** More pictures to be posted soon..
Mae Hong Son- Thailand
Mae Hong Son is also known as "the City of Three Mists" due to its dewy mist in the winter, forest fire mist in the summer and rainy mist in the rainy season. Best period to visit the place is between November & January where it is dry & cool. However, do take note that the temperature goes as low as freezing 12oC in the night. So, bring along your jacket!
This is one of my stop-over during my 14-days Thailand expedition but the only place which I highly encouraged especially if you are a nature-lover! Anyway, other places that I have visited during this “expedition” include Bangkok (Shopping & to see my friends); Chiangmai (Went hill trekking; rafting; elephant trekking and tribes visits); Chiangrai (Visit to Golden Triangle which is nothing like I have expected); Mae Sai and of course, crossing the bridge to Tachileik, Myanmmar. (For your info; they disallowed you to bring your passport over when crossing over to Tachileik, instead they pass you a piece of card to be stamped by the immigration. It is disappointing if you are looking forward to get a Myanmar stamp in your passport. Good news is I managed to persuade them (after much begging and persuasion) to let me bring my passport over and I did not get shot by the soldiers at the immigration officer. So, now I have a triangular stamp that states Tachileik and the wordings- “Walk in”!.
Ok, back to my Mae Hong Son this is the reason to this entry. A nice quiet place with practically nothing, so don't expect to do any shopping there. In the town area, you can find a couple of resturants catered to tourists; few local eating places; pubs and several motorbikes rental shops. Mae Hong Son is also one place with no tuk-tuk (Motorcycle taxi), hence the only way to get around is to rent a bike.
There is one particularly coffee shop in town that serves particularly nice Thai food. It is a medium size shop owned by a middle-aged lady. After trying out food from bigger resturants; I settled all my meals at this coffee shop in my 4 days-stay. I am sorry that I cant provide more information as there is no shop name (or perhaps not one that I could understood!)! Fate shall bring you to this shop which I have mentioned!=)
I stayed at 2 resorts- Golden Pai Resort and Fern Resort. Both were great though I was given a tiny room at first at Golden Pai resort but the staff upgraded me to a bigger; brighter and nicer room after my complaint! Fern resort is the highly recommended. Surrounded by hills, this resort also has its own paddy field within. Harvesting period is in November if you wish to help them out. If you stay in the suite, the paddy field is just outside your room. There are benches on the field so you can grab a beer and sit down to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Fern resort is simply a paradise away from the external world – it has no television and telephone in its room. The reception is rather low within the area too. There is a nature trail behind the resort which leads you to …(not sure where!) A place which you want to be in if you are seeking an escape from the reality! This resort is also one of the main reasons to why I want to return to Mae Hong Son.
Although you can find the Karens (Paduangs/Long-Necked) tribes around Northern Thailand, you can find the oldest Karen tribes in Mae Hong Son. Sadly, the tribe is also open to tourists at a fee of 250baht/person. You can sneak in free if you can convince the security that you are a local Thai though. I used to agree to the cruelty of “Human Zoo” and how the long-necked women are paid to be viewed. However, after visiting the tribe, I feel otherwise as the women and children (You wont see any men as they are supposed to be “working” in the town) in the tribe receive a source of income from the souvenirs which they are selling. The children play and run around freely too. You will not be touted to buy souvenirs by the children. They are very friendly and you can request to take personal pictures (FOC) with them too. It is a nice place to visit where you learn about their culture and way of life. The history to wearing neck ring is interesting too (from protecting their necks from tiger to beautifying themselves!-) You may even buy a neck rings from one of the stalls in the tribe. I almost wanted but the thought of someone (deceased) may have worn them stopped me (ha!). I bought the metallic steel bracelet and pencils though.
If you like fishes, you can also visit the fish cave (Tharn Pla) where you can see a variety of exotic fishes. I am not a fish-lover so the place does not fascinate much. Overall, still a place which you should go as you may never see so many fishes in one place!
So, if you planning a trip to Northern Thailand, never miss out Mae Hong Son – Land of three mists.
