Visiting
Chiang Mai and have four days to spare? If so, Mae Hong Son, which is a northwestern
Thai province bordering Burma, would be a perfect holiday destination for you.
If you are lucky like me, you will have Phil as your tour guide, and Nit as
your driver. The tour could be packaged into three nights and four days, starting
and ending in Chiang Mai. Here’s what you would do:
On Day 1,
you would depart from Chiang Mai, driving through the scenic Doi Inthanon
National Park, stopping on the way for an exhilarating view of the waterfall,
an experience of a local tribal market and a climb of the Doi Inthanon summit. You
would stop for lunch at Mae Chaem, where you would see ladies at work, weaving
beautiful fabrics, and enjoy a good meal by the river. In the late afternoon,
you would arrive in Mae Sariang, where you would stop for the night.
On Day 2,
you would depart from Mae Sariang and enjoy more greenery of the rolling hills,
as you travel up and down the mountain, driving through sharp curves and bends.
You would stop at Ban Huay Dua to go on a boat ride on the River Pai and visit
a long-neck Kayan tribal village in Huay Pu Keng. This promises to be both a
major tourist attraction and an eye-opening experience, as you will be exposed
to tribal poverty as well as the richness of their art and culture. Huay Pu
Keng is the last point on this side of Thailand, with the Burmese border only 5
km away. After your visit to the long-neck tribal village, you would return to Ban
Huay Dua by boat and have a lovely Thai lunch by the river. After lunch, you
would enjoy a pleasant scenic drive to the city of Mae Hong Son, arriving there
in the late afternoon. When in Mae Hong Son, you don’t want to miss a visit to
Wat Phrathat Doi Kong Mu and the night market: the walking street is bigger
than the one in Mae Sariang and the night market is on every day but closes
early. There is a lot of good street food to enjoy against the backdrop of two beautifully
decorated and lit up temples by the pond - Wat Chong Klang and Wat Chong Kham -
whose bright and colourful reflection in the water is magnificent!
On Day 3, you
would depart from Mae Hong Son in the morning, once again enjoying the pleasant
drive, up and down the mountains, with their sharp curves and bends. It would
be a good idea to stop at the hilltop of Pang Oung to visit another tribal market
and enjoy the scenery of the Thai highlands. Your next destination would be Tham
Nam Lod, a massively impressive ancient limestone cave of geological,
archaeological and ecological importance. You would hire a lantern guide and
use a traditional bamboo raft to enter the cave. There is so much to see in
there, you would be awestruck! After visiting the cave, you would have lunch at
one of the many local restaurants within the Tham Nam Wildlife and Nature
Centre premises. You would find the food cheap and good and the attitude of the
people, warm and hospitable. Your final destination for the day would be the
city of Pai, the Thai dream destination, with a beautiful river flowing through
the city. The walking street and the night market in Pai are bigger than
those in both Mae Sariang and Mae Hong Son. Nightlife is vibrant, with so much
to eat, see, do, buy and enjoy. There are also a lot of foreign tourists and
Western restaurants in addition to Thai cuisine options.
On Day 4, you
would leave Pai in the morning, enjoying yet another pleasant drive, taking
several scenic stops to enjoy the Thai natural beauty. A word of caution,
though: the roads are curvy and the climbs are steep (that is if you don’t come
from a mountainous country!); you want keep looking straight ahead to enjoy the
ride and avoid motion sickness. The Elephant Training Centre in Chiang Dao
would be a good place to stop to enjoy an elephant performance or an elephantride, depending on what you want to do. Here, you could also go on a bambooraft and buy various products, including food, painting and souvenirs, to
support the elephants. If it is lunchtime and you are hungry, there is a good
restaurant by the river. From the Chiang Dao Elephant Centre, it’s an hour’s
drive to Chiang Mai city. You would be back reasonably early, with the second
half of your day available for you to spend on Chiang Mai tourist attractions,
if you are not too tired, that is.
If you like,
among other things, scenery, national parks, green hills, caves, rivers,
waterfalls, rural life, local people and traditions, pretty little towns,
walking streets and night markets: the Mae Hong Son Province has it all. All of
these three places in the Mae Hong Son Province – Mae Sariang, Mae Hong Son andPai – will take you one step closer to Mother Nature. They will transport you
to a world so different from your own, far away from the hustle and
bustle of your busy urban lives. Visit once and this province will not disappoint
you. In fact, let me assure you that one visit to Mae Hong Son will not be
enough. There is something about its gravity that will make you want to keep coming
back.
LJ BIZ.,Co,Ltd
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