Thursday, May 26, 2011

Heading north to Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son

After Bangkok, we flied to Chiang Mai, a big city in the North of Thailand. I didn't see much of the attractions in this city, only walked around the ancient fortified part of it, there were a lot of beautiful temples. The Night Bazar is also one of the tourists' attraction there with food, clothes, souvenirs of all kinds for sale. Two nights in a row, it was pouring rain. We fled into a restaurant waiting for the tropical rain to stop. The food we had was delicious.



Chiang Mai Night Bazar under the rain



A great restaurant with seafood, we had crab in curry sauce and a fried fish.






Chiang Mai's temples






Local food & flower market





Thai biscuits in containers & local grocery store






From Chiang Mai, we took a mini van to Mae Hong Son, a charming city near the Birman border. The trip there was really tough, many curves about 1800 actually before getting there, about 5 hours' drive. A friend told me to take a medicine to prevent car sickness and i thank that friend for warning me about this.
But it really worths the effort, Mae Hong Son is simply beautiful. With fogs almost all year long above the hills and mountains, it feels like Asian Switzerland. The forests are beautiful, there are Birman style temples, waterfalls, and the Long Neck hill tribe village accessible only by a long tail boat was amazingly beautiful. The boat cruise along the Pai River was the best part of the excursion. The Long Neck women made bracelets, statuettes and scarfs which are nicely handcrafted. This is their only source of revenue.







Super charming restaurant Bai Fern









Mountain Inn, a charming hotel in Mae Hong Son





Long tail boat cruise along Pai river to the Long Neck hill tribe village








The village 





Small pier where we took the long tail boat










A beautiful Birman style temple with an amazing view on Mae Hong Son



Me at the fish cave wearing a Bershka dress & Balenciaga bag



Mae Hong Son's waterfall







A temple by the lake in the heart of the city





2 comments:

  1. Wow M, so many beautiful pictures! I love Thailand and would like to go back someday. Looks like you had a wonderful time and you rock that lovley Violet Courier :)

    AM

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  2. thanks sweet *A*, thailand is a lovely country indeed. you should go back there and enjoy the food & desserts. yum.

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