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Set deep in a mountain valley,
MAE HONG SON
is often billed as the "Switzerland of Thailand" and has become one of the fastest-developing tourist centres in the country. Most travellers come here for trekking and hiking in the beautiful countryside and cool climate, but crowds are also drawn here every April for the spectacular parades of the Poy Sang Long festival, which celebrates local boys' temporary ordination into the monkhood. Trekking up and down Mae Hong Son's steep inclines is tough, but the hilltribe villages are generally unspoilt and the scenery is magnificent. To the west, trekking routes tend to snake along the Burmese border and can sometimes get a little crowded; the villages to the east are more traditional. Many guesthouses and travel agencies run treks out of Mae Hong Son: the
Mae Hong Son Guesthouse
is reliable (B500 per day/B1500 for three days). Treks from
Sunflower,
116/115 Soi 3, Thanon Khunlumprapas (tel 053/620549) emphasize bird-watching.
Mae Hong Son's main Thanon Khunlumprapas, lined with shops and businesses, runs north to south and is intersected by Singhanat Bamrung at the only traffic lights in the town. Plenty of traditional Thai Yai buildings remain - wooden shop-houses with balconies, shutters and corrugated-iron roof decorations, homes thatched with leaves and fitted with herringbone-patterned window panels. Mae Hong Son's classic picture-postcard view is of its twin nineteenth-century Burmese-style temples from the opposite bank of Jong Kham Lake. In the viharn of
Wat Chong Kham
you'll find a huge, intricately carved sermon throne, decorated with the
dharmachakra
(Wheel of Law) in coloured glass on gold. Next door,
Wat Chong Klang
is famous for its paintings on glass, depicting stories from the lives of the Buddha. It also houses a fabulous collection of humorous and characterful Burmese teak statues. The town's vibrant, smelly morning
market
is a magnet for hilltribe traders and worth getting up for; next door, the many-gabled viharn of
Wat Hua Wiang
shelters the beautiful bronze Burmese-style Buddha image, Chao Palakeng. For a godlike overview of the area, especially at sunset, climb up to
Wat Doi Kong Mu
on the steep hill to the west.
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