Adventuring through the jungle & winding along Samoeng Loop
We spent quite a few days exploring not only Chiang Mai itself, but the landscapes that surround the city. These little adventures made the end of the work week all the more exciting, and those moments are some of my favourite memories. I am sure that they will continue to be. There were two days that we spent the majority of the day on the scooter. The first of these two days was when we took the scooter outside of the city and just kind of explored spontaneously with no plan. We rode through some charming little streets and ate some delicious food. I even bought some wild sunglasses because I had left my own at our apartment.
This was a great day! We took a little street off the main street winding through the jungle and had some of the most memorable times getting out of the city and more into nature. We got to see some waterfalls and had to inch the scooter up some seriously steep winding roads to get to towering peaks where the rice terraces were supposed to be. We thought we might be lucky enough to see some of the rice terraces tiny peaks of bright green, as it was leading into the start of the rainy reason when the farmers typically plant the rice. We didn't see them, but we did get a glimpse of the terraces atop the mountains, which was insanely cool (and always a good excuse to go back, right?).
The scooter ride back to our apartment this day was wonderful. We left in the late afternoon and so it started to get dark around us and it felt like all there was in the world was us and the surrounding jungle. When we did get back to the city, we got some drinks (seriously, food and drinks are so cheap in Thailand - as is the case in most Southeast Asian countries), had some dinner, and went for a swim in the pool. There is something wonderfully simple about just taking a backpack and seeing where the scooter takes us. It is by far one of my favourite parts of this wild adventure.
'I'd finally come to understand what it had been: a yearning for a way out, when actually what I had wanted to find was a way in.'
Cheryl Strayed, Wild
The other incredible day on the scooter was the day that we decided to experience the Samoeng Loop. A full day of riding, we did not end up actually doing the full loop, however we saw most of it! Taking you through and around Mae Sa Valley, the Samoeng Loop is a 100km long round trip that begins and ends in Chiang Mai itself, which makes it a breezy trip. Four to six hours long - depending entirely on how often you stop throughout the day - the loop takes you past waterfalls, vast valley views, towering mountains, cafes - some of which are amazingly set down in the streams so that your feet dip in the cool pebbled waters while you eat and drink - and fruit and vegetable farms.
We had seen beautiful green mountains practically everywhere we have been lucky enough to live or travel to, and every mountain landscape is special in and of itself. There is something genuinely unique about Samoeng Loop, however. We were riding up to a little cafe that had a lovely view of a field and the mountains, and as we rounded a corner we saw a family of elephants, with a tiny baby, just walking along the side of the road. One of the elephants was being ridden by a little Thai mother and child while the father walked at the front with the biggest elephant. We would never ride an elephant, however I will admit it was crazy to just see them walking along the road, just like a car would round the mountains back home in Australia.
We made many stops to take some photos and explore a little. There was something achingly quiet about the loop, and it is something that is somehow also quite calm. I do wish we had done the whole loop (we did get lost, believe it or not, after taking yet another winding detour to explore - no regrets), however we can always do it again when we go back to Thailand! One of the absolute best parts about hiring a scooter is the freedom and flexibility - you can go anywhere you wish and you do not have to go with the crowds that come with organised tours. These 'off the beaten path' experiences are one of the best parts of travelling - and certainly some of our favourite memories of Southeast Asia.
