Mae Hong Son Holidays 210 Moo 2 T. Pha Bong Mae Hong Son 58000 Thailand Tel. +66 647959678, +66 613109789 Email: [email protected] www.maehongsonholidays.com Mae Hong Son Loop Tour 5 Days 4 Nights D/M/Y Arrive in Chiang Mai 00:00 Up on arrival meet and greet at Chiang Mai airport transfer to the hotel and stay overnight. DAY 01 Chiang Mai – Pai: Elephant Show / Orchid Farm / Butterfly Farm / Mae Yen Temple / Pai Walking Street (Hotel / Lunch) 08:00am. Pick up from the hotel. Depart from Chiang Mai for the “City of Three Mist” Mae Hong Son, by driving heading north to Mae Rim district. Visit the biggest elephant camp of Chiang Mai to share the happiness with the elephants those enjoy bathing and displaying their talents on the fascinating shows. Continue to visit the Orchid Farm and Butterfly Farm see a variety of species of orchids and Butterflies. Lunch at the restaurant. After lunch, continue driving along the World War II, Historical road to Pai district, passing numerous sharp curves up and Down the hill to get impressive of the beautiful mountains and Views. Visit Wat Phra That Mae Yen Temple, which is located on the high hill of Mae Yen village. On the top of the hill the tourists can look around and enjoy your selves with the nice landscape throughout of Pai city. Especially, when the time of sunrise and sunset the beautiful sun light spreads over the horizon which has the complicated mountain ranges background, it is really the most beautiful impressive picture that make you cannot be forgot. Explore the ways of life and to go round the lively walking street, you can walk along street and buy handmade products, clothes, fret works, basket works and several souvenirs. Also, there are many Thai food restaurants and international restaurant that you can come and test it. Stay overnight in Pai. DAY 02 Pai – Mae Hong Son: Doi Kiew Lom Viewpoint / Tham Lod Cave / Lahu Hill Trbe Village / Lisu Hill Tribe Village (Hotel / Breakfast / Lunch) Breakfast at the hotel. 08:30am. Pick up from the hotel. Depart from Pai to Pang Ma Pha District. Visit Doi Kiew Lom Viewpoint this viewpoint is well-known among Thai and foreign visitors who come here to see a spectacular sea of mist collects in the valley as well as various types of colorful flowers. Continue to visit Tham Lod Cave to see one of the most important archaeology place which has a stream known as “Laang” flows through from one end to the another end of the cave. Consequently, it creates a wonderful cave which has a lot of stalactite and stalagmites; moreover, you can see and touch with a great variety of the early ages antique tools and utensils which have been presumed to be over 2,000 years already. Aside from admiring the magnificent splendor that creates by the nature, there are still other rousing things to do such as a bamboo rafting inside the cave together with short trekking around the cave. Lunch at the restaurant. Visit the Lahu hill tribe village, Lahu have the original abode in Tibet and live in the southwest of China, later gradually evacuated to the south of China and there are some of them moved into the northeast of Myanmar over the period of hundred years already. After that they have moved to populate in the north of Thailand when hundreds of years ago. For Lahu’s life style generally, they prefer to build their villages on the high land and they are a tribe that does not like chaos, believe in spirits worship doctrine, and prefer simple way of life. The main occupation is agriculture such as rice farming, and corn planting; raising animals for consumption besides, Lahu are still the most famous in hunter. Lahu are a tribe that can adapt to people very well even though the people with different from culture, or languages Lahu can also be good friends and glad to greet all foreign tourists who come to visit them with a warm welcome. After visiting Lahu’s lifestyle already we continue our trip towards Lisu hill tribe village, the original dwelling of Lisu ethnic group is at the area of Mae Kong River and Salween River in China. After that they moved to live in the north of Myanmar, and finally, migrated to habitat in the north of Thailand almost the past of 100 years. The main Lisu’s economy is depended on agriculture such as crops planting and livestock, and they prepare rice planting for eating, corn planting for raising the animals. For animals besides using for eating they also use them for doing various rites. Moreover, Lisu are very famous in sewing, embroidery, making silverware. The outstanding point of Lisu is a woman’s dress which has the most beautiful bright colors and catching the eyes of all hill tribes in Mae Hong Son province. With simple tradition and way of life, bright colors of dress, friendly, and helpful, all of these making the most impressive for the tourists who come to visit them. Stay overnight in Mae Hong Son. DAY 03 Mae Hong Son Sightseeing: Pai River cruise / Long Neck Karen Village / Phra That Doi Kong Mu Temple / Jong Kham– Jong Klang Temples / Ban Rak Thai Chinese Village / Hmong Hill Tribe Village / Ban Ruam Thai Shan Village (Pang Oung) (Hotel / Breakfast / Lunch) Breakfast at the hotel. 