Mae Hong Son Loop (again) Day 4

After a relaxed morning we got back on the road and drove 175km north to Mae Hong Son, the capital of the region. It was a main road which meant it wasn't as interesting as the rest of the loop but we took a few detours, including to some caves which we didn't go in because of the high price but we got to see some gorgeous scenery anyway. However it almost went horribly wrong when the bike wouldn't start. It seemed like the battery was dead and we were in the middle of nowhere.

I tried phoning the rental company but no answer. I knew it was possible to kick-start scooters but I'd never done it before and wasn't sure if that would work anyway. A car full of monks stopped but they didn't speak any English. Then another motorbike stopped and I managed to mime kick-starting and they showed me how to put the bike on to the centre stand and it worked, the bike started. We were relieved that we could get back on the road and get to Mae Hong Son.

We looked at some cheap rooms in the centre of town but the beds were too hard so we went to a really great hotel I'd stayed at before and I did a deal for a good price. It was the nicest room I'd stayed in for a while. We headed in to town and found a little night market where we ate Khao Yam, a rice salad from southern Thailand which was so tasty that we bought a second one.