Bikes, Buses, Boats, Beaches and Beer, on a Budget - Noddy's (mis)Adventures in Asia

FANG, MAE SAI, SOP RUAK, CHIANG SAEN & CHIANG KONG

Nothing much to report from Fang, just another typically scenic Northern Thai town, though we explored very little, mostly I just caught up on some online stuff that needed doing. We stayed at Phumanee Home Hotel at 400 bt a night but had trouble with the wifi and water.

From Fang we headed east along the 1089 until the junction at Mae Chan and then took the Phahon Yothin Highway north to Mae Sai, where we quickly cruised the town and checked out the Myanmar border crossing, before continuing on the bike.

We took the 1041 around the border until an intersection takes you further east on the 1290, still on the border and right through Sop Ruak, the ‘official’ location of the infamous Golden Triangle and where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand all converge.

Further south from here takes you through Chiang Saen, which was a nice sleepy little town right on the Mekong, but we pushed on further still after considering a stop here for the night. We continued to hug the border as we rode alongside the mighty river at times, and others through more mountains.

Somewhere along the way, we joined the 1129 which took us all the way into Chiang Kong and we finally got to properly stretch our legs after a big day on the road. Chiang Kong offers virtually nothing,other than being a gateway into Laos, and most people only end up here with the intention of crossing over into Laos or having just come into the country.

It does have a certain charm to it though and would be as good a spot as any to just kill a couple of days doing very little amongst some great scenery and a laid back atmosphere. We checked into Rimnam Guesthouse at 350 bt for a large, comfortable, fan room with fantastic views over the river and across to Laos.

A quiet beer with some beef enchiladas at the local Mexican restaurant saw our night done after a long day, very little else to report from Chiang Kong.

My photography in Fang consisted of me taking a couple of snaps from our balcony!

Found these guys just outside of Mae Sai in a locked lot... no idea at all about them other than I thought they were pretty dam cool!! All made from scrap metal, car parts, rims, gas bottles etc, some really great art. Very curious to see if this place ever opens to the public