Bye Bye Thailand, Hello Laos (E)

Way too late but anyway: A Happy 2553 to everyone!!

No, I did not travel in time, the Thai just use a different calendar than we are used to and so we celebrated New Year’s Eve as we would at home with fireworks and booze.

After writing the last blog entry I was about to leave Chiang Mai for a big loop into the North-Western part of Thailand. This region of Thailand is less developed in terms of mass tourism and so I thought it might be a good change after Bangkok & Chiang Mai.

The first bus ride took me to Mae Sariang, a small town close to the Myanmar border. Well it should have taken me to Mae Sariang but the modern new bus decided to break down in the middle of nowhere and we had to continue our way using pick-up trucks that passed by. There was not much to see in this little town and I decided to continue to Mae Hong Son the next morning in order to be there in-time for the New Year’s celebrations.


Mae Hong Son is a really nice place nestled in the mountains with a small but picturesque lake. Overlooking the town is a hill with a nice temple and the views over nearby mountains and valleys were breathtaking.








During the next four days I stayed in Mae Hong Son, visiting nearby attractions such as parks & nature trails and cycling to hill tribe villages in the area.

New Year’s Eve was good fun, loads of westerners gathered in the only real pub in town to party into 2010.

After four days it was time to continue the loop by taking the bus to Soppong, a small market town on the way to Pai. Close to Soppong are a number of impressive caves I wanted to see whilst travelling in this region. A motorcycle taxi took me to the caves where I had to hire a local guide with a gas lamp to guide me through the impressive cave system.

The last stop of the loop was in Pai, a small hippie town which was completely overrun by Thai tourists and English teenage drinkers and did not look inviting to me, so I went back to Chiang Mai the next day to catch a bus to Chiang Khong, the Thai border town to Laos. Here I am writing this entry although I might not be able to publish it as I can’t find a decent internet connection to upload the blog and photos.

Tomorrow (08.01.2010) I will be crossing the Mekong river into Laos and board the 2-day slow boat to Luang Prabang where more updates will follow.

I wish you all a happy and healthy 2010!