10th Annual HU Thailand Travellers Meeting 2016

Chiang Mai

January 8-9, 2016

Why Come to a Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Travellers Meeting?

You can meet people who don't think you're crazy for wanting to ride your bike to South America or Africa or across Asia, or even around the world! Admit it, all your 'normal' friends and most of your family fears for your sanity! So, this is your opportunity to meet the people who will encourage you in that craziness, share their experiences and advice on how to do it, and maybe you'll meet them again in Mongolia or Timbuktu!

The Plan
Meeting Location - Where is it?
Accommodation
Information about the area
Local hosts, information

If you're heading there, check out the HUBB for the Thailand Meeting thread, who's going etc!

The Plan - All times - and everything - approximate!

Friday, January 8, 2016

18:00 – 19:00: "Welcome Horizons Unlimited Travellers," a sponsored reception by The Rider's Corner and friends. Free draft for one hour! This evening is a "Meet and Greet" opportunity for serious local motorbike riders, cyclists, overlanders, key people and HU travellers to spend time together exchanging road tales and information. Meals can be ordered off the menu.

19:00: Introduction of all attendees, "Pass the microphone," chill and swill until?

Saturday, January 9, 2016 – OFFICIAL HORIZONS UNLIMITED MINI-MEETING

14:00 – 14:30: Horizons Unlimited group photo at The Rider’s Corner. Professional photographer(s) will be shooting for Horizons Unlimited and magazines.

Lunch at Riders Corner

18:00 – 19:30: BBQ. The Rider’s Corner Restaurant has been acclaimed as “the best BBQ in Chiang Mai” and awarded the Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence. Reservations for the BBQ are required. Call 0870481787, 0856188914 or email to The Rider’s Corner to make reservations. 200 THB per person. This is a special discounted price for attendees of the 2015 HU Mini-Meeting.

19:30 – 19:45: Welcome and introduction of all attendees, “Pass the microphone” by the evening Master of Ceremonies, The Most Honorable Ozie Hamerman, “The California Mocy-Man With The Plan.”

19:45 – 20:30: Multimedia presentation #1 TBA

20:30 – 21:15: Multimedia presentation #2 TBA

21:15 - ???: Motorcycle Travellers’ Questions and Answers – Travel around The Golden Triangle, Southeast Asia or ‘round the world.

(Report on the 2015 Horizons Unlimited Chiang Mai meeting. 9-11 Jan)

2015 Speakers confirmed:

Adventurer, Author and Global Motorcycle Entertainer, Geoff Thomas from GB, has volunteered to be one of the two entertainers on Saturday night. Thomas always has a wild and interesting presentation. Once he shared his tale of managing 1,000 kilometers in 24 hours on a Thai manufactured 125 cc Tiger motorcycle, his personal form of an Ironbutt 1,000 in 24 hours. His adventure included two flat tires, the second being caused by the first Thai tire changer leaving an adjusting bolt inside the tire between the tube and the tire after making the patch fix. Given the slow speed of the Tiger and other road traffic adventures along the way it was an amazing feat to do the 1,000 kilometers from the HU Meeting in Chiang Mai to his end point in Bangkok in less than 24 hours.

How about you? We're all here to learn, and there's LOTS to learn! We want to do more presentations and clinics - but we need volunteers to give them! Any topic you can contribute having to do with motorcycle travel, maintenance, planning etc, lasting 20 minutes or more, would be great. Please contact me here to volunteer.

Previous speakers and presentations were:

• Two Bikers One World by Anders and Petra Stridfeldt, on BMW F800GS's around the globe.

