Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [361]
Guest House and Home Stay (0 5307 0589, 08 3571 6668; Ban Ruam Thai; r 400-1500B) The first guesthouse in Ban Ruam Thai (there are now numerous ‘homestays’ offering accommodation from 200B to 400B), this place consists of several simple bamboo huts positioned on a slope surrounded by coffee plants, tea plants and fruit trees. Even if not staying, stop here for a brew; the owner is passionate about coffee, and there is a roasting room where visitors can roast and grind their own beans.
Riverside Guest House (0 5306 1574, 08 6117 9623; Mok Champae; r 750B) Located outside the small town of Mok Champae, just before ascending the mountains to Mae Aw, accommodation here takes the form of four attractive bungalows by a rushing stream. There’s a restaurant run by the same people in the town, about 1km away.
Tha Law Sue Rak Thai Resort (08 9557 2258; Mae Aw; dm 200B, r 600-1200B) At the edge of the reservoir as you enter Mae Aw, this place is quite plush and has large bamboo huts at the water’s edge, some of which have their own terraces. There is a restaurant attached serving Yunnanese dishes.
Jingmeay Restaurant (08 9985 5794; Mae Aw/Ban Rak Thai; dishes 20-180B; 7am-7pm) This place, 500m into Mae Aw, in the central market area, serves Yunnanese dishes, including excellent noodle soup and a delicious ‘Young tea leafs salad’.
Gee Lee Restaurant (0 5307 2301; Mae Aw/Ban Rak Thai; dishes 40-250B; 8am-7pm) This was one of the first places in Mae Aw to serve the town’s Yunnanese-style Chinese dishes to visitors. Stewed pork leg and stir-fried local veggies are the specialities here. It’s at the corner of the lake, just before the intersection that leads to the centre of the village.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
There are two daily srng·ta·ou that head toward Mae Aw: one that stops in Ban Ruam Thai before terminating in Mae Aw (80B, 9.30am) and another that only goes as far as Ban Ruam Thai (70B, 3.30pm). Both depart from Mae Hong Son’s municipal market only when full, which can sometimes be a couple of hours after the scheduled departure time. Because of this, it’s probably worth getting a group of people together and chartering a vehicle; any tour agency in Mae Hong Son will arrange a vehicle for around 1300B.
Alternatively, the route also makes a brilliant motorcycle ride – just make sure you have enough petrol, as the only station is in Ban Na Pa Paek, at the end of a very long climb.
PAI
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Spend enough time in northern Thailand and eventually you’ll hear rumours that Pai is the Khao San Rd of northern Thailand. Although this is definitely a stretch, in recent years the small town has started to resemble a Thai island getaway – without the beaches. Guesthouses appear to outnumber private residences in the ‘downtown’ area, the internet is never more than a few steps away and the nights buzz with the sound of live music and partying.
However, unlike the islands, Pai (pronounced more like the English ‘bye’ not ‘pie’) is now just as popular among Thais as foreigners. During the peak of the cool season, thousands of Thais from Bangkok crowd the town, making parts of it feel more like Chatuchak Weekend market than a remote valley town in Mae Hong Son. Traffic jams aren’t unusual during this time of year, and accommodation becomes so scarce that many are forced to rough it in tents.
Despite all this, the town’s popularity has yet to impact its setting in a nearly picture-perfect mountain valley. There’s heaps of quiet accommodation outside the main drag, a host of natural, lazy activities to keep visitors entertained, a vibrant art and music scene, and the town’s Shan roots can still be seen in its temples, quiet back streets and fun afternoon market.
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Information
There are plenty of places around town, especially at the eastern end of Th Chaisongkhram, that offer internet services (20B to 30B per hour).
Pai Post (www.paipost.com) is the free local English language monthly newspaper.