We had decided to take it slow and only covered 108 miles on our first day (Ok so we virtually stood still). Stayed in a small town called Mae Chaem in the bungalows below, we were the only customers at the in-house restaurant that night so not much atmosphere but the food was good. 
We headed towards Khun Yuam and enjoyed the great scenery shown below. The roads weren't deserted there are other tourists doing the same thing plus trucks transporting farmed produce but it's pretty quiet so John was able to relax and enjoy the scenery some of the time.
We stayed a couple of nights in the town of Mae Hong Son, quite a nice little place that has all the things we now associate with Thailand namely a night market, many temples, 24 hour laundry service and good cheap food. Due to the close proximity of Burma some restaurants served Burmese dishes as well. We had a fantastic Burmese green tea salad, very spicy. It probably won't be the same when I try to recreate at home.
Wat Chong Kahm temple below was across the lake from our guesthouse.
We spent sometime at the local moped mechanics while John tried to get some bits to help with the hot tyre/exhaust problem we were having. I have come to the conclusion he would be just as happy to visit garages (and maybe a few bars) on this trip and miss out temples and tourist attractions all together. Hence the photo below! 
Huay Sua Thao is a Karan tribe village in this area, Karans were originally from Burma and now live along the Thai side of the Thai/Burmese border. In the village the woman mainly weave and sell their goods to tourists either in the village or at markets in nearby towns.They are commonly called the long eared or long necked tribe for obvious reasons. A museum we visited stated that around a thousand years ago one of the tribe were attacked by a tiger and the neck rings were then worn as protection. There is some doubt as to whether this is true and now the practice is carried out as a symbol of beauty. Their necks are not actually stretched but the collar bones are pushed down and eventually deformed so this gives the appearance of a long neck. Young girls in their teens are still happy to keep up the tradition but it's hard to tell whether they do it just to keep the tourists coming to the village to buy their handicrafts as this is their main income.
One of the regular stops along this route is Pai, a small town that has a reputation as the home of hippy backpackers who travelled Thailand in the past and ended up staying. So lots of peace, love and tie dye. We stopped for a late lunch but John was keen to push on a bit and stay somewhere more rural.As it started to get dark we came across the Everest Resort (it was on a bit of a hill but the name was something of an exaggeration), when something is called a resort in Thailand it may be a bit basic but usually there will be food available. This place was miles from anywhere and had lovely huts on stilts (see below) but no food. However they still russled us up a couple of plates of very tasty fried rice, as the owner spoke no English and we could only say Hello and Thank you in Thai this was arranged by means of a phonecall to Bangkok and interpretation via an English speaking relative!
A few more capacity load pics............. 
What is the collective noun for monks? 
Room for one on top. 
In parts of rural Thailand they still eat dog but some pet ones are a fashion accessory just like LA or London.
Wat Rong Khun is a bit different from most Buddhist temples in Thailand, traditionally the buildings are white with lots of gold decoration and touches of red and green. This temple is pure white and silver and has been designed and built by a Thai artist called Chalermchai Kositpipat. It's kind of a cross between a Disney castle and a Christmas cake with some modern art thrown in. Because it's unusual it draws big crowds which kind of detracts from the serene environment found in quieter temples.
We ended the week at the area known as the Golden Triangle where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet. Famous in the past for opium farming the local farmers are now encouraged to grow legal but less lucrative crops.
Local villagers are happy to show tourists the smoking pipes still used although they won't say what they smoke!
We ended the week at the area known as the Golden Triangle where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet. Famous in the past for opium farming the local farmers are now encouraged to grow legal but less lucrative crops. Below the Ruak river (we'd never heard of it either) joins the much more famous Mekong river.
Local villagers are happy to show tourists the smoking pipes still used although they won't say what they smoke! 
Our plan had been to head over the border to Laos but due to the bike mods required we headed back to Chiang Mai for a few days first.
On to Laos soon.................
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