More from Ella on her 11 day Tuk Tuk Adventure….
My diary of a Tuk Tuk Adventure – Day 5
We said farewell to the Karen Hill Tribe community of Mae Khlang Luang after breakfast and set off in our lovely convoy of bright orange Tuk Tuks towards Mae Sariang – somewhere towards the Myanmar border…
We knew we’d be spending a fair amount of time driving today but the team assured us the day would pass in a flash with some superb roads and lots of things to see – plus they promised us that as we dropped down the mountain the temperature would warm up (and that we’d soon be missing the cool weather!)
After we wound our way down the side of Doi Inthanon – a stunning winding road through forests with the odd clearing giving us great views – we then passed through lots of small villages where we always we greeted with waves and smiles as our weird and slightly wonderful convoy passed through.
We had a well earned stop at a local coffee shop next to a river – very relaxing enjoying a hot coffee and watching the water rush by.
Back on the road it started to get even more scenic with villages, small farms and the never ending hills rolling away into the distance. I never could quite get my head around how we were the only people in this area – it’s just so beautiful.
We had lunch at a small local restaurant – as always the food was delicious but for the life of me I can’t remember the names of the dishes we had – and had the novelty of our first ‘squat toilet’ of the trip. Not as tricky as I’d thought…
It was then back on the road and we climbed up and over some great mountains, stopped to explore a local arboretum (very scenic) and eventually dropped down through a seriously lush valley into the town of Mae Sariang.
As we drove into the town each street was filled with hanging lights and and the streets were busy with people going about their business – at least until they were distracted by our lovely little convoy of Tuk Tuks.
Our accommodation was amazing it was overlooking a river flowing through the jungle with a family of random goats living there – you can never predict what you might find in Thailand!
There was also a gorgeous pool and bar all just in our hotel.
After a much needed shower and freshen up we all headed into town to have dinner (do I need to say that yet again it was delicious?!) and then explore further. We were very lucky as there was a Temple Fair taking place with children doing traditional Thai dances, more food stalls than you could imagine and people setting off lanterns into the sky. Of course we joined and made great fools of ourselves trying to get the lantern to fly away (everyone else made it look so easy) but eventually Tony and his team worked their magic and off it sailed.
What a day! From remote rural villages and mountains to a wonderful experience in Mae Sariang at the Temple Fair. Travel really doesn’t get much better.