I'm Officially Done Climbing Mountians in Thailand Part 3: Mae Hong Son-- North Mountain trip to Waterfalls, Fish Cave, Hmong Village

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Bright and early start after a big breakfast....I was really anticipating this North Mountain trip thanks to my obsession with seeing Mae Aw (which I will feature in it's own section.) The road was fun-- the infamous Mae Hong Son loop is said to have some sixty hair pin turns per hour. It's legendary in motorcycle circles. I wish I could have done a better job capturing the scenery along the journey, but if I stopped at every photo op, I'd never get anywhere. Our first stop was the Burmese style Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu which overlooks the city of Mae Hong Son. I enjoyed the panorama for a while and then peeked in on a Buddhist mother's day service. The novice monks attending appeared more interested in what was happening outside than in. The Burmese style wats display a distinct ornamentation on the roofs and the Buddah figures tend to be more fancy with the eye make up.

The second stop was a weird place known as The Fish Cave. Fish Cave isn't really a cave, but rather a place where a cool water spring feeds into a larger stream. Giant blue carp congregate there and at some point a monk deemed them sacred. There is a place where the spring runs under rocks and masses of fish can be seen in a hole down in the "cave" area. Its said they swim into this spring and many do not return. Nobody knows how extensive the cave network is as its unaccessable. Venders sell Thai guava and various leaves to feed them and they thrash about comically when you toss them goodies. The park is popular with Thai tourists and yummy food stalls abound.

On the way back from Mae Aw we stopped to visit a Hmong village. It was here that my obsession with Hmong garments was born( I finally managed to acquire two jackets and a pair of pants yea!) My guide and I roamed around and met up with an elderly woman who made some of the aforementioned outfits. It's amazing these women can still see after years of such detailed work. This woman was sewing hand stitched pieces onto a jacket.At one point we turned a corner to walk down a road and came across the most beautiful orchids I've ever seen hanging in front of somebody's house.

Another stop was Pha Sua Waterfall which was stunning.....lush, green, fresh.

Unfortunately I have noted that when using my iPad to upload photos non of my crops or other edits show, so forgive the occasional finger, dark picture etc.

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Photos

Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu
View of Mae Hong Son..... In other photos you can see some amazing buildings, the airport runway, and rice paddies