Mapping Trip to Northern Thailand

[KC*]

Mapping the mountainous roads in Northern Thailand can be both challenging and fun. Here's a brief photo-tour of my recent track gathering exercise that ran alongside our annual medical aid-trip to the mountain villages off Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.

After packing my sleeping bag, instant coffee (non-existent in the villages) and bits of clothes, it was off on a Silk-Air flight to Chiang Mai. Soda Water - my favourite beverage!

01. Last cool refreshing drink on the flight before hitting the road on arrival.




02. The rest of the team (comprising another 5 vehicles) were already in the mountains when I arrived in CNX. I joined them late as I was holidaying in Melbourne. On arrival, I picked up this 2WD Toyota Twin-Cab. Needed the open back for loading medical supplies.




03. The Toyota was fine on open roads but I traded it for this 4WD Ford Ranger for navigating the mountain tracks.




04. Here's a shot of the equipment mounted on my Ford. I have a borrowed GPSMap 60CSx for track-logging and a Nuviphone for navigation. We also use 2-Way Radios for communication - this one is fitted with a Motorola GP2000 with Palm Mic. With 4W UHF Output, it is excellent for convoys.



05. Here's another one of our vehicles - a Toyota Hilux 4WD. These Turbo-Diesels have tremendous torque. We had 2 of these beasts. I had another GPS60C mounted for tracklogging and Nuvis for navigation.





more....

[KC*]

06 Mountain Roads can be tricky. Even highways can turn into narrow single lane cement paths and unpaved roads along certain stretches. Having the right vehicle is crucial. Unpaved roads can be dusty in the dry weather and we keep a good distance from each other. On wet days, they turn into mud paths and can be dangerous.



07 Here are my trusty GPSrs firmly mounted on the windscreen, surviving the endless bumps and rattles.



08 Occasionally, we were confronted with choices. Here's one: Should I take the wooden bridge with my heavily laden vehicle or into the stream?



09 The answer is obvious. Hee...





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[KC*]

10 Some drives may not be long in terms of distance, but can be tiring. At each destination, we'd set up clinic and often work into the night. Then we'd roll out our sleeping bags and have our well deserved rest. Here is my comfy spot in the home of a villager, complete with a view of the outdoor toilet, pigs and stray dogs.



11 After 2 weeks, my vehicle has collected a thick layer of dirt. Some strange words started appearing...



12 OK... hint taken. End of trip, we hit the pubs in Chiang Mai and get our well deserved...



Now I am back in my office (idling away... heee). Tracks and POIs from our GPSMap60C and 60CSx have been downloaded and will be sorted out over the next few weeks.

So that was how the N Thailand map was built over the last 10 years - along with the generous contributions from fellow track-loggers from all over. To all who contributed and for spending time reading this thread, I'd like to say

[stimix]

Wow

Mapping to the extreme esp from the original Northern Thailand mapper himself

[cruiser]

Now I am back in my office (idling away... heee). Tracks and POIs from our GPSMap60C and 60CSx have been downloaded and will be sorted out over the next few weeks.

So that was how the N Thailand map was built over the last 10 years - along with the generous contributions from fellow track-loggers from all over. To all who contributed and for spending time reading this thread, I'd like to say

TQ brudder KC for sharing those pics... it sure brought back some great spending times I had in 2006 up in ChiangMai (Was there 4x) and 3x in 2007. I do and am considering yr switch from the Toyo to the Ford 4WD... as I'm also heading for BKK and Hua Hin this summer and placed a reservation for a Toyo 4WD SUV as the Rental Co has no Ranger in their fleet.

Will PM you instead on more details soon. Great to see you are a Guinness guy yrself...

Cheersch as we say it by us here....

[GoSpeed]

yum.. delizious offroad tracking...