Chapter 27: Road Trip 5 Days: Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son

What do you think is the charm of traveling?
We think it's the stories we encounter along the way.

The unexpected stories that stay with us forever.

And we can't help but share them with others.

Are you ready to read them?

This trip was full of missed opportunities.

We started our journey in Chiang Mai, flying in from Bangkok. We planned to spend five days exploring the area by car. Renting a car was a breeze, and we were fortunate to find a reliable company that provided us with a high-quality vehicle. We are grateful to AVIS Thailand for making this trip possible.

Our Honda City was practically brand new, with only 10,000 kilometers on the odometer. It was clear that this car was well-maintained and regularly serviced. We even took the City on a mountain drive to visit Mae Hong Son.

After a long week of work, we decided to spend our first two nights relaxing at the Brique Hotel Chiangmai. This newly opened hotel is located near Central Festival, just outside the city center. With a car at our disposal, location wasn't a major concern.

The room was clean and white, everything was brand new, and the bed was soft and comfortable.

Sometimes, that's all you need.

On the first day of our arrival, we didn't have any activities in mind.

Except for... the golden fried meatballs at the Medical Student Dormitory of CMU.

But today, we didn't have enough time, so we'll go look for them at the walking street.

So we chose to spend the afternoon at the hotel, including dinner.

After a tiring journey, an hour of massage is the best thing ever.

We chose Thai massage.

But there are also many other types of oil massages to choose from.

Most importantly, the prices are affordable.

Please translate the following sentence:

The Brique Hotel's rooftop bar offers stunning panoramic views, making it the perfect spot for a romantic evening, especially during sunset.

The hotel has generously invited us to sample their extensive menu.

Let us know your thoughts on the dining experience if you have the opportunity to visit.

Full and satisfied, we demanded to go to the walking street.

We didn't want to buy any souvenirs.

We just wanted to eat fried meatballs.

The day we went was Saturday, so there would only be the Wualai Walking Street.

But we ended up going to Tha Pae... We barely made it back in time.

We walk the walking street very often, so often that we don't know what to buy anymore except for food.

And of course, we couldn't find the fried meatballs.

We might as well pray instead.

The next morning, it was our day to explore.

We were still unsure about our plans for the day, unsure of where to go.

I was craving sweets from Forest Bake.

So, Forest Bake became our first destination.

The shop was incredibly charming.

And the canelé was absolutely delicious.

Looks delicious, doesn't it?

After buying snacks, we should probably get going.

We chose to go to Ob Khan because it didn't seem far away.

And looking at the pictures on Instagram, we found that there were many cool angles for us to take pictures.

But we didn't really know that this is a place where people in Chiang Mai often come to picnic on weekends.

What we found was that many families were laying mats by the waterfall, making papaya salad and grilled chicken, while the children were playing in the water.

The atmosphere was lovely in a different way, we thought.

We drove across the river to Hang Dong district. We really wanted to come and chill at New Jiew's shop. The shop is called Brand New Field Good. It was quite crowded, but that's okay, at least we got a seat with a good view. Most people come here to take pictures of the bamboo bridge. But since we were full, we didn't order much. Apart from a glass of water each and a seafood salad. It was delicious.

After that, we returned to the hotel to rest, as we wanted to save our energy for the drive to Mae Hong Son the next day. Swimming, relaxing, and resting seemed like the best option, especially since the Brique Hotel Chiang Mai offered us a full range of facilities, including a swimming pool and a fitness center.

It is advisable to have a full stomach before embarking on a long journey.

We are very impressed by the interior design of the restaurant here.

The photos turn out to be very minimal.

There is also a variety of food to choose from, although not as much as other hotels.

Oh, there is also a northern breakfast.

Starting the day with crispy pork with northern chili dip is a great way to start the day.

After finishing our lunch, we immediately left Chiang Mai.

We had a lot of places to visit that day.

These included the Bo Kaew Pine Forest, Doi Inthanon,

driving up to Khun Yuam district, Doi Mae U Kho, and then entering Mae Hong Son city.

Just thinking about it made us feel tired.

We stopped by the Bo Kaew Pine Forest Park just to take photos.

We didn't expect the photos to turn out so Korean-style.

Bo Kaeo Pine Forest Park is open year-round and serves as a conservation center for three-leaved pine trees.

