Lanna 101: new magazine about Northern Thailand (Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Pai, etc)

If you travel to Thailand or Bangkok, you will probably already know about Bangkok 101 magazine, which is the best-selling lifestyle, travel and 'what's on' type magazine about the great many goings on in that city.

Now comes Lanna 101: your definitive guide to northern Thailand.

It covers the region from Sukhothai north (one of the dramatic ancient capitals, roughly 350km northwards of Bangkok is considered northern Thailand).  So Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai (which turns 750 next year), Pai (Thai tourists' favourite winter retreat), Mae Hong Son (interesting border city), the intriguing The Golden Triangle (where Laos and Burma meet Thailand on the Mekong River),  Loei (near Isaan and the Mekong), and one of my personal favourite cities Nan (an up and coming Pai, full of coffee shops, hanging flower baskets, and a well-preserved Lanna culture).

So what is Lanna? Essentially it was the Kingdom of One Million Rice Fields which spread from what is now eastern Burma down through this region in the 12-18th centuries under the guidance of founder King Mengrai ... well, he wasn't around for all of those 500 years, of course, but you understand what I mean.

The first issue of the magazine is on sale at the news stands NOW, but you can also jump online at www.lanna101.com to see the best of travel, accommodation, arts, community, wellness, nightlife, etc, etc, etc.

It's bloody brilliant. I know, because I edited it, jing jing.

If you enjoy reading Thailand Jing Jing then ...

Dear readers

Thanks to your support, we have now had over 20,000 pages of my Amazing Thailand travel blog stories downloaded ...

So, I thought you might also like to know I have another blog called THAILAND FACES AND PLACES.

In it, I set out to get locals (and long-term farangs living in Thailand) to invite you into their life story, and then take you to their top 5 places.

We go way waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay beyond touristic Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Koh Samui, and Chiang Mai. Instead you'll find yourself in known-only-to-locals back streets, coffee shops, stores, noodle houses, Thai restaurants, and so on in places like Pai, Nan, Chonburi, Koh Turatao, etc.

Check it out, and tell your friends about it too. It's the best travel blog since Thailand Jing Jing. Jing jing!

Northern Thailand blanketed in snow ...

Road inside Chiang Mai University campus

I was greeted by an amazing sight in Chiang Mai this morning ... snow!!!

I couldn't believe my eyes. Snow at this time of year -- April. Hold on, I thought. I'm now back in Thailand. It should be around 40 degrees celsius at this time leading up to the Songkhran festival, where the nation douses each other in water to cool off and have a few laughs in the name of New Year.

As far as the eye can see, Chiang Mai has been transformed into a Christmas card scene. Doi Suthep -- a wonderful wall of white with the golden temple on top.

All the neighbours' kids are out screaming and running around with excitement, and I can see young James next door starting on a snow man with his maid down the bottom of the garden.

A quick check with some friends as far afield as Chiang Rai, Pai and Mae Hong Son reveals they too are enjoying this freak occurrence, which is apparently brought to us by a low pressure system over China. So much for global warming.

It has snowed only once in Thailand before, in Chiang Rai in the 1950s, jing jing.

So this is so cool, literally. None of us who've seen this amazing vista of Chiang Mai carpeted in snow will ever forget this day.






 

Pai in the Sky with Diamonds ...

Too much weed can do this to you (that's the last straw ...)

Few places have such a strong sense of place as Pai does.

Sometimes it calls itself Pailand. Every shop is Pai Something, or Something Pai. And it does an amazing line in kitsch and cutesy souvenirs. But they're invariably one-offs or limited hand-made editions, not mass-produced low-grade Chinese nonsense.

Kombis are worshipped deities here.

VW Kombis are afforded hero status here, venerated as footballers might be in other parts of the world. Vespas run a close second.

So you can't help love the place for that retro hippie chic. Think of it as Thailand's answer to Nimbin (the dreadlock-and-dope capital of Australia), where there's an overdose of love hearts and rainbows and marmalade skies.

Pailand is about 150km from Chiang Mai, although the distance is deceptive because it can only be accessed by the most serpentine of roads through alpine coniferous forests. Some people never find their way out of the place. They arrive as young bucks and leave as old men.

It was a firm favourite on the hippie trail for many a year, cruising along in a cloud of blue smoke of its own making, with endless Eden-like vistas of rice fields and misty mountains. Then came a couple of movies -- Pai in Love and Ruk Jung -- that thrust it into national prominence.

