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Road Trip Report Singapore to Mae Hong Son (the loop)


Ah_Lau
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Just got back from a road trip from Singapore to Chiang Mai to do the Mae Hong Son Loop.

The intention of this thread to to update fellow enthusiasts who are thinking of driving there in their own (performance) car to do the loop.

The short answer is - it's not really worth it. My car had continuous issues with the Check Engine Light coming on, eventually confirmed to be because of poor quality fuel. Finally after the trip I stopped by in Bangkok and the dealer said that they have similar issues with their customer's cars in Bangkok. The solution was to use only Caltex 95 or Shell 95 and stay away from PTT.

There is a partial solution in renting a BMW 3 series or a somewhat sporty saloon out of Bangkok and making the trip to Chiang Mai (it is difficult to find something more exciting than a Vios, Accord, Fortuner or Camry to rent from Chiang Mai).

 

The road from Chiang Mai to Pai is as twisty as South Buona Vista Road. It is not in good condition - many potholes at least half of the way there. At the moment it is still wet and very slick. Many corners on that road have worn through leaving wet gravel exposed. Some corners are always in the shade so they are very slippery.

The road from Pai to MHS is much better. Good mix of fast flowing corners and also tight ones.

MHS to Khuan Yuam and Mae Chaem are not too bad.

Mae Chaem up to Doi Inthanon is very narrow and winding - even more twisty than South Buona Vista Road.

From Doi Inthanon down to Chom Thong the road is excellent - the best of the MHS loop. Very few potholes and very good quality paving.

All that said and done, the trip was not a complete write off.

I managed to have some fun:

https://vimeo.com/78071366

 

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How was the trip from Singapore to Bangkok ? Was the drive through southern Thailand safe ?

I am thinking to do a S'pore/Bangkok/S'pore drive trip.

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How was the trip from Singapore to Bangkok ? Was the drive through southern Thailand safe ?

I am thinking to do a S'pore/Bangkok/S'pore drive trip.

 

I bypassed Bangkok on the way north.

 

What is your reason for driving to Bangkok? It's one of the worst places to drive in. On the way back the only reason I went to Bangkok was to diagnose the Check Engine Light on my car.

 

The drive northwards through southern Thailand was safe.

 

However, on the way back, I was greatly inconvenienced by the blockade of Route 4 south of Bangkok, the only road connecting southern Thailand to Bangkok.

 

The blockade started on Sat 26 Oct.

 

Today, Sat 2 Nov, it is still on.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Rubber-farmers-vow-to-fight-on-30218096.html

http://world.time.com/2013/09/04/thailands-protesting-rubber-farmers-reflect-deeper-social-divisions/

http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/se-asia/story/thai-rubber-farmers-block-road-again-price-protest-20131028

http://www.demotix.com/news/3077097/thai-police-prepare-disperse-rubber-protests-phetkasem-highway#media-3076678

http://www.brudirect.com/southeast-asia/southeast-asia-thailand/9634-south-traffic-crippled-as-protesters-dig-in

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/377215/police-fail-to-disperse-rubber-protesters

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/377746/phetkasem-blockade-solution-elusive

 

I would not drive to Bangkok myself given that the Thais are pretty hopeless at managing security problems like the Red Shirt crisis and now the Rubber Tapper Crisis..

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Just got back from a road trip from Singapore to Chiang Mai to do the Mae Hong Son Loop.

 

The intention of this thread to to update fellow enthusiasts who are thinking of driving there in their own (performance) car to do the loop.

 

The short answer is - it's not really worth it. My car had continuous issues with the Check Engine Light coming on, eventually confirmed to be because of poor quality fuel. Finally after the trip I stopped by in Bangkok and the dealer said that they have similar issues with their customer's cars in Bangkok. The solution was to use only Caltex 95 or Shell 95 and stay away from PTT.

 

There is a partial solution in renting a BMW 3 series or a somewhat sporty saloon out of Bangkok and making the trip to Chiang Mai (it is difficult to find something more exciting than a Vios, Accord, Fortuner or Camry to rent from Chiang Mai).

 

The road from Chiang Mai to Pai is as twisty as South Buona Vista Road. It is not in good condition - many potholes at least half of the way there. At the moment it is still wet and very slick. Many corners on that road have worn through leaving wet gravel exposed. Some corners are always in the shade so they are very slippery.

 

The road from Pai to MHS is much better. Good mix of fast flowing corners and also tight ones.

 

MHS to Khuan Yuam and Mae Chaem are not too bad.

 

Mae Chaem up to Doi Inthanon is very narrow and winding - even more twisty than South Buona Vista Road.

 

From Doi Inthanon down to Chom Thong the road is excellent - the best of the MHS loop. Very few potholes and very good quality paving.

 

All that said and done, the trip was not a complete write off.

 

I managed to have some fun:

https://vimeo.com/78071366

 

I enjoyed my trip riding there(2bikes no GPS)... about 6yrs ago....covered 10kkm....

 

Maybe the road was not upkept. road to golden triangle is worst.

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I enjoyed my trip riding there(2bikes no GPS)... about 6yrs ago....covered 10kkm....

 

Maybe the road was not upkept. road to golden triangle is worst.

You are right the Mae Hong Son road does not get the maintenance it should.

 

Where a road gets heavy use especially from foreign tourists, such as the road going up Doi Inthanon, then it will be maintained properly because there are immediate consequences if it is not.

 

As for the other roads, the government couldn't care less.

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