“The word Thai (ไทย) means ‘free man’ in the Thai language.”
Freeland.

Pre-trip Thoughts, Expectations, Dreams, Hype (Jan 31st, 2026)
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The lunar new year is upon us, the year of the horse. Last time: Indonesia for the year of the (Komodo) Dragon. The year before, the year of the rabbit in Vietnam. Each time, a different SE Asian country, each year, a different motorcycle, each year, a different set of self-inflicted injuries and absolutely fantastic experiences.

This year, we visit Chiang Mai, the northern capital of Thailand. The plans are open, but roughly speaking, fly to Chiang Mai, rent a motorcycle, and then tour one or more loops from this homebase: Mai Hong Son to the west; Chiang Rai to the north; Nan to the East; Sukhothai to the South.

Everything I read about this region makes me more and more excited. Some mention of the first SE Asians settling here under Queen Chammathewi, queen of the Mon people in the 7th century.

e-re-pa-to! ἐλέφαντος! elephantis! oliphant! ELEPHANTS! ELEPHANTS! ELEPHANTS! I will be among the elephants for sure. The neverending descriptions of the food in Chiang Mai both makes one hungry, and spoils whatever you happen to be eating next; I will continue to trace the steps of Anthony Bourdain. There are hot springs and fantastic natural preserves and famous thai massage and ziplines (didn’t expect that to be a thing, but it is) and a neverending series of temples.

I’m thinking maybe a Royal Enfield Hunter 350 (800 Baht/$25 / day). Season 1 in Vietnam was just a Honda Wave 125cc scooter. Indonesia was a Honda CRF 150cc. This is a nice baby step up for those of us (me) who are extremely afraid of / cautious about our chosen hobbies.

Since it is the year of the horse, renting a steed for traveling around this region seems fitting.

Since it is the year of the horse, visiting the greatest beast of burden of them all, the elephant, seems fitting.

Nothing is yet set in stone, but these are the principles, the vectors, the trajectories of this trip: temples and elephants.

Reflecting before reflecting: originally my plan was to go to Chiang Mai, do the Mai Hong Son loop on a motorcycle, and then head over to Siem Reap. My new plan (and I’m still in Shenzhen) is to spend the entire time in Chiang Mai and its surrounds. There’s too much cool stuff to do, and I am already overwhelmed just thinking about the possibilities.

Chiang Mai – Pre-Trip 1.

Lots of considerations, but plans are starting to emerge. I’m going to take a 7-day trip around Mae Hong Son, going clockwise. Approximately:

Day 1 (Wednesday): to the top of Doi Inathan Mountain to stay in a glorious hut.
Day 2 (Thursday): Down to Mae Sariang.
Day 3 (Friday): Short ride to Mae Hong Son passing through Khun Yuam. Stay the night.
Day 4 (Saturday): Baan Rak Thai to stay in a bucky-ball tent.
Day 5 (Sunday): A short ride to Tham Lot to see the Nam Lod Cave, and perhaps stay the night, or head onto Pai.
Day 5-6 (Monday-Tuesday): Pai. Stay in Pai longer? Celebrate the Lunar New year in Pai? TBD.
Day 7 (Wednesday): Pai back to Chiang Mai (the super fun windy road).

Back in Chiang Mai on the 18th to finish a paper before the February 21st deadline, and then to plan Trip 2.

Some thoughts on this motorycycle trip.
Most people go counterclockwise from Chiang Mai >> Pai >> Mai Hong Son >> and back. I am going the opposite direction. This means less traffic (I think) and you start with easier, straighter roads on the way to Inathan Mountain, which is preferrably for us newbie riders. This was indeed the case: nice, straight highways out of the city, and then gradually windy-er roads up the mountain.

The Olfactory Element
Motion is glorious, and we celebrate it on the motorcycle. However, a less translatable aspect of the experience of these long motorcycle trips is the smell. Not all the smells are good, but lots of them are. You travel across a panoply of lotus-eating landscapes, perfumed with all sorts of things. In Thailand (and Vietnam), where there is a “burning” season, this can be made even stronger (for better or worse). The combination of the olfactory shifts, along with significant temperature and humidity shifts at elevation create a sensorium that is highly pleasurable, even if not describable.

The Endurance Element
Underestimating the distance between two places is part of the adventure. Your head will hurt as you shift your too-heavy helmet from one sore spot on your skull to another. The race against time comes with sunset, because at dusk, not only do the bugs come out in force, but you really, really do not want to be cycling in the dark. Taking off your helmet for a coffee and a bottle of water and a half hour break in the middle of some pastoral paradise is highly pleasureable, even if not describable.

The Heat Element
At 40km/hr, the fact you’re wearing a bunch of gear doesn’t bug you much. The wind keeps things evened out. But if you have to stop at a light, or you have to slowly suit up and push and poke your way out of a metropolitan area, being hot on a motorcycle sucks. That first breath of fresh speedy air (40+ km/hr) is highly pleasurable, even if not describable.

Day 1 (Wednesday): to the top of Doi Inathan Mountain was just a short 2-hour ride, giving me plenty of time to get used to the Royal Enfield Classic 350cc.

Day 2 (Thursday): Down to Mae Sariong. I first road up to the top of Inathan Mountain to see the views and the higest point in Thailand. This was a gorgeous ride, but quite windy—getting to Mae Sariang took much longer than it should have because I was being cautious on all the curves. Ended the day at a beautiful hotel (The Goodview Hotel) overlooking the Yuam River (was woken up by bison on the river the following morning), which was very much dried up for winter. Enjoyed some local kale and crispy pork before heading to the Ching Ching Dive Bar to chat with other bikers heading various directions. Multiple sources tell me I am supposed to go to Pattaya next time I come to Thailand?—yes if there is scuba diving.

Day 3 (Friday): Short ride to Mae Hong Son. Khun Yuam didn’t have much going on, and the Japanese-Thai friendship museum was pretty skippable, but I dared a Hawaiian pizza for lunch, nonetheless. I suppose it is interesting to see what weird circumstances led to the most vicious asian army having a friendly relationship with this remote town in northwest Thailand, but you could just as well have read about it—the museum added nothing but a formal architectural acknowledgement of the relationship. Mae Hong Son is gorgeous, with a thriving night market. My hotel is immediately next to the two temples in the center of the city, one of which contains a wicker Buddha (watch out, Nicholas Cage!)—I ate only random sausages from the night market, which were fantastic, like everything else edible in Thailand.