Continuing on Day 4...
Pang Ung Lake was not a tourist spot years ago when Wen was there. It was told to him by a Thai who said that normally only the Thais know about the place for camping/ picnic. The road leading to the place wasn't easy to reach - steep, curvy slopes...
What a load!
Surprisingly when we arrived, the place was already packed with tents!
Barriers were up at the entrance and we had to enter through a military guardhouse. We could also spot tourists at the place with a tiny stretch of stalls selling food for camping, cup noodles, etc. Wen was surprised by how fast things has changed around the place. The weather turned chilly, we got to our rented tents and prepared food for the night using and we rented our tents and prepared food under mass tins and solid fuels which Wen brought! It was a delight to have corns, noodles, bread, hot chocolate, milk and all! The sky turned absolute darkness and we were surrounded by the stars.
It was the most amazing feeling ever!
Day 5 Pang Ung Lake - Pai
Our morning was woken by people starting to make their way out of their tents, chattering voices. I peeped outside, the surrounding was still in total darkness. I knew these people were getting ready for the beautiful sunrise by the lake. We got ready too.
It was freezing cold that morning! So cold that we had our winter gear on. Smoke surfaced from the river, bamboo boats were streaming along, the sun was rising steadily and casting shadows of the well-lined trees, all these added a poetic feel to the tranquility. Awesome!
We then slowly packed our belongings and headed back to our car to continue our road trip.
Our next destination was Pai.
Pai is a perfect pitstop for those driving along the Mae Hong Son Loop (between Chiang Mai and MHS), the influx of tourists to this town brought with it hundreds of guesthouses and a western/ tourist- oriented and artistic night market. This was where I bought most of my Thai T-shirts.
Pai Riverside
This guesthouse was located a bridge away from the main street, it was a Kampung lookalike accommodation. My first kampung stay. It took me quite awhile to get used to the room but fortunately the bed was bedbugs-free and pillows were of standard.
After surveying the place, we headed out the the main street. We were then halfway from our full 9 days trip, we decided we needed a good massage.
This place looked like a school, I like that it looked decent.
We changed our attire before being led to a 5 mattresses room.
We laid on the mattresses and surrendered ourselves to the masseuses, and they did their magic for a full 2 hours.
It felt so good after the massage that we were all perked up that evening for a delicious Thai dinner and more walking at the market streets.
Day 6 (Pai - Mae Salong)
We thought roosters only call in the morning, but no...! You'll learn in the wild that roosters call at any time of the day, even when the sky was still dark! I was woken up in the night because of it! or them! Other than that noisy rooster, the room was actually very comfortable. As the weather was cooling, the room was actually cold with just an electric fan turned on.
Nature greeted that morning. We had a river right in front of our hut.
It was quite an experience for me. And I actually liked it.
We had our breakfast by the river before heading north again, next stop Mae Salong.
Before that, we made stops to 2 tourist attractions.
Coffee in Love
A beautiful place in Pai for good coffee and fantastic scenery
1095 refers to the road we were on
Memorial Bridge from WWII
This is a transportation bridge from Chiang Mai to Burma.
Doi (Mountain) Mae Salong,
also known as the village of Santikhiri - Chiang Rai Province.
Touted as the Little Switzerland, this hilltop village has an alpine-like climate and was homes to many hill tribes such as the Akha, Yao, Karen and Hmong from the southern China and Myanmar. We went straight for check in when we arrived.
Maesalong Mountain Home
This place was beautiful! The room was beautiful, the scenery of the tea plantation was beautiful, everything about it was beautiful!
Interestingly there was a seemingly left abandoned compound beside the guesthouse, teapots guarded by lions. Giant teapots guarded by Giant lions.
There's Wen in the photo on the right!
Him and his proud partner.
A lovely place to savour a cup of good tea. Pity.
It was almost 5pm by the time we wanted to head out to explore the place.
We spotted a temple far on the top of a mountain from our sight and Wen decided we should take a look, perhaps catch the sunset from there.
The sky was dimming by the time we reached this Chinese restaurant.
The food was fantastic.
Day 7 (Mae Salong - Chiang Kong)
The morning market at Mae Salong is a must-visit, as you will not only get a chance to see the interesting local stuff, but also the chance to see villagers in their tribe costumes selling handmade handicrafts.
