A Priceless Day Trip

Today I traveled "The Samoeng Loop" on my motorbike for the first time. Considered one of the premier day trips for the bike or motorbike enthusiast, it's a 100-kilometer (about 62 miles) stretch that cruises through the mountain terrain to the west of Chiang Mai.

Below is the item-by-item price list for the trip...

One tank of gas for my Honda Dream: 90 baht

The ultimate northern Thai lunch -- somtam (spicy papaya salad with crab), gai yang (grilled chicken), and khaawniaw (sticky rice) : 65 baht

A bottle of wine from a strawberry farm in Samoeng: 200 baht

A Thai massage upon returning to Chiang Mai from the four-hour trip: 150 baht

(I passed by this sign early on my trip. It translates to "Beware, elephants." And yes, there was an elephant on the road. Anyways, I thought it was representative of how Thai massage sometimes feels like an elephant stepping on you. But it's a good hurt.)

Total cost of today's excursion: 505 baht (not quite $17).

A fully relaxing day with beautiful scenery on the open road: Priceless.

There are some things money just can't buy. For everything else, there's Thailand.

Cheers,

Eric