Travel Photo of the Day: Mae Hong Son, Thailand

This mountainous part of Thailand is famous for its cooler weather, its winding roads and its tribes. This photo is of a Long Necked Karen tribal woman. They originally belong to Myanmar’s Shan province, but live in Thailand (close to the Myanmar border) as refugees doing odd manual labour jobs. The women of this tribe are known to add brass rings to their necks when they are young in a bid to make them longer and appear beautiful to the grooms. Some of them have suffered irreparable damage due to these rings and hence most of the women do not follow these traditions today. This elderly woman in the photo still wears it in a bid to raise some money through tourism.

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Mae Hong Son: The Land of 1864 Curves

Mae Hong Son! This north west district and city of Thailand has a lot of natural riches and tourist sights. Most of the tourists to Thailand stop their northern exploration with Chiang Mai, but that is where the journey to Mae Hong Son begins. If you yearn for pristine nature, lovely local people, fantastic forests, a myriad of tribal settlements, great adventure and lots of outdoor activities, then read on and know more about this mountainous region of Thailand.


The most popular way to explore the region of Mae Hong Son is by going on the Mae Hong Son loop. This route takes you through the cultural hub of Chiang Mai, the high and green Doi Inthanon national park, the scenic town of Mae Sariang, the charming province of Mae Hong Son, the insane cave system of Seppong and the lovely paddy fields of Pai.


A lot of motorcycle enthusiasts prefer this route and its umpteen curves. If I am right, this is the most popular motorcycling route in Thailand. It is not just the motorcyclists, but even car and SUV owners seem to like driving on this scenic route. This second half of the loop from Mae Hong Son to Chiang Mai via Pai has a total of 1,864 curves and that is why Mae Hong Son, which is at the far end of this loop is fondly referred to as the ‘Land of 1864 curves’ and thus the title of my post.


While one can easily take many pit stops on the way to Mae Hong Son and back, the idea of this post is to focus on the rich tourism opportunities in and around Mae Hong Son, the largest town on this loop. Well, lets set the right precedent. The reason I like Mae Hong Son the most is because of its rich association with neighboring Myanmar and this can be seen in its temple architecture, buildings, religion, people and more.


The other thing that Mae Hong Son is really famous for is its diverse set of people. Due to its proximity to Burma, it has an interesting mix of Burmese, Shan, Thai and many hill tribe groups that include Black Karen, Red Karen, Long Necked Karen, Chinese Tribe, Akha and much more. The remote location of Mae Hong Son and its heady mix of people make it a top tourist attraction.


Mae Hong Son is actually a very green valley that is surrounded by mountains and the border of Myanmar is to its west. Unlike the rest of Thailand, this place sees cold winters and warm summers. The entire town is built around the Nong Jong Kham Lake and temple. So, technically, this becomes like the heart of the city. All the guest houses and restaurants are located around this lake and the Burmese styled temples.


It is during the evening hours that this entire area comes alive to sell souvenirs, local delicacies, handicrafts, precious stones and handicrafts. Local hill tribes come to this evening market and set up their stalls. I stayed in Mae Hong Son for 7 days and nights and this evening market was my go to place every evening.This is where you will get to appreciate the easy going culture of the people of Mae Hong Son.


During the day, one can visit the beautiful Nong Jong Kham temple overlooking the lake and admire its rich Burmese history and heritage. Either during the sunrise hours or the sunset hours, one can climb up to the Wat Doi Kong Mu temple and see spectacular views of the city below. The Wat Doi Kong Mu temple showcases Burmese architecture too.


But, the main attraction around Mae Hong Son is visiting the remote hill tribe villages. This includes trekking in the green forests and mountains to these remote tribal villages and then spending time with the hill tribes in their village before moving forward to the next village on the next day. This form of rural tourism is one of Mae Hong Son’s top tourist buys.


