Route 1095: a beautiful drive with 762 turns between Pai and Chiang Mai

The trip from Chiang Mai to Pai is one that I recommend everyone to take by scooter. About 130 KM of riding, of which about 80 KM is on the beautiful route 1095. Here 762 turns (combinations) await you, if you look around every now and then you can immediately enjoy beautiful views.

Online I read that many others describe the route as dangerous, I stick to adventurous due to the 762 turns that await you. I understand the reasoning and definition of dangerous, but find it a bit exaggerated. Like the Hà Giang Loop, it is for me:

(1) Have experience riding a scooter, so you know how to take corners. I have seen a few who took many turns so badly that they regularly ended up on the wrong side of the road. This is exactly what creates dangerous situations. Looking ahead when cornering helps you see how much speed you can enter a corner without ending up on the wrong side of the road.

(2) Take care, and be extra cautious for oncoming traffic. I myself have had the occasional case of a bus using a large portion of my roadway to cut a corner. Other than that, I've had no problems with oncoming traffic.

Great view at one of the coffee shops towards Pai!

Costs

A 125cc scooter is more than good enough to cover the route. On certain sections it would be nice to have a little more power, but then again you'll be down a lot faster and you won't be able to enjoy the route as long. It's just how you look at it. To rent a 125cc scooter you pay on average about 250 - 300 Baht per day, which is a little less than 10 Euro per day. More power is immediately a lot pricier.

To make the trek up, you'll need at least a full tank, which will cost you about 130 Baht (€4).

The Honda Click was without a doubt my favorite scooter in Thailand!

Luggage

What about my luggage? At least you don't have to lug around a backpack or suitcase, because you can choose to have it transported by bus to Pai or leave it in Chiang Mai (if you know you will return here after Pai). Through Aya Service, you can have your luggage transported from Chiang Mai to Pai or vice versa for 100 Baht (€3).

You can drop your luggage off in Chiang Mai before 13:00 for transport to Pai and drop it off in Pai before 10:00 for transport to Chiang Mai. I did this for both the outward and return trip and was able to pick up the luggage in the evening (around 19:00).

Scooter Rental

Aya Service also rents scooters, but for this you need to reserve one in good time. I was used to the luxury in Vietnam with last-minute reservations, but in Thailand this is more difficult. At the most well-known scooter rental companies, there were no scooters available anymore, so I visited some rental companies on the day of departure.

At Pop Rental I was able to get a Honda Click (automatic - 125cc) scooter. Here you pay a 3,000 baht deposit and they make a copy of your passport. The rental period does not work with whole days, but with a time scale of 24 hours. So for 3 nights in Pai, you need a scooter for 4 days, which comes out to 1,200 Baht (€35).

If you rent a scooter from Aya Service you can also return it in Pai or vice versa, but you will have to pay an extra fee for this.

Double check before renting the scooter:

• Tire pressure.
• Any damage (and take pictures of this).
• Whether there is a phone holder, which comes in very useful when navigating.

Having a scooter in Pai is ideal for driving to sights like the Pai Canyon.

Police checkpoint

In advance, I read a lot about police checkpoints on the road from Chiang Mai (to leave the city) towards the 1095 to drive to Pai. However, when I drove myself there was no police checkpoint anywhere in sight to drive out of Chiang Mai towards Pai. On the way up I passed about 2 checkpoints on the last few kilometers, but here was nicely gestured that I could continue riding.

Officially, an International Motorcycle License is required to ride a scooter with more than 110cc in Thailand. The scooter license obtained in the Netherlands does not count here, which means that driving is at your own risk, especially from an insurance point of view. Should the police stop you, locals say you can expect a fine of 500 Baht, about 16 Euros. You get a "certificate" to drive for 3 days in case the police stop you elsewhere.