Back Road from Mae Hong Son to Myanmar Border

🏍️ ROUTE 4015 — WHAT’S UP THERE, THEN? Some roads announce themselves with famous viewpoints, enormous signs and a steady procession of touring bikes. Route 4015 isn’t one of those roads. This little side road runs north off the 1095 northeast of Mae Hong Son, heading all the way up towards the Myanmar border. If you’re trying to find the bugger, it’s east of the turn for Ban Rak Thai and west of the road up towards Ban Jabo. At first, we weren’t terribly impressed. Nice enough. Bit of road. Some trees. Nothing to write home about. Then the scenery suddenly opened up and — bloody hell. 😎 Big mountain views appeared between the hills, followed by stretches of dense tropical jungle where colourful birds were flitting through the trees. The further we went, the more it felt like we’d stumbled onto one of those little roads that hardly anybody bothers exploring. Which, of course, immediately makes us want to explore it. Eventually the 4015 runs out of Thailand. There’s a checkpoint at the Myanmar border, and that was the end of our northward progress. Fair enough. Turn the bike around. On the way back we pulled into a little village restaurant for a bowl of soup noodles, had a bit of a yarn with the locals and watched village life carry on around us. And somehow that was the best bit. No bucket-list attraction. No famous café. No queue of motorcycles waiting for the obligatory photo. Just a beautiful little road, jungle, mountains, friendly locals and a cracking bowl of noodles somewhere most visitors will never see. These are the rides we bloody love. Sometimes you don’t need a destination. You just spot a little road on the map and think: “Wonder where that goes?” Then you go and find out. 🏍️⛰️🍜🇹🇭