Thailand Chiang Mai 2024 Day 9 Mae Sariang-Doi Inthanon

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Thailand Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop 2024 Day 9: Mae Sariang To Doi Inthanon

Chiang Mai, Thailand Day 09: 17th January 2024 (Wednesday)

This is part of a non-cycling road trip tour of the Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop, Thailand. Day 9 from Mae Sariang to Doi Inthanon:

Mae Sariang (Chill House)>Huai Kung Viewpoint>Chom Thong>Doi Inthanon National Park>Chom Thong (Tong Luang Homestay).

This is page 8 of a 10-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.

< D8: Mae Sariang | Go to Other Days | D10: Chiang Mai >

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 Sariang Museum (พิพิธภัณฑ์แม่สะเรียง) (GPS: 18.16101, 97.94148).

b. Huai Kung Viewpoint (จุดชมวิวห้วยกุ้ง) (GPS: 18.14768, 98.15904).
c. Doi Inthanon National Park Entrance (GPS: 18.53562, 98.52212).

d. Doi Inthanon National Park (อุทยานแห่งชาติดอยอินทนนท์) (GPS: 18.53562, 98.52212).

e. Hiking along the mossy forest at the parks at the peak of Doi Inthanon:

- Yod Doi Nature Trail (GPS: 18.58926, 98.48741), click here for Google Street View of the entrance from the car park.
- King Inthawichayanon's Stupa (GPS: 18.58869, 98.48736).

- Ang Ka Boardwalk Nature Trail (GPS: 18.58845, 98.48610).

- Ang Ka Mossy Nature Trail (GPS: 18.58903, 98.48567).

8. Food

a. Breakfast: Congee at Jok Indy (โจ๊กอินดี้ แม่สะเรียง) in Mae Sariang (GPS: 18.15995, 97.9301).

b. Lunch: Thai Street Food at Lotus's Chom Thong Food Court (GPS: 18.42984, 98.6812).
c. Tea time: Coffee & pastry at Cafe Doi Inthanon (บ้านกาแฟ ดอยอินทนนท์) (GPS: 18.58797, 98.48622).

d. Dinner: Very nice home-style Thai Fare accompanied by a singing presentation at Tong Luang Homestay (GPS: 18.43880, 98.68302).

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

Tong Luang Homestay (โต้งหลวงอินทนนท์โฮมสเตย์) (GPS: 18.43880, 98.68302) in Chom Thong near Doi Inthanon.

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 had left Mae Hong Son for Mae Sariang, it was a day with some sad & bad memories when we visited a war museum. Fortunately, some cave exploration and a nice sunset washed away those bad vibes. Today we headed for Doi Inthanon, the highest spot in Thailand, we didn't climb all the way to the peak but did have a very interesting hike at a mossy trail. We ended the day with the best homestay of our tour.

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THE TRIP DAY 9: MAE SARIANG - DOI INTHANON

Small group tour of the Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Loop, Thailand. Day 9 from Mae Sariang to Doi Inthanon:

Mae Sariang (Chill House)>Huai Kung Viewpoint>Chom Thong>Doi Inthanon National Park>Chom Thong (Tong Luang Homestay).

It's goodbye to Mae Sariang as we head for Doi Inthanon, it's the last leg of our journey before we return to Chiang Mai. Along the way, we stopped at a gateway viewpoint and later did some hiking that took us on a diversified route.

(Click here for around Mae Sariang to Doi Inthanon 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)

Stopped by Jok Indy for a nice congee breakfast. This place seems to be into the second or third generation of operators - hanging on the walls were photos of the present operator's father (or perhaps grandfather) riding a water buffalo & also at the same time seem to be a rocker playing an electric guitar with band friends!
Jok aside (pun intended), the familial lineage is a testament to how good their food is; I had the congee with meatball, slices of fish and pork liver garnished with spring onion and ginger strips AND with an egg drawn in! What can I say - "It's super YummY!!" "Aroi Mak Mak!"

10:00am - As we left Mae Sariang, at the junction where the local road joined Route 108 & Route 105, was the Mae Sariang Museum. With its mix of Lanna and Khun Yuam architecture, it must have a grand tale to tell of the history of Mae Sariang!
Too bad, we didn't have the time to stop here.

Forty minutes later we are at the Huai Kung Viewpoint, other than the nice scenery here, this is also near the boundary of the Mae Hong Son Province & Chiang Mai Province.
There's a nice cafe here with cartoon-style statues of local aborigines greeting one at the entrance.

Just at the entrance is a large sign board welcoming visitors to Mae Hong Son.

1:00pm - A hundred-kilometre drive and we are in Chom Thong, the town just before Chiang Mai. The Jok breakfast fast digested and with our tummies calling out, we stopped at the for lunch at their food court. Had chicken rice - Thailand is famed for its chicken rice (Khao Man Gai, วิธีทำข้าวมันไก่), the one here is nice but not as nice as those I tasted in South Thailand. Also had good Ladna (stir-fried flat noodles, something similar to Penang Char Koay Teow)

We drove to our stay for the night, the Tong Luang Homestay. The road in seems to be gravelly and rough (which we later found out is the wrong way in, there was a better road in from the other way).
Seeing them cooking at a nice semi-open kitchen, we decided to book for dinner here too, but more on that later. We dropped off our luggage as we needed to lighten the van for our next leg - the steep drive up to Doi Inthanon, the highest spot in Thailand.
The above photo shows us at the Doi Inthanon National Park Entrance, all cheery with bright flowers greeting us.

We drove about thirty kilometres to the Doi Inthanon National Park Entrance and then continued on another sixteen kilometres onwards, going past the Second Checkpoint and towards Doi Inthanon. It's here that we will have a short but very interesting hike!

I had thought that we were on the Pha Dok Sieo Nature Trail; but no - we had gone much, much further up! We had reached the highest spot in Thailand, the top of Doi Inthanon (see top-most photo). It gets pretty cold here too! So do wear a jacket.

We parked at the lots near the Yod Doi Nature Trail; above is a Google Street-view of the start of the trail from the car park.

The Yod Doi Nature Trail is concrete-paved, but even here we can see how cold and damp this place is with green moss growing on the tree trunks and even on the timber railings!

Slightly into this trail is the King Inthawichayanon's Stupa, nature has blessed this place with the stupa and some of the older elephant statues are draped with moss. King Inthawichayanon (1817-1897), was the 7th Ruler of The Kingdom of Chiang Mai and King of Lanna from 1870 until his death in 1897.
Further along, we stopped for coffee and some pastries at the Cafe Doi Inthanon; just next to this cafe is a souvenir shop ..... and ..... restrooms too, it does get pretty cold here, heh-heh.

We crossed the road (interestingly called 1009 Alley) and were onto the boardwalks of the Ang Ka Nature Trail. Here, moss has grown very well onto the trees, making the place feel like it cropped out from an Avatar movie scene.

Further along at the aa, it gets even mossier. Look beyond the boardwalk onto the forest floor and can be seen mossy undergrowth, like Sphagnum Moss, the biggest non-flowering moss in the world.

6:00pm - We are back at Tong Luang Homestay and have checked in. It's a very nice homestay, set in a very green and shady location with individual chalets with a couple of larger 1-1/2 storey ones. The operator Gain and his missus (Yan) have taken much effort to make their place very warm and welcoming, and it isn't a surprise that they are fully booked most of the time.

Not only is this place cosy, but Yan can also cook up a storm. We had a delicious dinner in their garden while Gain & his younger sang to us on a stage. Later our tour leader Eddie, and another guest, Gordon from Melbourne, went on stage to entertain us with their songs too!
(Click here for a Facebook reel of our dinner)