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AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures
Thailand Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop 2024 Day 3 Huai Nam Dong to Pai: Of Colourful Temples & Waterfalls
Chiang Mai, Thailand Day 03: 11th January 2024 (Thursday)
This is part of a non-cycling road-trip tour of the Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop, Thailand. Day 3 Huai Nam Dong to Pai:
This is page 2 of a 10-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.
1. Traffic Directions!
Traffic in Thailand, is right-hand drive, so drive/cycle on the left. Same thing applies when crossing the road, take note of the direction in which traffic is approaching from!
2. Getting around the Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop.
Our tour package was for ground arrangements, and included a 10-passenger van to take us around the Mae Hong Son Loop, starting from & returning to Chiang Mai. It also included relatively good hotels/homestays. Charge per pax was at a very reasonable discounted rate. This excluded meals (other than hotel breakfasts), airport transfers, entry tickets and tips. This allow for individuals to have meals according to their own liking & budget. Allow THB100-150 per pax per meal should be adequate.
Note: Malaysian Touch n Go debit cards can be used where Alipay is accepted, such as at 7-Eleven outlets. Just ensure that the cashier use set the exchange to Thai Bahts.
Those interested in joining this guided tour can contact Eddie at +60-612-2600, whom we find was a very good & flexible guide and very attentive to our needs
3. Route & Traffic Conditions
Most of Thailand's main roads are paved well well-maintained and almost without portholes. In outlying rural areas, roads could be gravel & un-tarred. No toll is charged for most roads (including highways)! Traffic at the rural areas is fairly light, but there are traffic jams in Chiang Mai try to avoid peak hours.
The Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop roads are renowned for their scenic beauty AND also the many turns and bends. It is known as the Snake Route with 2,000 bends, some of them very sharp hair-pins, so do get motion-sickness medication in case you need them.
The Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop roads are renowned for their scenic beauty AND also the many turns and bends. It is known as the Snake Route with 2,000 bends, some of them very sharp hair-pins, so do get motion-sickness medication in case you need them.
4. Weather
Weather at the Chiang Mai & Mae Hong Son provinces differs a lot between day & night time and between the lowland and highlands. November to January temperature ranges from daytime high of 33°C to a night-time low of 14°C. At highland areas like Pai, Doi Inthanon & Pang Oung, night-time temperatures can go as low as 10°C. So to bring warm clothing and practice layered clothing to keep on warm and still allow for stripping during hotter time of the day.
5. Communicating with Each Other
When travelling in a group it's important to be able to communicate with each other, especially if one got lost from the rest. Many Thai pre-paid phone sim cards can now be purchased on-line prior to the trip and delivered within a few days.
We separately opted for DTAC & SCT-AIS sim cards.
DTAC Happy Tourist Sim for calls & data covers a period from 8 to 30 days with unlimited data and cost about 40-50THB per day. For just data only it covers a period from 8 to 15 days and cost about 35-40THB per day. These DTAC Tourist Sim cards can be purchased via Lazada.
AIS (Advance Info Service) is the largest mobile service provider in Thailand, offering excellent network quality throughout the country, including rural areas. AIS Tourist Sim packages ranges from 8-day/15GB (at 299THB) to 15-day/30GB (at 599THB) to 30-day/50GB (at 899THB). We purchase SCT sim-cards which connects to the AIS network; the 15-day/7.5GB was bought via Lazada.
6. Communicating with Locals
Except for those involved in the tourist industry, most Thai don't speak English, especially in the rural areas. It will be helpful to have a driver who speak English.
In case of emergencies call the Thai Tourist Tourist Police at 1155 or (+66) 2308-0333 This hotline is available 24 hours a day and responders speak English. OR got to clinic or pharmacy as most doctors and pharmacists can speak English.
7. Places & Things of Interests
There were many scenic and beautiful places of interest; but one should not miss the following (Note: click on the GPS coordinates for directional map to the respective places):
a. Wat Ban Den (Wat Den Sali Si Mueang Kaen) (วัดเด่นสะหลีศรีเมืองแกน (วัดบ้านเด่น)) (GPS: 19.15773, 98.97848) at Mae Taeng District., entry is free but do be generous to give donations for the upkeeps of the temples.
b. Dantewada Waterfalls (Land of Angel Waterfalls) (เเดนเทวดา) (GPS: 19.12318, 98.94211) entrance fee is THB60 pax.
d. Thom Pai Elephant Camp (GPS: 19.31072, 98.46309) (THB1,600pax Min 2 pax).
8. Food
a. Breakfast: Western/Thai fusion set at Black Canyon Coffee, Air Diamond Hotel (GPS: 19.07301, 98.93886).
b. Lunch: Thai Fare at Rim Klong Kitchen Food Garden (สวนอาหารครัวริมคลอง) (GPS: 19.10487, 98.93100).
b. Lunch: Thai Fare at Rim Klong Kitchen Food Garden (สวนอาหารครัวริมคลอง) (GPS: 19.10487, 98.93100).
c. Dinner: Khanom Jeen Nam Ngiaw (น้ำเงี้ยว) (Cotton Flower Pork Noodles) at stall selling Kanoom Jeen (Thai Rice Noodle) (GPS: 19.35976, 98.44216) road-side in front of 7-Eleven Pai (GPS: 19.35978, 98.44226).