This is BBQ glutinous rice
These ladies are from the Akhas tribe.
This lady loved the camera!
Notice how tiny this lady was...
Cute baby!
'Fired Rice'? Hmm...
I bit one of this in my mouth, but just couldn't swallow it...!
Wen said it tasted like chips. I would just take his words and admire his courage for that.
Strange stuff for sale - Dried Peas? Bee hive??
We noticed this item at a tea house.
It's a giant caterpillar, believed to be able to cure sickness!
Next, we visited this well-respected place, a popular attraction in this town.
General Tuan Shi-wen led the defeated Kuomintang from China via Burma and settled at this place in North Thailand.
A well-respected figure in this area since most of them were descendants from the army.
We drove by this place - The Chinese Martyr's Memorial Museum
Children were selling souvenirs at this place, tugging at us and wouldn't let us pass until we buy something. We didn't stay long.
We drove around the village and were delighted to see fields of tea plantations. It was beautiful, and all of a sudden, a white horse appeared! What a beauty!
We left Mae Salong at around noon and made our way to Chiang Rai.
Mae Sai
We first reached Mae Sai - the customs to Myanmar and settled at a coffeeshop for lunch.
Here's an interesting sight - a Myanmar vehicle.
This place is considered the northernmost point of Thailand.
The custom was a simple walk through tower, and you would have reached the other country.
The road leading to the Golden Triangle was not properly paved at all, a bumpy and sandy ride.
Our car was covered with sand by the time we arrived.
Sop Ruak, or Golden Triangle, Chiang Rai - a border between Thailand, Myanmar and Laos.
Here's a temple, watching over the Golden Triangle.
This place was super crowded.
Museum of Opium
The Golden Triangle was one of the main illicit opium producing areas.
We visited the museum, just to get an insight of poppy plantings, the production of opium and its uses.
Then came nightfall, and Wen made a statement to his parents, he had not arranged for any accommodation for the night!
As he wasn't sure how far we could have travelled or where we would end up for the day, he wanted to leave it to a 'check, book and pay' scenario.
That was what we did.
We drove our way down South and decided to settle in Chiang Kong.
We had enough of driving and saw guesthouses along the streets. Hungry too.
We were glad when we found one available - Tamila Guest house
We read somewhere that food at Tamila is good, but unfortunately, the restaurant was closed for that evening, we headed out for somewhere closeby for a good meal. Green Curry, very nice.
Day 8 (Chiang Kong - Chiang Mai)
Tamila Guest house
We were served a hearty breakfast at Tamila that morning and I was able to take photos of the place better than when we reached almost pitch dark last evening.
It's interesting to be able to have breakfast with an overlooking view of another country across the river! That's Laos...
We took a walk along the road of Chiang Kong after breakfast.
The morning turned misty.
Laos - with our zoom lens
Heading back to Chiang Mai, we stopped by an awesome temple at Chiang Rai.
Rong Khun Temple
There was a golden temple too, but Rong Khun Temple totally outshines this.
Cabinets full of lost and found items! You can imagine how many people came in awe of the unique architecture, and forgot to watch their belongings...!
We finally made our way back to Chiang Mai after 6 long days...
Carrefour was for our last minute shopping - Thai goodies and souvenirs.
It was funny that the music came on and all Carrefour staff stopped whatever they were doing and joined in line to do a dance for all of us! That was interesting!
Night at Montara Happy House
Dinner at Art Cafe. We had Italian, mexican and western dishes.
With due respect to the King, his photos could be found everywhere...
Day 9
Morning came and we had to return our vehicle.
Without a transportation, we settled to walk Chinatown for last minute goodies buy.
Interesting deep-fried Pig Skin (collagen!), dried fishes, lots and lots of strawberries! Even dried strawberries! We regretted not buying despite tasting and we liked it. A packet of dried strawberries at the airport cost almost S$20-30 for a small packet! I didn't check but i believe at this wholesale market, it should be very much cheaper.
This trip was a great adventure and experience for me.
It was as if I have visited many places even though it was just Northern Thailand!
I can't wait to see the rest of the world -- with Wen. :)
