Hello everyone... This is our 3rd review... During the rainy season, going south will encounter storms, so we have to go north. This time, we have a weekend of 2 days as usual. Because normally we don't have a day off, we work every day. So this trip, I decided to visit Chiang Mai. I want to go to Baan Rabeang Dao, which is said to have a very close and beautiful view of "Doi Luang Chiang Dao".

Follow our other reviews on this page.... https://www.facebook.com/TakeATripWithJN/

Solo trip to Chiang Rai https://th.readme.me/p/1703

7-color coral diving trip at Koh Lipe https://th.readme.me/p/3226

This trip, we asked our friends, "Hey, let's go to Chiang Mai and stay in Chiang Dao!" Since our friends also like to travel rough and go wherever we go, they immediately agreed... (But I secretly thought, "If you don't go, I'll go alone!" 5555) But this time, it turned out that we got one more friend, making a total of 3 people! 555 Then we booked a bus ticket from Khon Kaen to Chiang Mai, planning to arrive there early in the morning....but...there was only one bus! 5555 That is, leaving Khon Kaen at 19.30 and arriving in Chiang Mai at 06.30. So we booked it immediately without any hesitation..... Along with booking accommodation, we first called Baan Rabien Dao, but it was full. So we booked Baan Wiw Doi Luang, which is opposite Baan Rabien Dao. If you come up to Ban Na Lau Mai, you can get off at the same point as Baan Rabien Dao.

And then the travel plans just vanished from my mind... until the day before the trip, when we started talking about it again. "Hey, what are we going to do in Chiang Mai this time?" I could only answer, "Go to Chiang Dao and Mae Kampong..." I mean, seriously, that's like going around the world, haha! And we didn't even plan anything else... until the day of the trip.

[Day 0] July 29, 2016, 7:00 PM.

We arrived at the Khon Kaen Bus Terminal 3 to catch a bus to Chiang Mai. When we met our two friends, we immediately discussed what to do when we arrived in Chiang Mai early in the morning. We figured we wouldn't know what to do if we went to Chiang Dao so early, so we agreed to find a place to take pictures in Chiang Mai city and have breakfast first. Then, we would head up to Chiang Dao in the late morning. So that's what we did... but where to go? We still didn't know! 5555

Let's go!

[Day 1] July 30, 2016, 5:30 AM.

We have arrived in Chiang Mai... and then... When we got off the car, we were just waking up, our hair was messy and fluffy, and we hadn't brushed our teeth. But the red car drivers were already asking us where we wanted to go. We were like, "Hey, give us a minute! Let us wash our faces and brush our teeth first. We can't think straight right now!" 5555 After we finished our business, we gathered together to think about where to go next. We decided to go take pictures at the Iron Bridge, cross the Ping River, and then find something to eat around there. After that, in the late morning, we will go to the Chang Phuak Bus Station to take a bus to Chiang Dao.

So we took a red car to Khua Lek... and along the way we just enjoyed the city, haha.

It only took 10 minutes to reach Khua Lek.

We continued taking photos until 7:30 am.

An airplane flew by...

After that, we crossed the street to the other side because we saw someone recommend a fish noodle shop opposite the Petchr-ngam Hotel called "Rorsung Phochana", which is famous. So we walked and took pictures of the Chiang Mai city view. Along the way, we saw many beautiful flowers along the fence.

And then we arrived at our breakfast restaurant...

Fish noodle soup, only 60 baht per cup...

After we finished eating noodles in the morning, it rained heavily, very heavily. So we sat and waited for the rain to subside. We hailed a red taxi that passed by to go to Chang Phuak Bus Station.

The car drove very fast and smoothly. We arrived at Chang Phuak Station around 8 am. We went into 7-Eleven to buy raincoats just in case. The weather was unpredictable. 555

The bus to Chiang Dao is the Chiang Mai-Tha Ton route, which departs every half hour. The first bus leaves at 6:30 AM and takes approximately 1.30 hours to travel from Chang Phuak Bus Terminal to Chiang Dao.

The car is air-conditioned (depending on the condition) ... 555

Upon reaching Chiang Dao, we instructed the driver to stop at Lotus Chiang Dao to transfer to the bus heading towards Kong Muang. This route passes through Baan Na Lau Mai, our final destination for the day.

As soon as we got off the bus, we asked people nearby where the bus stop to Kong was. Then, a pickup truck honked and drove towards us and our friend, asking, "Are you going to Rabeang Dao?" We immediately agreed, but the driver said he would run some errands in town first before heading up. In the meantime, we left our bags in the truck and went to buy supplies before going up the mountain.