Mae Hong Son is also known as "the City of Three Mists" due to its dewy mist in the winter, forest fire mist in the summer and rainy mist in the rainy season. Best period to visit the place is between November & January where it is dry & cool. However, do take note that the temperature goes as low as freezing 12oC in the night. So, bring along your jacket!
This is one of my stop-over during my 14-days Thailand expedition but the only place which I highly encouraged especially if you are a nature-lover! Anyway, other places that I have visited during this “expedition” include Bangkok (Shopping & to see my friends); Chiangmai (Went hill trekking; rafting; elephant trekking and tribes visits); Chiangrai (Visit to Golden Triangle which is nothing like I have expected); Mae Sai and of course, crossing the bridge to Tachileik, Myanmmar. (For your info; they disallowed you to bring your passport over when crossing over to Tachileik, instead they pass you a piece of card to be stamped by the immigration. It is disappointing if you are looking forward to get a Myanmar stamp in your passport. Good news is I managed to persuade them (after much begging and persuasion) to let me bring my passport over and I did not get shot by the soldiers at the immigration officer. So, now I have a triangular stamp that states Tachileik and the wordings- “Walk in”!.
Ok, back to my Mae Hong Son this is the reason to this entry. A nice quiet place with practically nothing, so don't expect to do any shopping there. In the town area, you can find a couple of resturants catered to tourists; few local eating places; pubs and several motorbikes rental shops. Mae Hong Son is also one place with no tuk-tuk (Motorcycle taxi), hence the only way to get around is to rent a bike.
There is one particularly coffee shop in town that serves particularly nice Thai food. It is a medium size shop owned by a middle-aged lady. After trying out food from bigger resturants; I settled all my meals at this coffee shop in my 4 days-stay. I am sorry that I cant provide more information as there is no shop name (or perhaps not one that I could understood!)! Fate shall bring you to this shop which I have mentioned!=)
I stayed at 2 resorts- Golden Pai Resort and Fern Resort. Both were great though I was given a tiny room at first at Golden Pai resort but the staff upgraded me to a bigger; brighter and nicer room after my complaint! Fern resort is the highly recommended. Surrounded by hills, this resort also has its own paddy field within. Harvesting period is in November if you wish to help them out. If you stay in the suite, the paddy field is just outside your room. There are benches on the field so you can grab a beer and sit down to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Fern resort is simply a paradise away from the external world – it has no television and telephone in its room. The reception is rather low within the area too. There is a nature trail behind the resort which leads you to …(not sure where!) A place which you want to be in if you are seeking an escape from the reality! This resort is also one of the main reasons to why I want to return to Mae Hong Son.
Although you can find the Karens (Paduangs/Long-Necked) tribes around Northern Thailand, you can find the oldest Karen tribes in Mae Hong Son. Sadly, the tribe is also open to tourists at a fee of 250baht/person. You can sneak in free if you can convince the security that you are a local Thai though. I used to agree to the cruelty of “Human Zoo” and how the long-necked women are paid to be viewed. However, after visiting the tribe, I feel otherwise as the women and children (You wont see any men as they are supposed to be “working” in the town) in the tribe receive a source of income from the souvenirs which they are selling. The children play and run around freely too. You will not be touted to buy souvenirs by the children. They are very friendly and you can request to take personal pictures (FOC) with them too. It is a nice place to visit where you learn about their culture and way of life. The history to wearing neck ring is interesting too (from protecting their necks from tiger to beautifying themselves!-) You may even buy a neck rings from one of the stalls in the tribe. I almost wanted but the thought of someone (deceased) may have worn them stopped me (ha!). I bought the metallic steel bracelet and pencils though.
If you like fishes, you can also visit the fish cave (Tharn Pla) where you can see a variety of exotic fishes. I am not a fish-lover so the place does not fascinate much. Overall, still a place which you should go as you may never see so many fishes in one place!
So, if you planning a trip to Northern Thailand, never miss out Mae Hong Son – Land of three mists.
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