Breathtaking North Western Landscape of Thailand & Timeout in Bangkok

Time for a Road Trip

For the March 2023 school holidays, we decided to do a road trip around Thailand. We recently came across a beautiful scenic route cutting across Mae Hong Son, the north western-most province of the Land of Smiles. The Mae Hong Son loop starts and ends at Chiang Mai, involving (officially) 1864 hairpin twist and bends one way, offering splendid mountain and river scenery. Mae Hong Son (city and province) sits in the valley along the mountain ranges forming the borders of Myanmar and Thailand, hence is heavily forested and isolated. It is also home to multiple diverse ethnic hill tribes. These combination really offered an authentic rural charm as we journeyed along the route, visiting and staying at some of the towns/villages. The closer we got to the border, the more authentic the experience, and fewer folks able to converse in English. At a Lahu village where we spent a night, we were exclusively conversing using Google translate. Thank God for technology.

We broke our journey back to Penang with a short stopover in Bangkok for some massage, shopping & exploring the capital.

Itinerary

Below is our itinerary for our trip, hopefully this can be a reference for those of you who might be planning something similar

Day	City	Highlights
1	Chiang Mai	– Arrived in evening, collected car booked via Budgetcatcher (890B/day) – Visited Wat Sri Suphan (free) – Stayed at iSilver Hotel (booking via Agoda) – Dinner at Khaomao-Khaofang Imaginary Jungle (call to reserve, especially on weekends)
2	Doi Inthanon	– Hiked Pha Chor trail at Mae Wang National Park (100/adult, 50/child) – Entered Doi Inthanon National Park (300/adult, 150/child) – Visited Mae Ya, Wachirathan & Sirithan Waterfall – Coffee/Tea Tasting at Somsak & Pati Non at Mae Klang Luang, a Karen village – Visited Royal Garden Siribhume & Siriphum Waterfall – Visited Royal Agricultural Station – Stayed at Inthanon Valley (via Line app) – Dinner was Mookata/steamboat prepared by the guesthouse
3	Doi Inthanon	– Hiked Kew Mae Pan trail (200/guide) – Walked Ang Ka trail (free) – Visited Doi Inthanon Visitor Center – Visited Hmong Community Market – Visited Two Chedis (100B/adult, 50B/child) – Visited Ban Pa Pong Piang
4	Mae Hong Son	– Drove to Mae Hong Son arriving in the evening – Morning walk around Ban Khun Klang – Visited Jericho farm enroute – Lunch at Noodle House at Ban Pang Ung enroute – Laundry at Laundry Today Wash & Dry – Sunset at Nong Chong Kham lake – Stayed at Palm House guest house (booking via Agoda) – Dinner at Night Market
5	Mae Hong Son	– Hiked up for sunrise at Wat Phrathat Doi Kongmu – Breakfast at Best Beef Noodle Mae Hong Son – Visited Su Tong Pae Bamboo Bridge & Wat Phu Samanaram – Visited Tham Pla (100B/adult, 50B/child) – Visited Huay Pu Keng, a Kayan Village (200B/adult, 100B/child, 30B/boat)
6	Ban Rak Thai	– Departed from Mae Hong Son, arriving Ban Rak Thai for lunch – Breakfast at Talat Chao – Raft Ride at Pang Oung (150B/raft) – Visited Pang Oung National Park (100B/adult, 50B/child) – Visited Pang Tong Palace (free) – Lunch at Kuay Teow Yunnan Pa Nuai – Sunset at Lee Wine Resort (20B/adult, 10B/child) – Lodging at Chasa Rak Thai (website) – Dinner at ร้านอาตี๋น้อยยูนาน บ้านรักไทย
7	Ban Jabo	– Departed from Ban Rak Thai late morning, arriving in the evening – Sunrise at the lake . Boat available at 500B/boat – Walked to Thailand-Myanmar border – Explored the Nam Lod Cave (600B/boat, max 3 pax) – Explored Tham Phi Maen cave coffins (free) – Stayed at โฮมสเตย์บ้านรัตนา (booked via Line) – Homecooked dinner provided by homestay host
8	Pai	– Departed for Pai after breakfast. – Hiked up Phu Pha Mok for Sunrise (100B/guide) – Breakfast & Coffee at Noodle Soup House Ban Jabo & Dekdoi Coffee – Zipped across Pai countryside via Pai Zipline – Visited Tha Pai Memorial Bridge – Onsen eggs for Tea at Mueang Rae Pai Geyser Hot Springs – Sunset hike at Pai Canyon – Lodging at Thom’s Pai Elephant Camp – Dinner at Pai Nightmarket
9	Chiang Mai	– Departed for Chiang Mai after lunch – Spent the morning with Elephants in the wild and at the river – Dropped by Poopoopaper to participate in workshop (100B/participant) – Visited Tha Pae Gate & Three Kings Monument – Lodging at Chiang Mai Gate House (booking via Agoda)
10	Chiang Mai	– Visited Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Fai Hin, Wat Chai Si Phum, Wat Lok Modi & Wat Phra Singh – Visited a beautiful boutique art gallery, Roi Dvarapala Ban Devalaya – Shopped at Warorot Market – Dinner at Chiang Mai Central Airport Mall
11	Bangkok	– Flew to Bangkok in the afternoon – Morning hike up Monk’s Trail to Wat Pha Lat – Lunch at Dash Resturant – Lodging at Siam Swana Hotel – Shopping at Pratunam Night Market
12	Bangkok	– Morning walk around Ratchathewi, breakfast from stalls – Full Day at Safari World (booking via Klook) – Dinner at a cat themed café, Caturday Café (200B/diner for entrance)
13	Bangkok	– Morning walk along Saen Saep Canal to Chareonphol Morning Market – Breakfast at Bearoffee Coffee & Bistro – Full Day shopping at Platinum Fashion Mall – Exchanged money at Superrich สำนักงานใหญ่ – Spices & Snacks from Big C Supercenter Ratchadamri – Dinner at Siam Paragon Foodcourt – Back Massage at Choon Seng Massage (200B/hour)
14	Bangkok	– Full day shopping at Chathuchak Weekend Market – Dinner at Ole Restaurant – Foot Massage at Choon Seng Massage (200/hour)

