The Mae Hong Son Loop

Thai Motorcycle Tours has been running this loop since 2004 and calls it Technical Riding Heaven, which is fair given that the Thai Highways Agency counts 1,984 bends on the outward leg and 2,070 on the return, plus another 220 kilometres the operator adds for its own reasons. The week runs on a fixed shape. Saturday is arrival: bikes are allocated, there is a welcome dinner and a night on the town, and nobody is asked to ride tired after a flight. Sunday is a safety induction followed by a day ride the group picks for itself, which doubles as a shakedown on unfamiliar machines and unfamiliar traffic. Monday to Friday is the loop proper. Monday covers 168 kilometres with waterfalls, hot springs, a geyser and an elephant camp. Tuesday is 177 kilometres taking in viewpoints, cave rafting, lunch and a roadside market. Wednesday is 182 kilometres with a Karen long neck village, a temple and more caves. Thursday is the longest at 233 kilometres through exotic temple gardens and a canyon, with lunch at a boathouse on the lake. Friday closes the circle over 155 kilometres past several waterfalls and a royal temple, taking in the highest mountain peak in Thailand before the return to Chiang Mai. Saturday is departure day, though the operator notes that most riders stay on for another week. The route strings together Chiang Mai, Pai, Mae Hong Son, Mae Sariang and Doi Inthanon, and the attractions listed along the way include national parks, waterfalls, hot springs, gardens, rivers, lakes, mountains and temples. Groups usually run from five to ten riders with a ceiling of 25. Pricing is genuinely all-inclusive by the standards of the region: accommodation on a twin-sharing basis, all meals, fuel, the motorcycle and its maintenance, sightseeing and entrance fees, airport transfers, an English and Thai speaking guide, and VAT. Riders arrange their own travel and riding insurance. The bike list is long, running from a Honda CL300 or Rebel through the CB500X and CB650R to a Yamaha MT-07, a Kawasaki Versys 650 or a Suzuki V-Strom 650.

The operator's Tour A, an eight-day week built around the Mae Hong Son loop with a Saturday arrival at each end. Riders land, collect their bikes and eat together on day one, run a safety induction and a group-chosen day ride on the Sunday, then spend Monday to Friday on the loop itself through Pai, Mae Hong Son, Mae Sariang and Doi Inthanon. Riding days are moderate at 155 to 233 kilometres, which leaves room for waterfalls, hot springs, a geyser, cave rafting, Karen long neck villages, temple gardens and a boathouse lunch on the lake. The company quotes 1,984 bends on the way out and 2,070 on the return, courtesy of the Thai Highways Agency. The published price is 64,189 baht per person all-inclusive, with discounts of up to 25 per cent for groups above five riders.