Suddenly the odd clapped-out Kombi was supplemented by hordes of mini-buses, with hotels, resorts, cafes and restaurants sprouting like magic mushrooms. And a nightly walking street market, where all the kitschery mentioned above is for sale.

I'm not gonna take it lying down ...

Now there are Moroccan-styled chill lounges like Pai Post. And of course no place like this would be complete without good places for munchies, and the Lonely Planet rates Almido's Pizzas the best in Thailand, jing jing.

Er, the post orifice is on this side of the box.

Midnight Oil once had a hit with a song called 'Place Without a Postcard'. Clearly that place was not Pai. I don't think the largest philatelic museum in the world has as many postcards as are sold on a daily basis in Pai. Because part of the rite here is to send a postcard, thanks to Pai in Love in which love letters are regularly exchanged.

So in addition to the Kombi van, the red English-style postbox is another icon now accorded hero status. With the post code 58310 emblazoned everywhere.

Perhaps they should make a sit-com next, and call it Pai Hills 58310. Or American Pai.

Pai High ... 3 of the best hotels in Pai

Fancy getting away to Pai but don't see yourself bunking in the commune with the Khao San Road set? Fear not.

Pai has gentrified significantly of late, so you can separate yourself from the great unwashed, and sleep in style at a number of places, jing jing ...

The Quarter (www.thequarterhotel.com): Here you are more likely to find yourself breakfasting with a group of Thai-Chinese captains of industry from Bangkok, and their wives. A lovely oasis feeling within just a 200 metre walk of the night market. Rustic Thai villa feeling to the rooms with lots of nice heavy wood used and Thai fabrics, but with all the mod cons included. Lovely pool area to chill (although you might wait a while for a beer at sunset ... service runs on Pai time mostly).


The also have the Rain Spa on premises if you need the usual indulgence. Location is the strong suit of this hotel. You're right in the thick of it here.

Phu Pai Art Resort (www.phupai.com): Just look at the photo ... who wouldn't want to be lying there right now, gazing over the rice fields to the mountains? A superb valley location, down through the very Thai outskirts of Pai town. Charming service here. Why it's called Art Resort, no one seems quite sure, but there are a couple of paintings in the lobby. The waitress pointed to the banana leaf roofing as proof of 'art'. Anyway, young couples parade around the pool and enjoy individual villas around the padi fields. This is part of a lovely stable of evocative Thai resorts in major destinations.

The Montis (www.montisresort.com): The newest of the breed, the Montis has quickly become a favourite for fashion shoots because of its exotic Moroccan styling and faux-African safari feel. It's located a few kilometres from town, on the main road back to Chiang Mai. Views not as good as Phu Pai, but a very chic setting. Designed by a Bangkok-based architect, this is a one-off so far, although the owner might be thinking of adding a Chiang Mai property to his stable, according to one hotel staffer.

The Ultimate Caffeine Trip ...

Pai Now cafe made the town of Pai famous ...

I just did Route 1095 from Chiang Mai to Pai and Mae Hong Son, and may I suggest that the 280km road hereinafter ever be known as 'The Caffeine Corridor'.

You see the curving, meandering, side-winding road has around 1100 curves in it, and -- by my unofficial count -- conservatively about one coffee shop per corner.

But what's great is there is not a Starbucks in sight. All these are home-grown coffee shops. Real cafes. Usually with charm. And art. And a smile. And, most importantly, coffee to keep you alert along the often precipitous route.

My favourite is probably Pankled, which is only about 50km or so out of Chiang Mai near the Mork Fah waterfall turn-off. A love swing seat. Acres of landscaped lawns. Paper umbrellas. Original silk-screen prints hanging in the toilets.

Then you get to the hill just before Pai and there are at least 20 coffee places perched on the hill, the most famous being Coffee in Love. Little known fact: You are not allowed in to the town of Pai unless you can show them digital photographic proof that you have stopped and taken a cheesy or cutesy photo there. Really: there are military roadblocks to enforce this, jing jing.

In Pai itself, Pai Now is the most famous coffee shop. In fact, you could say that that coffee shop spawned the town because of it's appearance in the Thai movie Pai in Love. Of course there are hundreds of imitators all over the place.

By now, your hands are already shaking violently, eyeballs popping and threatening to spring from their sockets.

Then every Ma and Pa shop on the way to Mae Hong Song dishes up coffee, coffee, and more coffee, all grown in the nearby northern Thailand tablelands of course.

It's Gonzo travel with a difference. Great trip, man!

Problem is, I won't be coming down for at least a week ...

