Doi Inthanon, Mae Hong Son Loop and Thailand Sunset

 As road trips in cheap underpowered rental cars are usually part of my trip itinerary, I rented a car and zoomed off into the wilds of NW Thailand (well, I didn't actually zoom anywhere in my 10 yr old Toyota Yaris).   My first stop was Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand at around 8600'.  It wasn't an easy climb, but I managed to climb it in about 2 hours.  Well, ok, the Yaris actually did the work as there is a road to the top (no hiking trail actually).  No shame in driving.  Well, maybe a little.  In any case, I met a South Korean climbing team at the top-

 There is no view at the top of Doi Inthanon (covered in forest), but there are a couple of interesting trails.  The first one takes you through this lichen and moss covered forest- think Fangorn forest in The Lord of Rings if you know that book-

The second hike actually provided some views from a rare (for Thailand) meadow-

Rododendrens are common plants in the Himalayas (and the mountains in NW Thailand are technically the eastern end of the Himalayan range).  They can grow up to 40' tall and are in bloom right now in Thailand-

Leaving Doi Inthanon, I set out on the famous (in Thailand) Mae Hong Son loop, a roughly 300 mile circuit which reputedly has 1867 switch backs over its full course, though I swear I counted 1868.  My destination for the evening was the city of Mae Hong Son hard by the Mynamar border in NW Thailand.  From Doi Inthanon I think it was only about 120 miles, but Google estimated 4+ hours.  Hmm.  It is not a ride for the faint hearted or even for those who might wish to live to see tomorrow as you must constantly pass trucks and slow moving vehicles around hairpin turns or reconcile yourself to spending the rest of your days in some remote Thai village. My constant hope as I gunned the Yaris was that there would be nothing more than motor scooters coming at me around the blind bend.  

The ride went through the mountains behind the city of Mae Hong Son (pictured):

In any case, I somehow made it to Mae Hong Son, which had some beautiful Buddhist temples, one after a wee climb-

And of course, a pleasant night market around a reservoir with some more striking temples 

At dinner, I had this dish- recommended by the waiter- and it was delicious.  No idea what was in it. 

Finally, I ended the day atop this hill looking to the west and Mynamar (aka Burma) as the sun set over Thailand- 

Chiang Mai- Ancient Temples, Night Markets and White Elephants

 I left Hong Kong and flew directly to Chiang Mai, a city in Northwest Thailand.  It was about a 3.5 hour flight.  After the flight to Hong Kong, it felt like we were landing shortly after I got in my seat.  

Chiang Mai is an interesting place.  It seems overrun by both tourists and locals, the latter constantly buzzing by on their motor scooters by the thousands as one attempts to cross the street.  It seems like there is an almost endless variety of mongrel vehicles here derived from the bike/auto/truck platforms, including of course the famous tuk-tuk-

I rode in a variety of these inexpensive transports as made my way about the city.

Chiang Mai is known for its night markets, traditional Thai food and ancient Buddhist temples.  It might also be the massage capital of the world if massage salon density or quantity is any indicator as there seem to be Thai massage salons on every street corner.  

  Some of the temples date back to the 1200s-

Many of the temples are quite striking and colorful, with elephants and dragons being a constant theme-

I hiked up to a well known one in the jungle overlooking the city using what is called 'the monk's trail' by using somewhat ancient cartography locally known as Google maps. The trail had somewhat different markings than others I have seen over the years (e.g. painted rocks)-

 They say some of the monks will hike the trail barefoot-

I gave that some thought, but decided that might be viewed as improper cultural appropriation.  The site was quite peaceful and some of the monks were there apparently attending some sort class-

I was happy to see authentic Buddhist monks still practicing, but I could not help but notice that a number  of them there and afterward appeared to staring down at small electronic devices in their hands.  Sacre bleu!  Maybe the monks standards have declined or recruiting is off?  Iphones just seemed at odds with my understanding of the objective of worldly detachment (or of serenity now), but what do I know?  (Of Buddhism, nothing). 

This early temple dated back to the middle ages and captured one artist's attention-

The street food scene of Chiang Mai is somewhat famous in Thailand and is one of the city's attractions, again for both locals and tourists.   It is a chaotic scene with vendor stalls laid out on busy streets mere inches from the buzzing motor scooters tuk tuk, but fun all the same.  You can get a good Thai dinner at these markets for $2-$3 if you don't mind some jostling and tuk-tuk exhaust. 

As mentioned, the night markets of Chiang Mai are also one of the city's big attractions.  Having bought my share of white elephants over the years, I perused the market, but was not about to fall for the various and sundry tourist trinkets and baubles on offer , not with my experience.  Except, well, maybe for a truly authentic white elephant-

Hong Kong Part II- Recluses, Junks and Street Food

 My second day in HK started with a walking tour of Central, which was interesting and informative.  Apparently 2 of the former directors of the original HK bank- HBSC- thought it would be a good idea if they could remembered as the lion type managers that they were and so had these famous lion statues placed in front of the bank HQ-

Better than fancy stationary, I think.  Interesting that these huge buildings use bamboo scaffolding- 

It is hard to capture in pictures but Hong Kong has such incredible energy and dynamism-

My afternoon took me across the harbor on the famous Star Ferry to Kowloon, the working heart of Hong Kong.  The Star Ferry has been in continuous operation since about 1860, but recently their prices have skyrocketed from $3HK to $HK (or about 50 cents USD for seniors).  

In Kowloon, I decided to pop in to the HK Art Museum where they had an exhibit on medieval (Ming and Qing dynasties) Chinese Caligraphy.  Apparently, most of these famous art works were created by recluses who had to determine where and how they would live in the world and, importantly, how they might navigate changes in emperors (i.e. regime change), as many were employed by the imperial court.  Evidently,  there were different types of recluses-

The exhibition had some advice for these recluses (or perhaps party hacks) in times of regime change-

Apparently not everyone qualifies or succeeds but My favorite type of recluse was this one-

Takes real skill and training to be a good imposter recluse 

The museum was huge and quite interesting overall.  And most importantly, free.  Not nothing in expensive Homg Kong  

Kowloon is grittier than HK Island, though it does not feel at all dangerous.  Unsurprisngly, HK feels quite clean and safe . Kowloon has lively street markets with lots of different (and delicious) Chinese and other street food-

One place even had plastic forks.  I ate there 2x.  

I also booked an evening cruise on Hong Kong harbor on a genuine ancient Chinese Junk- 

I generally try and find authentic traditional activities and think I succeeded with the Junk.  I was amazed at how they were able to turn it into the wind under sail power without any loss of speed or to back down quickly as they approached their mooring.  I did notice some diesel smoke from other vessels in the vicinity, but that did not really detract from the authentic Junk experience. 

The view from the harbor, though different from the Peak, was just amazing.  Hong Kong is quite the city.  A feast for the senses really. While I have been to other stunning and beautiful cities- Sydney, Capetown, Rio- I have never seen anything like it.  

Maybe subtle it isn’t but still just jaw dropping- 

For my last activity I had lunch at a famous noodle place in Cental.  These popular places draw big lines as their seating is tiny. So they fill tables family style with whoever is line who can fit  Being solo had advantages as often there was only one empty place ar a table so you essentially go to the front of the line  That was how I met 3 young travelers from Taiwan here on vacation   Sadly I forgot to take a photo but it was very fun  Conversation by Google translate