Hello

The origin of the trip is nothing much, just free and want to travel. Just want to travel ^^ I want a place that is not the sea because I have been there often lately. And what else is there besides the sea? I can think of only a few places: cities and mountains (doi). I'm not in the mood to go to the city yet, it's too civilized. I want to go somewhere difficult. I think I'm allergic to Bangkok and I want to experience the local way of life. It sounds pretentious, haha.

I decided to set my sights on the north and find accommodation that I had never stayed in before, which is a homestay. After searching, I found two interesting options: Baan Mae Kampong in Chiang Mai and Baan Din Yohaan Homestay in Chiang Rai. The other option is Pai in Mae Hong Son (not a homestay). The reasons I chose these three places are….

1. Baan Mae Kampong

This place is incredibly popular. Anyone who enjoys consuming travel information or follows travel pages on Facebook has undoubtedly come across it. Every time I see a picture or review, I find it difficult to breathe. This is always my reaction when I come across a location that I desperately want to visit. My breath catches in my throat at the sight, my eyes sparkle, and I am overcome with a burning desire to see it for myself. This homestay is a tourist destination that offers lush greenery, friendly locals, fresh, cool air, and the constant sound of flowing water, creating the ideal environment for complete physical relaxation. This is the ideal location for me to take my lungs and fill them with clean air. Of course, it's a sloooooooooooow life, right? 55555

2..Homestay Baandin Yohan

It's a tourist destination that I found because I wanted to stay in a homestay where not many Thai people go, it's quiet, not many people know about it (and of course, it's very difficult to find reviews), and most importantly, I also get to experience the way of life of the Akha ethnic group. When I saw the pictures, my old symptoms came back: I was breathing heavily and excitedly because it was exactly what I was looking for. My mouth was watering with excitement. 5555

3. Pai

I've been here before, last year. I've seen everything there is to see. But last time I remember thinking that if I ever had the chance, I'd like to come back here again. This time, I just want to relax, read a book, listen to music, and not worry about other people. I want to get away from it all and immerse myself in a small, artistic community surrounded by nature. (Sounds good, right?)

Here is the translation:

This is enough reason to go. After finishing, I prepared a design plan to see how many days it would take and how many days each place would take. In conclusion, I will go to Mae Kampong for 3 nights, Baan Din Yohann for 2 nights, and Pai for at least 3 nights (staying for 6 nights). The summary is as follows:

Day 1 : Bangkok - Chiang Mai - Mae Kampong Village
Day 2 : Mae Kampong Village
Day 3 : Mae Kampong Village
Day 4 : Mae Kampong Village - Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai - Baan Din Yohann
Day 5 : Baan Din Yohann
Day 6 : Baan Din Yohann - Chiang Mai - Pai
Day 7-11 : Pai
Day 12 : Pai - Chiang Mai - Bangkok

I then tried calling the accommodation to inquire about the details, and I received the following information....

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Accommodation/Travel

1..Baan Mae Kampong

This text describes two types of accommodation available in the village: Homestay and private lodgings. Homestay accommodations are managed by a group of villagers, led by the former village headman, who is affectionately called "Father Luang Prommin." Private lodgings are independently operated by individuals within or near the village.

The text emphasizes the importance of supporting the villagers by choosing Homestay accommodations. When guests stay at a Homestay, 50 Baht per night per guest is allocated to the village's central fund. This fund is used for development projects within the village.

The text concludes by expressing the desire to maintain the beauty and charm of the village.

Accommodation ==> The first night is 580 baht per night (including 3 meals a day). For the second night onwards, it is 380 baht per night (including 3 meals a day). The house to stay in will have a queue made by the village that the next queue will be which house. But if anyone who has stayed wants to request to stay in which house, please inform the village headman.

