225. NORTH WEST CHIANGMAI - MAE HONG SON

 

The loooong and winding road - 1864 loops - I survived that

...but where on Earth are Las Vagas, Australai or Siam Reap...Lol

I'm on the road practically every day, covered a lot of ground into the countryside, plantations, woodlands. There's little vehicular and human traffic...what bliss!

The van's interior had a disco top - quaint!

Like being caught in a spider's web...

Flora and fauna along the way, contrived in the parks, wildly beautiful in the nature reserves and the tribal villages...

Several pics came from Alec Chew

This lane in a Karen tribal village is for tourists for a looksee at their Longneck ethnic indigenous people who have lived in the border regions for generations. They came over from next door, Myanmar. Many would be stateless although Thai in many aspects...

Ethnic good looks...

Ethnic goods look good too...

Border towns are always interesting - its people, merchandise, way of life...

Not exactly Starbucks but her coffee's good. Her cafe is all bamboo, wood, teak tree leaves on the roof, beautifully put together, materials from what they find in the surrounding forests...indigenous tribal people are the most eco friendly people around, rich with re-use ideas...

The walls of these storage huts are patched together with wood planks and bamboo and are like a collage, whose un-evenness make them look like art posters...like!

Massage with a difference...

The Bua Tong Waterfall is most unusual. Calcium deposits has made the rocks non-slippery and it's possible to descend and ascend with or without shoes, with the help of ropes...locals refer to it as the Sticky Waterfall...

Fill up gasoline here...

In such rustic surroundings, it makes sense to stay in a wood chalet overlooking this rice field or in it. It's beautiful here...surrounded by Nature, critter noises, not traffic nor loud humans...

At the Thampla Nature Trail, there's this fish cave and it's stream which was teeming with what appears to be carp...

I get the heebie jeebies peering into this opening. It would be my worse nightmare to fall into one and be swarmed by its denizens...

Morning rain and mist meet to create this ethereal effect - dreamy!

There was a variety of accommodations which I enjoyed for the experience of the various locations. It was varied and terribly interesting. This place was created to be a Chinese town, it's close to China's Yunnan province, my guess is, it's Chinese money. Walking around, I had the sense that I'm in a Chinese town and everything about it suggested that.

My chalet in this tea estate - like!

Its tea heritage told in sculptures

Tea tasting 

My tea estate chalet overlooks this lake

Inevitably, there's a man made lake, around which are restos, shops, inns, private residences - I can't imagine why tourists from China would want to visit. Thailand receives large numbers from within their country and elsewhere in the world...their Tourism folks are a savvy lot...

Hello neighbour! I experienced different locations and style of accommodations which was the nicest part of this trip! Priceless!

Credit to Jimmy Ooi of ISE Travel together with our driver cum guide, Jo, who materialised my ideas and suggestions and who contributed some photos...

Ahoy there! Powered manually no noisy engine...

Another change of scenery...Doi Inthanon region, this nature reserve is huge...

Heave ho!

Final leg, as I traveled closer to Chiangmai, I saved the best for last - my treehouse resort in Doi Saket...

In the early morning drizzle the place feels and smells fresh and clean

 

...and by night, it's a fairyland...

Back to 'civilisation' in Chiangmai city, where their famed transvestite shows is de rigueur in nearly every city, this one out in the open at a night bazaar

And these days, this has become de rigueur too - cannabis cafes

Some photos contributed by fellow travelers, lumped with my own in my Gallery