Today's adventure will take us to Doi Inthanon National Park which is 54 miles southwest of ChiangMai and contains the highest mountain in Thailand at 8,464 feet.
We are picked up by a songthaew, red covered pick-up truck with two padded benches in back about 8:15AM. We exit the city in 15-20 minutes and continue through outskirts and then into the countryside. Major roads here are very nice, 4 lane divided highways.
We pass many fields of corn, rice and other plants, orchards (we think mango but it is past season so no fruit), some guava. There are scattered workers in the fields, few cattle and occasional horses.
We arrive at the first checkpoint (entry where you pay admission) at 9:50AM and then begin to climb. Sometimes very steep grades. First stop is Wachirathan Waterfalls which is quite impressive! We spend a bit of time climbing trails and taking photos.
Next stop is a Karen village. There are 3,000 or so Karen and Hmong tribal people living in the area and the village we stop at is occupied by White Karen. There are also the longneck Karen in other areas. The village is pretty basic with a few cows, rice fields and other plants. The Karen are noted for their weaving and there are a few women demonstrating weaving and selling finished products.
They also grow coffee and have a small coffee stand.
Next is a smaller waterfalls, called Sirithan, named after the queen.
We pass many terraced areas of agriculture, and many plants covered with plastic coverings and with irrigation. This is part of the King's Project which encourages the tribal people to grow products other than the poppies which were traditionally grown and are now illegal. We stop at a little market where they are selling local produce and flowers....peppers, yams, pumpkin, some fresh fruits and many dried fruits.
We continue up the mountain to a visitor's center at the highest point. It is pleasantly cool - 14 degrees C. We wallk a trail through some virgin forest which has a Memorial Shrine to King Inthanon and a marker at the highest point.
Next stop is a few minutes down the mountain, the site of stupas built to honor the current King and Queen. These are a quite modern style with beautifully landscaped gardens and lovely murals.
Next stop is a small complex with an open-air restaurant where we are served lunch. Tom Yum soup, chicken with cashews, fried fish, rice and watermelon. Quite good!
About 3:00 we head back toward ChiangMai and reach the hotel close to 5:00. We go to our local Gai's for drinks and a snack. Coca Cola has built plants here and Coke, Coke Zero and Coke Light are quite readily available. Occasional Pepsi. Greg and Tom have enjoyed trying local beers - Leo, Tiger, Singha.
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