We braved some of the 1864 curves again back towards Chiang Mai. We were tipped off that a bus to our next destination went through a town called Ban Mae Ma Lai, so we hoped that the local bus from Mae Hong Son would stop there. The bus driver dropped us and another woman off in the town. She asked if we were going to Tha Ton, which we were, so she escorted us to the correct bus stop. She didn't speak english but managed to explain that not all buses went to Tha Ton, (despite being labelled so) so she would talk to the drivers and get us on the correct bus. We waited an hour and finally got on a very packed bus to Tha Ton. The inspector got people to stand up for us, which was embarrassing. It was another winding journey through the national park with views of the plains stretching out beyond. We made a stop at a bus terminus and our "guide" beckoned us off the bus. Ahh we must have to change buses. Paul got the bags and I ran ahead after the woman, only to realise that she was just directing me to the women's toilets as this was a 10 minute stop - back on the bus again! Tha Ton is a riverside town surrounded by hills, every one of the hills has its own Buddhist temple gleaming from it. For a tiny town it has two bike rental places, a seven eleven and numerous good quality eateries. Tha Ton has built up around the boat station, which provides tourists with a scenic 3 hour long boat ride to Chiang Rai, our next stop. We had researched a lovely riverside bungalow resort and headed there from the bus. Quite possibly the wackiest place yet. Areeya Puree resort boasted Japanese style bathrooms (pebbled floor with a path of stepping stones) which in reality was half a ton of hardcore wacked down around the bathroom suite, providing a great running ground for cockroaches and spiders. The walls were paper thin and facilities quoted on Agoda such as tea/coffee making facilities, fridge and mini bar were absent. We mentioned the few snags and the manager kind of smiled and shrugged his shoulders. The pool was a bit tired looking but on day 1 it looked pretty clean. On day 4 after six local kids had bathed daily in it, it was a greeny brown colour. Breakfast was hilarious too, nothing was ever brought in order. Cold tea arrived after we had finished the omelette and the sugar arrived after we had finished the tea. The manager tried to overcompensate by bringing out more and more food, pancakes, fruit, more omelettes, a tower of toast. We tried giving some advice about processes and written instructions for the waitress but the manager explained that the girl had been there for 3 years and still couldn't get it right. The manager's Mum was also trying to sell us the land at the back of the resort - she wistfully imagined it to be worth 2 million dollars. She didn't seem to understand that we didn't have that kind of money, telling us repeatedly that English people were rich. Anyway enough of Fawlty Towers. Tha Ton was a lovely place, very cool in the morning with the mist on the hills eventually burning away with the rising sun. We walked up into the hills to see the many temples, statues and shrines. One temple was so elaborate it had a winding rampway inside designed like the tail of a dragon. The views from the top were among the best we've seen yet - the distant hills of Myanmar, the snaking river below and the stretching plains planted with rice and produce. Hiring a scooter was more expensive than usual 350 baht a day (£7) but you got a booklet giving a picture guide and directions to all of the local points of interest. We drove out to Fang a nearby town on day one to get some provisions. I needed some new sandals as one of my two pairs had given up the ghost. I'm ashamed to say, we bought a couple of pairs from Tesco Lotus. We headed out to Mae Salong on our proper first ride, a Chinese tea plantation town. The ride there took us up in the hills for more stunning views. It took us 4 hours just to drive 44kms, but that was because Paul was stopping every 2 minutes to take photos. Mae Salong was a bit of a disappointment - not the pretty 'feng shui' design of Ban Rak Thai (see previous blog) - just a developed town in the hills selling tea. But hey, sometimes it's about the journey (I'm sounding like a real hippie backpacker now, dude). We did, however, drive up to a temple on the hill. The bike took us part way, then we walked up a dragon staircase of a few hundred steps. Local hill tribeswomen were selling their trinkets at the entrance and the views out were quite special (see photos).
One evening we stopped in the lane to our resort and just looked up at the stars, away from the sodium light we could see so many. Just as we looked up a meteor sped past above us burning up completely ... it was so close. Another magical moment.
We took another drive locally, a loop up into the hills in search of waterfalls. We passed several tribal villages and finally spotted a sign for a waterfall. The main roadway soon became overgrown and you could only see a narrow strip and the centre yellow road markings. Whe road then came to a dead stop - weird! we parked up and followed a path, it was so overgrown and clearly no longer used. After about 500 meters we admitted defeat, no waterfall was worth clambering through dense jungle. We spent lots of time just walking out into the villages, usually until we reached a border checkpoint, when we were turned away. I was waving and saying "Sa wat dee ka" to everyone, but it was often clear that they were not Thai speaking. Some tribes are Burmese or have their own language. On our last evening we took the dog out for a walk. Not much choice there as one of the dogs at the resort just wanted a pack leader to follow and no amount of shooing was getting rid of him. We walked into the fields at the back of the resort and watched people watering and spraying their crops before dusk. The dog often ran off but would somehow catch up with us no matter how many turns we took. By the end of the walk, I found myself looking out for him, concerned that we might get the blame for losing the dog. He soon bolted after us again. There was a fitting red glowing sunset to end our lovely stay. The next morning we would be taking the long boat to Chiang Rai. Thanks for reading, sorry that we have had a few problems loading the vids, we will keep trying.