Chiang Dao

It was time to rent a car and see the countryside. Ian found a good rental agency and off we went in our Vios, Toyota for 1000BHT ($33) a day. Armed with a map we headed north to a small town called Chiang Dao, north of Chiang Mai.  The drive was easy and after a few missed turns, we found the lane that led to Chiang Dao Nest where we were staying for three nights.

A lovely woman named Pak met us with a huge smile and such warmth that we felt like we were being welcomed home. We sat down for a fantastic lunch that was a bit pricey but the yummiest food ever. After filling our stomachs, and the paperwork, we were shown to our fan cooled bungalow – apparently it gets quite chilly at night so I wasn’t too worried about not having a/c.

After unpacking, Ian and I climbed back into the car and continued north to see what we could see. Highway 107 led us through the hills on a wonderfully smooth curvy road until we turned off and headed west. Our road would travel up a mountain, looping close to the Burma border before returning us back to the highway.

We were astonished to see how many fields were ravaged by fires.

Farmers were burning off their fields to make way for new crops. The entire sky was hazy with smoke and occasionally our eyes burned and our throats parched; but once in awhile, there were some lovely sights.

 I love the hay stacks that look like homes -

The road snaked up and up the side of a mountain and at times ran along its spine with both sides of the highway falling to deep valleys below.

The drive was fantastic and we wished the smoke wasn’t so thick so we could really appreciate the scenery around us. As we reached the top of the mountain, we found the roads becoming less smooth, and clearly, less travelled.

 At one point, we pulled over for a stretch and short walk and found an area with several trees protected in Buddhist cloth.

The sun was getting low and I was getting very nervous because that red globe of a sun was to the right of us which meant we were travelling north and we should have been travelling west. I worried we had taken a wrong turn but we’d only come to one T junction and I was positive we’d turned the right way. Ian also worried that we’d be stuck on the mountain after the sun went down as the roads were now in very bad shape and the last thing he wanted was to be driving on them in the dark.

We came across a tiny village and pulled off the main road (if you could call it that) and made our way into the town.

An old man with betel stained lips holding a small glass of beer came out to the side of the road to meet us. Through sign language and gestures he indicated we could either turn back or continue to head forward to reach our destination so Ian and I continued forwards.

After what seemed like hours of heading up, the road turned down into a valley and onto a paved road along some rice fields. Civilization! We were thrilled! Best of all the low sun was now ahead of us so I knew we were heading the right way. The narrow lane led to a well paved, well travelled road and we turned left to head back to highway 107.

To our dismay, traffic petered out and the road started heading up the mountain once again.  The sun was now down and the night had fallen around us. Thick forest and no traffic made the night especially black.  As we headed up the mountain, the number of fires lit by the farmers increased – we were now seeing trees completely engulfed in flames and long lines of fires going up the hills around us. At one point, the fire was right onto the road and we had to make our way around it.

We’d never seen anything like it. I tried to get some good shots but my photo skills are a bit pathetic but at least you get the idea of what we were seeing. It was quite incredible.

Good news though, the road stayed smooth and remained paved but boy those turns going down the mountain on the other side were sharp! I was almost glad I couldn’t see them and certainly glad Ian was the one manoeuvring around them. We eventually found our way to the main highway and made it back to Chiang Dao Nest around 9pm – just in time for dinner. It was certainly an adventure…

The night was indeed a chilly one but extra blankets and socks kept us toasty warm. The next morning we were up super early to miss the heat of the sun. A nature trail a 100 metres down the road would lead us up and over a small limestone hill to the Chiang Dao caves.

The hike was crazy:  the trail very rough and many times difficult to follow. I was hot and sweaty and didn’t think I could make it. We’d forgotten the bug spray and the layer we had sprayed on had dripped away. I seriously considered going back because let’s face it; I’m not in the best shape.

 After lots of breaks (and whining), I made it to the top and the way down looked pretty sweet. Boulders of rock poked through the ground and tall bamboo trees towered overhead. It was quite stunning and peaceful and we felt like we had the entire hill to ourselves.

The path split a couple times and I’m not sure we actually went down the right one but it was an easy trek. A temple complex with tall trees spread far apart waited below and we followed a path leading us to the caves.

There are four interconnected caves containing several religious shrines and the usual stalactites. One must rent a pressurized gas lantern for a 100 BHT and a guide for about 200 BHT (?).

