From Chiang Rai, we could have turned our toes in any direction and had an excess of exploration options thanks to the overwhelming number of pins we had saved on our Google map over the years. But, ultimately, we decided to grab a 160 cc motorbike for $12 and head north/northwest for the day to get off-the-beaten path with a dose of mountain air and to ensure we didn’t run into any flooding.
The 3-4 hour loop we chose can be checked out on the last slide and featured a stop at Pa Tueng Hot Springs, a metaphorical step into the little Chinese village of Doi Mae Salong, tea time in an authentic shop, a glimpse into the lives of the Lanna and Mian people, and a whirl around a self-propelled ferris wheel.
Not to mention…breathtaking view after breathtaking view, including the above oolong tea plants, presented as an undulating symmetrical masterpiece. If you’d like to find it, look for “Tee plantation viewpoint” on Google Maps.
After 35 minutes of scootering through sprawling Chiang Rai, we arrived to Pat Tueng Hot Springs which featured a tranquil lake hugging the edges of several pots of piping hot springs, which were interestingly called onsens, borrowed from the Japanese word.
The lake was chock-full of water pigeons, aka carp, which eagerly penetrated the surface when anyone would feed them. In the meantime, a brightly accessorized father and son enjoying the free foot soaking pools. The facility had quite a few locals in it, but we were the only foreigners.
Kermit found out the hard way how hot the springs could be 🙁
In addition to soaking their feet, the locals also had another motive…to save on gas by boiling their vegetables and eggs for free! The facility even had helpful signs which told them how hot the water was and for how long they needed to cook their goodies. We were impressed to see how many were taking advantage of it. This pot had several large bags of eggs, which only took 7 minutes to hard boil, according to the sign!
Even though we tried out a foot soak way downstream from the original source, Greg confirms the temperature with his face. When it’s already hot outside, it’s also not the most pleasant, but we still endured for five minutes to soak in some health benefits. Also, the higher you go up, the hotter it got. Kudos to these locals for toughing it out.
Others, which reminded us of a Botero family, just stood around and gawked at the nearby geyser.
As we explored the rest of the property, we stumbled upon the private rooms, also called onsens, which you could rent for 100 Baht ($3) an hour. It sure looks more cozy than the Soviet bloc(k) tub we had.
Also onsite was this impressive sculpture showcasing the unique lives and daily routines of thousands of the tribal Lanna people, both in the past and currently. Present activities represented include men going out to work and women cooking and waiting, while people of the past sawed wood to build housing with the cooperation of neighbors instead of hiring workers, as well as children’s activities such as shooting birds, fishing, rice coloring and stir-frying rice in various forms.
Moving on, we rolled 49 more minutes towards the village of Doi Mae Salong. This mountain community is known for its lush landscapes, former opium production, tea plantations and unique Chinese heritage. Within it resides a community of descendants of Chinese soldiers who fled to Thailand after the Chinese Civil War in the 1940s. Many locals still speak Mandarin and serve traditional Yunnan cuisine.
Our cuisine of choice was at “Yang Ming” vegan/vegetarian which we have tended to gravitate to even more in this pork-laden land of northeast Thailand. Note that the sign is in three languages: Mandarin, Thai and English and most of the Doi Mae Salong locals seemed to balance a smattering of all three. It was nice to have a touch of Chinese food in this sweet and sour dish served over noodles, and with it, an attractive “Butterfly Pea Flower” drink which had a long list of health benefits like strengthening immunity, slowing down aging, dissolving blood clots, preventing stroke, preventing hair loss and reducing the risk of heart disease. It tasted a bit like grape kool-aid to us, so it’s a good possibility the added sugar will negate all those benefits. Both our dishes and kool-aid cost about $6.
Hill tribe-style homes on the fringe of Doi Mae Salong.
After lunch, we headed up to the “Doe Mae Salong Sunset Viewpoint,” where we could see the upcoming road continuing to climb to the peak…
…as well as Myanmar in the distance. For the record, we did research and discuss the idea of going to Myanmar for the day. The border nearest Chiang Rai is a safe one and you can go without having to get a visa. However, we know that this country deserves more than a country grab, so we plan to table it until things calm down in the future.
From here, we headed up the peak to a glorious golden temple on the side of a mountain called Phra Boromathat Chedi,
It offered one seriously dazzling view clearly made for a damsel like Snow White. Strangely, the majority of locals we encountered throughout this trip were mostly not very open or smiling. It felt a bit disappointing after our months in Indonesia where the locals were so warm and eager to meet us. It is also not what we’ve experienced during our previous visits to the south of the country. We’ll be interested to see if this is a regional thing as we continue to travel in the area.
From the temple, we continued down to the Chinese Martyr’s Museum and Memorial Hall, which was holding some sort of event, all in Chinese. Had there been music or dancing we may have lingered, but it all just sounded like gibberish to us. Plus, we were getting a few looks that made us feel like we weren’t exactly welcome.
So, we wandered into the museum, which had exactly one panel in English. It explained that “in 1953 the compassionate King of Thailand and his majesty’s charitable government granted a special favor to reserve a settlement in the northern border for all the survivors from the Chinese Anti-Communist war. Then all the dislocated Chinese refugees filed a joint petition to late President Chiang Kai-Shiek, asking for relief assistance and support.”
Ok. Time for a cuppa. So, we headed back into the village to “Mountain Tea” where we were immediately presented with two cups, or bowls rather, and a dear woman named Emi who spoke very little English, but through Google toggled to Mandarin, we learned she had immigrated to Doi Mae Salong as a child from Burma (Myanmar) fifty years ago. She gave us several samples and we walked out with a large bag (100 grams) of black oolong tea for about $3. It was a happy experience.
Exiting Doi Mae Salong, we paused for a photo of the quite polished Mae Salong Flower Hills, where you can stay for about $100.
From Doi Mae Salong, we continued east where we found multiple viewpoint opportunities, traditional houses, and a surprising favorite stop at the Mae Salong Nai Viewpoint, which also served as a cultural community center explaining about the traditional houses of the local peoples.
The wonderfully decorated Mian (Ya) people originally settled in China on the Yangtze River. However, they migrated down south in the 15th-16th centuries via Vietnam and Laos, entering Northern Thailand about 100 years ago. Their language is classified in the Chinese-Tibet family. We didn’t meet any, but here’s what they look like on a plastic display.
They also had a bunch of fun toys, like a swing balanced under four tepeed sticks, and a mini ferris wheel contraption, which would have any US liability lawyer foaming at the mouth. When Mandy tried to demonstrate, she failed miserably without three other people to balance out her giant physique. What tremendous fun!
After risking our lives on playground equipment, we ordered our first Thai Tea in Northern Thailand which was crammed full of so much ice we got about two glugs each. This kitten made up for our misfortune.
The viewpoint from Mae Salong Nai was gorgeous as well.
The lasso of our day. We rented our bike from PP Motorbike and were very happy with the service and condition of the bike. They did ask to hold a passport or a 2000 Baht security deposit while we were out. It was $12 for the more powerful bike or $9 for the less powerful bike, either seeming to be a sharp increase from the last time we were in Thailand. Gas for 3-4 hour loop cost $2.68 so all in all, a still very reasonable day.
