all the way back to Myawaddy and Mae Sot (remember the two dreaded mountain passes!) As an aside for other cyclists, if you fly directly from Mandalay to Chiang Mai it will cost you $8.00 per kilogram for your bicycle.\u00a0 Bangkok airlines generously allow you to take your bicycle for free on their Airbus A320 planes so you can fly to Bangkok and then onward to Chiang Mai without additional cost for the bike.\u00a0 They will also book your luggage through to Chiang Mai you just have to collect it at the International luggage section in Chiang Mai – no problem.<\/p>\n
Chiang Mai is the Northern capital city and is a slower paced, more laid back city compared to Bangkok.\u00a0 Many travelers I met say they prefer Chiang Mai as a destination although everyone still loves Bangkok.\u00a0 There is plenty to do in Chiang Mai but as I was not staying long I had to choose, so I decided to go to Pai for a night and to go on an ethical Elephant Sanctuary Tour – ethical meaning that they do not ride or otherwise mishandle the elephants.\u00a0 I did wander around the old city within the walls and I enjoyed the Saturday night market which was in the same street as my hostel so not too difficult!<\/p>\n
Pai is a Karin village about 150km Northwest of Chiang Mai.\u00a0 It used to be a quiet country village with not much going for it except the beauty of the surrounding countryside and the opportunity to meet Karin villagers.\u00a0 In the past few years it has seen an upsurge in tourism and is now the hippiest village in Thailand and is on everyone’s to-do list.\u00a0 I took a 24 hour trip and quite enjoyed it despite ithe overwhelming tourist development.\u00a0 The road to Pai is 145km and has 723 turns.\u00a0 It’s not a cycling road unless you’re a road-racing fanatic.\u00a0 It takes 3 hours to get there and the mini-bus driver knows only one speed so the twists and turns are interesting!<\/p>\n\n\t\t