TAK PROVINCE, UM PHANG, Feb.99 The details of a short cycling trip around Um Phang, Thailand From Mae Sot, route 1090 leads South. After around 50 km on the Eastern side of the road (just after a long, steep ascent), there is Pin-Lin Resort. This is a Thai resort, fan huts starting at B300, traditional bathroom, not very special but spacious and halfways clean. "Beautiful lady" is available. I bargained down to B200 for a single person with no demand for a "beautiful lady". It seems that no westerners go there and no English is spoken. Further along the road, a dirt-road branches off to the East and passes Chedi Kok, a hermit monastery or something like that. I met a single, young monk living there and he was happy to show me his cave: You enter from below (fragile wooden stairs lead down) then climb up through the sandy cave until you reach the top, at the level of the road. Bring a light, typically he has no working batteries. Batteries are welcome as a donation. Zero English. Next branchoff East from route 1090 leads to Thararak Falls. The picnic site at the foot of the falls seems no longer to be maintained and it is a relatively small fall, still fun to climb it through the water and bushes. There is a lake by the short stretch of dirt-road from road 1090 to the falls, people fish and swim in there. A bit further along road 1090, you'll reach the intersection with road 1206 towards Waley. On the way to Waley, you'll pass several villages that all seem to belong to Phop Phra. The border village (is that really Waley ?) itself isn't very spectacular, a small place. You just go in and continue until you hit the stream, if you cross you are already in Burma. None there who checked me, no military, no police, people happily crossing the water, a few traders selling clothes and some pickups waiting for furniture that is being made in workshops on the Burmese side, then carried across the stream. There is no real border market and if you want to buy Burmese items, probably you can't find them there. I do not recommend crossing the border, you never know if that farmer there is not a government official. Off road 1206, to the East, a good asphalt road leads to Mawker refugee camp. The road ends at the camp and you cannot enter unless you know someone in there. The camp consists of thatched huts only and you could mistake it for a village if there wasn't a military chechpost at the entrance and a fence around. Apart from Mawker, many little settlements in the area are tolerated refugee camps. From the intersection 1090 / 1206 it is approx 130 km to Um Phang (the LP atlas is incorrect there), always up/down and if you plan to do it by bicycle, have to start early and be strong. In order to arrive before nightfall, you may want to skip Pha Charoen Falls which is on the way (can do a long hike up along the falls, not very steep but looong way). It's a dramatic scenery on that road to Um Phang. Around 15 km of this road are currently not yet asphalted but work is proceeding every day. They road is dangerous as drivers tend to go too fast. A good place to stay in Umphang is PM TOUR (2 Moo 6 Umphang-Palata Road, Tel.055-561059, Fax.055-561294). Their huts are a bit away from the office, you have to check-in at the office. The whole thing is new and well-maintained. Double huts with bathroom, hot shower cost B160, Huts that sleep 6 people go for B350 (for 6 people). Under the same roof are bathrooms (back) and a sitting area (front). Single travellers pay around B80 per night, no matter what room is available for them. People are nice. PM Tour has guides and can arrange treks. Sorry, I haven't done it but heard no complaints from falang who done one. Tilosu waterfall can be reached by mountainbike. It takes 4 hours one way (for an average rider), first 20 km mountain road (asphalt), then 25 km dirt-road with some very steep sections. A 4WD can do it but no matter which transport you chose, it is a tough road. If you start early and don't spend too much time at the falls, you can cycle it in one day. There is a place for camping near the falls but you'd have to bring your own tent and stuff. A small, expensive store sells basic things like candles, water, Pepsi. The waterfall itself is very clean and beautiful. There is a footpath to the top. You need to get a permission for Tilosu falls in Um Phang. It is B10 at the Police Station and you should bring a recommendation from your guesthouse (so that they know what you want). Police is not accustomed to mountainbikers visiting the place alone, usually the permits are obtained by the trekking guides. I had a communication problem. Somewhere along the dirt-road in the forest, there is a checkpost where they are said to turn you back without a permit. In my case, they checked the permit and let me pass. It is not possible to cross from Um Phang East to Huay Nam Yen, Kha Nam Khun, Taling Sung. Guides said it would be a tough walk, no way by mountainbike. The way would be more of a hidden track that requires some climbing, not a "minor road" as indicated in the LP Atlas. And it needs a permission, which is not guaranteed. From Um Phang to Palata runs a good asphalt road. If you go from Um Phang up the mountain on the road towards Palata, you can see an impressive "Sea of Mist" (the mist in the valley under you) in the early morning. Pickups from Um Phang to Mae Sot may not depart if not enough passengers turn up. Mae Sot: Near the bus terminal (#2 in LP) is a night market and behind there, a few Burmese stalls sell Burmese food, betelnut, cigarettes. Nakhon Sawan: The city is good for shopping, big markets, many Chinese, can find many things there. Residents say, they are very happy with the food. Tai Hat is an excellent mountainbike shop (Chinese folks, they have things you can't get in Bangkok) Hotels are lousy. An "hourly" place is "99", paid B150 for a not-so-clean double with attached bathroom. There is heavy "traffic" in and out at 1am at night. They can provide "beautiful lady". It's in my GPS list. Lopburi: The impressive "Light and Sound Festival" is celebrated once per year (an ancient King's birthday). Most of it happens inside the palace, but they also have colorful processions (like carneval in Germany) outside. The festival runs for about half a week, 17.