Things to do in Mae Hong Son

Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu

This hilltop wat is better regarded for its splendid views over the surrounds rather than the actual building. Constructed in the early 19th century, the Burmese-style temple includes two chedis containing the ashes of a couple of well-regarded Shan monks. Get up here at dawn to see Mae Hong Son bathed in mist, while late afternoon affords tremendous views of the surrounds, including Burma in the distance -- haze allowing. You can reach the summit either by climbing the steep staircase running up from beside Wat Phra Non or come via road by motorbike/bicycle.

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Atop Doi Kong Mu, Mae Hong Son

Wat Jong Klang and Wat Jong Kham

The twin wats of Wat Jong Klang and Jong Kham and their reflections on Jong Kham lake form the classic Mae Hong Son photo. The brilliant white and golden chedis mesh with the green roofs and their yellow edgings to form a glistening mirage across the surface of the lake, broken only by the lake's fountains. Wat Jong Kham is the elder of the two and is best known for its large wooden throne, but it's in Wat Jong Klang that you'll find the real attraction -- a collection of paintings on glass and an impressive collection of teak statues and dolls of Burmese origin. Note that some sections of Wat Jong Klang are off-limits to women. Local rumour holds that the stone lion statue next to the lake faces Burma and is meant to scare off invading Burmese armies. The wats, to the south of the lake, are best seen in February when their immaculate gardens are in full bloom.

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Beside Jong Kham Lake, central Mae Hong Son

Tham Pla Forest Park

Tham Pla (Cave Fish) Forest Park is around 17km from Mae Hong Son on the road to Pai. It's a very pleasant little spot with the river in the cave feeding a number of creeks that run through the grounds. The main attraction is the fish cave, packed with Phluang fish. These fish are similar to carp and have to be some of the best fed ones in Thailand. You can buy small bags of food for them, a popular activity for those on location making merit. The park is easy to spot from the main road, and if you are travelling under your own steam it is a pleasant way to break the trip to Pai. Otherwise it makes for a reasonable half-day trip from Mae Hong Son. Be sure to bring some food and make a picnic of it. Free camping is available.

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17km from Mae Hong Son on road to Pai

Sunday Market

If you are in Mae Hong Son on a Sunday morning, practise your bargaining skills at the market, located on the right along the road to Mae Sariang, before Rooks Resort. All the locals shop there for household goods and clothes. If you look hard enough you can find T-shirts with English phrases like "I am a scum."


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On the right hand side of the road to Mae Sariang

Wat Phra Non

This small wat sits at the base of Doi Kong Mu and houses a 12m-long reclining Buddha. Dating back to 1875, it was cast on the request of the wife of the first governor of Mae Hong Son. The two stone lions that lay together are thought to help provide safe passage for those paying homage to the Buddha relic up on the hill. Unless you hold a particular fascination for reclining Buddhas, this temple probably isn't worth going out of your way for. But if you're planning on walking to the summit of Doi Kong Mu anyway, it's along your route so you may as well swing past.

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At the base of Doi Kung Mu

Mud Spa, Hot Springs and Golf Driving Range

The owner of a property to the north of Mae Hong Son has discovered supposedly health giving mud on his land. It is not clear exactly where the mud itself comes from, as it is found only in large terracotta pots beside a large natural hot spring pool. Photos show people lathering themselves from head to toe, but the main business at the site is selling products to take home or use in their on-site beauty salon and for massage. A natural hot spring wells up, creating a pool that is too hot to bathe in, although a bathing hut is currently being built for dips into the mineral-laden waters. Mud products available include a facial mask (50B), body mask (400/600B), face scrub and face massage (200B), as well as Thai and foot massage (200B an hour).Open from 08:00 to 18:30, there is also a golf driving range on the grounds. Take the road north out of Mae Hong Son and eventually turn off to the left at the corner marked with a blue Unseen Thailand sign saying Mud Spa. Follow the signs, and find the hot springs just after the golf range.