Nan, the new Middle City - again.

Cars haven't been invented in Nan yet ...

There has been a lot of chatter of Thailand’s Nan becoming ‘the new Pai’, referring to the latter engaging – albeit somewhat over-touristed – hillside getaway in Mae Hong Son. But could the views be as beautiful? Could the people be as warm? Could the city possibly be as charming?

To my delight, yes, Yes, and YES.

Everywhere in the northern provincial capital finishing touches are being put on a new boutique hotel, or a cool café, restaurant, or market. Nan is clearly enjoying a renaissance.

You see, Nan has had an on again-off again history. By the 1500s it was one of the major Thai-Lao principalities forming the fabled Lanna Kingdom. And in the 1600s Nan became known as Chiang Klang, meaning ‘Middle City’, because it was roughly half way between the other powerhouses of the day, Chiang Mai and Chiang Thong (better known these days as Luang Prabang).

Wat Suan Tan: it's seen some changes since 1449

This heritage is clearly evident with a half kilometre of the battlemented old city wall still intact, and several distinctive Lanna-style wats, like Wat Suan Tan, dominating downtown. “It’s the best maintained town of Lanna culture left, because it was so inaccessible in the past, and less corrupted by outside influence,” a friend had ventured. Judging by the number of teak-wood houses with criss-cross galae motifs on their roofs, he is right.

Many developments in town leverage that quaint heritage, such as the 75-year-old Pukha Nanfa Hotel which stands in newly refurbished golden teakwood splendour, or the Jan Taeng Guesthouse, and little cafes like Nan Seeing Tour café with old bicycles out the front, and pockets of hanging flower baskets. Suddenly everything old is new again. And cool restaurants are blooming everywhere, like the minimalist Just Jazz, run by a couple who left Chiang Mai. 

Jan Taeng's airport limousine service waits you ...

“The rents here are about one quarter of Chiang Mai,” they explain. Jing Jing!

But all of that might change with the recent opening of the new Thai-Laos border crossing at Huay Kon, 138km north. Suddenly, Nan is the middle city gateway, again.

Nan is in pole position to capitalize on this new flow between Thailand, Laos and China. Stylish new hotels like the Nan Boutique Hotel are already running full, contemporary Kad Nan draws a crowd, and beer gardens like Na Na and nightclubs like Channel X and Fifth are already partying late into the night in anticipation of much better times ahead.

“Nan is pure,” says Khun Nine at the Nan Boutique Hotel, originally from Uttaradit then Chiang Mai. “Nan is real, not fake. If somebody smiles here, they are really smiling.”

I see this not so much as the new Pai, but as the renascent Nan.

Northern Thailand - Nirvana on two wheels

Your humble scribe with friends at the Golden Triangle.

When it comes to motorcycling, the northern Thailand's Lanna region really is heaven – or nirvana – on two wheels. Surprisingly excellent roads (the drivers, well, that’s a separate issue), stunning mountain and valley vistas, cheap petrol with smiling pump-attendants, plentiful accommodation in the 300-1000 baht a night range, tasty food on every corner, and we haven’t even got to the best bit yet …

In what other country can you have a hard day in the saddle and then stop in just about any small town and get a great massage for your weary bum that’ll cost you around 150-200 baht per hour? That's $5 or $6 to you.

It doesn’t matter what two wheels you get around on frankly. 100cc Honda Ladyboys or 1800cc Harleys are all the same to me (although I choose to ride a BMW F650GS) … just a way of getting out there and seeing what too few other visitors to the region are seeing. Away from the well-worn tour bus circuit. Most rental shops (see box) cater well in the 200-650cc range, bikes that are big enough to deal with the vertiginous challenges of some of the mountainous terrain and give you a comfortable enough ride along the way.

On the road to Doi Ankhang.

Before you head off, two words: GT Rider (www.gt-rider.com). This website is an amazing resource where keen riders (many of them passionate motorcycling residents of the north) write up ride reports, recommend hotels and eateries to stay or avoid, and generally clue you in to what’s hot and what’s not in Lanna. 

GT Rider was set up by Aussie David Unkovich who lives in Chiang Mai and has covered possibly one million kilometers on these roads over the last 30 years. Jing jing!

He also publishes the best maps outlining classic trips such as the Mae Sa Valley / Samoeng loop, the Mae Hong Son loop, the Golden Triangle, and so on. (GT Rider maps are available from many bookstores in Lanna and on GPS too.)

