On December 2nd we started our research trip to Pai in Mae Hong Son Province. 12 days 1800 kms. 900 on the scooter. The once small farmers village situated amongst thousands of rice fields on a plain of 370 metres altitude is surrounded by high mountains and has developed into a major tourist destination in Northwest Thailand. Though crowded, especially by Thai tourists on weekends, it is still a nice place to hang out. Once you leave the bustling village and take one of the side roads you are surrounded by small villages, unpaved roads, rural life and can enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery.
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| One bike each :-) |
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Am 2. Dezember haben wir unseren Recherche Trip nach Pai und Mae Hong Son begonnen. 1800 km davon 900 auf dem Scooter. Das einstige kleine Bauerndorf inmitten von Reisfeldern, hat sich zu einem Touristenmagneten gemausert. Allerdings ist es unter der Woche noch immer gemuetlich und man hat jede Menge Moeglichkeiten das urspruengliche Thailand zu entdecken, verlaesst man die Hauptstrassen und begiebt sich in laendliches Gefilde. Pai liegt auf einer Hochebene von ca. 390 Metern, umgeben von hohen Bergen der Provinz Mae Hong Son und Chiang Mai.
One of the most extraordinarily designed resorts is Kirinda Retro
Resort. Each room is individually decorated following various themes,
not only can you stay at the Honeymoon Suite, but also the Andaman Sea
or on the farm, but you also have the choice to say hello to Kitty or
Winnie the Poo...
Eines der ausgefallensten Resorts ist das Kirinda Retro Resort. Alle Zimme rsind im Retro Stil individuell gestaltet. Man hat verschiedene Themen, die Farm das Meer, man kann aber auch Kitty Hallo sagen und Winnie the Poo.
We loved our little Bungalow in the middle of the rice fields about 5 kms outside of Pai...
Wir genossen unseren Bungalow 5 km ausserhalb mitten in den Reisfeldern.
Around Pai there are quite a few things to explore. We started with Mae Por Waterfall and stopped at the Chinese Village with its lovely viewpoint on the way.
Um Pai herum hat es jede Menge Dinge zum Anschauen, wir schwangen uns auf den Scooter und furhen ins chinesische Dorf, mit Ausichtspunkt ueber Pai, dann weiter zum Waserfall.
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| Is this the waterfall???? |
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| Good that we found the right one a few more kilometres ahead.... |
Following the road towards Mae Hong Son a sign pointed to another Hot Spring, off we went....The steep road turned unpaved after several kilometres and was so steep that the Honda Wave 125 ccm could not carry both of us - so I walked half of the way. After passing the clear rather unspectacular hot spring we continued for another couple of kilometres until we reached a small village where time had stood still and power must have been a recent accomplishment.
Nachdem wir die Strasse nach Mae Hong Son nahmen, sahen wir ein Schild, Hot Spring, hier sind wir scharf links abgebogen und waren in The Middle of Nowhere. Die Asphaltstrasse wurde bald unbefestigt und einige Strecken musste ich laufen, weil es einfach zu steil war fuer beide von uns. Nach der eher unspektakulaeren heissen Quelle gelangten wir voellig verstuabt in ein Bergdorf. Hier schien elektrizitaet eine Neumodische Erfindung zu sein.
Jeden Abend findet in Pai die Walking Street statt, mit ihren Haendlern, Essenstaenden und kleinen Bars entlang der Strasse.
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| This guy actually sells tea in Bamboo cups |
Of course we found good food at Sai Nam Pai 5 kms outside the
village and the steaks at The Steak House at Baan
Pai Village are great.
Natuerlich kam auch das Essen nicht zu kurz - Steak im The Steak House und feines thai Food im Sai Nam Pai ausserhalb,.
