Discovering Northern Thailand By Car Part 2 of 2
On the way to Angkhang Nature Resort
In my last post, Discovering Northern Thailand By Car Part 1 of 2, you left me and my driving companion in our hire car somewhere in Northern Thailand.
I should point out here that there was no signal for my mobile phone so we really were on our own. The good news is that every village in Thailand has at least one telephone (look out for a blue booth); so if we could find a village we could at least speak to someone at the Angkhang Nature Resort and ask for directions if necessary. The not-so-good news was the last village had been many miles back.
What had been a carefree drive through beautiful green valleys and along narrow ridges was now turning out to be an anxious rush in search of civilisation.
Finally we came to a small village and I spotted a group of young teenagers kicking a ball around. Now was the time to get past my innate reluctance to ask for directions and to seek assistance hoping that my few words of Thai (like “where’s the toilet” and “a beer please”) would be sufficient to set us on the right path. I was surprised to discover, in this tiny hamlet, that the youngsters spoke good English and they were able to point out where I had gone wrong. I had managed to miss the turn up toward Doi Angkhang. See map showing Chiang Mai/Doi Angkhang area
With considerable relief (certainly on my part and no doubt on the part of my by now long-suffering travelling companion), we were soon on the right road and once again enjoying the stunning scenery.
Entrance to Angkhang Nature Resort
After a steep climb, we arrived at the Angkhang Nature Resort in the late afternoon just as the temperature was coming down and the smell of burning wood, from the village further down the valley, filled the air.
The day had not gone as I had planned but we had seen parts of Thailand (and possibly Myanmar!) that I had not expected to see so, all in all, it had been a good one.
Angkhang Nature Resort is in a marvellous spot and there is plenty to do in the area from bird watching to mountain biking. I will write more about my stay at the resort on another occasion. Suffice to say I am glad I made the journey, which, if you recall, should normally take around 3 hours from Chiang Mai.
The return to Chiang Mai was much more straightforward. To complete our circle-trip I took the 1249 back to the main Chiang Mai/Fang Road, the 107. The only point to mention is that the descent from the resort is extremely steep and the road very windy: I am sure I wore away half of my break pads on this part of the journey.
So there you have it. I thoroughly enjoyed my drive into the hills of Northern Thailand far away from the tourist areas and, since my travelling companion is still talking to me, I guess it couldn’t have been all bad for him either!
The moral of the story is of course if you are driving in the rural heart of northern Thailand take a very good map and ideally a GPS – oh, and don’t let me drive.
This wasn’t the only time I have driven in northern Thailand and it is to be recommended. If you don’t have much time even a day is worthwhile. You can visit the ‘handicraft’ villages or the elephant camps under your own steam or just enjoy the scenery. I found the route up around Mae Rim and down to the west of Chiang Mai offered some great views.