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132/2 Mokjampae, Mae Hong Son

Visiting the Kayan (Long-neck) people

The Long-neck women are one of the main reasons tourists come to Mae Hong Son. These refugees from Burma's Karenni state, located just over the border from Mae Hong Son, are called Padaung in Burmese, but this is also an inappropriate label because the Burmese are an occupying army in the state. In their own language, this ethnic group is called Kayan.

The price for visiting these villages is 250B (plus the cost of taking a boat in the case of Huay Phu Keang). Half of this money goes to the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP, the main opposition force to Burmese control in Karenni state). The remainder goes to the Thai Ministry of the Interior. The women receive 500B each month for wearing the rings as children and 1,500B when they reach adulthood. It is a level of financial security unheard of for the average refugee family.

The decision about whether or not to visit the village can be a difficult one. Many people believe that paying to see and take pictures of women physically disfigure themselves is wrong. The tradition of donning the neck rings is largely dying out in Kayan areas. If you talk to many of the Kayan people, however, you will find that despite the difficulties they face in Thailand, for now their prospects in tourist villages are better than their prospects inside Karenni state. At the same time, most of them would like to return home to Karenni state when there is peace or a cease-fire.

The refugees in these villages represent only a small handful of the 20,000 living in the refugee camp on the other side of the mountain. They are allowed a great deal of freedom compared to the non-Kayan refugees and some of the money that they earn goes to help all the refugees. Some people believe that it is the tourist money that these women attract that allows all the Karenni refugees to stay in Thailand. A lot rests on those neck-rings.

If you do decide to visit this or other local villages, you may find that it feels like you are visiting a human zoo. This feeling is only exacerbated if you are in or near a large tour group, snapping and taping away with little or no regard for the fact that the village is somebody's home. If this feeling bothers you, then try to not encourage it. Plan to spend a day or a few days in one village and actually sit down and talk to people and learn about their lives. Take pictures only after you've asked, ask for an address, and send copies to the person in the picture. Buy locally-made products and donate to the school (but don't interrupt the lessons). Don't hand-out sweets to the children (you probably wouldn't walk around handing out sweets to children on the streets of your own country). If you want to make a donation, bring books, paper, pencils, crayons, soap, toothpaste, and other stationery or toiletries in bulk to the head teacher at the school or the village leader (ask around the village, everyone knows each other). All the villages also have monetary donation boxes.

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A scattering of camps in the surrounding area

Day Tours

Everywhere you look in Mae Hong Son someone is promoting tours taking in the surrounding scenery. One of the most popular places to visit are the so-called Long-neck villages, but other stops include combinations of Tham Lod near Soppong, Fish Cave, Mae Aw village, Mae Surin waterfall, local temples, trekking and boat trips. Groups generally range from two to eight people, costing 500 to 1800B per day, depending on the company, the number of passengers and where you go. Half-day trips can often be organised and the itinerary tailored to your needs.

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Around Mae Hong Son

Night Market

When darkness falls, Sinhanat Bamrung Rd is blocked off to through traffic and stalls are set up to create a lively night market. A number of different ethnic minorities are represented, including Lisu and Hmong, and items for sale range from clothing to embroidered bags to sesame oil products. At the base of the road, spreading slowly along the edges of the lake, are a number of food stalls selling a limited but tasty range of grilled meats, Shan-style noodles and drinks. You may also be able to find hill-tribe souvenirs here, from bracelets to handbags, all in magically vivid colours.

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Sinhanat Bamrung Rd, Mae Hong Son

Rafting trips

Rafting trips can be arranged to a variety of locations in Mae Hong Son including up towards Pai or west to the Burmese border. The best place to attempt to organise a trip is Ban Huey Deua, 8km to the southwest of town. From here a day trip will cost 400 to 500B per person. Longer and more involved trips can also be organised in Mae Hong Son, or alternatively you can start in Pai and take a two-day raft trip to Mae Hong Son.

Boat trips

In Baan Toong Bang Moo, on the edge of the Ping River, there is a small sala where elderly boat men sit and wait for business. They can take you either bamboo rafting or on a ride in a wooden speedboat along the picturesque river. The going price is 450B per hour per vehicle, including the boat man's fee.

