With just under 3000km covered in 9 days, it was time to take a rest.
We spent the first full day in Chiang Mai sightseeing, catching up on emails, blgging, eating and drinking the local beer - Chang. We also began planning the routes that we would cover in the areas surrounding Chinag Mai.

We decided to make a loop west of Chiang Mai in the direction of Mae Hong Son. However, we did not want to take the standard route, but something a little more challenging. Therefore with the help of maps purchased from www.gt-rider.com we chose a track that included 40-50km of gravel road, hoping to test the performance of our bike and the traction of our Continental tyres.
The rain had fallen all night and it didn’t let up during the day, so it was a wet long day in which we covered 216km. We only made it to Pai but we definitely got the challenge that we were looking for…

It could have been more interesting with a river crossing marked on the map, however bridges have since been erected and the crossing was a non-event.
The return leg was a lot shorter (110km) but the weather had improved and we were able to enjoy the famed scenery of mountains, forest, local villages and wild animals…

Tomorrow we plan to leave Chaing Mai for Laos. Taking a longer route, trekking along the Laos border and taking a couple of days.