Mae Hong Son

This is the small capital of the province of the same name in northern Thailand. And that's exactly where I headed next, without a plan, more out of curiosity and because it was only about 60 km away. I walked back to the small bus station in Pai with my backpack. The minibus or van arrived a few minutes late and seemed to stop only for me. The driver, this time an old grumpy man, probably had a bad breakfast. We stood behind the bus and he motioned for me to get in, I pointed at my big backpack and he grumbled again in Thai and with his hand he motioned for me to get in the back, quickly. After 20 minutes drive, he stopped in a town, got out and went to a counter, another Western passenger also got off and enjoyed a cigarette, so I got off too to stretch my legs. But I didn't get far, as soon as I put my first foot outside, the old man came back, and urged me to get back in quickly. So I got back in and we continued on, after a total of 2 hours of travel time, we reached Mae Hong Son and the driver now said goodbye in a friendly manner!

Huey Pu Keng

I rented a motorbike and set off for the small village of Huey Pu Keng. This is a place where the Long Neck women live, the women with the golden rings around their necks. The rings weigh about 2.5 kg for adults. The place itself feels more like a human zoo, where people, especially these women, live involuntarily and actually have nothing to do except operate their sales stalls, where they offer various crafts for sale that no one really needs. You can also take pictures of them. I took a walk through the village and then had the ferryman take me back across the small river Pai. I drove here until the end of the road and realized that Myanmar starts 500 m from here.

Mae Sakut Nature Trail

A hike is always fun. So today I went to the nearby Mae Sakut Nature Trail. A small 6 km circular trail, but again I got sweaty, as it should be, and in the end I reached a small waterfall, nice to look at but not really for swimming. As a reward, I was rewarded with absolute peace and quiet, as I was actually all alone here.

Mae Hong Son

The place itself is small and manageable and quite different from Pai. It is a normal place without any significant tourist structure, but probably pleasant because of that. The Wat Phra That Doi Kongmu, clearly visible from above, offers a beautiful view either of the town or on the other side towards the sunset in the mountains. In the center of the town there was a small lake and right next to it the magnificent Wat Chong Kham.