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Town in Thailand
Photo: Torsten Niehoff, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Mae Hong Son (Thai: แม่ฮ่องสอน) is a city (pop. 7,000) in Mae Hong Son Province, Northern Thailand.
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Mae Aw
A Kuomintang (KMT) village near the Myanmar border. On your way up (or down), you can stop by Pang Ung (Ruam Thai), a picturesque Shan minority village high in the mountains.
Often referred to as Ruam Thai on some signs and maps, is a Shan Minority Village near Mae Hong Son. It should be combined with a trip to Ban Rak Thai. It is a picturesque village of bamboo houses, probably dolled up a bit for the tourist industry. Bamboo grows everywhere, including one stand at least 25 m tall. There are one or two restaurants. It is unclear what they serve. Shopkeepers and restaurant owners speak some English, but this is not as heavily touristed as one might expect, so communication will be limited if you don't speak Thai. There are at least two homestays here, and another guesthouse in the town between Pang Ung and the main road. From Mae Hong Song, follow signs for Ban Rak Thai, but at the village of Na Pa Paek, turn left, following the signs for "Pang Ung Reservoir," or something of the sort. The signs are not exactly consistent, but if it indicates a reservoir, you are going the right direction. It is about 5.5 km from the turn-off, at N19 29.955, E097 54.705.
Thumpla
This is a beautiful spot to escape the heat. A water channel that wends its way out of a small submerged cave. What is inside the cave is still unknown, but it astoundingly draws thousands of the "Pluang-Hin" fish into the cave, with only a small number of them coming back out.
This waterfall, which is about 20 m high and 30 m wide, consists of six levels and offers some fine walks. It is said to be the most beautiful waterfall in Mae Hong Son Province. In rainy season, the cascading water makes the waterfall look like a rolling mat.
อุทยานแห่งชาติ ถ้ำปลา - น้ำตกผาเสื่อ
This national park covers more than 488 km of the "Thanon Thongchai" range that separates Thailand from Burma. "Doi Larn" is the highest peak in the area, with an elevation of about 1,918 m.
One of the main reasons for tourist to go to Mae Hong Son is to go hiking in the surrounding mountains and visiting hill tribe villages. Nearly every guesthouse offers tours.
The provincial capital of Mae Hong Son is only one part of this vast and beautiful mountainous province. Explore the rest of the province by taking the popular Mae Hong Son Loop which travels through the province on a circuit that starts and ends in Chiang Mai.
An upscale restaurant with a pleasant atmosphere featuring Northern Thai specialties. Live (easy listening) music in the evenings. Affiliated with the Fern Resort (resort guests coming to town by shuttle drop off here).
Mok and Maew Souvenir
Nice place to sit back and relax with a coffee and home baked apple pie (fresh out of the oven if you time it right). Browse the teak carvings, chat with the lovely lady who owns the place or browse the Dutch news printouts.
A larger restaurant 30 m from the gates of the city airport is the best value for your budget money when you want to order vegetarian Western food. Of course the owner Lek is also fantastic at cooking Thai food.
Don't miss the stuffed pork leg, and the fish sausage stuffed inside a deep fried snake head fish.
Good coffee, good breakfast, free Wi-Fi.
Great food, people and atmosphere. Nan, the Shan owner, can cook up some amazing Shan/Thai/Western dishes. Try the Khao Soi, Burmese green tea salad, gai oup, or the green curry. Also good are the bread, pizza, and burgers. They have Wi-Fi and a big library of books that you can swap one-for-one for free.
Mae Hong Son's own kind of night club. Listen to live music, the same band plays almost every evening of the week, and enjoy the Thai audience singing along and dancing around the tables.
The one pub that caters to both Thai and Westerners.
Owned and operated by a Shan lady.
Owned and operated by a very nice Shan family. It’s simple and cheap. The downstairs can be a bit loud if you're sleeping late and others are talking over their breakfasts. Great fruit salad. 13 rooms.
Eight rooms.
Fourteen large, clean rooms near the lake with cable TV
Nine rooms.
Bungalows, large rooms with king size beds, air-con, hot showers, free Wi-Fi, pleasant gardens.
Fan rooms with hot showers.
Clean rooms, many with TVs and all with air-con. Good location, opposite the lake and night market. 14 rooms.
Well appointed 2-bed bungalows dot the expansive and attractively landscaped grounds of the resort. Guides can be hired for a hike in nearby Mae Surin National Park. No TVs in rooms, and the Wi-Fi is slow.
One of the more upmarket places in Mae Hong Son and offers wooden cottages as well as standard hotel rooms. It's a little bit out of town, but within 10- to 15-minute walk of the night market/city centre. Some of the cottages are in need of a little refurbishing so take a look before check-in.
Interesting market where you can buy art and handicrafts from hill tribe people.
By road
Mae Hong Son is 924 km from Bangkok. Drive from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and then choose a route to Mae Hong Son. There are two road options from Chiang Mai, each taking 5–6 hours by car:
By bus
Regular bus services connect Mae Hong Son with Chiang Mai (Arcade Bus Terminal). The trip will take at least 7–8 hours.5 hours but costs 250 baht.
By train
The nearest train station is at Chiang Mai. One can travel from Bangkok to Chiang Mai by overnight sleeper train and then continue to Mae Hong Son by bus.
This is a small town so walking is the way to get around. There are bicycles for rent from Titan Internet shop (across from the 7-11 and post office).
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Mae Hong Son · Regional · HGN
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