Sticky Situations @ Chiang Mai, Thailand
After the sea of clouds sunrise we packed up our bags, strapped them to the bikes, and began the ride to Chiang Mai; completing our moto tour of the Mae Hong Son loop. This last stretch of road had been touted by some as the best of the whole loop. While the hairpin turns and corners were phenomenal, they also slowed down a lot of cars. Which meant we spent a lot of our time stuck behind vehicles, trying not to breathe the fumes. These roads were great, but we missed the more remote roads from earlier in the trip.
For Adam in particular this road felt bittersweet. It marked the beginning of the end and for the first time in a while our next stop felt less exciting than our previous ones. It’d been about 2 months since we left San Francisco, and we were starting to feel some travel fatigue.
That night, after checking into our Hotel, we took some time to discuss our return trip and ultimately decided that Bangkok —> Tokyo —> San Francisco —> Chicago would be our best option. We already had a hotel in Bangkok and flights from Bangkok to Tokyo are plentiful, so this was coincidentally the most cost effective option that still gave us enough time to make it to the east coast for Christmas.
In the morning, our farm-stay hosts brought a Thai breakfast to our porch. We munched on chicken and rice, watching the birds hop about the rice fields, looking for their own Thai breakfasts.
With breakfast in our bellies and a whole day to fill, we got on the bike and set out for sticky waterfall. Sticky waterfall was a recommendation from a fellow traveler that we took somewhat blindly, meaning we didn’t know what to expect. Maybe it was a waterfall surrounded by sticks? But that sounded odd. When we got there we saw a light blue waterfall cascading down a steep limestone rock face. Numerous people were walking barefoot up the sloping rock, defying all expectations for how waterfalls work.
An info board taught us that the flowing water has a high concentration of dissolved minerals. The minerals then deposit on the stone, building up over time (similar to a stalactite in a cave) and create a textured coating similar to the tape deck of a skateboard. The natural grippy coating allows people to safely climb directly in the path of the water. As we scaled the waterfall, we giggled in disbelief. It’s so sticky! We said with glee.
After the sticky waterfall we walked to a sacred spring in the same facility. The legend goes two persecuted Thai princesses took refuge in a nearby cave but could not find water. The gods took pity on them and made the spring bubble up. The modern Thai people believe the spring water is sacred and a local showed us how we can drink it for good fortune.
After the spring we went back to our chalet to shower before heading into the Chiang Mai city center for dinner. While Helen showered Adam scrolled Reddit and happened to click on a post by a redditor traveling through Chiang Mai. He was angry that the police had randomly stopped him on his motorcycle. This made Adam think a bit, and as we were leaving he grabbed his international driver’s license, just in case.
We rode 2-up into Chiang Mai for dinner. Parking was limited, but we managed to squeeze into a large flock of parked scooters just around the corner from the restaurant. The restaurant we chose was famous for cooking crispy pork in drum shaped grills made out of clay. We could smell the food and feel the heat radiating off the hot cauldrons in the open air kitchen as we walked up. We ordered a crispy pork and rice with a papaya salad. It was delicious. Not overly complex, just simple dishes done well.
Happy and fed, we wanted to explore the Old Town neighborhood, only a few blocks away in the center of Chiang Mai. As we walked out of the restaurant Helen turned towards Old Town, but Adam stopped her. “I think we should move the bikes. I didn’t love that parking spot.” Adam said for no good reason in particular, just an irrational pursuit of the safest parking spot that probably stemmed from a childhood with a car-obsessed father who only parks in well lit corner spots away from heavy traffic. Helen, sensing this wasn’t a battle worth waging, shrugged and followed Adam to the bike.
As Adam rounded the corner he saw his bike; once surrounded by scooters, it was now alone with a police officer standing over it. We hurried towards the bike. As Adam got closer he saw a long metal chain wrapped around the rear subframe and the wheel. This bike was going nowhere. Adam ran to the officer, trying to hold in his panic. Fortunately, the officer spoke English. He pointed at the no parking sign and Adam apologized for not seeing it. “Is there anything we can do?” Adam pleaded, fully prepared to pay a bribe.
“Do you have a Thai bank account?”
“No, I don’t”
“Can I see your driver’s license?” the officer prompted. Adam looked at Helen and she handed him his international driver’s license from her backpack. Once the officer saw the drivers license he began to relax and his tone changed a bit. After a little back and forth he to took pity on us; letting us go with just a warning and unlocking the bike from its shackles.
Adam was filled with overwhelming relief. He couldn’t believe how close we came to disaster. Once we calmed down a bit we rode into Old Town, parked the bike, and triple checked the parking signs. Safely parked, we spent the evening wandering around Chiang Mai, got foot massages, tasty cocktails, and enjoyed our last night in northern Thailand.