Below is a mesh up of the highlights of our journey. Do read through the individual post covering each of the place below, for a blow-by-blow account of our adventures.

Planning the Trip

Planning what to cover (and skip) was truly a challenge as everything sounded like a sight/experience not to be missed. Not only that, there were also not much info (at least in English) to be found online, especially if it involves adventures of the beaten path. That said, we throughly enjoyed exploring North western Thailand – tasty food, unforgettable adventures (canyonering, zipping from tree to tree, hiking in low temp, etc) , experiencing God’s goodness (weather, favor, etc), and covering many first (bathing with elephants, rafting in the dark, pecked by swans, etc) along the way. 
Ultimately, upon returning the car, the odometer showed we clocked nearly 1000 km (about 400km more than the expected 600km+ if we strictly followed the loop).

Here’s a breakdown of things we did in each location

WIP

Useful tools

Here are a few tools and tips that I gathered along the way.

• Line is more widely used by the locals. I used it a lot while communicating with homestay operators
• Google translate is a must. Remember to download the Thai language for offline translation
• Cash is king. Credit card is not widely accepted as there’s a highish bank charge. Locals use QR payment, but you will need a local bank account to use it
• ATM withdrawal will incur a surcharge of THB220 per withdrawal. CIMB claims that withdrawal for their customers via their ATM is free, but I was unable to locate one (even at their main branch)
• Grab app is a definite nice to have while travelling in Bangkok. You get access to GrabBike, Taxi, GrabCar without the headache of haggling
• Carry smaller notes (100THB and below) as most vendors do not have change for 500/1000THB.
• To save some time at the airport, pre-purchase the SIM card available in shopee. Remember to place into SIM only when you arrive, since most are valid only for a short amount of time.

Links

Our blow-by-blow account of our adventures can be found here:

• Doi Inthanon:
• Mae Hong Son:
• Ban Rak Thai & Ban Jabo:
• Pai: WIP
• Chiang Mai: WIP