After we finished shopping at Lotus, our car was gone!!! Oh my god!!! We were so confused because our clothes were in the car and we didn't have anything to wear. Then, after a while, our friend came to us and said that he had parked the car in a new place because he had to run errands. We were so relieved...555 We finally had a car to go to Ban Na Lao. Yay!!! Let's go on our trip!!

We left Chiang Dao town around 11 am, with only my friend and I as passengers. The driver told us that he wasn't actually running a shuttle service at the moment because his mother was unwell, but he happened to be coming down to buy some things and offered to take us with him. This was incredibly kind of him! Usually, when we arrive in Chiang Dao, there aren't many songthaews around, and if we want to go up to the top, we have to hire one, which costs around 500-600 baht per trip. As for the road up... well, it's quite steep, narrow, and winding. If you're driving, you need to be a fairly experienced driver. Personally, I'm not very comfortable driving on mountain roads, haha! So, taking a songthaew is definitely the safest option!

12.00 p.m.

And then… we arrived at the Baan Wiw Doi Luang around noon. Just seeing the view at first was amazing! I wanted to shout out loud, but I was afraid of scaring the villagers! 555

After that, we walked up to our accommodation, which was at the very top, meaning we had to walk up another hill!

The accommodation here is in individual houses, which can accommodate from 2 to 10 people.

The accommodation we stayed in was a house for 6 people, but there was still a lot of space left, so the owner let us stay in the whole house. It was amazing!

View from our accommodation... tomorrow morning I will wake up early to breathe in the fresh air!!

After we finished packing our things, we walked to the viewpoint of Baan Wiw Doi Luang, which is the highest viewpoint of Doi Luang Chiang Dao.

As the afternoon approached, we started to feel hungry, so we went to eat at the Baan Rabeang Dao restaurant. Even though it's a restaurant for guests staying at the resort, anyone can go there to eat, drink coffee, and enjoy the view. However, it can get quite crowded, as there are also people who drive up to the viewpoint to take photos and then leave.

Upon arrival, we ordered food, which had 3 options to choose from. We ended up ordering all 3! 5555 We also ordered green tea to sip on while enjoying the view...555

After that, we went back to our accommodation at Wiang Doi Luang to take pictures of the surrounding views.

It's nice to just sit and chat like this… Slow life!

After taking photos for a while, it started to rain... We rushed to take shelter from the rain, and the raincoat we bought came in handy!!! Yay!!! 555

As the rain stopped falling, the fog started to roll in....absolutely stunning!

The weather started to cool down to around 20 degrees Celsius. We sat and chilled for a while, and then at 4 pm, we went back to the house to take a shower. If we had showered at night, we would have definitely frozen to death because there was no hot water heater. Electricity was only available until 10 pm, and there was only one power outlet. We had to queue up to charge our batteries. Oh my god, a power bank is so important right now!!! 555

After I finished showering, the sun started to come out again....The chickens came out to crow to welcome the sunlight.

We then went down to eat dinner at the pavilion, where we all ate together. The price of dinner and breakfast the next morning was already included in our accommodation fee.

The menu is simple: minced pork soup, omelet, and stir-fried fiddlehead fern.

Eating rice while enjoying the atmosphere of the mountaintop is truly amazing!

After we finished eating, we sat down and had some light snacks while we chatted about this and that…hehe.

By eight o'clock, I went up to my room to sleep... which was already getting dark. But the place was still packed with people. Some groups had more than 10 people, and they were grilling meat to eat with their drinks. It looked like so much fun! 555 But I had to go to bed early. I was exhausted... plus I had to wake up early to go sightseeing tomorrow! Hehe

*There are many places to stay, so don't worry. You can walk in and stay. But if it's Baan Rabeang Dao... you have to call and book in advance. Because most tourists know Baan Rabeang Dao because there are many reviews... But if you want peace and quiet, with a phone signal to show off to others, we recommend Baan Wiw Doi Luang! Because the accommodation is good and the viewpoint is beautiful, hehe (I'm not really praising my own accommodation) 5555

[Day2] July 31, 2016 at 06:00 AM.

