Mae Hong Son Welcome to the “The City of Three Mists” with thousands curves in the jungle and surrounded by mountains and mix up with people from many tribes.

Maehongson, Thailand's northern border city, hiding itself in between the towering mountains with densely forested slopes, stretching to the Burmese border.  Maehongson is known for its charm of scenery and culture.  The people of Maehongson consists of the Shans who live in the city and the hilltribe people who live in remote villages on mountain tops where elements of lifestyle have changed little in hundreds of years.

The Shans' ancestors came from Shans region in Burma. The hilltribe people consist of Karen, Lisu, Mhong, Lahu, and Lua. Both the Shans and the hilltribemen have their own distinctive cultures.  They have their own lilting dialect, their own architectural lifestyles, their own customs and traditions, and their own delicious cuisine. Throughout the year, Maehongson holds many festivals and events.  Tourists can observe the distinction cultures from these events. There are different dances, rituals, and ceremonies for different events and festivals.  Even the foods are different for each event.

The most remarkable tradition and also the most important event for the Shans is "Poy Sanglong Festival" which is the ordination ceremony for the Shans' boys. The event is held in March and there is one big celebration throughout the city.

The city is covered with the mist all year long. Maehongson gains its nickname of "the City of Three Mists" from the fact that it has dewy mist in the winter, forest fire mist in the summer and rainy mist in the rainy season.

Mae Hong Son is a picturesque mountain province bordering Myanmar ( Burma) to the west and the north. To the east it has a common border with Chiang Mai province, while in the south it touches Tak province, where hill tribes, Thai Yai temples and pristine forests abound in an area of some 14,000 square kilometers.

A Padaung village at the edge of the Pai River near Mae Hong Son.

The loop comes with city and environs maps.  The detailed map of Northwest Thailand differentiates six categories of road conditions and marks 22 waterfalls, seven hot springs, 16 limestone caves, and 12 special viewpoints.

The 16 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries are colored green to emphasize the importance of their natural environment. Also mentioned are resorts, guesthouses, elephant camps, some famous temples and many other points of interest.

The mighty Salawin River stretches some 100 kilometers at the western border of Mae Hong Son.  But it is the smaller Pai River that gives the province its unspoiled charm.  With its sources in the Huai Nam Dang National Park in the north, it flows south and disappears somewhere in the characteristic limestone crypts of Amphoe Pai, until it flows from east to west to reach Mae Hong Son, where even further west it joins the Salawin River inside the Kayah State of Myanmar.

It is here, just a little short of the border checkpoint of Nam Phiang Din, that tourists come across the long-neck women of the Padaung tribe. Still living inside Myanmar (then Burma) during Major Hudson’s first visit in 1963, the Padaung tribe later shifted across the border into Thailand to become the biggest tourist attraction of Mae Hong Son province.  Having the status of refugees, the inhabitants of long-neck villages are not allowed to work.  They officially have to make a living by letting the tourists take some photographs of their imposing long-necked women.

Awe-inspiring, some of the women and young girls of the Padaung follow the custom of wearing heavy brass rings around their necks.  These rings are supposed make them beauties and at the same time protect them from wild tigers.

There are many other tourist attractions to enjoy along the way, especially if you travel by motorbike.  Leaving Chiang Mai on Highway No. 107 to the north, you leave the valley of the Mae Ping River behind at the market town of Mae Malai. Here Highway No. 1095 begins, to reach Amphoe Pai, a town with the reputation to be a backpacker’s paradise.  There are even plans to develop the local airfield strip into an airport.

Further on and passing the Lisu village of Nam Rin, you reach Amphoe Pang Ma Pa, where Tham Lod Cave is located hiding some prehistoric coffins.

Reaching the town of Mae Hong Son after 274 kilometres, tourists find a variety of lodgings and restaurants to choose from. The town was founded by Phaya Singhanatracha in the 19th century and boasts of some extraordinary temples.

From Mae Hong Son south, you follow Highway No. 108 to pass the districts of Khun Yuam and Mae La Noi to reach Amphoe Mae Sariang, an area that is heavily populated by Karen and Lawa.

After a road journey of 368 kilometres and 1,864 bends, you will reach Chiangmai again - exhausted but happy to have made it.

There is an alternative route for the adventurous motorcyclist, the road that cuts through Mae Chaem in Chiang Mai province behind Doi Inthanon, Thailand’s highest mountain, to reach Khun Yuam, a Thai Yai settlement on Highway 108.

Finally an interesting side trip from Mae Sariang to Mae Sam Laep at the banks of the Salawin River is in order.

With a length of 2,800 kilometres, the Salawin is second to the Mekong River in Southeast Asia. The river rises in Eastern Tibet and passes through China’s Yunnan province, where it is called the Nujiang or Angry River. In Myanmar, the river is called Than-lwin and flows into the Indian Ocean at Martaban, Mon State. So if you have time , go for it.

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