Transportation

This section requires detailed information as I will be traveling alone and do not have my own vehicle. Transportation costs will be high without a shared expense or assistance. According to the village headman, I need to take a yellow songthaew from Kad Luang to the front of Sahakorn Market 2. The headman will then arrange for someone from the village to pick me up. The pick-up vehicle will be a pickup truck, likely owned by a villager who takes turns picking up customers. The cost of the pick-up/drop-off is 400 baht per trip. The travel time from the bus stop at Kad Luang to the village is approximately 2.30 hours. The contact number for the village headman, Mr. Phrommin, is 085-675-4598.

2. Johan Earthen House Homestay

After contacting Johan, the owner of the accommodation, I was excited. It sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun, because getting there from Chiang Mai requires several transfers.

Accommodation ==> There are only 8 rooms here, 2 floors with 4 rooms each. The rooms upstairs are shared bathrooms, while the rooms downstairs have private bathrooms. All rooms have fans. The food is served in a Khantoke set, but it is local food of the Akha people. The set costs 200 baht. The food is prepared by the accommodation, and most of the ingredients come from their own garden.

Travel ==> In summary, from Chiang Mai, take a bus from the Arcade Bus Terminal to Chiang Rai. The grade of the bus depends on your preference, and it will take about 3 hours. When the bus arrives at the Old Chiang Rai Bus Terminal (the staff will ask you where you want to get off when you get on the bus, so tell them you want to get off at the Old Chiang Rai Bus Terminal because there is an old and a new one), find a small green bus to Mae Chan (Chiang Rai-Mae Sai route) and get off near the Mae Chan District Market. Then, take a dark green shared taxi (Chiang Rai - Kiw Sai - Mae Salong route). This depends on the time you arrive, as you may reach the bus stop at different times, but you will still be able to reach your destination. The difference is:

1... For the round trip to Kiw Mae Salong, you will park at the Kiw Mae Salong car park and then take another car to Mae Salong. Tell the driver to stop in front of the Loyo village. Johan will pick you up there. The fare is 30 + 30 = 60 baht.

2... On the way to Mae Salong, we will stop at Kiew Mae Pan for a while and then continue to Mae Salong. Tell the driver to stop in front of Loi Yo village. The fare is 50-60 baht. When you arrive at Loi Yo village, Johan will pick us up and take us to our accommodation. The only difference is that it's not difficult. The travel time from Chiang Mai to Kiew Mae Pan is approximately 5-6 hours.
Johan's contact number: 087-103-0485, 093-258-9994

3..Pai

This doesn't ask for any details about accommodation because there are plenty of places to stay and you can easily find one by walking in. It only asks for travel information, which is: from Chiang Mai, take a bus at the Arcade Bus Terminal and then take a Prem Pracha van for 3-4 hours.

As for the journey from the Johan Earthen House Homestay, we returned the same way we came. It wasn't that difficult, but changing buses several times was a bit of a hassle.

Plan completed, got accommodation, complete travel information, then booked a one-way ticket first. Got it at Lion air. As for the price, I took whatever I could find. At the time of booking, this was the cheapest I could find. Even though my knees were touching the seat in front, I had to endure it. I focused on saving money first. And then the travel day arrived.

Let's go on a trip!!!

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Let's Go

Day 1 : Bangkok-Chiang Mai

5:10 AM. Woke up early to take a shower, what for? I mean, I woke up before the rooster crowed, the rooster is still sleeping! Departure time is 10:45 AM.
Is it too early? I don't know... (talking to myself when I woke up) The thing I'm most afraid of is missing my flight, and the distance between my condo and the airport is notorious for traffic jams. So, I thought, I'd wake up early and just sit around at the airport.

05.40 a.m. I walked out of the condo to hail a taxi. On the short walk, I felt like a freak, carrying my big backpack since early morning, amidst the restaurants and 7-Elevens where people were just coming out of the pubs to eat. It's okay, I kept telling myself, I'm cool. 55555
I waited for a taxi for less than a minute and got one. This alley, if you wait to hail a taxi in the early morning to go to the airport, it's not easy. This is another reason why I woke up early. As soon as I got in the car, the taxi driver asked me, "Why did you wake up so early?" Oops, no.... I just asked him the destination as usual. Then we talked (almost) all the way. It only took 35 minutes to get there. So fast.

