Thailand Chiang Mai 2024 Day 7 Around Mae Hong San: Karen Long-Neck Village

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Thailand Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop 2024 Day 7 Around Mae Hong Son: Karen Long Neck Village

Chiang Mai, Thailand Day 07: 15th January 2024 (Monday)

This is part of a non-cycling road trip tour of the Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop, Thailand. Day 7 Around Mae Hong Son:

Mae Hong Son (B2 Mae Hong Son Premier Resort)>Ban Huay Sua Tao (Karen Long Neck Village>Sleeping Buddha Temple>Wooden Temple>B2 Mae Hong Son Premier Resort.

This is page 6 of a 10-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.

< D6: Mae Hon Song 01 | Go to Other Days | D8: Mae Sariang >

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. The same thing applies when crossing the road, take note of the direction traffic is approaching!

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 allows 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 sets the exchange to Thai Bahts.

Those interested in joining this guided tour can contact Eddie at +60-612-2600, whom we find 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 lowlands and highlands. November to January temperature ranges from a 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 bring warm clothing and practice layered clothing to keep warm and still allow for stripping during the 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 gets lost from the rest. Many Thai pre-paid phone sim cards can now be purchased online before 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 8 to 30 days with unlimited data and costs about 40-50THB per day. For just data only it covers a period from 8 to 15 days and costs 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 range from 8-day/15GB (at 299THB) to 15-day/30GB (at 599THB) to 30-day/50GB (at 899THB). We purchase SCT sim cards that connect 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 speaks 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 go to a clinic or pharmacy as most doctors and pharmacists can speak English.

7. Places & Things of Interest

There were many scenic and beautiful places of interest, but one should not miss the following (Note: click on the GPS coordinates for a directional map to the respective places):

a. Mae Hon Son Morning Market (Talat Chao/แม่ฮ่องสอนตลาดเช้า) (GPS: 19.30294, 97.96672).
b. Ban Huay Sua Tao (Karen Long Neck Village/ตลาดชุมชนกะเหรี่ยงคอยาว บ้านห้วยเสือเฒ่า) (GPS: 19.25944, 97.90339).
c. Wat Huai Duea (วัดห้วยเดื่อ) (GPS: 19.24414, 97.94350).

d. Wat Phra Non - Sleeping Buddha Temple (วัดพระนอนแม่ฮ่องสอน) (GPS: 19.29836, 97.96324).
d. Wat Hua Wiang -Wooden Temple (วัดหัวเวียงแม่ฮ่องสอน) (GPS: 19.30271, 97.96601).

e. Huay Pu Keng Karen Village (บ้านห้วยปูแกงแม่ฮ่องสอน) (GPS: 19.23664, 97.89408).

f. Kayan Taryar (Long Neck Karen Village) (GPS: 19.37231, 97.86816).

g. Su Tong Pae Bamboo Bridge (แม่ฮ่องสอนสะพานซูตองเป้) (GPS: 19.38898, 97.95416).

8. Food

a. Breakfast: Western set at Coffee in the Mist in Mae Hong Son (GPS: 19.30184, 97.96641).
b. Morning Tea: Strawberry Juice & Coffee at Patong Cafe (ปะต่อง คาเฟ่) (GPS: 19.25919, 97.90335)M
c. Lunch: Halal Chicken dishes (Biryani Rice, fried rice, Noodles, Stir-fried Kailan, Siew mai at Mae Hong Son Islamic Restaurant (ก๋วยเตี๋ยวห้อยขาบ้านจ่าโบ่) at Pang Mu (GPS: 19.30568, 97.96911).

d. Dinner: Thai Fare at 1095 Garden (ร้านอาหาร) (GPS: 19.30018, 97.96719).

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

Two nights stay at B2 Mae Hong Son Premier Resort (GPS: 19.30421, 97.96034) in Mae Hong Son.

10. Navigation

I used MapMyRide to track our routes and stops. Geo-tagging of places of interest was done via FaceBook and Google Maps.

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PRELUDE

A day earlier we left Pang Oung village to head for Mae Hong Son, the midpoint of our Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop road tour. En route, we made a long stop at the Ban Rak Thai, an interesting and beautiful lake-side village Chinese village, visited the Tham Pla fish cave; and ended the day with a walk along Mae Hong Son Walking Street, which is flanked by the Wat Chong Kham And Wat Chong Klang twin temples.