You can string these together to make your own customized itinerary. And, of course, there’s all the bits in between that make it really interesting … it may be a quaint hill-tribe village a few kilometers off the track, it might be a great coffee spot lookout (like 7km south of Mae Hong Son, where the guy has the kettle boiling on the log fire!). Well, you get the idea.

Rice padi in the Kok River valley.

As for my personal favourites, there’s the 1148 which links Chiang Kham to Nan, an endless windy road, perfectly cambered with gorgeous valleys (keep your eye on the road, though). Chiang Mai to Pai’s 482 curves. Highway 12 from Phitsanulok west to Lom Sak with picture-postcard valley views, flower gardens and coffee shops aplenty. All the arrow-straight highways between Uttaradit and Sukhothai where you can really put your machine through its paces … 

Which brings us to speed limits. I did see a police car. Once. Somewhere near Lamphun. Entering a town, signs read: ‘City Limit – Reduce Speed.’ It doesn’t say down to what.Mostly it’s up to the rider to ride according to the conditions within his or her own ability. Sometimes a brilliant road will suddenly become a 10m stretch of gravel, with no warning sign (at least not in English).  And then,  there’s other things you will routinely encounter on roads along the way: Stray dogs. Chickens. Water buffalo. Elephants. 

But the biggest hazard is other motorists and, on a serious note, the fatality rates in Thailand are extremely high; unlicensed drivers and riders, drunk driving, buses overtaking cars which are overtaking trucks who are passing a scooter on a blind rise round a sharp mountain corner on a single-laned road.

Which is probably why many opt for off-road riding as a better alternative.

 One of the most endearing things – and this says a lot about amazing northern Thailand and its people – is the amount of times I’ve had my bike fixed for free. Several times I’ve pulled into a bike shop en route up-country to have, say, my chain tightened. They put it up on the blocks, a couple of guys spend 10 or 15 minutes tightening it, then wave you on your way; no charge. ‘No, no, I just help you,’ they say. I insist on tipping them 20 or 40 baht. Another time I had a new brake light put into my BMW. Parts and labour 30 baht. (This is NOT at the official dealership by the way!).

So what are you waiting for? Mount up and enjoy Lanna.

Footnote:

Touring and rental companies Chiang Mai

Asian Motorcycle Adventures

080-493-1012, info@asianbiketour.com; www.asianbiketour.com

Mr Mechanic (off-road tours)

4 Soi 5 Moon Muang Road, 053-214-708 http://mr-mechanic1994.com

Thai Bike Voyage (BMW’s)

97 Moo 5, San Kamphaeng, 053-115-802; www.thaibikevoyage.com

Tony’s Big Bikes

17 Ratchamanka Rd, 085-107-2893; www.chiangmai-motorcycle-rental.com

Touring and rental companies, Chiang Rai:

TS Motor

527/5-6 Banphaprakan Rd, 053713652; st_motorcycle@hotmail.com

Enduro Thailand (off-road tours)

535 Moo 16, Soi Den Haa 9 / 1, T. Robwiang; www.endurothailand.com

Rental Shop Pai:

JJ Offroad Rentals

100/1 Chaisongkram Rd, Pai, 089-560-0613

Mae Hong Son -- The long and winding road ...

The road from Pai to Mae Hong Son is a red squiggle on the GT Rider Map (the best maps of northern Thailand by the way, created by avid Aussie motorcyclist, David Unkovich). But, depending on your stomach for adventure, it is either a wet dream or an unending nightmare. For me, I love the winding curves, hairpins, switchbacks and can do these all day, every day. Gaining hundreds of metres in altitude in a flash. For my companion, she often has to stop to recalibrate her sense of balance (or otherwise fill the helmet with the contents of her stomach).


For me, this road a wet dream. Winding, climbing. Beautiful lush green primary jungle. Hill tribe villages. Caves. Hot springs.

Soon, we reach Sopong, where the Sopong River Inn (named creatively thus because it’s an inn on the side of the river at Sopong) is a welcome retreat with its almost Balinese design aesthetic, and the soothing sound of gushing water below.

Sopong is a sleepy place with not much doing. The main industry seems to be an Immigration Checkpoint (it’s only a few kilometers from the Burma border here, and there are tens of thousands in refugee camps in this area, plus ethnic minority hilltribes too).

A walk down the hill finds only one place recognizable as a restaurant/bar. It’s called The Border, and its owner is an amiable Pommie named Andy. ‘I’ve proved you can get around the Mae Hong Son loop just as fast on a small bike as a big bike,’ the keen motorcyclist says. ‘Sixteen hours, non-stop.’ Cripes! I do the math, that’s averaging around 75 kilometres an hour for the loop which we’re following. Jing Jing! That means he’d be sharpening his foot-pegs on all the hairpin bends for sure!