• Caught In A Sideways Loop In Hidden Asia, or how an 8,000 kilometer planned adventure tour turned into a 40,000 kilometer lifestyle. By wandering adventurist Ian Gatenby

• Munich to Capetown (The Harder Way Down)
  Ekke Kok and Audrey Allenspach-Kok (CA)

• Chris Banks, who shared his near-drowning experience in Morocco with the group. Banks and his fellow travellers lashed their motorcycles to trees when caught in a flash flood. His presentation was one of near death and survival.
• Greg Frazier, a terrific multimedia "Sun Chasing – Four Times Around The World By Motorcycle, Four solo rides around the world, some hard, some soft - none boring."
  • "How My GPS Lost Me In Southeast Asia"
  • "No Strangers To Danger – Survival Riding In Third World Countries"
  • "Think You Are Tough?"
    1. Riding A Motorcycle To Alaska
    2. ADVENTURE MOTORCYCLE magazine's 2006 "Adventure Motorcycle Ride"
    3. The 2006 Famed "Colorado 500" Dirt Bike Ride

The Meeting Location

Riders Corner Bar and Restaurant (Food, maps, motorbike rental, traveller's "touch point")
357, Moon Muang Road
Chiang Mai

Tel:0870481787

More information on how to find it.

GPS: N18.47.701, E98.59.602 (Located in the heart of Chiang Mai, on the northeast corner of the old moat, just minutes walking from the central Tapae Gate. Easy to find by tuk-tuk from most hotels and guest houses.)

Menu: Western and Thai

Free Wifi, some off-street parking, open late, English spoken and a "HU traveller friendly" atmosphere. Motorcycle traveller DVD player with multiple screens! Got your special adventure travel DVD? Bring it along and the management will try to play it on the house system.

The Riders Corner Bar and Restaurant and Ride Inn Hotel have become "the meeting point" for serious local and international motorcycle travellers in Asia and especially those in the Golden Triangle of Thailand. It is here that the latest information can be found on motorcycling and travel through the wide network of contacts in and out of the location. The motorcycle specific and freshest maps of North Thailand and Laos are sold from here with net profits going to charitable organizations in Asia. If a motorcycle traveller wants Golden Triangle riding tips, this is the place to start in Chiang Mai!

Camping, Accommodation

Major Accommodation

The Ride Inn Hotel
357 Moon Muang Road
Tel: 087-0481787, 085-6188914
Note: The Ride Inn Hotel is the base camp for the 2012 HU Mini-Meeting. They have a limited number of rooms but can find you local accommodations if filled. Located on the corner of the moat surrounding the old city of Chiang Mai, it is easy walking distance to many of the local sites.

Other Accommodation Possibilities

Numerous accommodation possibilities are nearby, but do reserve early as this is the "high season" in Chiang Mai.

Top North Hotel
41 Moon Muang Road
8 rooms are reserved under "Horizons Unlimited"
1,050 TB per night, with air con
Tel: 053-279-6235
topn...@hotmail.com, www.topnorthgroup.com

Top North Guest House
approx 600 Thai Baht (Big Room, air con) 500 TB (Small room, A/C), 400 TB (Small, fan)
15 Moon Muang Road, Soi 2
Tel:  053-278-9000
topn...@hotmail.com, www.topnorthgroup.com

Lai-Thai Guest House
No rooms reserved, but vacancies
111/4-5 Kotchasarn Road
750 Thai baht - Double/Twin
Tel: 053-271-725
m...@laithai.com www.laithai.com

Note: All three of the above are short walking distance to Amora Tapae Hotel, Art Café, "Chill and Swill" Oasis's on The Moat, as well as Internet shops, Starbucks, and numerous other restaurants and tourist shops. They are also very popular with motorcycle travelers attending Chiang Mai Bike Week and have off-street motorcycle parking.

Information about the area

ART CAFE (Swill and Chill near Tapae Gate)
N18.78786 E98.99367

TONY'S BIG BIKES (Motorcycle rentals)
17 Ratchamankha Road, Tel: 053207124

Can you supply us with links, and other info on the places to ride, and interesting things to see in the area? Let us know here.

Local Hosts

If you have any questions, please contact Grant or Gregory: glo...@yahoo.com

The Horizons Unlimited events couldn't happen without the support of the local organizers and other helpers, and we greatly appreciate their assistance and support - please be sure to thank them too!