In terms of scenic sights, the outskirts of Mae Hong Son boast of the multi-tiered Pha Sua waterfall, Tham Pla fish cave, natural hot water geysers and Tham Lod, the coffin cave in the Soppong area. Out of these, the Tham Pla fish cave is very popular with the local Thai tourists due to deep spiritual beliefs. All these sights can be either explored on a motorcycle or by car. Buses do take you near the destination, but last mile connectivity options are limited.


So, you can see that the Land of 1864 curves is blessed in plenty. Do give it a try the next time you visit Thailand. You can either take a bus from Chiang Mai, rent a motorcycle or hire a car to explore the entire Mae Hong Son loop.

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Portraits of Long Necked Tribal Women from Baan Noi Soi, Thailand

This tribe is originally from Myanmar (Burma), but due to the army rule in their country and due to the fact that they were struggling to make a living, they migrated to neighboring Thailand. Here, they live as refugees in the north west border of Thailand. They eke out a living by doing odd manual labor jobs and by doing some basic agriculture where possible.


They are the Karen tribe of Burma and they are famous for their women and their long necks. The Karen men look like normal people donning normal clothes and doing normal jobs. But, their women use brass rings to elongate their necks. This is a very rare sight and these women use these heavy (some of them are 4-6 kilograms) brass rings because they believe that the longer their neck, the prettier they look.


Some years back, a lot of tribal women used to wear these rings, but these days, only a very few wear it to generate some income from the tourists who come to see them. Today, these tribal women have understood that long necks also mean frail necks and have stopped their girl children from continuing the tradition. Instead, they try and give them regular education.


If you are in Thailand and wish to see them in person, head to some of the villages to the north of Mae Hong Son in Northern Thailand. Many of these villages along the Myanmar border are long necked Karen villages and offer facilities for tourists to interact with these women. I went to Baan Noi Soi village to see these tribal women and had to pay 200 THB to explore their village, talk to the women and take their photographs. This money is used to supplement the income of this village and is spent in getting food supplies and reading material.


If you wish to help this community a bit more, then you can buy some of the handicrafts made by them. These handicrafts include hand woven cotton scarves, long necked Karen statues as souvenirs and other interesting handicrafts.

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Johnny Guest House: Great Budget Property for Trekkers in Mae Hong Son, Thailand

If you are planning to visit North Thailand, do ensure you visit the farthest province of Thailand, Mae Hong Son. And if you do visit Mae Hong Son, do stay around Wat Chong Kham and the lake around it. I stayed opposite the lake in Johnny Guest House for 5 nights and 6 days and this is my review of this budget place based on my recent experience.

1) Johnny Guest House is truly about budget accommodation. They have rooms for 100, 200 and 300 baht for single, shared bathroom double and private bathroom respectively.

2) The property is just opposite Wat Chong Kham and thus offers great proximity to the Buddhist monasteries, the various markets, restaurants and the beautiful night market.

3) The place has a great aura since it is situated close to the lake. During night times, one can enjoy the lights on the temple and during the early mornings, you can enjoy the fog surrounding the lake.

4) The best attribute about Johnny' Guesthouse is Johnny himself. He is a son of this soil having grown up in a village in the mountains and now settled with his family at Mae Hong Son. He is one of those persons who knows every single trail in the mountains and is an excellent guide to go with on trekking tours. The guest house does arrange various trekking tours and all these tours are led by Johnny himself. These small group trips are really appreciated by the tourists. Personally, I have not gone on any of these tours, but have heard a lot of raves from the folks who took it.

5) The place comes with important amenities like free wi-fi, hot shower and laundry services. It doesn’t have an in-house restaurant, but all the eating and drinking joints are just a short walk away.

6) In case you need any help, Johnny and his wife are more than happy to help you out with advice or in-person help.

7) Since Mae Hong Son has a very limited tourist population, it is very easy for you to bond with other tourists and you will invariably end up exploring  the surroundings together and/or end up having dinner together.

I would definitely recommend this place to all budget travelers and trekkers. It’s location and great people give it a one-two punch. If I return to Mae Hong Son, I will always stay with Johnny Guest House.

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