Somehow managed to escape the insane traffic of Chiang Mai in our little rental Honda. Did I mention they drive on the left side of the road? Lane lines are the merest of suggestions not to be taken seriously. Luckily they are very aware drivers. Lose concentration and you’re done for. The swarms of motorbikes driven by helmetless riders in flip flops talking on cellphones while weaving in and out of formidable traffic is impressive. However, we haven’t seen any roadkill: human or animal. The lack of road pizza leads us to believe there aren’t many animals. Most of the larger fauna such as Asian rhinos, tigers, tapirs, etc. are long gone or hanging on by a thread in a few parks. No elephants live in the wild. Some small deer survive in parks and lots of squirrels. Haven’t even seen a rabbit. Birds are faring somewhat better but they are very secretive, few pose for us. My very unscientific theory is that after eons as human food they are naturally furtive. Butterflies, small lizards and gekkos are doing okay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One surprise for us is how much of northern Thailand is deciduous forest…very dry in winter. Higher mountains are more jungley with giant bamboo, bromiliads, wild bananas, and other huge-leafed plants.

Our first challenge leaving Chiang Mai was getting lunch. At a roadside cafe…no menu, no English. Making eating motions they took pity on us and brought out bowls of noodle soup. With a Coke, the bill was $2.50.

Just north of Chiang Mai, limestone karst mountains jut from the rice paddy filled valleys. Thailand is a major exporter of rice (mostly the white Jasmine type), and natives eat it with breakfast, lunch and dinner (those lucky enough to get 3 meals a day).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First night we stumbled on a Lonely Planet pick by accident. Doi Chiang Dao has a wonderful mountainside Wat and a nature trail. The bungalow cabins were in a botanical garden setting. We managed to see a few exotic birds. Getting pictures, another matter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next stop Fang Hot Springs. The hotel near the entrance was impressive even if the hot springs weren’t. A very friendly host who only speaks Thai was happy to have foreign tourists rave about his hotel. At the thermal basin a geyser erupts every half hour. Fake rocks surround the fake geyser and in the fake basin. Very weird.

On to Mae Salong, a high elevation, ridge top Chinese town on the Burma border in the infamous Golden Triangle region. Some Kuomintang soldiers settled here fleeing Mao’s revolution. Cut off from the rest of Thailand they trafficked freely in opium. Finally the Thai government gained control and managed to stop poppy production. The new crop is tea. Oolong green tea. Accessible by good roads only since the ’90’s, it is now a tourist mecca. Japanese and Chinese tourists arrive by the busload to a very pricey resort. Others of us pick the quieter, cheaper retreats, and the budget travelers stay in town. Language and food are mostly Chinese. Hill tribe ladies sell all sorts of unidentifiable produce at the local market. It’s as close to China as we’ll ever get.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Near our bungalow a strange tea based enterprise was being built. The 30 foot high entry guard lions loomed over our drive.

 

Fog filled the lowlands as we left Mae Salong. Circling to the east back to Chiang Mai is apparently not on the tourist track. Almost no English signage or speakers available and the facilities are decidedly not geared to the overseas tourist.

As we drove south, we passed an empty parking lot with an amazing looking wat in back. Of course, we had to stop to see why no one was there. The wats of Bangkok and Chaing Mai were always busy. We had the entire wat to ourselves. I can’t even find the name of this wat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reluctantly left this awesome wat and continued south. Turned off at a sign for waterfalls and found a lovely national park with a campground and bungalows for rent. A trail leads up to a series of 7 waterfalls. Had the place to ourselves and amused the staff with hand signals. They practiced their few English words on us to our mutual entertainment. The many species of butterflies were jaw-dropping gorgeous. We spent 2 days chasing around after them and managed to get pictures of a few. The day we were leaving hundreds of Boy Scouts were trucked into the campground. What lucky timing for us.

 

 

 

                                                                      Drove back to Chiang Mai, turned in the car, hopped a bus next day to the Laotian border.

Click the following link for the video portion.    https://youtu.be/tXM8VRTeT68