Hitchhiking in Thailand: Mae Hong Son

14th of October, 2023.

Hitchhiking in Thailand: Mae Hong Son

In the first monastery I ask to camp, Wat Phra Non, which has a stair way right in the middle of the mountain, leading halfway to Doi Kongmu, they tell me I cannot stay there due to an event they will hold tonight.

I walk to the monastery right next to them, Wat Muai To, and after talking with a few different monks, one of them show me to a small temple up the hill, a place with a lovely view of the mountains, a bit away from the monastery, which seems just perfect. Unfortunately, 5 minutes after I start making my camp, out of nowhere, starts to rain. I couldn’t properly finish pitching my tent, and because the rain is heavy and lasts for quite a while, I am worried if it will get wet inside.

When the rain is almost reduced to zero, I decided not to wait any longer and finishing my tent. And of course, right after I finish it, the rain stops. Thanks, Murphy!

The monk who brought me here gives three bottles of water and 2 packages of noodles. I don’t have the heart to tell him that I cannot make hot water.

I go down to town and check for some food stand where I can eat. I have some nice noodle with tofu and then come back to sleep.

Next morning, there is a strong fog covering the mountains, which sucks because I came here mostly for the views. I still manage to take an OK photo of my camping spot.

Not very optimistic I climb up to Doi Kong Mu. As I wrote it earlier, there is a huge staircase going into the mountain from here, which is quite attractive, although is also quite abandoned, like the rest of the monastery as well. It seems like a rule for the monasteries up North, because the one which I am staying, also shows signs of disdain. This staircase is very slippery, and it leads you only halfway to Doi Kung Mu. When you reach a Buddha Standing Statue, you must carry on to your right, following the small bricks wall, and you will find yourself to another staircase, a much better conserved one, which will lead you to the top. When you are coming back down, I suggest you take this better staircase all the way down, which will lead you to the side road of Wat Muai To. I didn’t do that because I left my backpack down there in the monastery, so the old staircase was a shortcut. But it was tricky to come down without falling. Which I managed to do it, of course…

I don’t know why but I didn’t feel very impressed by Doi Kung Mu. The views are not that great (the fog was pretty much gone, so I could see a bit through the mountains) and the place itself doesn’t look like something truly blessed. By the opposite, I felt more like a touristic attraction than anything else. And again, also quite abandoned.

After grabbing my backpack back, I take a quick walk around Mae Hong Son before breakfast. The lake area is quite cute, and I decide to take a look inside of the monastery standing right in front of it, called Wat Chong Klang. Although the architecture of the place is gorgeous, showing an old wooden style, with shades of turquoise inside and holding old pictures on the walls, which gives the whole place a very nice retro atmosphere, I leave the place in a hurry and quite disappointed. The reason? A well clear proof of what I try to tell people, and am quite distrusted, as I believe, about even Buddhism being sexist. There is a sign hanging at the entrance of a room which reads: “Women are not permitted”. Inevitably I think the following – At some point in life, every single human being has been inside a woman, and now there are places on Earth which we are not allowed to enter? Seriously?

I arrive to the market, which by being Sunday, has huge proportions. It is lovely! I wish I could spend more time just going around. And the food looks so yummy! I refrain myself of buying too many things though and get only some egg cakes to have with a cup of coffee after eating my cereal.

On the road again, I get outside Mae Hong Song on my way to Pai. This word in Portuguese it means “father”.