My new home Mae Hong Son - a little piece of heaven

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Whenever I had mentioned to anyone that I was moving to Mae Hong Son (MHS) they always commented on how beautiful it was, even if they had never been there themselves. I must admit I was a little dubious at just how great it would be but MHS has lived up to all my expectations and more. I feel truly blessed and fortunate to be living in this jewel of northern Thailand, where there is hardly any traffic and the only incessant noise pollution is the sound of roosters crowing at any given time of the day. Even the noise of dogs barking and PA systems blaring are nothing compared to what I am used to.

MHS has a population of approximately 7000 people and is 924 km from Bangkok in the north-western tip of Thailand bordering Burma. It is a picturesque town nestled in a valley amongst mountain ranges and inhabited by various ethnic hill tribes. MHS is a quiet local Thai town which attracts only a few foreigners and has but a couple of restaurants to cater for the western palate. It is covered in mist throughout most of the year which is why it is nicknamed, “The Land of the Three Mists.”

I have moved into a fully furnished 3 bedroom house (actually more like a mansion especially for what I had been expecting to live in when relocating to Thailand) with 2 other Australian girls - Louise and Jo. The house has a porch and balcony which overlooks the mountains and is set on a hillside slightly outside of the main town. It is a peaceful sanctuary which I will happily enjoy living in for the rest of my time in Thailand. The girls have even adopted a stray dog with 2 pups who they slowly helped rescue from parasites (which I discovered the next day after having patted them in the evening and not seeing that they were purple!)

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