"Phu Chi Fa" - A Sea of Mist, Heaven of Lanna
"Phu Chi Fa" Trip with a Budget of 2,000 Baht "Phu Chi Fa", "Sea of Mist, Heaven of Lanna", when it comes to winter, you must think of the cool atmosphere on the mountain.
Beautiful sea of mist, oh my, just thinking about it makes me feel good. Today, let me tell you with pictures in a cinematic way. So let's not wait any longer. Go to Chiang Rai… (in the most cost-saving way possible)

Travel


Start booking NCA transport tickets. Members will get an additional 10% discount. The price is 635 baht for a round trip of 1270 baht/person. Actually, taking a bus is comfortable. There is a TV screen for each person. Dinner is 1 meal with water and snacks. It takes about 10 hours to get to Chiang Rai. We got breakfast from the bus again as a sandwich, milk, and juice. It's full. When we arrive at Chiang Rai, we will take a bus from the new bus station to the old bus station (the point to go to Phu Chi Fa).

There are 3 ways to travel from Chiang Rai city to the bus station:

- Minivan to Phu Chi Fa There are 2 times: 07.15 arrives at Phu Chi Fa at 9 am, 13.00 arrives at Phu Chi Fa at 14.30. The fare is 150 baht. On the way back from Phu Chi Fa to Chiang Rai, there are 2 times: 09.00 am arrives in Chiang Rai at 11.30 am, 3 pm arrives in Chiang Rai at 5 pm. For more information, please contact Sahakij Transport Co., Ltd. Tel 053 742 429 (The service is available only during the tourist season, late November - January).

- Public bus route Chiang Rai-Chiang Kham or Chiang Rai-Thoeng-Chiang Khong Get off at Thoeng District. The bus departs every 30 minutes. The fare is about 33 baht. There is a 2-row car going up to Phu Chi Fa in the afternoon only one trip. Get off the bus from Chiang Rai at Thoeng District bus station. Ask people around that the 2 rows go up to Phu Chi Fa. The car is behind the fresh market. Walk about 400 meters. The fare is about 70 baht. When you arrive at the 2-row car station, ask for the car that goes up to Phu Chi Fa or rent a 2-row car to Phu Chi Fa for a fixed price of about 800-900 baht.

- Rent a motorcycle for 200-300 baht/day. Deposit 3,000 baht. For those who like to enjoy the wind and view, go together 2 people, then divide it by 100 baht per person. For those who are not good at driving, it is recommended to take a bus. It should be convenient. But if anyone is a fighter like us, let's go. If you arrive in Chiang Rai early in the morning, if you are full with breakfast from the bus, you can save money and don't have to find food. Go ahead and find a motorcycle rental shop. There are services near the old bus station. Then start traveling to Phu Chi Fa according to GPS and the signpost.

We started our journey from Chiang Rai at 10:00 AM and arrived at Phu Chi Fa around 4:00 PM. Along the way, we stopped to buy some things, such as drinking water and snacks. Things are a bit more expensive up there, but to save money, we decided to carry them up ourselves.


Upon reaching the accommodation zone, we will climb up to another point, which is in the area provided by the officials in the middle of the tent. There are free toilets available. The maintenance fee is 20 baht/tent.


Once we got the center point of the tent, we started to set up our territory. After we finished, in the evening, we could go up to the top of Phu Chi Fa first to enjoy the view. As the sun sets, the atmosphere gradually becomes colder.


From the accommodation to the starting point of the hike up Phu Chi Fa, there is a pick-up truck service for 30 baht per person per trip. Up 30/down 30 = 60 baht. When you reach the starting point, you need to use a fair amount of physical strength. Hiking up the mountain is tiring, but it's worth it. Enjoy the view! (The pictures may not be beautiful, hehe, I used an iPhone 5 to take them.)

As the sun sets, the chilling cold begins to creep in. We start gathering firewood to build a campfire in front of our tent to alleviate the cold. Firewood costs 50 baht per pile, while a bundle of kindling costs 10 baht. A kerosene lamp is available for 20 baht. All of these are sold at the tourist service point. That night, we slept at a temperature of 10 degrees Celsius. Even with our woolen sweaters and leather jackets, we couldn't escape the cold. We huddled in our sleeping bags, shivering uncontrollably. But the sky was filled with stars, creating an indescribable atmosphere.


We woke up at 4:00 am and prepared to drive to the starting point of the hike up Phu Chi Fa. The saying "the higher you climb, the colder it gets" is definitely true. The sooner we get there, the better, so we can secure a spot to watch the first sunrise of the day, complete with a breathtaking sea of mist. (We waited for over two hours in the freezing cold, and then the first light of day began to appear. We had our cameras and phones ready to capture the moment.

On the way back down, for those who are hungry, there is a restaurant selling food in foam cups at the pick-up point. It's not too expensive, 30-40 baht. I had a bowl of noodles for 35 baht. After that, we took the car down to the resting point, packed up the tent, and started our journey back down to the city.


Despite having a motorbike, I decided to stop by a roadside cafe to warm up before entering the city. On the way, I stopped by Wat Rai Chern Tawan to pay my respects. Aside from being a meditation center, the temple has beautiful flowers that I really enjoyed. By the time I reached the city, it was already late afternoon. Don't forget to pay your respects to King Mengrai for good luck. Actually, there are many other places I would like to recommend, including food trips, but due to limited budget, I will just focus on Phu Chi Fa for now. P.S. If you go to Chiang Rai during the flower festival, which falls on a Saturday, it will coincide with the Chiang Rai Walking Street. It's very worthwhile, you don't have to take a car anywhere because the flower festival and the walking street are right next to each other.



Summary of expenses

-Bus fare 1270/person (round trip)

-Motorcycle rental 100 baht /person

-Full tank of gas 60 baht/person

-Food, snacks, water 330 baht/person

-Phu Chi Fa entrance fee 90/person (morning-evening)

-Tent pitching fee 10 baht/person

-Firewood, kindling, lamp 40 baht/person

-Taxi fare to bus back to Bangkok 100 baht/person

The whole trip cost exactly 2,000 baht.

End of the trip to the beautiful sea of fog. Thank you to everyone who inspired me to write this review.

REVIEW BY :: Fluffy Princess

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