Good morning, Doi Luang Chiang Dao….. Whoooooowwwww today we were planning to wake up and take some photos of the morning atmosphere… But it rained all night last night, so this morning there is a lot of fog. We can't see the view of Doi Luang Chiang Dao at all. It's really blocking the scene. And the reason we woke up early today is because we have to go down to Chiang Mai to continue on to Mae Kampong… Oh well! What can you do! We have 2 days off, so we have to make the most of it!! 5555

From the view yesterday, this morning is... full of fog... 555

8:00 AM

After we finished showering, getting dressed, and packing our bags, we decided to take some photos of the foggy atmosphere before leaving. Afterwards, we went down to have breakfast that was prepared by the accommodation. In the morning, they served rice porridge, coffee, and Ovaltine for us to make our own drinks.

Normally, in the winter, the morning fog is much less than this, which makes the view of Doi Luang Chiang Dao in the morning more beautiful than now. But this fog is thick...completely white! 555

9:00 AM

And then it was time to go down to Chiang Mai.... We went to get on the bus at Baan Rabeang Dao because most of the buses are parked there. The bus left Kong Ma around 6:00 am and arrived at Ban Na Lao Mai around 8:00 am.

Before returning, I stopped by to take a picture at Baan Rabeang Dao for a bit!

Farewell, Doi Luang Chiang Dao. Until we meet again.

The descent took about 30 minutes, and the driver was driving very fast... It made me feel a little carsick, haha.

The car then dropped us off at the Chiang Dao district bus station. We waited for a while and the bus to Chiang Mai arrived. This time, the bus was very full, unlike the empty bus on the way there. The journey took the same amount of time as the way there, which was an hour and a half.

10:30 AM

We arrived at Chang Phuak bus station... and then walked to find a motorbike rental shop to go to Mae Kampong. Whew! But I searched on Google and found a Bikky branch in Huay Kaew, which is near Nimmanha. So we took a red taxi to the rental shop. We rented a motorbike for 1 day at 250 baht per day. They gave us a little bit of petrol and told us to fill it up ourselves. At first, I thought there would be a half-day rental like in Chiang Rai, but they said they only had full-day rentals. So we said, "Okay, full day then!" After we finished renting the motorbike, we drove into Nimmanha to find lunch before heading out to Mae Kampong...

This is the car we will ride to Mae Kampong together!!

Since you're in Chiang Mai, you have to try Khao Soi, right? And which other restaurant than "Khao Soi Nimmanha" which is located in Nimmanha Soi 7, near our car rental shop. When we arrived, there was a table available. I thought we wouldn't have a table to sit at....

We ordered Khao Soi with crispy pork and dumplings wrapped in Larb...

This part of our friend's order is Khao Soi Gai, which has a very large chicken drumstick.

After we finished lunch, we set off for Mae Kampong! We planned to arrive there no later than 2:30 pm, allowing time for photos and other activities before heading back. We had to return to Khon Kaen on the 7:30 pm bus. We rode our bikes out on the bypass, passing Maya Mall, Central Festival, and then reached the Sala Dek intersection. We turned left and headed towards Doi Saket district, a distance of about 40 kilometers.

The path is very shady...I love it.

2:20 PM.

We arrived at the Royal Project Teentok, which is a place to relax, sip coffee, buy souvenirs, and also has accommodation services for tourists. So we stopped by to rest first.

After driving for over an hour, the first words I said to my friend after getting out of the car were... "Dude, I didn't think it would be this far!! I'm starving!" 5555 After that, we took some photos, but we didn't have coffee because we were planning to go to The Giant.

The Giant is a coffee shop on a giant tree. We planned to leave for The Giant around 2:30 pm. It is located beyond the Royal Project at Ton Tok, and you need to turn left at the intersection before entering Mae Kampong. The distance is about 7 kilometers, which I must say... is the most brutal 7 kilometers I have ever encountered! The slope is like... 45 degrees, and the curves are sharp enough to make you fall off the mountain! 5555 If you are driving, you need to be very experienced. If you are not a good driver and still want to go to The Giant, I recommend hiring a car to take you up!

3:00 PM.

And then we finally arrived at The Giant... It was almost a near-death experience getting here! 555 Once we arrived, we had to take a picture of the giant tree, of course. Hehe.

After that, we ordered green tea and tiramisu cake, which tasted... okay, but the view was amazing! The giant trees were the best part! Besides coffee and cake, this shop also offers food to enjoy with the mountain view. They also have an activity called ziplining across the mountain, which costs only 200 baht for a round trip. At first, we were planning to do this, but the way up was already scary enough! Haha.

