After yet another bus ride I was eager to escape in to the wild and so as soon I had got my accommodation fixed I rented a scooter; filled it up for £1.20 and set off on an amazing trip following the river. I passed the Golden Triangle and Opium Hall to the Doi Tung mountain range right next to the Myanmar border which made for a lot of checkpoints, although I was always just waved through! I have no idea what speed I managed, due to the Speedo not working. After many steep winding roads and some precarious motorists going down on my side of the road I got to the top with great views over the Masai town. There were also small hill tribes on top of the mountains with school children shouting hello. It turned out I went the wrong way back and nearly ran out of petrol but I got a great tour through some sort of street festival, with around 30 pick-up trucks lining the streets, with people dancing behind them!!
The following day after returning the scooter I tried to find a bus out and so began the next nightmare journey! I spoke to a man who offered me a lift in his mini bus to Hard Bai where I thought I would be able to pick up a bus. There followed a catalogue of being quoted silly prices, people refusing to barter, as we were in such an isolated spot, and they knew I had few options and very few people being able to speak in English. A driver eventually took me to a boat yard and dropped off some stuff to all these guys in military kit, I was getting nervous and asked about a boat because of his prices and no bus. We then went back to the village where I still refused to pay.
So rucksack on, I walked around considering all my options: sleeping out, hitchhiking, trying to get back etc. After many failed attempts at a solution, a younger lad asked me if I needed help and he pointed me in the direction of a guy going to Chiang Khong, for half the price of the mini-van guy! Realising this was my only option I went for it!! The guy’s English was not good so it made for a rather silent journey but he dropped me off right at the hostel!! I was finally in Chiang Sean.
My last days in Thailand were spent in Chiang Khong were I met Alan Bate; a famous British cyclist from Liverpool who holds the Guinness Book of Record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe by bicycle – 106 days. What a great down to earth guy.
Decided to rent a moped again - after struggling up a steep stretch and wondering what the scooter owners would think, I abandoned the steep road to take a random dirt track to a wooden shack where I parked my bike. I then ascended the hill and over some brush to sit on a log looking up to heaven. I was a little anxious of an approaching animal but was rewarded with the view of the stars emerging in the night sky – something I’d wanted to experience for a long time.
I then had a nerve racking stumble down the hill, in the pitch black, attempting as best I could to navigate the trees down to the dirt track. I eventually arrived to find my scooter and helmet intact and that I was in somebody's drive-way. The journey back was no easier as I nearly crashed a few times – dogs do not know about road safety and they don’t glow in the dark!!!
Next stop Laos!
