Mai Chaem

We stayed at a simple cottage overlooking rice fields in a Karen village of Inthanon and explored hiking trails and waterfalls in the park in the afternoon. I found my own private frog pond, bobbing in cold mountain water in the middle of the jungle. Lina admired butterflies and sunned on the rocks.

In the afternoon we took the motorbike down the other side of the mountain to a village called Mae Chaem. Small, charming and traditional it is a glimpse of northern Thailand as it was. We were the only foreigners in town and were lucky to arrive on a festival day.

We watched raft races at dusk on the river, ate delicious food in impromptu street markets, and mingled with hill tribe farmers come down from the mountains for the festival to watch Muay Thai boxing matches and local beauty pageants. It was like a Thai country fair and a very special travel experience we won't soon forget.