Due to my lack of planning, no comfy van for Olivia. So I took the local bus instead. When I said local, I mean very local. I am just one of only two foreigners on the packed bus.
I managed to get a seat because I was at the station way early. The people who where late would either stand or sit on the packs of rice that a passenger had lined the isle with. It was a 3.5 to 4 hr drive to Mae Hong Son and it made stops along the way. Well, the price was nothing to complain about at just 70 baht vs 150 baht for the van. But I would gladly pay the extra for a reserved seat on the non stop, AC van.
The bus was completely packed, driving up the mountain roads were extremely slow. We were passed by every vehicle on the road. You may even cycle faster than the bus!
At one point, I noticed the bus driver was on his mobile phone while negotiating hair pin turns!
We had one pit stop about an hour into my long journey and half the passengers got off there so people on the floor were upgraded to a seat.
There were 2 check stops by the Thai police and they were mainly checking the locals for ID.
I met Pong on the bus, a Thai that was touring Mae Hong Son as well. When we got there, neither of us knew where to go. So we searched for a guesthouse together. We took the mototaxi to a resort in his guide book but it was 500 baht per room. He asked a police officer nearby for budge guesthouses and there was one directly across the resort. We ended up staying there and paid 350 baht per room.
By the time we freshen up, it was nearly 16:30. We took a stroll around town and decided to walk up to Doi Kong Mu. It was way up the top of Mae Hong Son. I only had 2 bbq pork sticks and an ice cream bar after i got off the bus. I wasnt sure if i had the energy to make it up there! But I dont think it could be worse then the trek in Chiang Mai where I nearly died of heat stroke. So I managed to get myself up to the Wat with heavy panting, all sweaty, with red hot burning cheeks. I usually get those cheeks after some alcohol but this time, I haven't had a single drop of fermented liquid or grape juice.
Me and my rosy cheeks with the big guy in Doi Kong Mu, way way way up in the mountains.
A view of Mae Hong Son from the Wat. I've captured nearly the entire city in this photo. It's quite a small town, i'd say that it's about twice the size of Pai. But it now has a run way. Before, this city was quite hard to get to.
By the time we got down, it was nearly 18:30, the sun had almost completely disappeared. We walked around the night market and it was nothing compared to Pai. There wasn't many people around. It was definetely the low season. I wanted to go on a tour tomorrow but it took 2 people to start a tour so Pong decided to join me.
We had noodles for dinner. He had enough to eat but I was still hungry. So on our way back to the guesthouse, I got myself 4 sticks of pork and a portion of sticky rice, to be enjoyed in my room. Yummy!!!
Mae Hong Son has a lake in the middle of the city.
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