Thailand Chiang Mai 2024 Day 5 Pai-Pang Oung: A Most Romantic Village

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Thailand Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop 2024 Day 5 Pai-Pang Oung: A Most Romantic Village

Chiang Mai, Thailand Day 05: 13th January 2024 (Saturday)

This is part of a non-cycling road-trip tour of the Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop, Thailand. Day 5 From Pai to Pang Oung :

Pai (Sylvana Hotel)>Doi Kiew Lom Viewpoint>Nam Lod Cave>Ban Jabo>Pang Oung (Loong Soyearn Homestay).

This is page 4 of a 10-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.

< D4: Pai 2 | Go to Other Days | D6: Mae Hon Song 01 >

Route Recommendations, here're some tips on travelling in Thailand:

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.

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. Doi Kiew Lom Viewpoint (ดอยกิ่วลม) (GPS: 19.37074, 98.40271).
b. Spelunking in Nam Lod Cave (ถ้ำน้ำลอด) (GPS: 19.56943, 98.27918).

c. Bamboo Rafting in Nam Lod Cave (ถ้ำน้ำลอด) (GPS: 19.56538, 98.27918).
d. Ban Jabo (บ้านจ่าโบ่) (GPS: 19.37074, 98.40271).

e. Fish Cave (ถ้ำปลา) (GPS: 19.42668, 97.99023).

f. Pang Oung Lake (GPS: 19.49839, 97.90920).

g. Wat Ruam Thai (GPS: 119.49867, 97.91066).

8. Food

a. Breakfast: Noodle Soup & Chicken Rice at Southern Chicken Rice (ร้านข้าวมันไก่คนใต้) (GPS: 19.36530, 98.43954).
b. Lunch: Kanoom Jeen (Thai Rice Noodle) and Western Coffee at Ban Jabo Noodle House (ก๋วยเตี๋ยวห้อยขาบ้านจ่าโบ่) (GPS: 19.58147, 98.20594).

c. Dinner: Village Style Northern Thai Dishes at Krua Thai Yai Restaurant (GPS: 19.49939, 97.91066) at Pang Oung.

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

Loong Soyearn Homestay in Pang Oung (GPS: 19.4994, 97.91223); a lovely flowery homestay located within walking distance from Pang Oung Lake.

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 day before we had started early to go watch a wonderful sunrise at Yun Lai Viewpoint, then had some fun at the Santichon Chinese Village. Later we had a traditional Khan Toke lunch followed by a LOVELY coffee, with fields of sunflowers & lavender.

Today we head for Pang Oung, the most romantic village in Thailand. Enroute we will go exploring & bamboo rafting before having a swinging lunch. It was a fun-filled day, with diverse activities; COME HAVE A LOOK.

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THE TRIP DAY 5: PAI-PANG OUNG

Small group tour of the Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop, Thailand. Day 5 Pai to Pang Oung :

Pai (Sylvana Hotel)>Doi Kiew Lom Viewpoint>Nam Lod Cave>Ban Jabo>Pang Oung (Loong Soyearn Homestay).

Today we head for Pang Oung, the most romantic village in Thailand. Enroute we will go exploring & bamboo rafting at NLC, and later before having a swinging lunch at Ban Jabo.
(Click here for Pai-Pang Oung 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)

Started the day with a Thai breakfast of noodles soup & chicken rice at Southern Chicken Rice (ร้านข้าวมันไก่คนใต้), a simple shop just outside of Pai.

Made a quick stop at the Doi Kiew Lom Viewpoint, a nice place to take a break along the route up. The views here are splendid, and there are road-side stalls selling some snacks and refreshments.

Our first destination was Spelunking in Nam Lod Cave, where local guides will take us along trails and stairs on an hour plus exploration of the caves, including a twenty-five minutes ride on bamboo rafts along the Mae Lang River flowing inside.

As we crossed the bridges leading to the cave, a teaser of what is to come met us: hundreds of fishes crowding for food pellets that were thrown into the river. They were literally shoulder to shoulder, ie if fishes have shoulders 😂!

(Click Here for a Youtube video of this)

A guide lighting up the pressure lamp. Each guide with a lamp will lead up to three or four persons; charges guide is THB150.

The cave system is quite large and not lit up, with pathways which goes along slopping tracks and up & down timber stairs (some stairs are even 3-storeys tall). So it's important to stay close to the guides so as not to get lost in the dark, and also these strong lamps provide adequate lighting as the guides goes along explaining the different types of stalactite/stalagmite formations.

At the end of our trekking, bamboo rafts with their boat-men were waiting for us. Each raft takes up to 3 passengers, cost per raft is THB400 for a 20-minutes ride along the Mae Lang River. The boat-man will guide the raft with long bamboo poles.

As we sailed, fishes came swimming along side our raft. It's dark, so we used our phone light to shine into water, so video quality isn't that good but it was a good experience.
Having seen fishes here, we later decided to skip the Tham Pla (Fish Cave) a smaller cave system nearer today's homestay.

Finished with or cave adventure, the van had to top-up petrol. The considerate driver dropped us at a nearby Big C Mini at Sop Pong (GPS: 19.51558, 98.25469), for some quick shopping while he did that. There are always interesting to buy at these outlets.

3:00 pm - Made a short detour off the Highway 1095 for a swing late lunch at the Ban Jabo Noodle House.

It was really a swinging lunch as we sat on the timber floor of the restaurant with our legs overhanging, while eating and having a good view of the hills and valleys beyond.
(Click Here for a FB reel of our lunch)

A longer detour away from the highway through even steeper and more winding roads brought us to Pang Oung and our homestay - Loong Soyearn Homestay.

This is a colourful & interesting homestay, with orange Flame Vine (or Orange Trumpet Vine) flowers hanging from the roofs and walls of the chalets!

A nice and lovely time at Pang Oung Lake. One can take a slow walk amongst the trees or go for a bamboo raft ride on the lake.
This alpine lake with surrounded Khasi pine and Sumatran pine trees, and if one is lucky, one can catch sight of white or black swans preening on the lake. Although we stayed at a homestay in the nearby village, there are chalets to be rented at the lakeside OR one can camp there too.

Bamboo rafts returning in the sunset - Yes.... this is a quiet & romantic place

This place is also known as the Shan village of Baan Ruam Thai. Just next to the lake entrance a temple, the Wat Ruam Thai, still reflects this name.

Dinner at Krua Thai Yai Restaurant, just outside our homestay, where we had one of our best meals of our trip. Dishes served were Village Style Northern Thai Dishes; including Yum Woon Sen (Glass Noodle Salad) and Chicken Ub (Stir fried chicken with lemon grass and tumeric); both were very good. Somehow the food here taste better, perhaps it's the home-style cooking or perhaps it's the weather and small village atmosphere.

The girls on posing in the middle of the road; they just love this quiet, small village ambiance and hope that will be remain untouched for years to come.

"Mạn pĕn s̄t̄hān thī̀ thī̀ s̄wyngām"

(มันเป็นสถานที่ที่สวยงาม; that's "It's a beautiful place" in Thai)

(For more photos of the Day 5, Click Here)

This is page 4 of a 10-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.

< D4: Pai 2 | Go to Other Days | D6: Mae Hon Song 01 >

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