Spend the day riding around the Nan area experiencing great routes with little or no traffic and great, grippy tarmac – almost like having your own private racetrack! For those traveling with partners who do not wish to participate, Nan is the provincial capital and has a river running through it so the day can be used to explore the city or simply laze by the hotel pool!

Depart Nan after a hearty breakfast in readiness for the awesome 1148 – this road is “legendary” amongst riders who have experienced it. 100km of low-traffic twisties, again, with a generally superb surface. As this road is so special, to cater to the differing riding styles and speeds, you will be free to go at your own pace and we will regroup along the way at a drink stop.

After devouring the 1148 we’ll head north through the Phu Chi Fah area, stopping for lunch along the way at a beautiful waterfall. This area is all about one thing – ridgeline riding and spectacular scenery! Tonight’s stop is at Chiang Khong right on the majestic Mekhong River.

We leave Chiang Khong with the Mekong River on our shoulder for the next 50km. The feeling of riding next to the river is something special. We’ll make a quick stop at a viewpoint before arriving at Golden Triangle – where the three countries of Myanmar (Burma), Laos and Thailand meet. Here we’ll visit The Opium Museum to get feel for the history of the area then swap the bikes for a boat and take a short cruise on the river.

Mounting up again, we head west to the border town of Mae Sai for lunch where it’s optional to cross into Myanmar for a look around the market there which is full of dodgy knockoff phones, sunglasses e.t.c. We’ll be there less than an hour so if some of the party don’t fancy the trip, they can stay at a restaurant on the Thai side or simply stroll around the town. After our border hop, it’s a straight 60km blast down the highway to the first of our two nights in Chiang Rai.

Let’s have a bit of culture shall we? Today will be a later start and is spent riding close to Chiang Rai and taking in a couple of special temples (don’t worry, we are easily bored by the average temple visit, but in no way can either of these places be described as average). Again, as it’s a layover day, those not wishing to participate are free to explore Chiang Rai or simply laze by the pool.

Leaving Chiang Rai, we have a short blat north on the highway before turning into the countryside and heading to a spectacular tea plantation. Today we will experience probably the most technical riding and more picturesque routes and views. We’ll hopefully encounter Lisu hilltribe kids in full costume and lunch at a village populated by Kuo Ming Tang – originally Chinese soldiers who were forced to flee Mao Tse Tung’s communist China in the early 1950s.

After lunch we’ll ride via a Karen Long Neck village to the riverside town of Thaton before sampling one of the areas most spectacular temples and then depending on the time, ascending into the back hills for a ride close to the Burmese border, complete with Army checkpoints before holing up for the night in Fang.

Our last day sees us once again sampling some of the most deserted roads in the area and heading up to the Royal Project area of Doi Ang Khang. If we didn’t get the chance to ride a section of the border road on day 6, we can squeeze a quick run in here. We’ll then proceed out of the mountains to our last lunch stop. We aim to be back at the shop, tired but happy for beers at approximately 4pm. This tour is “all inclusive” meaning that everything apart from evening meals and alcohol is supplied. Bikes, riding jacket & helmet, fuel, insurance, accommodation for 6 nights (single occupancy), breakfast, lunch and any admission fees. This is a tour suitable for anyone with a reasonable amount of “big bike” experience and pillions are welcome. We don’t ride extremely fast and definitely not recklessly but you must be competent and comfortable with speeds averaging between 80 – 120kph.