When I arrived at the airport, I walked with my big backpack + drowsiness to find coffee to drink. After I finished drinking, I went to sit and wait at a seat near the check-in counter of Lion Air and then dozed off again.

It was 7:20 am, so I walked to the queue to check in. Everything was very fast. The queue was about 4 coils long. It took less than 15 minutes to check in.

The Boarding pass does not specify the gate number because I checked in too early. But it's okay, I'll just wait and see at the gate in the departure area.

On my way in, I stopped by 7-11 to grab a bite to eat. Then I walked to Gate 78, which is on the lower level, far right side. Lion Air's flight was very empty, only 2 people including me. It was nice and comfortable. After a while, it got almost full. The people who came later came at the normal time, but I was the one who was abnormal. 5555

10:45 AM Departure

12.10 p.m. Arrive at Chiang Mai Airport. Walk down to wait for luggage for about 20 minutes. Then exit the building and turn left. You will see 3-4 red songthaews parked waiting for passengers. Walk quickly to the parked songthaew and tell them you want to go to Kad Luang at the police box. They will charge 50 baht. The journey takes 20 minutes to reach Kad Luang or Warorot Market.

The car will be parked next to the 7-Eleven near the exit to the police box in front of Kad Luang. Right now, my stomach is growling so I'm going to get some food. From the 7-Eleven, turn left and there's a chicken rice shop. Let's have another meal.

After a while, walk out to the police box where there will be many colorful two-row cars parked. We need to get on the bright yellow one, which leaves every 20 minutes and goes to the Sahakon Market at the end of the line. The fare is 50 baht.

On the way, we stopped to pick up and drop off passengers at intervals. We continued to the hot spring to drop off a Korean guy who was visiting and would probably write a review, judging by the notes he was jotting down in the car (just a guess). I just found out that the hot spring is a popular destination for Korean and Japanese tourists. As we were leaving the hot spring, the man who was driving to pick us up called to say he had arrived but couldn't find the songthaew parked. As soon as I hung up, we arrived. It was like something out of a movie, lol.

2:30 PM. We set off for Mae Kampong village, arriving half an hour later. The air was cool and comfortable on the way, and I sat back and enjoyed the ride, still feeling a bit sleepy. The car stopped right at the house, which belonged to Mae Sri Thap. It was a small, compact house with three rooms. Mae Sri Thap lives there with her son, Art, who are both very good at taking care of visitors. If you're worried about being lonely, don't worry, Art will chat with you the whole time. You can ask him anything you want, lol. The rooms here are small, just big enough to fit a 3.5-foot mattress. I actually like it that way. I don't like rooms that are too big, it feels kind of creepy, like something might be sleeping next to you.

After putting my things in the room, I decided to go for a walk and get some fresh air. I wanted to see if it was really as refreshing as everyone said.

I don't know if my nose is pure or not, but just seeing the pictures around me, I think it must be pure ^^ All the time I walked, I could hear the sound of the waterfall all the time. I felt refreshed, the air was cool and comfortable, the trees were lush, the people were smiling, and the dogs were cute. They came to say hello and some even walked me to my destination.

Walking past the coffee shop, hey... this is the legendary coffee shop in the review ^_^ Uncle Pud Pa Peng's coffee shop, of course.. so I took the gang in and soaked up the atmosphere without realizing it. And then I ordered a cold Americano for 60 baht. As soon as I sat down, oh wow... the stream of water flowed cool, the sound of whooshing... so refreshing... I sat there sipping coffee, reading a book, listening to the sound of the water flowing, it was so refreshing...

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I was so engrossed in my work that I missed the time I had arranged to meet my mother. When I got back to my accommodation, Art asked if he should eat with me as he saw that I was alone. Sure, I said, let's go. The menu for my first meal was as follows:

The first meal today was chili paste with fresh vegetables and soup, stir-fried morning glory, and minced pork salad. I happened to see crab paste chili paste in the kitchen cabinet, so I asked for a taste. Sri Thap's mother shyly brought it to me to try because there was only a little left. The food was delicious, the taste was not bland as I thought. It was so rich and satisfying. After eating, we sat and talked for a while, then I asked to go take a bath and go to bed. I was very tired from traveling all day.