We sat and sipped coffee, enjoying the natural scenery until around 2:30 PM. We planned to leave for Mae Kampong Village, which required us to backtrack and drive for another 3 kilometers. We also wanted to visit the Chom Nok Chom Mai coffee shop and Mae Kampong Waterfall. However, luck was not on our side. As we reached our car and were about to start the engine, heavy rain suddenly started pouring down, making everything white. We had no choice but to return to the coffee shop and wait for the rain to stop. By 4:00 PM, the rain had finally stopped, and the sun began to peek through the clouds. We immediately set off for Mae Kampong, not wanting to waste any more time. Time is precious, and we had to use it wisely!

But on the way down, it wasn't that easy! After riding for a while, the rain started to fall heavily again. Now I was going down the hill too!! The road was so slippery that the brakes wouldn't work at all. Plus, there was a landslide in front of us, causing 4-5 cars to get stuck. I almost rear-ended another car!! I screamed so loud, hahaha. Luckily, I managed to brake in time!! And then I slowly went down, gripping the brakes tightly in my hands!!! It was raining, the road was slippery, and there was a landslide!! Life!! Hahaha. The rain stopped after about 5 minutes, and then the sun came out. Wow, it was amazing!! Hahaha.

4:40 PM.

And then we arrived at Mae Kampong Village......

As soon as I parked the car, it started raining again! Oh, come on! Are you trying to stop me from having fun?

Everyone rushed to take shelter from the rain, leaving the streets empty...lol

We then stopped by Uncle Pud & Maepeng's coffee shop, which is a coffee shop by the waterfall stream. They have coffee, cakes, and snacks.

We were still full from the cake and green tea from The Giant, so we ordered fried chicken with fish sauce and waffles. At first, we ordered a crepe cake, but the cake was sold out! 5555 My life is so pathetic!!

So we went out to take pictures regardless of the rain!! I mean, we were already soaked to the bone, so taking pictures was just a breeze. We even walked down the stream to take pictures of the flowers!! 555

After a while, the rain stopped and people started coming out to take pictures on the streets in the village. 5555 I recommend that if you really want peace, come during the weekdays because on Saturdays and Sundays there are a lot of people. We also bought grilled corn as a prop for taking pictures. We wanted to be hip too.

As I was taking photos, I realized... Oh my god, it's 6 pm already!! Time to stop having fun, time to stop having fun, I haven't even reached the waterfall yet... Ughhhh TT

Time's up...you have to go....

We had to say goodbye to our friends, who were going to continue exploring Mae Kampong, but we really had to go back or we wouldn't make it to our bus. Ugh... It feels like it wasn't enough! There has to be more! It's like being in the middle of taking a dump and someone calls you away. Ugh..... But we'll be back, we promise! TT

After that, we immediately rode back to Chiang Mai. We had to return the motorbike, which we could do at the Bikky branch on Arakhet Road.

7:10 PM.

And then we arrived at Chiang Mai Bus Terminal (Arcade). We returned the rental car and saw that we had 15 minutes left. Let's soak up the Chiang Mai atmosphere for a bit longer! 10 minutes will do! I'm serious... So we walked to Star Avenue, where I heard there was a nice coffee shop called EatDrank Coffee&tea. It's a small, cute coffee shop located in the Seven Eleven alley in the new Star Avenue project.

I ordered a chocolate iced coffee with less sugar because I was afraid that if I drank coffee at this time, I wouldn't be able to sleep. Because I had to sleep on the bus. I have a class at 9 am tomorrow... I really tried my best!! When it was 19.30 pm, I had to say goodbye to Chiang Mai... Sigh... See you again, Chiang Mai!

This trip was full of new experiences. We lived without electricity, went on wild adventures, and even drove up a mountain where we almost fell off! Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration! 555 But we definitely got our fill of Chiang Mai's beauty. Next time, we'll have to explore the rest of Mae Kampong, Mon Cham, Doi Suthep, and Nimmanha. Until next time, Chiang Mai... Woohoo!

**Expense Summary....**

The round-trip bus fare from Khon Kaen to Chiang Mai is 734 baht per trip.

The bus fare to Chiang Dao is 40 baht per trip.

The fare for a shared taxi to Doi Luang Chiang Dao is 50 baht per trip.

Accommodation fee for 1 night is 500 baht.

The red car fare from Arkhet to Khua Lek, Khua Lek to Chang Phuak Bus Station, and Chang Phuak Bus Station to Nimmanha is 90 baht (per person).

Motorcycle rental for 1 day + fuel costs 330 baht

The cost of food at the restaurant "Rorsung" is 60 baht per bowl of noodles.

Food cost at the balcony star, 3 dishes + 3 plates of rice 180 baht, green tea cost 60 baht

The cost of other food items, we can't remember anymore, probably not more than 500 baht. 555

=3,248 baht