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Published: April 4th 2008
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Mae Hong Son
C.I.E. all is forgiven. After Pai we went to Mae Hong Son which is a town not far from the Burmese (Myanmar) border.
It was quite an adventure getting there, and not because you had to pass through several Thai army checkpoints on the way. The adventure was the transport itself, an ancient rickety bus. We thought that there were two types of bus going from Pai to Mai Hong Son, the normal daily bus and a more expensive mini van. We had planned to use the mini bus, which although more expensive would be quicker, more comfortable and could be booked in advance. Alas, we were told fairly brusquely at the bus station that there was only one bus and that it could not be booked. We could get no other information as to cost etc so we just had to keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.
We arrived at the bus station and to describe it as bedlam would be charitable. There were several buses but none displayed anything as simple as a destination. Appearently, you just had to know which bus was which. There were a few other tourists about and all of us were in the
Mae Hong Son
Like and town in background. dark. Eventually, a bus appeared and someone said that this was the Mae Hong Son bus. Unfortunately, this bus had started its journey in Chiang Mai and was already fully of passengers. About half of these started to get off while another bus load, including ourselves, waited to get on.
Fortunately, by this stage in our travels Linda and I were a well oiled machine when it came to getting seats on various modes of transport. A glance passed between us and without further communication we sprung into action. Like military strike forces in a pincer manouvere we each had our different roles to play. Linda was the light, fast moving spearhead, darting between, around and through slower moving obstacles and occupying the stragetically vital target, i.e. two seats. For offensive power she is armed with two very sharp elbows, which I know from experience, being a snorer, are powerful pinpoint weapons. She was able to accomplish this due to the fact that she was travelling light. I provided the brawn and the logistical tail, lugging our bags to whereever they were to be stored, in this case the roof. As a result of this team work, we ended
Mae Hong Son
Linda in night food market. up with two seats, albeit thin, poorly padded, falling apart and designed for eastern posteriers. This was a luxury, compared to standing at the back of a packed bus for several hours, which a number of people had to do.
The journey itself was interesting in that it was mile upon mile, up and down the steepest mountain roads I have ever seen. Given this, you would assume that the operator would use the most modern bus in their fleet. No. They used an ancient rust bucket, with an engine and shock obsorbers that had seen better days, weeks, years. The bus had an interesting characteristic of slipping back a short distance whenever the driver tried to change gear on some of the steeper parts of the route. We did eventually make it to MHS in one piece.
We had planned to do some trekking in the area around MHS but unfortunately we had to change our plans after visiting the night food market on our first night there. There were various stalls selling food etc, not all of which we recognised. We got a bit adventerous and tried some items from stalls that in hind sight should
Mae Hong Son
Brendan in night food market. have been best avoided. We felt queasy for the next couple of days and spent most of the time confined to our chalet. Fortunately there were no long term effects and we were able to see some of the surrounding countryside.
We are not normally into visiting caves but the ones near MHS were unusual in that you saw them from narrow bamboo rafts. On the way in your guide punts the vehicle but the way out is against the flow of water so he tows you out. It was interesting because the caves are extremely large, and home to millions of bats. You could just make them out roosting on the ceilings and walls as large dark smudges. I assumed that sleeping bats would make no noise but you could hear these squeaking and rustling their feathers, not to mention smelling them. I can see how some people would find it unsettling but if you are in the area I would highly recommend it.
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