*** The first day, the pictures are a bit blurry. I was too lazy to take out the camera *_* !!

The first day of the opening of the door to welcome from Baan Mae Kampong, a must-visit village, has ended.

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Day 2 : Mae Kampong Village

I woke up early in the morning and the room didn't have a fan, but the air was cool, almost cold. So I opened the app to check the temperature and it was around 22 degrees. Meanwhile, I could hear the sound of my mother cooking. If you're staying in Mae Kampong, don't worry about taking a shower because most accommodations have gas water heaters. When I took a shower, the steam coming off my body was so thick it was like I was in an onsen. Hehe.

After showering, I was going to apply coconut oil to prevent dry skin. I opened it and it was solidified! I was too embarrassed to ask for vegetable oil from my mother-in-law's kitchen. ^ ^

Okay... I'll just bury it under the blanket for now and eat it later. After a while, Art came along and we ate together as if I were Sri Thap's second son. 5555 This is what we had for breakfast: pork laab, chili paste (fresh vegetables not pictured), stir-fried morning glory, stir-fried Chinese cabbage with mackerel, and fresh chili fish sauce (grilled). Simple food, but it was delicious.

After a hearty breakfast, we sat and chatted with Art for a while, enjoying some freshly brewed hot coffee. Then, Art showed off his latest acquisition, which was...

Beetles....

Art said that this beetle, if it were in the past, would have been bought by Japanese people for tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of baht because it is rare and Japanese people like to collect these beetles.

I'm curious about the popularity of these things because I remember reading about them in the Doraemon comic. If I'm not mistaken, Suneo collected them, haha. But now the law is stricter, so they're not sold anymore. Knowing the price, I'd really like to sneak one and sell it, but I shouldn't. Let it stay here as a cool decoration. Later, I'll go out for coffee at the same shop, Uncle Putt's, Aunt Pung's. Find a place to read a book. Actually, I'd like to listen to music, but I'd rather listen to the sound of water. It's more relaxing.

Don't miss the pork dumplings at this restaurant! 30 baht for 6 pieces, delicious, fragrant, and packed with meat. Follow it up with an Americano (the dumplings are really delicious).

This shop also offers accommodation for customers. It is located just 50 meters from the coffee shop. It is a 2-story house by the stream. The price is 500 baht per person, including breakfast.

During the high season (October-January), it costs 620 baht per person, including breakfast. In the late morning, you can walk around the village as far as your legs can take you, looking for beautiful scenery and breathing fresh air.

For lunch, the accommodation will be provided, but I have already agreed with Ma Si Thap that I will only eat breakfast and dinner. As for lunch, I will find something to eat myself while I am walking around the village. Because I don't know which part of the village I will be in, and when I will be hungry. Because when I travel, I find things to be fun, and it may not be on time. I would rather travel without time constraints. Okay..

After walking for a while, we stopped to eat stewed soft-boiled noodles. It was strange, I had never eaten it before. The soft-boiled intestines were very delicious, clean, with plenty of vegetables. Free water. The price per bowl is 35 baht.

After being full, I went out to the pavilion in the middle of the water at Wat Kantha Phrueksa or Wat Mae Kampong. I sat there for a long time. In the late afternoon, I went out to wait for the sunset view at the Chom Nok Chom Mai coffee shop.

On the way, we came across a strangely shaped but attractive house. It was a homestay called Baan Sai Chon. We stopped by to take a look and met the owner, P'Nok, who gave us a tour of the house.

The common area is a great place to relax and read a book.

Attic room with balcony view, 550 baht per night including breakfast and dinner.

This house also offers tent rentals on the ground floor for 350 baht per night, including breakfast and dinner.

A view of the village from another angle on the way to the coffee shop, watching birds and trees.

Just a few steps away, less than 100 meters, and we're here. Another famous restaurant in this area. It's a weekday, so there aren't many people around, which is nice.