We expected the guide to actually tell us about the cave (like when we visited Batu Caves in Malaysia) but no such luck. All she did was point out rock formations that vaguely resembled baby elephants or the head of Buddha or a snake… She hurried ahead of us and I don’t think she was too happy that we took our time. I pulled out my mini-flashlight so it didn’t matter if she went ahead.

There were some magnificent caverns and rock formations but the camera just didn't do it justice.

A few times we had to crouch low and crawl through some tight spaces but it was all part of the experience.

The caves were a bit anti-climactic to be honest so I was glad that we done the hike as well. We finished right at lunchtime so we stopped at Chiang Dao Next 2 for some Thai food: stir fried veggies in oyster sauce, rice and spring rolls. Once home, we hopped into our trusty Vios and headed to the summit of Doi Ang Khang, located in the northern corner of the Chiang Mai province.

We followed highway 107 most of the way and it remained smooth and well paved. Like the day before, a number of military checkpoints stopped vehicles along the way - as soon as the soldiers noticed we were tourists, they’d wave us through. I’m not sure why there were so many, perhaps because we were so close to the Burmese border? 

Eventually we turned off the highway and headed to Doi Ang Khang, sitting 1300m above sea level.

At the summit was another military checkpoint and a lookout stop – unfortunately the smoke obscured much of the view.

On the other side of the mountain is a small town and nature resort. You can camp and hike the hill from here. It was getting late, so we headed back, not too worried as the roads were paved and other than the many sharp turns, fairly easy to follow.

Although the car was an automatic, Ian shifted into low gear quite frequently as the road was incredibly steep and the turns almost 180 degrees. At one point, I could smell burning rubber but thought it was the fires – Ian suddenly said, that’s not fire, it’s our brakes. We have no brakes! He pumped them but they were not responding at all. Luckily we were on a straight away, no sharp turns, but were still heading down. The road went down and up, and at the top Ian used the emergency brake to stop us.

There we sat, at the top of a hill, 6pm at night, with no brakes. Neither one of us wanted to take the chance of going down the rest of the mountain without brakes; especially if there were any brutal curves ahead. We climbed out of the car, sprayed our bodies thoroughly with bug spray and started walking. A laneway was a short walk away and I could just make out a couple of people working further along. Ian decided to see if they could help and I went back to sit in the car.

Unbelievably, one of the two people spoke English and he immediately offered to take Ian down the hill on his scooter to find a garage. I could not believe our good luck. Off Ian went and I settled in for a long wait in the car. The sun set and boy did it get dark fast. Around 8:30pm, Ian called to say that the garages were closed (of course) so we’d have to sit out the night and get towed in the morning.  His driver, Eid, insisted we stay with them for the night.

They returned to the car around 9pm and I met our Good Samaritan for the first time. Eid was about 28 years old and a civil Engineer. Currently he was volunteering his time at the temple complex that sat at the end of the laneway. The philosophy behind this sanctuary was to offer a place in which Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity were all accepted. The complex sat on the spine of a hill surrounded on three sides by a valley of Lychee trees. There was an open dining area with a fire for cooking, an area to bathe, a temple, some benches and a few sleeping huts. Dogs were everywhere.

Eid made us some spicy soup with instant noodles and we sat on a primitive bench to share our meal.

Once finished, he took us to our sleeping hut which was extremely rustic and in rough shape. Looking at the large gaps in the bamboo thatching, all I could think about was how I was going to be eaten alive by mosquitoes. I would have preferred to sleep in the car. However, Eid was prepared. He brought out thin mattress pads, blankets, pillows and a mosquito net and soon we had a nice little sleeping area.

In the room beside us was our bathroom complete with squat toilet.

The comforters kept us warm and other than discovering a spider the size of my hand beside the toilet and having a dream of a huge boa constrictor finding its way under the mosquito netting, the night went well. We arose early and wandered around the complex – surprised at how lovely it was.

After some coffee, Ian went to check the car and discovered that with a night of cooling there were enough brakes to get us back to Chaing Mai and the car rental agency. We left a donation for the complex since Eid refused to take any money for himself and off we went, keeping our speed low, not taking any chances. At Chiang Dao Nest we grabbed some breakfast, said our goodbyes and headed back into the city.

The manager of the car rental agency said it was Ian’s fault for the brakes going which was quite awkward but the young woman in reception was quite sweet and apologetic. We had one more day with a car and would have preferred our money back but there were no refunds so we had to get a new car. The original plan had been to see some places on the way back from Chiang Dao but it was now late in the day so we drove to the mall on the edge of the city and saw a movie instead.

It was all good; we were back safe and sound with an incredible adventure to add to our list.