We enjoy tom yam soup, omelette and a small Singha beer for 150 baht. His customers are a mix of Thais enjoying a good solid drink. ‘Technically we’re open till 1 am, but as most of my customers are policemen, it’s till whenever I get rid of them,’ he says, adding a few colourful closing time stories of officers not being in a really fit state to drive or ride.

I dig into a few more Singhas.
It’s at this point I wish I’d brought the motorbike down into town with me. After all, the Singha had magically cured the numbness of my bum from the day's ride, and all the police were still inside the Border getting drunk anyway.

It was a long slow walk uphill to bed that night ...

Pai -- some cool places to eat, drink and be merry

For many people, Pai is a chilled weekend break. For others, it becomes a place to hang while they work out the meaning of life in their minds. Dreadlocks seem to be virtually compulsory (I was given special dispensation) and, dress-code wise, anything more than a loincloth seems acceptable in most places.

As a result, the cafe culture is strong, with lots of places to enjoy your brew of choice (be it coffee beans or beer hops), as is the restaurant scene. The photo above is the money shot taken from Coffee in Love on the road eastward out of town.

Banjaroen Restaurant is the real deal, serving what Thais call 'palace food', an old-style authentic Thai food that used to be the staple of the royals in days of yore. It was one of the most different and interesting Thai meals I've experienced in 22 years of traveling and living here. Jing jing! Gourd with a sort of tempura batter. Also several excellent prawn dishes, minced chicken with lime. All had a subtle earthy taste, not too sweet/sour like most Thai cooking. Downside: mein host seemed a bit gruff, short on smiles and welcome even though we were the only diners there at first. Corkage: 120 baht.


We got there early for dinner, around 6pm, so enjoyed the views over the rice padis. The place was empty till about 7pm when other tables drifted in.

How to find it? Take the Rangsiyanon Rd, the main one out of town, up the hill in direction of Chiang Mai. You will see it on your left before Bebop Bar. If you get to Coffee in Love you have gone too far.


Here are some of my other favourites -- in no particular order -- discovered recently:

Ting Tong bar -- I love it just for its name along (ting tong means crazy). You can chill under the stars here, just near the police station and school.

Bebop Cafe -- head here if you're into blues and jazz, as they have live bands regularly (probably nightly) which the cool folks come to check out, usually starting later. On Rangsiyanon Rd, on the road out towards Chiang Mai.

The Quarter -- one of the many fashionable boutique hotels that's sprouted up in Pai. For exquisite Thai fusion cuisine overlooking the padi fields and mountains, try their restaurant.

Cafe Del Doi -- it's the lovely outlook here that makes this so good. On Thapai Rd after the Japanese Bridge on the road out of town.

Lun Laa Bar -- A small bar in a little arcade of shops opposite Wat Pa Kam, Lun Laa is a popular place to hang out, enjoy some drinks, and watch Nong and his band bang out some blues, funk, reggae tunes. Live music nightly from 7pm till 11pm, with jamming some nights. If you get there early enough you can score the comfy sofa, otherwise chairs and tables inside and outside in a little courtyard are cool. A good place to warm up, before heading off to the night market or Bebop Bar.

Ok, OK, OK, I've got time for one more tip ... but please leave now if you can't stand the thought of doing something without an alcoholic beverage in your hand for, say, half an hour. (Damn, I just lost half my readership!)

Head up to Wat Pra That Mae Yen to catch the best Pai sunset, with a glorious panorama as the sun disappears behind the vast ranges behind. Great view of the town down in the valley in front. It is quite a popular spot, so you won't be alone with your thoughts. It would be perfect to pack some beers or a bottle of wine, but as this is a temple, no alcohol is allowed. Follow Raddamrong Road out of town. The 'Temple on the Hill' is well sign-posted once you get over the bridge on Raddamrong Road.

Next, we pack the bike and head west towards Mae Hong Son, near the Burma border. Make sure you join me for that ride ...

Pai -- The Chilling Fields

It's one of my all time fabvourite motorbike rides, from Chiang Mai into the mountains to a place called Pai. Sure, you can drive there, and most tourists wend their way there on day trips in mini-buses (you can even fly), but ... excuse me, I'm getting all teary-eyed here ... nothing, NOTHING can compare with the two hour ride that takes you round 482 curves. A motorcyclist's wet dream, jing jing!