After sitting for a while, it started to rain and it got cold, but the atmosphere was better. It looked so refreshing. Seeing the lights of the shop made me feel even warmer and added to the atmosphere. I think I like the atmosphere after the rain more than when there is fog. In the meantime, I ordered another pot of hot tea for 50 baht.

After sitting at the shop until it was almost closing time, it was time to return to my accommodation.

Tonight's dinner features Duo Nam Prik, a delicious combination of Nam Prik Aom and Nam Prik Pla Nin (similar to Nam Prik Pla Tu). We also have stir-fried egg with Bai Khae Lek, boiled and served with Nam Prik, and Kaeng Ok Phrao Gai (young coconut shoot curry with chicken).

After a satisfying meal, I took a shower and chatted with the homeowner for a while before excusing myself to go to bed.

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Day 3 : Mae Kampong Village

I woke up with a start this morning because I remembered that I was going to the coffee shop to watch the birds and the trees. I wanted to see the atmosphere in the early morning because the morning light would shine on the village. It would be a different atmosphere than yesterday, but after thinking about it, the light would probably shine like this until almost noon. Okay, then I'll sleep a little longer. What a great excuse! 55555

This morning's breakfast consists of a large pot of leftover coconut curry from yesterday, crab paste chili dip, stir-fried zucchini with egg, chili paste, and fish sauce with chili. (The fresh chilies were roasted, making them very fragrant.)

After a while, I went out for a walk to digest my food and went up to the coffee shop to watch the birds and trees again. I ordered a peach tea, which was very fragrant. I spent more time smelling it than drinking it. I recommend it, especially for cool weather. The aroma spreads throughout your lungs. It costs 45 baht.

After sitting for a while, soaking in the atmosphere and taking in the fresh air to cleanse my lungs, I went for a leisurely stroll through the village.

And this is the atmosphere along the way.

On the way, I stopped by the village headman's house to book a car for the villagers to take them to the two-row car park in front of the cooperative market, just like the way I came here. Then I went for a leisurely walk and arrived at lunchtime. I saw a restaurant, so I went in and ordered a plate of pork leg rice. It was delicious, rich, and umami. It cost 40 baht.

After a while, I walked out to enjoy the atmosphere as usual. I walked to digest my food and let myself get tired before going to sit at Uncle Pud and Aunt Peng's coffee shop. ^^ I found a fruit here called "Mae Kampong Berry". Hehe, no, I don't know what kind of fruit it is, but it looks delicious. I stood there imagining that if I took a bite, it would taste sweet and sour, with a fragrant aroma, like a raspberry. But in reality, it might make my mouth water. 555

It's time to find a suitable place to read a book. I went to a coffee shop, but this time I ordered a kiwi soda for 60 baht and a side of salted fried peanuts for 15 baht.

Oh... If anyone comes to this shop and buys peanuts to eat, they don't serve it like this. I used a coaster as a plate myself, haha.

Many people come here to enjoy the fresh air and the pleasant atmosphere of the two coffee shops. In the morning, I had coffee and watched the birds, and in the afternoon, I went down to Uncle Pud Pa Peng's coffee shop and met the same group of tourists again. We must have thought, "Oh, wow..." in our hearts.

Today there's nothing much, just " enjoying the view, snapping photos, breathing fresh air, and sipping coffee ".

And then it was dinner time. Today we had wild eggs, which here are not grilled like they are in Chiang Mai city, but they are steamed instead. Delicious in a different way. The chicken tom yum soup didn't have any lemon in it, it was made in the northern Thai style, which means it was a bit salty but fragrant with roasted rice and ma-khaew. Stir-fried wild beans, this dish I requested to make myself with Mae Sri Thap standing by my side, and the crab dip, which was leftover from lunch but still delicious. I loved it the most.

After dinner, before taking a shower and going to bed, I paid for the accommodation. Ms. Sri Thap reduced the price by 60 baht per day because I didn't eat lunch there. I paid + tip for 3 nights, 1,300 baht.