New Year Holiday Trip (6th day) - Pai

Dec 23, 2009

I think it's not too much to say that it is one of the most wonderful mornings in my life! It was the 2nd time that I saw "Ta-le-mork (fog ocean)". I saw the first one when I was 6-month pregnant!! P'Num and his friend took me up on one of the tallest hills in Chiangmai. His friend let him drive to make sure that I and I-Din (in my tummy) will be safe!!

The weather that morning was quite cold, but I was safe in the sweater I bought from Denver, Colorado 15 yrs ago. I was at the view point deck of the resort for about 30 mins, then Nunda joined me. We spent 2-3 hrs just looking at changes of the morning light and the fog. Porridge and coffee seem to be tastier than ever!! P'Num woke up at 9am, so he missed the beautiful fog, but he seemed to enjoy the late morning atmosphere anyway.

New Year Holiday Trip (5th-6th days) - Pai

Dec 22, 2009 (pm.)

The view was stunning, so we couldn't miss a stop at "Kiew Lom", another wonderful view point between Pang Ma Pha and Pai. We were impressed by the sunset over layers of moutains. We had fun taking photos with hilltribe kids. I encouraged Nunda to get into the shrub, so we could get more beautiful pictures...too bad! she got a lot of insect bites which we noticed several red dots on her legs a day later...sorry na..P'Noi.

P'Num was hungry...he gave a thumb up to the grilled potato and grilled eggs from the hilltribe food stall.

Finally, we arrived Pai after the sunset. After checking-in at the resort called "Pai Kieng Fah", we went to the famous night market. If this was ten year ago (no little one..ieieie), I'm sure we would spend more time listening to live band at that white outdoor bar. There were so many pretty/modern/creative decorated stores/stalls...most are souvenirs, T-shirts, and clothing. The things looks nice, but they are less interesting 'cause they're from either Chiangmai or Bangkok...not done by the local people. However, we have to say thank you to them to make this town colorful. P'Num and I-Din slept deeply. I was very tired, but couldn't sleep 'cause I don't wanna miss the early morning "fog ocean"!!

New Year Holiday Trip (5th day) - Pang Ma Pha

Dec 22, 2009

We arrived at this "The Rock Resort" at Pang Ma Pha District last night. We all were very starving and thanks to the cook!..the food was fantastic...spicy and tasty!! The weather was very cold at night, so they had to put up a bonfire on the fire ground in front of the restaurant area. Our room is very pretty...It faces the creek that has many natural little fishes (I-Din spent most of her morning time feeding them!). I-Din Family slept on the loft of the room while Nunda and her mom were downstair. Songs from birds woke us up to enjoy the morning fog and get porridge for breakfast. The room has big patio where we enjoyed reading, drinking coffee, chating, and, of course, taking photos. The restaurant has a very creative and pretty design (2nd photo) which I like a lot. We were very lazy that morning. No one wanted to leave, so we agreed to check out late and visited only one cave before driving to Pai, our key destination for this trip.

I-Din had a good time at the creek...

This is the cave named "Tham (means "Cave") Nam (means "Water) Lord (means "To go thru under")...so it means "the cave that has water goes thru it". I like this cave 'cause we had to raft instead of walking. There's also a lot of calcite in the cave, but not as beautiful as what we saw at another cave on the 2nd day (Tham Kaew Morakot). We fed a lot of fishes along the way, but the bad part is the smell of the bats' shit at the end of the cave..Yike!!

New Year Holiday Trip (3rd - 4th day) - Pang Ma Pha

Nunda and I-Din were waiting for checking out from the hotel. I tried ice cocoa at the hotel coffee shop...tasty!

After that, we went to visit "the Long Neck Hill Tribe". This lady is very popular on various tourist magazines. We bought some magnets and handmade scarf in exchange of free photo with her.

The last visiting place today is the famous temple of Mae Hong Sorn called "Pra That Doi Kong Moo". The design of the temple was driven by Burmese Art. We paid merit and prayed for our wonderful trip. I-Din enjoyed hitting the bells and the last photo is the bird eye view of Mae Hong Sorn city from the temple that evening.

New Year Holiday Trip (3rd day) - Pang Oong

We slept in!!, so we missed the best timing to reach Pang Oong. It is a reservior on the mountain in Mae Hong Sorn that was initiated by our King. We drove about one hour for 25 miles distance from the hotel and had to take local car service (run by the local people) to go up to the Reservior for another 30 mins. The best time to be there is before the first light of the morning, so we missed seeing massive fog floating over the water. However, I also held my breath to see the scenery at 6:45am. The weather was very cold.

I-Din needed both gloves and hats. She enjoyed making smoke from her mouth...


More photos....Hubby and wife Vs Mom and daughter!!

We headed to Rak Thai Village (Love Thai Village) for lunch. They are Thai-Chinese people who live very close to the border. The famous dish is steamed pork troter with steamed bun. We (especially P'Num) spent another half an hour to taste homemade wine named "Lee Wine Rak Thai". The sales lady encouraged him to try 5-6 different ones, so I told him to stop tasting and bought it instead otherwise P'Num may not be able to drive!!

Nunda likes this tea shop made of clay... Next, I-Din was holding a bunch of flower for praying at the buddha image at the Pang Oong King's Palace and the beautiful wild orchids in the palace area. After that, we went back to the hotel to check out and move to next nearby destination... Pang Ma Pha.