En route there are gorgeous coffee shops to relax in, and alpine vistas. Yes, this is Thailand we're talking about. Northwest of Chiang Mai. Some of my favourite countryside. With fir pine trees. The fresh scent of bracing mountain air.

My adrenaline is usually pumping so hard by the time I reach Pai, I feel oddly out of kilter with the town. Why? Because Pai takes laid back to new heights. If Chiang Mai is charming with its quaint northern ways, Pai is where Chiang Maians would go to get out of the big smoke.

Make sure you stop at Coffee in Love (on the road just south of town) for one of the most beautifully photogenic valleys you'll ever see. Rice padis and mountains in various shades of verdancy.

The town itself is studded with resorts and guesthouses, shops (my favourite is Apple Pai, an internet cafe which burns music directly into your iPod for about $1 per album), and cafes, and markets (there's a nightly walking market). But the energy level is way, way, way down. I'll blog more on the attractions of the town next, but for now, let's check in to the Pai River Corner Resort.

Pai River Corner is a delight. Right at the bottom of Chaisongkram, one of the main 'walking street' market streets, it is right on the banks of the Pai River, on a corner too, you'll be amazed to hear. A delightfully rustic setting, looking at Thai style villas on the other side of the river, and mountains beyond.

Pai is laid back but the service here is on the ball, under the management of Aussie proprietor Darren. I requested some wine glasses and was asked whether it was for red wine or white wine. Plenty of smiles, and lots of local tips available from the staff.

The resort's Red Chang Bar is a small but comfortable little hang out on the river, a good place to meet fellow travellers and have a few cold ones. I think this is like Darren's home office!

A small but nice pool area overlooking the river adds to the inviting tropical garden garden setting. If you want to treat yourself, request Room 7, the spa villa. Wonderfully, wickedly indulgent! The plunge pool/spa comes (see photo) off the four-poster master bedroom, and is walled in for privacy. (Only one complaint, the bathroom seemed to adjoin a staff shower, with net result we could peek into their shower, so I presume they could peek into ours.)

Location wise, this place is brilliant. Everything is just outside the gate, a short walk away, yet it's quiet and secluded. But for now, I'm not moving. I'll go and check out the rest of Pai some other time. I'm just going to lie in the spa and re-run each and every one of those 482 curves in my mind ...

Winter in Thailand, part 2.

There's no length I won't go to to get to the bottom of a story for you, dear readers. Or the top in this case.

After my last blog on Winter in Thailand, I decided to duck down -- OK up -- to Doi Inthanonon, a couple of hours' drive or ride on Route 108 south of Chiang Mai. You can make a day trip of this by stopping off at some of the craft villages en route, such as the woodworking village of Ban Tawai.

Picture a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. From the main road turn-off, the Doi (nothern Thai word for mountain) is about 47 kilometres. Soon, the wind was crisper. The tree type became conifers, or pine trees, and the air immediately cooler. Was I in Europe somewhere?

As we climbed nearer the summit, two gorgeous gold and granite stupas came into view, situated on the highest points of the mountain "according to air density". Check these out for the amazing views of the valley, as well as the intricate mosaics and stunning gardens. Make an offering to Budda while you're there with lotus flowers for sale.

Just a few kilometres later a blue sign announced we'd arrived: The Highest Spot in Thailand. A quick photo op at the sign, and then it was on with an extra shirt. Twelve degrees celsius! Song taew vans shuttled visitors to the top, a convoy of silver tourist mini-vans, and to my delight a group of motorbikers on Harleys and BMWs, all the way from Phuket and Bangkok, came throbbing along too.

Everyone was in scarves and woollen caps, rubbing their hands against the cold (anything less than 34 degrees is considered freezing to Thais!). Then more photos from the car park, overlooking a cloud forest far far below.

Savouring a hot mocha I chatted with a park ranger. He confirmed it has never snowed on Doi Inthanon, but ice crystals form on the leaves at this times of year. At the end of December the mercury plunges to MINUS 3 degrees celsius at night.

So there you have it. No White Christmas likely this year, but if you want to experience a Thailand winter, this is one of the places to put on your itinerary. I'll blog soon on other popular winter destinations which are currently enjoying high season: Pai in north-western Thailand, and Khao Yai in central Thailand.

Today it's off to do the canopy zip-lines at Jungle Flight, and I'll write up a comparison between this and Flight of the Gibbon, another zip line rated as Thailand's top attraction.

But first, a boiling hot mug of something ...