HIGHEST PEAK ON DOI INTHANON NATIONAL PARK
by balhannah
STOP 6 on DOI INTHANON NATIONAL PARK TOUR
The entire mountain is a national park (482 sq km) and Thailand’s highest peak, the 2565m Doi Inthanon is located here.
THE VIEWS FROM DOI INTHANON ARE BEST IN THE COOL DRY SEASON FROM NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY.
January is the coldest month, and temperatures can drop to minus 8c.
I think you could expect rain, as the yearly rainfall is 2,500mm a year.
You can expect the air to be quite chilly towards the top, so take a jacket or sweater. It was cool in June, when I visited, probably the Fog & Rain didn't help.
FOR MOST OF THE YEAR, a mist, formed by the condensation of warm humid air below, hangs around the highest mountain.
Make sure you have your photo taken beside the notice "The highest spot in Thailand"
Walk some trails, and maybe take a break at the Cafe. Toilets are also located here.
CHIANG DAO CAVES
by balhannah
Stop 1 of Tribal Tour...............
We only visited the one, big cave here, but the Cave complex is huge, extending around 10-14 km, from the mountains of Doi Chiang Dao. More than hundred caves have been named but at present only a few of these caves are accessible and only two of them are electrically illuminated.
The entrance to the cave complex is (about 10t/b) but was included in the tour.
Our guide gave information on the Cave interior. Inside are holy Buddha images and religious statues.
DON'T ATTEMPT TO REMOVE A PIECE OF ROCK FROM THE CAVE, AS THE LOCALS SAY YOU WILL FOREVER LOSE YOUR WAY IN THE CAVE'S PASSAGES!
Just outside the cave complex, there is a large water pool containing large and well-fed fishes. The water for this pool comes directly from the mountains and is a beautiful colour. You can see the Fish very easily, and if you want, an older couple were there selling fish food.
There also looked to be an old cemetery.
A large Wat complex, in an interesting design, is located here as well.
There are Toilets, souvenir, food & Drink stalls.
This is a very pretty area, well worth a visit.
Guide/Driver
by Fernandocramos
While in Ching Mai we hired a guide/driver that stayed with us durind four days.
In the first day we went to Doi Suthep and many other temples inside Chiang Mai. During the second day we went to Golden Triangle – Laos, Myanmar, Mae Sae border,Chiang Sean, Hill tribes (long neck, long ear, ahka, Black Lahu, Palong) and a white temple near Chiang Mai.
On the third day Mae Taeng Elephant Camp, bamboo rafting, Lisu hill tribe, Orchids, Butterfly farm, Woodcarving, umbrela and silk.
On the forth day we went to the Zoo in the morning to visit the pandas.
His name is Pong, a licensed guide with great sense of humor, big car with aircon and perfect english.
You can contact him at : guidepong@yahoo.co.th
Great Value - Great Food
by PierreZA about Thap-Thim-Krawp
This restaurant is named after the desert (Thapthim Krawp).
It is very popular, especially with the local people. They serve a good variety of Thai food. I did go to this restaurant quite a few times during my stay, and tried several dishes.
They do have amazing lemongrass juice – do try this.
Prices are very reasonable (cheap), about 30 – 50 Baht for a main course.
I highly recommend this restaurant.
The name is not written in Western style at all - so ask around. Several great dishes
River Rafting
by i-s-a
Among the activities that we did for the day, I enjoyed river rafting the most. The activity lasted for about an hour. The small raft traversed through a shallow stream with the help of a raftman (^o^ is this correct?...assumed it is as we are riding a raft instead of a boat). The place is tranquil and not very touristy so the ride was very relaxing. Along the way, we saw the beauty of nature...dragonflies, colorful birds, butterflies, unusual-looking insects and even water snake! At the end of it are dozens of huts with lots of locals having their picnic.
Note:
Please do not miss this one as some people do. My mother passed this one up because she thought it would be a rough ride. She got very tired from the initial hike that we did.
It would be nice if you could bring a waterproof camera...so many photo opportunities for those lovely creatures. The guide kept our camera for us because there is a big tendency that it will get wet.
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For sale at the market
I'm tall
The outside of T-room Guesthouse
Chicken fried with Fish Sauce