Note: For most lunches & dinners we ate together at the same restaurant, although we split into two or 3 groups and ordered by our group. This way each group can order food to their liking and budget
9. Stay
Days 3 & 4: Sylvana Hotel, Pai (GPS: 19.36000, 98.44369); located within walking distance from the Pai Walking Street & Night Market.
10. Navigation
I used MapMyRide to track our routes and stops. Geo-tagging of places of interest was via FaceBook and Google Maps.
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PRELUDE
The previous two days we had arrived at Chiang Mai, visited several beautiful temples, and then headed for Huai Nam Dong, enroute we visited the Royal Park Rajapruek, and the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. The former is a 200 acres beautiful park with a collection of many varieties of plants from all around the world. The later is a Buddhist temple sitting on the hill-side with impressive views of downtown Chiang Mai.
Today we are had a diversion from the original itinerary, but it was a good change of plans as it brought us to an awesome temple complex, and also to a beautiful waterfall park.
___________________________________________________________________________THE TRIP DAY 3: HUAI NAM DONG TO PAI
Small group tour of the Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop, Thailand. Day 3 Around Huai Nam Dong to Pai:
Small group tour of the Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop, Thailand. Day 3 Around Huai Nam Dong to Pai:
We start on the second leg of our Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop, heading to Pai which seems quite renown & popular with the Western tourist crowd. Out of deference to animal kindness, we decided to skip,Thom Pai Elephant Camp and the connected Pai Bamboo Rafting. But Eddie replaced these with something even better - a colourful temple complex with many temples, AND a man-made yet beautiful & serene waterfall park!
(Click here for Huai Nam Dong to Pai Route Map)
Instead of writing afresh, I am linking to my day-to-day Facebook postings during the trip and embedding them here with some brief comments where necessary. Some additional photos are added for emphasis. (NOTE: Click on respective posts to link to the FB post to read in more detail. If you can't see the posts, please log out from your Facebook first)
Kicked off the day with a nice hotel-inclusive breakfast at the adjacent Black Canyon Coffee. Nope, we did not board into the cafe at the Airbus A330-300 in the hotel compound! But Black Canyon did serve an impressive breakfast set with the eggs served in a mini wok!
Instead of writing afresh, I am linking to my day-to-day Facebook postings during the trip and embedding them here with some brief comments where necessary. Some additional photos are added for emphasis. (NOTE: Click on respective posts to link to the FB post to read in more detail. If you can't see the posts, please log out from your Facebook first)
Kicked off the day with a nice hotel-inclusive breakfast at the adjacent Black Canyon Coffee. Nope, we did not board into the cafe at the Airbus A330-300 in the hotel compound! But Black Canyon did serve an impressive breakfast set with the eggs served in a mini wok!
We were most happy to forgo the Pai Elephant Camp, as it was replaced with a visit to the newly renovated Wat Ban Den. This is a temple complex with several temples, each dedicated to an animal of the Thai Lunar Calendar.
After being enthralled by the temples, our next destination was more serene but awesome too!
It's the Dantewada Waterfalls, a man-made park augmenting of the original landscape to create a nice park of waterfalls and cascading streams amidst much greenery. No wonder it's also called Land of Angel Waterfalls.
It's the Dantewada Waterfalls, a man-made park augmenting of the original landscape to create a nice park of waterfalls and cascading streams amidst much greenery. No wonder it's also called Land of Angel Waterfalls.
Lunch amidst padi fields at Rim Klong Kitchen Food Garden, Mae TaengDistrict, Chiang Mai.
Their specialty Pad Kra Pao Mu (stir fried pork with basil leaves) was very nice.
Their specialty Pad Kra Pao Mu (stir fried pork with basil leaves) was very nice.
A short walk along tall banana trees lined board walk led to the Pong Duet Geyser. There are very hot geysers here, too hot to dip into - hot enough to cook chicken or man eggs 😂. But walk further towards the other entrance are man-made hot pools where the hot spring water is mixed with cooler streams. We had a good time dipping our legs into these pools, some of us brought their swim suits along and really dipped themselves in!
Locals cooking eggs into the hot geysers. The eggs are put into a rattan basket to be dipped into the hot spring. Eggs & baskets can be bought from stalls at the entrance.
After checking into our hotel, just outside along the Pai Walking Street, I finally get to savour Khanom Jeen Nam Ngiaw (น้ำเงี้ยว) (Cotton Flower Pork Noodles) at stall selling Kanoom Jeen (Thai Rice Noodle). I first savoured the cotton flower noodles during an event showcasing Thailand Four Regions Food in Kuala Lumpur many years ago and have been on the look out for them since.
After checking into our hotel, just outside along the Pai Walking Street, I finally get to savour Khanom Jeen Nam Ngiaw (น้ำเงี้ยว) (Cotton Flower Pork Noodles) at stall selling Kanoom Jeen (Thai Rice Noodle). I first savoured the cotton flower noodles during an event showcasing Thailand Four Regions Food in Kuala Lumpur many years ago and have been on the look out for them since.
We continued our walk down Pai Walking Street; but more on that tomorrow.
"Aroi maak maak!"
(อร่อย มาก มาก; that's "very delicious" in Thai)
(For more photos of the Day 3, Click Here)
This is page 2 of a 10-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.
This is page 2 of a 10-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.
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