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| Excellent Tom Yum goong |
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| Pla Tuptim Samoon Phrai |
One day we went to Wat Chan - of course on the scooter, same little Honda Wave 125ccm....the road was not brilliant but paved and offering nice scenic views....we followed it until we found the Royal Project with nice Bungalows, a lake campground etc....as we had then seen a sign Karen Hilltribe Lodge, our researchers´senses were wide awake and we wanted to find the place - only 36 kms - off we went - after 15 kms the road turned into a dirt track and the signs told us it was 4 WD only....we only had two wheels but Yogurt managed to take us to the little Lodge in the middle of Nowhere with the very same Honda Wave.....On our way back we stopped at some hot springs and had some quail eggs, we felt bloody cold after 180 kms on the scooter.
Wir sind zum Royal Project nach Wat Chan aufgebrochen. Nachmdem wir das mit dem Scooter gefunden haben, auf eienr mehr oder weniger guten Strasse, sahen wir ein Schild - Karen Hilltribe Lodge - sofort waren unsere Recherchier Sinne geweckt. Also folgten wir dem Schild, das nach einigen km Allrad anzeigte - geht nicht, gibts nicht - mit zwei Raeder haben wir es die Staub und Sanpiste ins letze Ecke geschaffft und kman in der Hilltribe Lodge an.
Aufwaermen an Hiesser Quelle und saerken mit Wachteleiern....
From Pai we went another 800 ++ curves to Mae Hong Son...the capital of Mae Hong Son Province. We were lucky to find a room as it was the weekend and many tourists wanted to spend the weekend in the cool climate up here. Luckily we found a nice little place 2 kms out of town.
Von Pai aus, ging es durch weitere uebere 800 Kurven nach Mae Hong Son, der gemuetllichen Provinzhauptstadt. Wir haben trotz des Wochenendansturms noch ein schoenes Zimmer etwas ausserhalb gefunden
By getting up from a chair that night I must have strained a muscle in my thigh and was barely able to walk... it was getting better day by day but unfortunately I was unable to do any of the bicycle tours I was planning to do...Also researching by bike was out of the question - Hence research began the next day after we hired a Honda Scoopy 125 ccm.
Am ersten Abend in Mae Hong son bin ich wohl dood aufgestandne und habe mir den Muskel im Oberschenkel gezerrrt mit Velo fahren wird es wohl nichts, also muss der Juergen ran. mit der Honda Scoopy 125 ccm faehrt er mich zur Recherche durch die Gegend.
We went to Baan Rak Thai a Chinese Village in the middle of tea plantations at the Burmese border, found some more dirt roads that lead to villages where time stood still. Again we found extraordinary places, lovely people, accompanied by wonderful scenery.
Night in Mae Hong Son - Burmese Food by the lake - Yummieee
We then had the idea to extend our research to Khun Yuam - a day trip on the scooter - bloody hell our bums felt sore after 250K!!! Wonderful roads through the misty mountains of Mae Hong Son.....but Yogurt had to get a hat first....
Dann hatten wir die glorreiche Idee nach Khun Yuam fuer eien Tagesausflug zu fahren. Traumhafte Strassen, durch den Regenwald. Juergen hat sich nur zuerst noch eine warme Muetze gekauft.
On our way back to Pai we researched Sopphong and arrived in the rice field bungalow early afternoon. Two more days of research in Pai.
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| At Landsplit - a farm that sells their organic products but le you try each and every thing beforehand. |
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| This is the photo I took |
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| And this one as well |
The difference between male and female perspective....
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| And this is the male perspective! |
The morning we were heading home we discovered a nail in the tyre and
had to go to the garage before we could take off - luckily we saw it
before we started our journey!!!
Am Morgen vor Abgfahrt entdecketen wir zum Glueck noch den Nagel im Reifen und konnten ihn so flicken lassen
Back home we were warmly welcomed by Biggi and Reini who have wonderfully taken care of the fur-kids and the house - Thanks a mill....
Daheim wurden wir von Biggi und Reini aufs Herzlichste begruesst... Vielen Dank fuer Aufpassen aud Haus und Zoo!!!