-21.February, this year. Not sure about other years. During the festival, a lot of traditional food and clothing is sold. Taipei Hotel is OK and B140 / single (in a double fan room with traditional Thai bathroom). They let me park the car inside and even washed it for me, then didn't charge anything for it ! And that during the high season of the King's birthday !! Beneath the Kala Shrine, along the rail, there is an open car park, B10 / day. The evening food stalls along the railway in Na Phra Kan Rd are good and popular. They have all the standard items, plus sea food, plus some more. Sitting there for 3 h with 2 expats, I enjoyed inexpensive and good-quality ice-cream as well as fruit shakes. And Lopburi has very entertaining monkeys (watch ur stuff). Entrance fees (during the festival, but shouldn't make a difference): Palace and Museum: B30 Palace alone: B20 Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat: B30 Chao Phraya Wichayen: B30 Prang Sam Yot: free (many monkeys there and 3 huge, artificial ones sitting in front) Kala Shrine: free --------- Please update the LP atlas, many smaller roads are not in, on the other hand several roads that are drawn are nothing more than footpaths. --------- Shopping in Bangkok: - Laser pointers (3 batteries) cost B120 in Ban Mo. In Khao San they try selling them for B380. - MP3-compressed music CDs (Panthip Plaza) are as low as B80, some shops in Panthip still sell for B150 and other plazas still maintain the old price of B250. Pirated software is sold at very good prices (typically B100 / CD) and quality is often good, but if you don't live in Bangkok better try if you can at least read the file system. CDs with Thai filenames can not run on a non-Thai Windows PC. Video CDs (VCD = MPEG1) can be found for B150 per movie (=2 CDs). The quality of VCD is naturally low, about as good as video tape. You can play VCD on most newer PCs. The ultimate picture quality you get from DVD but this is more expensive and less variety, because can't be pirated. You need a player for them. - PC hardware you'd better not buy in Thailand. Cameras also not. Singapore, US or Germany have better prices and newer models. Here you may even get defective (or half-defective) stuff. - Film in Bangkok is the same price (or a little bit more) as if I buy from a discounter in Germany. (In Burma, film is about half price of Thailand). Color prints in Thailand are lousy, even in the better shops. The color is unnatural and they look so much better if printed again in Germany or US. I've heard that some shops were able to do a better job, but I didn't find such a one. - The local loudspeaker market is an odd thing. Thai-made speakers are sold in many markets (between fish and clothes), all sizes and colors, no specs. A Thai speaker box has a very strong bass and a sharp tweeter, often no mid-range coverage at all. Acceptable speakers are sold by a local brand called "Nakoya". They were the best budget-priced speakers I found. Thai people who like music prefer to buy pricey imported speakers. - Chatuchak Market is still a great place for handicraft, clothes (incl fake designer stuff), bags, tools, car accessories, pots'n pans, home textile, pets, food (some of the things I definitely wouldn't want to try). If you buy a pet in Chatuchak, you usually have to spend some of the money you save (over a proper shop) on a pet doctor. Today, Chatuchak is a very useful market for travellers. You can find the following items and more: A lot of original, partly used US Army equipment. Good rope, belts, tents, mosquito nets, ammo boxes, clothing, boots / leather shoes. They sell imported SureFire and Pelican flashlights (also spares), same price as US (a dealer said to me, falang never buy because they don't believe the price is right). There's a good selection of American knives and compact toolsets, again not cheap. Dog-Tags as a fashion item. Other shops sell accessories for handguns. Good selection plus spare parts. Not the guns. - Weapons: In Chinatown, there are a few professional gun dealers (real guns). They have a good selection and in front of their shops street vendors sell accessories. Thief's Market (not far from these shops) sells the following: Soft Air guns (rather a toy, even with steel bullets), slingshots and imported "high-velocity-slingshots" (these are not bad). For those who are serious (don't ask me about what), Thief's Market has imported Crossbows (Taiwan, Japan). They come as 50 pound and 80 pound instruments and can do a lot of harm. If you don't want to buy the expensive arrows, you can get a pencil sharpener and a bundle of wooden chopsticks (will take out some of the punch, but OK for dogs). - Bicycles: Good quality, lightweight stuff you will find cheaper at a sale in US or Europe, middle-class Taiwan stuff is now becoming more popular but not so cheap either. Only toy-quality bikes are competitively priced. Spareparts are usually not too expensive, can also get excellent quality. A good selection of bike shops can be found in Worachak (Chinatown). Refer to my GPS list. The best bikeshop I know in Bangkok area is Saengthong in Nonthaburi. The guy will give you a very good price without bargaining, he has good stuff as well as cheap stuff (as you desire) and he does a good job. Other shops to consider are World Bike (Ram Intra Rd) and Pro Bike (nr Lumphini Park). All locations in my GPS list. - Food: Thai food you get everywhere, ask the locals for the good restaurants (or watch out for those that attract many people). Western food is more tricky. Here some hints: "Foodland" (several branches all over Bangkok) has a lot of good quality stuff, including wines and cheeses. "Villa Market" (also several branches) is similar, a bit more French products. Sausage is best from TGM (Thai-German Meat Products), they have booths inside many supermarkets (Foodland, Tops, ..). In the area of falang shops one can find (often good) western restaurants. Icecream from street vendors is usually safe. After it melts, they have to pour it away. I was never sick from that in 1 year. Ice cream from electrically powered iceboxes can make you sick because they refreeze it after power was out. However, electricity in good gas stations and big supermarkets is relatively permanent, not too much to fear. Other than shopping: - Health: Bumrungrad Hospital is the best and most expensive one. If you got an insurance, don't bother. Their service is excellent and still you pay less than in the West. Bumrungrad does appointments thru the Internet. Other hospitals I had recommended are Bangkok Chrisitian Hospital and Lerdsin Hospital (for broken bones). - Roads: For the Asian Games, the road system has been improved quite a bit. Now the expressway (2nd level toll road) almost reaches Pang Pa In. Still traffic out there is very light. Bangkok downtown traffic is still congested but has improved a little due to better roads and new roads that have been opened. Find on this website my GPS-list with coordinates of the places I have mentioned. eof