Getting to Mae Hong Son
By plane
Easiest way is of course to take a
plane. Thai airways has 5 flights a day on a small propeller airplane.
The return flight costs only 780 Bht including airport taxes and takes
30 minutes (3/99).
Two important remarks:
- The LP says that a lot of the morning flights in dry season get delayed or cancelled because of fog. THIS IS TRUE !!
-
What usually happens is this: the first plane of 9.30 am gets delayed
for about 1 to 2 hours. THIS MEANS THAT ALSO THE 3rd FLIGHT GETS
DELAYED, because this is the same plane. The second flight of 11.30 am
however is another one, and by 11.30 am the fog has usually gone. So I
strongly advise in dry season to book the second flight which is
usually on time, and to avoid the first and the third flight.
-
Secondly these flights tend to be heavily booked by tour groups
occupying 30 seats, so book ahead, preferentially from home by
internet, you've got nothing to loose with making a reservation, since
you pay once you're in Thailand.
By bus
There are of course public buses taking 8 hours to do the traject.
By tour
One day tours by plane to the long neck Karen cost 2000 Bht, but this
is useless because they can't get a seat either when the plane is full
(3/99).
If
you're really desperate, you could book a tour by minibus, but I
strongly advise against this. First of all it takes 5 to 6 hours to get
there, and secondly they are more expensive then taking a plane. Price
is 2.200 Bht pp when you're with 2 (3/99).
Restaurants
The Kai Mook restaurant caters to tour groups, but they can provide you with a quick meal for 50 Bht.
What to do
Long Neck Karen
Everybody goes to MHS to see the Long Neck Karen of course. There are 3 villages, 1 in the North, 2 in the South.
We
visited the one in the North which is easy to reach in a 40 minutes
ride. In the future it'll be even shorter because they have just built
a new bridge, and a shorter road will be paved. How long before there's
a highway to the village?
You need to hire a car with driver to get there. We payed 700 Bht for a 3 hour trip around MHS (probably a bit too much).
Once at the village, you have to pay 250 Bht pp to enter the village (3/99).
I
must say I really loved the visit, although I understand that some
people might be put off by the spectacle saying it's a human zoo.
Nevertheless, it's a photographer's dream. People actually live and
work there, so the village is not artificial. We spent about 90 minutes
in the village.
Fish Cave
Is usually included in the trip, but we didn't do it.
Temples around MHS
Wat Prathat Doi Kong Mu
is on a hill overlooking the town. The view is probably great in the
morning with the mist in the valley, but we weren't impressed in the
afternoon (it was also very hot).
The temples in the center next to the lake are OK, but nothing special.
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