On the highest point in Thailand

After a genuine Thai breakfast which included fish soup, we went to admire Kevin's pizza oven, built himself and his dream of the past 3 years, and the remarkable cacti collection that Pansa has grown this year. We said our goodbyes and left to see what treasures Doi Inthanon had for us.

The first waterfall was a treasure indeed! A huge powerful cascade of foaming water that drenched anyone who came anywhere near the viewing point. There were several rainbows to boot.

We missed the turning for the second waterfall, but carried on regardless ready for number three. We entered a minor road that turned into a narrower mountain road. This became very steep and increasingly remote and I felt a little uneasy. Especially when the brakes light came on, indicating that the brakes were overheated! There was no suitable place to turn, so we carried on at snail's pace until the road broadened a little at a place where a friendly young Mong gent was building a house. And beyond the few houses around his was a pretty rice terrace, the first of it's kind that we have seen in Thailand.

By this time the brakes had gone off. We managed to turn our vehicle, decided to skip the waterfall and drive on to the summit and the cloud forest. The cloud forest walk was lovely. At the end Willi noticed a number of Thais with cameras and incredibly long lenses hanging around. They were apparently waiting for the lalin, the silver-eared whistling thrush to appear. And suddenly, there they were, two of them, flying in and out of two trees in a flash of yellow, teasing the photographers. I managed to catch one on my Lumix and Willi got a good shot on his mobile phone.

The brakes lights came back on, so we returned very cautiously. There was yet another waterfall just outside the national park and on a whim really we decided to try our luck. What a good job we did! The fall itself was beautiful, but what was outstanding was the number of families picnicking and even dining on the river. Several restaurants serve people on carpeted rocks and ledges on tiny tables, the waiters crossing rafts and bridges and hopping from rock to rock.

Our destination for the evening was a boutique hotel in Lanna style in Chiang Mai, which we saw on our last visit and vowed to stay at if we ever returned to the city. We were given a royal welcome at the Tamarind Village in the centre of town, complete with a ginger-infused ice cold sauna cloth and a chilled ginger tea. We spent a delightful evening here, trying out North Thai specialities and a delicious Burmese fermented tea leaf salad.Read more