One of the best vacation spots I ever been to.
I been to Thailand many times now, from the beaches in Phi Phi Islands, and Phuket to shopping in Khon Kaen, from the beautiful rain forest of Khao Yai to watching a cultural show in Chang Rai I enjoyed all my travels in Thailand, I have stayed in five star hotels in Hua Hinn to a rustic cabin in Khao Yai, but none of my stays left an impression like my stay in Mae Hong Son.
I am not sure if it was the location itself or the resort but maybe it had much to do with both. It wasn't that the place was a five star resort, damn it didn't even have electricity, but there was something about sitting on the bench outside my room and staring out at the sea of green, it just put me in a state of tranquelity, forget all those drugs of the sixties, I was definately on cloud nine in my own garden of Eden.
In the morning my wife and I would arise to the sound of chirping birds, the slow moving stream and other denizens of the forest, forget all that new age stuff, this was the sweetest music my ears have ever been treated to, and by the way this music plays all night long, there is so much music in the air, you really have to listen to make out the different sounds, and it was not overbearing, I am usually unable to sleep with the lightest of sounds, but the sounds were so pleasent that it lulled you to sleep, so forget about bringing your ipods. Back to the adventure, my wife and I grabbed our gear and strolled down to the resort eating place and ate our fill of fruits and pastries giving us the energy needed to take a hike along the forest trail, the resort came with its own guide dogs to safely see you through the canope of ferns and other brush along the forest path. At the end of the trek you were rewarded with a beautiful walk-in waterfall, what a nice treat I couldn't have planned this out better if I was mother nature. After taking a few pictures we treked back to the resort, and again took a nice sitdown gazing through all the green. Time for lunch and we visited the resorts eating place and settled down to a great noodle dish, and a ice cold beer. We then headed back to the room where we put on our swimming suits and settled down at the pool for the next few hours. Later, we freshened up for the evening and took the shuttle into town, where we had a great dinner at one of the local restaurants, and walked through all the shops and boutiques, then headed back to the resort.
The next morning we arisen early to head into town to take part in the buddhist tradition of providing food to the Buddhist monks as they make their way through the streets of the town, afterwards we made a visit to the Waht temple. By this time it was afternoon and very hot and sticky so we went back to the resort, relaxed by the pool and enjoyed the atmosphere of the resort for the rest of the evening.
On our final day, we got a hold of a private driver who took us to the river. We then chartered a boat and visited the hill side tribes. What an experience, but that will be a another story.
I hope someday I will make my way back to this paradise, and who says that there is no heaven on earth. This place might not be for everybody, but for those that are seeking peace and tranquility this place might be the right perscription.

very much too


Waterfall just outside Mae Hong Song

I stayed the Imperial and loved it; really teak rich - just like all those buildings down the side streets - never seen so much teak! Lovely and relaxed, and people really laid back - different facial look and way to normal Thais as well; Burmese and hill tribe influence of course. The temple at the top of the hill is an amazing place to go and watch the mists roll in or fade out.

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what a fantastic report, i could picture it in my mind, {and a great photo Mark}, any chance you could give the name of the resort you stayed ,or any ideas of places to stay, are there any mid range places with a pool

Looks nice! Pictures please!

I don't know where it is! I was looking for my next trip to stay a few days in a place like Ubud, Bali. I liked the green scenery, the relax athmosphere etc!

Can you compare?