Today we will spend a full day at Mae Hong Son, with visits to the Talat Chao local morning market, and the nearby unique Ban Huay Sua Tao (Karen Long Neck Village). We also visited several temples on the outskirts of the town.

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THE TRIP DAY 7: AROUND MAE HONG SON (KAREN LONG-NECK VILLAGE)

Small group tour of the Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop, Thailand. Day 7 Around Mae Hong Son :

Mae Hong Son (B2 Mae Hong Son Premier Resort)>Ban Huay Sua Tao (Karen Long Neck Village>Sleeping Buddha Temple>Wooden Temple>B2 Mae Hong Son Premier Resort.

It's a full day at Mae Hong Son, with visits to the Talat Chao local morning market, and the nearby unique Ban Huay Sua Tao (Karen Long Neck Village).

(Click here for around Mae Hong Son (Karen Long Neck Village) 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)

Mae Hon Son Morning Market (Talat Chao), is our first destination for the day. It's a market frequented by locals and one can hardly see tourists here. So one won't find many souvenirs or touristy T-shirts here; instead, there will be a variety of edible insect larvae & dried crunchy insects, tender edible tree leaves and bamboo shoots. Often there will be some odd items coming from across the border from nearby Myanmar.

After days of Thai food, we are alternating with a non-Thai breakfast. Today it's Western breakfast at Coffee in the Mist, a nice cozy place with nice artwork (paintings & sculptures). The food here is so-so, but they have pretty good coffee.
Aiks! A couple of long-necked ladies are eyeing our food!

The highlight of the day, visiting the Ban Huay Sua Tao (Karen Long Neck Village). Most of these long-neck ladies operate the souvenir shops, they are warm, friendly and very patient with customers. No hard sell techniques here, their sweet smile and long necks will win one over.
The people of this village here are Kayan people, and they are not Thai, but refugees from Myanmar. In the late 1980s and early 1990s due to conflict with the military regime in Myanmar, many Kayan tribes fled to the Thai border area. Among the refugee camps set up, there was a Long Neck section, which became a tourist site, self-sufficient in tourist revenue and not needing financial assistance.

Women of the Kayan tribes identify themselves by their forms of dress and are well known for wearing neck rings, and brass coils that are placed around the neck, appearing to lengthen it.
Girls first start to wear rings when they are around 5 years old. Over the years, the coil is replaced by a longer one and more turns are added. The weight of the brass pushes the collar bone down and compresses the rib cage. The neck itself is not lengthened; the appearance of a stretched neck is created by the deformation of the collar bone.

The ladies run the souvenir shops here, some can be seen weaving Karen Textile. The patch of powder on her cheeks are like bedak, which helps to keep them cool in hot weather.

At one far-end shop, we met a lady operator from the Kayaw tribe with distinctly elongated earlobes. The Kayaw are also from Myanmar, and their women wear traditional clothes and have leg rings, circular earrings, and elaborate necklaces. In Thailand, they are called Kor Yor. Other tribal people with long ear-lobes are the Dayak Bahau people of Sarawak and East Kalimantan.

A short break for Strawberry Juice & Coffee at Patong Cafe, just near the entrance to the village. It's a nice cozy place for a short rest.

One of several temples that we visited, is Wat Huai Duea. Its shining golden stupa stands brightly at the hillside.

We had Biryani Rice at Mae Hong Son Islamic Restaurant. The Biryani Rice is just average, but it was a good deviation from our daily Thai Fare. Interestingly, they serve halal Siew mai, a Chinese dim sum dish.

Wat Phra Non, the Sleeping Buddha temple. Within the main temple is a 12-meter-long statue of a reclining Buddha. Built in 1875, it's more than a century old.

Outside, to one side of the main temple, on a platform guarded by two singhas is a large sitting Buddha.

Wat Hua Wiang, the wooden temple. It's almost entirely made of wood, but it was the symmetrical architecture that intrigued me.

Dinner was at 1095 Garden, which served quite good Thai Food; and as an added bonus, it overlooked the Mae Hong Son Airport and the hills beyond.

"S̄wạs̄dī"
(สวัสดี; that's good evening in Thai)

(For more photos of the Day 7, Click Here)

This is page 6 of a 10-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.

< D6: Mae Hon Song 01 | Go to Other Days | D8: Mae Sariang >

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