Made it to Mae Sariang to hike around the Western Thongchai Range.  This time I took the advise of my outdated Lonely Planet and hired a guide from Mr. Salaveen.  The day trip cost only 600 baht per person for a Japanese dude and me.  Lunch and transportation was included, though this was my first time taking public transportation to a hiking point with my guide. 

The hike took us across a variety of ecosystems and terrain from dry grasslands to thick rainforest cutting through farmlands and villages.  Found a cute calf hiding among the dry bushes, pretty good camouflage.  

The people in this parts are predominantly from the Karen tribe.  Our guide himself is also a Karen, making communication with the villages much better.  He was also very knowledgeable about the flora of the area, he kept feeding us interesting berries that possibly cured my laryngitis! 

We cut across farmlands, used village dirt roads and went into the jungle.

The main commodity crops that are grown here are arabica coffee and cabbages.  At a particular farm, our guide managed to get some Karen potatoes for lunch and some papayas and bananas for snacks along the way.  Love the farm fresh food. 

The Karen people that we met in the villages were very kind and friendly.  Do note that they hunt for food so don’t be alarm if you see some of them carrying a rifle.

We stopped at this village to have lunch.  It was pretty awesome to have lunch in the kitchen of this family.  Lunch was a simple noodle soup with potatoes and bananas for deserts.  Hand rolled spiced tobacco were also offered but…. no thanks

The family’s house has a great view of the surrounding valley and hills.

After a huge bowl of noodle soup it was time to be on the move again.

The hike was not too challenging, but did have some problems in the jungle where the soil was loose.  Don’t want to imagine doing this during the wet seasons.

Towards the end of the hike, we were rewarded with a cool shower at the waterfalls, bout 8 of them!  They were not very big or high but really refreshing.

There’s a visitor center at the top with picnic and bathroom facilities.

After 8 hours we reached the main road.

Had to cut through dry grass and Mexican sunflower bushes to get to the main road.  Some dogs accompanied us while we attempted to hitchhike back to Mae Sariang.  Managed to stop a van and got back to town by sundown. 

There’s nothing much about Mae Sariang but you’ll get the off the beaten path feeling here.  It has many tourist infrastructures including teak house hotels and riverside pubs!

There is a monastery in the town center and since Mae Sariang is close to the Burmese border, the architecture is more Burmese than Thai.

Mae Sariang is a cool place to stop by on the MHS Loop.  It is not overcrowded with tourist and trekking here is superb.

You can get to Mae Sariang from Chiang Mai via comfortable 2nd class buses.  Takes bout 4 hours and cost less than 400 baht.  Do note that the last hour of the journey may be difficult for those with motion sickness!  

You can also get to Mae Sariang from Mae Hong Son.

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