Nearby is Ob Luang National Park in Hod District.

Those who want to visit Doi Inthanon can also stop by.

We intended to pay respects at the pagoda on Doi Inthanon.

We planned to hike the Kew Mae Pan Nature Trail in April (crazy, I know).

However, we encountered a six-wheeled truck accident blocking the road.

We ended up helping the injured, which took up all our time.

By the time we were able to leave, we decided to head to Mae Hong Son instead.

We planned to visit Doi Mae U Kho and Mae Surin Waterfall.

But judging by the time, we'll probably only make it to Doi Mae U Kho.

I wonder what kind of flowers will be blooming on Doi Mae U Kho when it's not the season for buckwheat flowers.

What we found on the entire mountain was

a single black-colored flower of the Dok Bua Tong tree.

We drove up and walked to the viewpoint, searching for the Dok Bua Tong flowers.

Believe it or not, we found only this one flower on the entire mountain.

And we felt that it was so prominent that we couldn't help but take a picture of it.

The temperature at Doi Mae U Kho on that day was around 23-24 degrees Celsius.

We were the only car that made it to Doi Mae U Kho that day.

The road and the entire mountain were ours.

This is the kind of travel we enjoy.

Driving on the mountain is more fun than driving on the expressway. : )

We soaked in the atmosphere on Doi Mae U Kho for a while, knowing that we wouldn't find such fresh air in Bangkok. However, we had to descend from Doi Mae U Kho to reach Mae Hong Son before nightfall. Finding accommodation in Mae Hong Son that suited our taste was quite challenging, as most beautiful resorts were located in Pai district. Therefore, we opted for a simple stay at B2 Premier Mae Hong Son, booking through Traveloka with a code that brought the price down to just over 500 baht. The bed was a bit firm, but the room was decent. It was conveniently located near Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu. The reason we chose to stay in Mae Hong Son town was to visit the walking street and pay respects at Wat Phra That Chom Thong. However, when we arrived at around 7 pm, the staff informed us, "There is no walking street now." Disappointed, we had to settle for a simple meal and head to bed, as we had a road trip back to Chiang Mai planned for the next day.

In the morning, we stopped to refuel and grab a quick bite to eat.

Believe it or not, we didn't even use half a tank of gas driving from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son.

It was amazing! : )

We stopped at Pang Ung before heading to Pang Mapha because we were planning to eat at the "hanging leg" noodle shop at Baan Ja Bo.

Pang Ung in April, with no one around, was truly a special experience.

We were happy to take photos anywhere we wanted, from any angle.

And there were no people around.

We loved it here.

The weather at Pang Ung was cool, around 27 degrees Celsius.

But because we were in a hurry to eat noodles, we didn't stop by Baan Rak Thai.

It's okay, we can come back again.

We drove for 2 hours to Ban Jabo and we were very hungry.

We put our hopes on the noodle shop.

And of course, it was closed.

And we learned something new: the noodle shop is open seasonally, only from September to March.

And we went on April 3rd.

Oh well, another bird.

We were hungry and had no choice but to go down to the town of Pang Ma Pha.

We hit the jackpot and found a restaurant that wasn't delicious.

But it's okay to let the plan fail sometimes, it's the spice of life : )

After that, we went to the town of Pai.

Some people wanted to go to the waterfall, hot spring, and Pai Bridge.

Sure, we'll arrange it for you.

We arrived at Mor Paeng Waterfall and found that

there was not even a drop of water.

Okay, move on.

But foreign tourists like to stop by on their motorbikes, maybe because it's quiet and there are no people.

We also stopped by the Tha Pai Hot Springs,

but it was already late and there were no people.

The egg seller was also gone.

---

We left Pai and headed straight to Chiang Mai.

Our trip was over, and the next day we prepared to return to real life.

It was 5 days of having to come up with new plans every day.

Changing our minds every minute.

But you know what? When we travel for a long time with someone,

we will see their true selves.

And ours too.

We hope that traveling will help us get to know each other better, become closer.

That's why they say... If you like someone, invite them to travel with you.

So you'll know if you can live with them or not.

I'm sorry, I can't translate that phrase. It appears to be gibberish or a made-up word. I can only translate real words and phrases.

March 31 - April 4, 2018

Special Thanks

AVIS Thailand