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Having heard great things about this place and also from reading up on it we decided to do an overnight trip to the highest peak in thailand - Doi Inthanon. This trip was off our own back and involved me hanging onto the back of our motorbike as James bombed it along at 70 km/h (ok, thats not that fast but using words like "bombed" makes it seem cool!) and being in so much pain from the constant vibration of our pretty shit honda that we felt numb and had pins and needles for ages afterwards! The pain on your bum was immense after subjecting it to 2 hours each way just to get to the national park let alone up the bloody mountain! Bike's can be fun but probably best in short bursts and not glued to them for 2 days!
The summit was freezing and very wet (it rained a lot on the way up too) we were thankful that we had brought our 'hoodys.' There isnt much up there except a sign that says you have reached the "highest spot" in Thailand, and also a shrine thats very beautiful and surrounded by loads of wooden and stone
elephants of graduating size. Also a coffee shop and bizarre collection of possibly the worlds worst tourist tat I have ever seen!
Also was pretty funny coz we judged the fuel consumption situation very badly and just made it to the summit when we realised we had run out of fuel! Consequently had to free wheel it all the way back down the mountain until we reached the bottom where there was thankfully a gas station! So much fun and of course very funny.
The room we stayed in half way up the mountain had a hole in the roof where there should have been a sky light except there wasnt, so just a perfectly cut hole for absolutely no reason at all! It was pissing with rain for much of the day and the night and although we didnt get wet (because there was an extra roof on top of ours, over the hole?! This is hard to explain and neither of us understood it anyway) we were eaten alive by all manner of bugs - seriously have never seen so many of the buggers! They were like hybrid huge ugly bug/insects, massive and most of them flew! urgh.
On a lighter note whilst exploring the mountain we went to three of the most stunning and incredible waterfalls we have ever seen. Open jaw, heart stoppingly beautiful- seriously. Continuning my chain of luck with biting blood sucking insects for the day when I happened upon a little leech who decided to attach himself to my leg. Without realising what it was and not looking I casually brushed it off, at which point he attached himself to my finger. In disgust and fearing that it was in fact a leech I tried in vain to flick him off, swinging him through the air only increased his suction. I tried wiping him off onto a rock- he wasn't having any of it.
In a last desperate attempt I frantically flung my hand around in some water near the falls in the hope that he would get bored and give up...uh, uh, uh, no such luck!! Naturally I did the only thing left to do- screamed like a little girl and panicked!! In the end, yes girls, I'm ashamed to admit it, I did require the help of a boy. I seem to recall amongst the screaming, saying something along the
lines of "James HELP, get it off." Eventually after what can be described as 'playing hard ball' on the leech's part, he gave up and settled for making his way along a rock in search of new prey! Close call, and weirdly leeches are much smaller than I imagined, though this was probably a very malnutritioned one to be fair!
The best waterfall was Mae Klang that was almost at the base of the mountain. Really gorgeous and marked by a particuarily beautiful golden temple, the name of which I cannot remember. There are also two rather beautiful Stupas that are near the top of the mountain. These were built by the Royal airforce in commemoration of the King and Queens 60th birthdays. They are so high up that the mist clings to the tops of the stupas and makes them look really mysterious. Nice things to see though.
We gingerly edged it along the last few kilometers at the base of the mountain until we found a petrol station and rejoiced.
Then it was off back to Chaing Mai to return to the land of the free, our latest comfort zone! Well if you can call our little
room with very hard bed comfortable? Still better than a hut with bugs bombing you.
So long Inthanon!
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