08:30am. Pick up from the hotel. Take a boat for sightseeing along the Pai River. You can catch sight of one of the most beautiful scenery and simply life style along the Pai River. Drop in to visit Long-Necked Karen village, the women in this tribal village wear their one brass winding rings on their necks. Being a conservative tribal village makes them can keep and prolong their unique culture and tradition for years long. Continue the journey to pay the respect at Phra That Doi Kong Mu temple. It is the important place worthy of worship in Mae Hong Son which located on the top of Kong Mu Mountain. This temple consisted of 2 different size pagodas, the big one constructed by “Jong Tong Su” in 1860. And the small one constructed by “Phraya Singhanatracha” in 1874. From the hilltop you can see entirely a beautiful nature of the town which surrounded by mountains and valleys. Visit Jong Kham and Jong Klang temples. These two temples share the same area right next to the big swamp. They both are old temples consist of beautiful Burmese style edifices which put up the holy Buddha image (Luang Paw To). In Jong Klang temple you will see a great number of the Burmese wood carving dolls, and the big glass paintings concerned about Buddhist history. Lunch at the restaurant. Visit “Ban Rak Thai Village” this interesting village located on the border between Thai and Myanmar with a big lake nearby. Most of the population evacuated from the south of China (Yunnan), therefore, they can show you of their simply life style, and culture including the delicious Yunnan food and the good taste tea such as U- long, and Ching Ching. Next visit is the beautiful, calm and peaceful atmosphere in Shan village “Ban Ruam Thai”. Also known as Pang Oung, the village is located among the rugged mountain range. The reservoir or a big lake is so spectacular landscape that it is entitled Switzerland in Thailand, surrounded by pine forest and colorful winter flowers including year-round cold weather. The scenery of pine forest along the spacious reservoir embraced by the mountain range, the beauty of fog floating above the lake with the cold weather in the morning, and the several colorful flowers, are always attractive the tourists to visit this place all year round. Drop in and greeting the hill tribe “Hmong” which is the least hill tribe population in Mae Hong Son but living scattered in every district. The original settlement of Hmong living on the Tibet Plateau and Mongolia, evacuated into China and dwelled in China for many centuries, then migrated into Thailand when hundreds of years ago. They like to settle the villages in the highland at the altitude from 1,000-1,200 m. above sea level. Hmong earn their living by agriculture like another hill tribe such as rice planting, other fruits and vegetables planting, and livestock. The cultures, traditions, lifestyle, and the social environment of Hmong are worth a visit. Stay overnight in Mae Hong Son. DAY 04 Mae Hong Son – Mae Sariang: Lawa Hill Tribe Village / Karen Hill Tribe Village (Hotel / Breakfast / Lunch) Breakfast at the hotel. 08:30am. Pick up from the hotel. Depart from Mae Hong Son for Mae La Noi district visit Huai Hom village which is Karen hill tribe village. Huai Hom is a village that embraced by the nature and mountains, the characteristic of topography is high steep mountains therefore; it is headwaters and streams resource. It is cold throughout the year including beautiful nature in every season. Most of villagers have an occupation in agriculture e.g. doing farm, livestock, besides they still planting other vegetables and fruits even coffee, for coffee; here is a good type of Arabica. It is a fine product containing an excellent coffee substance, high quality, good taste, and the renowned supplementary occupation of this village is weaving which includes natural cotton, calico, and cloth weaving from sheep. The cloth weaving from sheep from Baan Huai Hom is the local wisdom that brings natural dyed threads knitting and combined with the threads made from wool, it is classified as local original weaving handicraft of Karen.