Mae Hong Son, the Town, the City, it's Temples and Walking Night Market

   
     Ploy and I recently took a road trip from Chiang Mai all the way to Mae Hong Son. The road is famed for having over 1000 hair pin curves. In actuality, the road has over 1,800 sharp corners. It a majestic ride through the northern mountains of Thailand. We ran into some rain along the way, and had two close calls, when the front tire of our bike hit slick spots.    That will wake you up for sure, if you have never experienced it before.  Still, we persevered, and made it the rest of the way to the small city nestled in the mountains.

     Please enjoy this post, and look at all of the pictures. We have detailed everything you will find in Mae Hong Son, from the temples, to the lake and the park, to the walking street, and its food vendors, as well as the guest house scene inside the town.

    Above the city is a most revered "Wat," or temple, which has stood looking down and protecting the city for four hundred years.

     The first evening we arrived, after checking into a nice little hotel along the edge of the lake, we drove up to pay respects to the two Pagodas on top of the mountain at the edge of Mae Hong Son. Here are the two Pagodas, in the dwindling evening sun.

   

I love the Palm tree alongside the temple.

     Here is a guard at the temple's entrance. It is a giant stone lion, in full battle armor. The mountains surround the valley of Mae Hong Son.

The two Pagodas, side by side,
as dusk falls upon the temple grounds.

 This is an antique bronze bell, one to both celebrate the spirits and deities of the mountain temple grounds, and also used to warn the local villagers in the valley below of immanent danger.

The Burmese continually sacked and raided northern Thailand for centuries. A deep seeded fear and anger is ingrained in the heart of every Thai, at even the mention of Burma.

Thais have fought for their own safety for over a thousand years. They have been invaded by both the Burmese and the Cambodians.

These bells are beautiful sights, and have historical significance in Thailand.

The mountains, as seen from the temple above Mae Hong Son.
Every visitor must come to see this temple and its monks.

     Here is Ploy, up close to the Pagoda, or "Chedi," as it is called in Thai Language.

    The golden spires shine in the evening sun.

Here is a dragon, to ward off evil spirits.

If you have ever seen the movie "Air America," about the US
involvement in Laos during the Vietnam War, this airport was the one they used.
The movie featured Mel Gibson as an arrogant self involved CIA Air America pilot,
who changed his ways, and helped  protect and save refugees.

Here is an auspicious temple umbrella. It is more symbolic than for actual use.
The Buddha was rumored to be shaded by a beautiful golden umbrella.

     I was lucky enough to be present when a Monk was being indoctrinated into the temple. This ritual occurs when a novice monk's hair and eyebrows are shaved for the first time. It is a right of passage for every monk in Thailand.   A senior Monk will dry shave his head and eyebrows.  It looked a bit painful and awkward, although you could sense pride coming from the novice Monk.

A female deity.

Here is a golden Buddha, facing east
of course, and in this photo, his back is
lit by the retiring day's sun.

Lion Guard.

This is a statue to pay homage to a mountain ascetic.
He is dressed in typical ascetic fashion, and has a long white beard.

Here is a 50 foot golden Buddha. Thai Buddhas hold one hand up, in a waving fashion.

Thai Buddhism gets its validity from a variety of
historical locations. This is a Hindu type
ten armed god.

An adorned "Naga" snake head.

After we walked around the entire temple complex, it began to get dark and Ploy and I drove back
down the steep snaking road to the city. Here is a picture of the temples across from
our Guest House, after the night time lights were lit.
The lake makes for a great place to go for a quiet walk, both in the daytime or at night.

     Being foodies, we also wanted to show you what is available to snack on and eat at the nightly walking market. There are many vendors selling a variety of local and traditional foods.

    Here are some dried noodles, and it is up to the buyer to decide what topping to put on them.

     These potatoes and sweet yams are being cooked directly over a grill. There was also corn.

Here is some grilled bacon, and boneless pork chops.

These are two types of TOFU.

Fried potato donuts!

Fresh fruit is available in Thailand at
all times of the day and night.

Here are some breaded grilled fish.

These are deep fried pork tendons, with little meat attached.

Tasty fried spring rolls, and corn fritters.

Deliciously tasty Chicken legs, marinated and
barbecued to perfection.

Do you like Chicken Hearts?

Pork Satay, most famous in Thailand.

Fresh strawberries for 25 cents a cup!

This is a fermented rice snack, baked over a grill, then cut and placed into bamboo leaves for sale.

Mini cream filled pancakes. I wanted to have some,
but it was dinner time.

     Thailand is famous for making wonderful egg omelets. They are scrambled eggs to a foreigner, but omelettes to Thais.

Here is an amazingly tasty traditional snack from Northern Thailand.
Fresh peppers, onions, scallions, garlic, and an egg.
The egg is not scrambled, but cracked on top, and allowed to sink in and cook slowly,
as the banana leaf protects it from getting burned.

Barbecued cat fish on sticks.
They are eaten like hot dogs on a stick.

Grilled fish, cat fish, and pork intestines.

Octopus legs for sale.

Fresh seedless grapes.

Ice Coffee, Pink Milk, Green Tea, and Iced Tea.

Blankets were for sale, as it is Thailand's winter.
Thais are cold this time of year, and many might buy a
blanket on a trip to bring home.

Macadamia nuts for sale. $4 a bag.

Here are two street dogs, preparing to sleep for the night.

This is a local woman selling hill-tribe hats and bags.

Ploy is posing at the end of the long walking market street.

I like these local hand made candle holders.
Only the glass is not from the village where these are made.

A sleepy dog protecting
the goods for sale.

This vendor had many dried nuts for sale.

Dried sliced fruit in clean clear packaging.

Handicraft local colored shoes for children and small adults.

Locally grown tea.
Most heavily
caffeinated.

Here are some orchids for sale. They were no
doubt stripped form the jungle.

This is a closer view of the temple across the lake from our guest house.

These dolls are for sale for children.
Barbies are far too expensive, so locally made and
ethnically dressed dolls are far more popular,
and practical.

Even fresh wheat grass was available.

Here are a few intricately carved wooden statues.

Hand painted, historically inaccurate sexy local woman.

This is a beautifully adorned hand made bag, or purse.

These are sweet ground rice balls.
They are sweet and spicy.

I was most surprised to see this. It is a honey bee hive.
However, the honey is not eaten, the baby bee larva are!
Ploy got some and ate them. She said they were very good.
Local people even eat the nest as well.
It is like a sweet and crunchy candy bar!

Alas, a traditional Thai Som Tam. Or papaya salad.
I do not like them, as the papaya is not ripe, and it is way to spicy for most foreigners to eat.

Ploy posing at an artificially made waterfall.
We had quite the time driving all the way to Mae Hong Son and back. If you visit northern Thailand, you should not miss the opportunity to visit Mae Hong Son while you are here.

     Nice guest houses are located close to the lake, and you do not need a reservation to find a good room. Prices are anywhere from $3 to $20 per night. You will not need a room with air conditioning in Mae Hong Son. It is chilly enough at night!

     Please check our out Traditional and Authentic Thai Cook Books. We want to teach you how to enjoy the tastes of Thailand from your own home, even if it is far away.

     Thanks for looking at our time in Mae Hong Son!

Johnny and Ploy