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Baan Toong Bang Moo

Trekking

Trekking is a major attraction in Mae Hong Son, and can be done as part of a day tour for a few hours or for a full day or longer. Longer treks will take you into the mountains towards the Burmese border, where you will visit Karen and Lisu villages. Generally you need a minimum of two people for a departure, but if you're alone and flexible with your time the agencies can often find others to share the trip and costs with you. Prices vary depending on the number of people going, the distance travelled and the activities covered. In picking the right trek, a lot swings on the quality of your guide. Not only will he or she guide you through the jungle, they'll inform you about hill-tribe culture and teach you basic survival techniques.

The trekking experience generally starts with a drive out of Mae Hong Son for an hour or two to your starting point. This is followed by several hours of walking into the mountains, broken up by visits to villages. At the village, you may stay overnight in someone's house, perhaps the chief of the village, a village family or even a relative of the guide. Some companies have their own huts, but either way you will sleep dormitory-style on the floor with a thin mattress, sleeping bag or blanket and a mosquito net.

Guides will occasionally speak the local language, and sometimes come from the village you stay at. These are often the best experiences, when the guide can help you interact with your hosts. Meals are prepared by the guide, using produce carried in by them or bought locally where practical. Food is usually banquet style, with a few dishes to choose from, and foreigners' tastes kept in mind. Vegetarian is available by prior request.

Evenings are spent interacting with the tribe people, and good guides will help to teach you a little about their ways of life. Some treks will spend the second night camping out in the jungle where your guide will teach you a whole array of jungle survival skills, including how to prepare and cook a banquet using only bamboo cooking and eating tools. Most agencies can also offer bamboo rafting and elephant riding as optional extras to tack on to your trek for around 300-500B per person per activity.

Any guesthouse will be willing to either sell you a trek or provide information on trekking in the area. There are three main trekking areas: Soppong, east of Mae Hong Son and west of Mae Hong Son. As with Pai, many operators will bus you back to Pang Mapha district with its wide variety of ethnic groups in a relatively small area. Other popular trekking routes concentrate on the "Long-neck villages" east of Mae Hong Son towards the Salween River, taking in Karen and Hmong villages as well. The most interesting area is the relatively infrequently visited region to the southeast of Mae Hong Son, in and around Nam Tok Surin National Park. There is some spectacular scenery in this area and overnight stops would include Karen and Hmong villages.

A proliferation of itineraries from one to many days are offered at varying prices by guesthouses and trekking agents on Khunlumprapas Road. Go have a chat and see what suits you. As with Pai and Soppong, March and April are not ideal months for trekking – it's very dry and very hot -- while towards the end of the rainy season in August and September the going can get seriously muddy and quite challenging.

The same operators will also be more than happy to point you in the direction of a rubber raft for a white water experience on the Pai River. This can be anything from a couple of hours to a couple of days, including rafting all the way from Pai with overnight camping on the riverbank.

If you have your own means of transport then there are some attractive Thai and Shan villages in the area, numerous hill-tribe settlements and some spectacular scenery, most relatively accessible due to many sidetracks having been sealed over the last few years.

If you're arriving from Pai, then it's worth hiring a motorbike down there since it's a lot cheaper than in Mae Hong Son and the route between the two is spectacular.

Just Happy Tours, Long Time Tours, Nam Rim Tour and Sunflower Cafe, have all been recommended as reputable, with enjoyable, well-priced trips. Long Time Tours run by the excellent Mr Long is our pick of the bunch. He speaks at least nine languages including fluent English and French, and is about as generous and friendly a chap as you will meet.

Expect to pay 600 to 1,000B per day at some of the more backpacker-oriented tour agencies around the lake, depending on how many people you're trekking with. Some tour agencies catering to more upmarket travellers (such as Rose Garden Tours) charge up to 1,500B per day.

Long Time Tours: (089) 838 6865
Rose garden Tour: (053) 611 681
Sunflower Cafe: (053) 620 549