I was so happy to arrive in Mae Hong Son. It was such a terrible bus ride. I found it very hard to get comfortable. Also, the guy that was sitting next to me kept nodding off on me, so I spent most of my night squished towards the window to avoid him hitting his head on my shoulder. The good thing about the bus ride was that it was blasted with air conditioning and they even gave us blankets to keep warm. I avoided drinking too much water so that I won't have to use the toilet. Mae Hong Son is known as the sleepy town that lies north west of Chiang Mai and is located on the Burmese border. The landscape consists of densely forested mountains much of which is protect as a National Park. The towering limestone mountains have been weathered overtime to create amazing waterfalls and cave formations. The lush mountain forests are some of the most beautiful in Southeast Asia making it an ideal destination for those interested in trekking, rafting, bird watching and elephant riding. I'm really looking forward to spending my next month here in this 'sleepy town'. When I got off the bus, I phoned Arjan Lamai (the co-ordinator in Mae Hong Son), few minutes later her husband rocked up in his ute, greeted me and helped me with my heavy luggage into the ute tray.
So through the back gates of our guest house, the lake sits peacefully behind us. It is called the Jong Kum Lake. It is in a lovely setting and the park that surrounds it is wonderfully (almost disconcertingly) well groomed. What really sets it a part from other well-situated bodies of water is the pair of Shan temples on one side of it. I must see these up close. We took a little stroll through the park, kids were playing, people on motorbikes riding along the footpath and even a group of dogs were having a good time. It was a soothing walking through this park. So it appears that we are located less than 6 minutes from the city centre, which is perfect for me. Hance took me to the night market and suggested the sate sticks are the best. (I must try this another day). So as we continue south down the main road, past the library we were confronted by a cluster of food carts set up in front of a municipal building. The aroma of the food reached my nose and it felt as though I was eating everything that I passed. They had sausages, sate sticks, spicy salads, rice cakes and noodles stands. As we were planning to go elsewhere for dinner, I didn't sample anything but I will surely be back tomorrow.
We dined at 'Fern Restaurant', one of Mae Hong Son's upscale restaurant. The service is professional and the expansive menu covers Thai, local and even European dishes. I ordered a spicy mince pork salad served with rice. Hans ordered a vegetable dish cooked in curry paste. We also enjoyed dinner over a bottle of 'Singha' each. There was a Thai guy singing live soft music. It was very chill out. Learnt that Hans is a retiree from Switzerland and working as an engineer before retiring. He is also a private pilot which I found very cool. He told me many stories of his past flight adventures and a lot of informative facts about everything and anything. The constant flow of conversation really got us losing track of time, to the point that the restaurant was closing. It was nice to have such good food and good company.
A few minutes later, we arrived at my new home for the next month - Johnnie Guest House. A budget guesthouse located next to the lake. I have been informed that there is another volunteer staying in the same guest - Mr Hance. It is 6am in the morning, so we tiptoed into the house. It is a cosy little house consisting of a bathroom, kitchen (with no cooking facilities), living room and three bedrooms. The guesthouse is located in a very quiet neighbourhood.
I was very disappointed with the toilet - the squatting toilet. How will I cope for one month? It is something that I have avoided as much as I could, over the past 2 months of travelling and now I am stuck with it for a month. Arggghhh. It was such a dramatic change leaving the Chiang Mai volunteer's house and arriving in Mae Hong Son. The Chiang Mai volunteer's house was so luxurious and now in Mae Hong Son, it is back to basic living. I have been told to rest up today seeing that I was on such a long dreadful bus ride. I unpacked my suitcase and got settled in. I blogged for a few hours before dozing off and sleeping till the 2pm.
I woke up feeling rather famished and had asked the owner - Boot, where I could get food (ar han) from. She directed me the way and I stumbled across a cosy restaurant called 'Top bar and restaurant' which served authentic Thai and westernised food. I was starving and wanted to order everything. Obviously, dining alone you are very limited to what you can order. I ordered a seafood salad and a green chicken and eggplant curry and accompanied with a lemon ice tea (delicious). The servings were massive and I had difficulty finishing all my curry. However, it was nice to be in Thailand, as the food is always so great and tasty - I don't think you could ever go wrong ordering a Thai dish in Thailand, regardless of where you are. This is what you call authentic Thai food. I was content. During my meal, a little shy boy came up to me and said "Saweedee krap", I responded with "Saweedee ka" (if you are a girl, you use 'ka') and he shook my hand and asked "how are you". He was only 2.5 years old, his nickname was Blurm (not sure of the correct spelling) but he was a cutie. After a satisfying meal, I literally dawdled back home. It was only a short stroll. I continued blogging and heard Mr Hans come home. I went out and introduced myself. He is a very nice gentleman and we chatted for a bit before heading out so he could show me around. It was also time for dinner.
So through the back gates of our guest house, the lake sits peacefully behind us. It is called the Jong Kum Lake. It is in a lovely setting and the park that surrounds it is wonderfully (almost disconcertingly) well groomed. What really sets it a part from other well-situated bodies of water is the pair of Shan temples on one side of it. I must see these up close. We took a little stroll through the park, kids were playing, people on motorbikes riding along the footpath and even a group of dogs were having a good time. It was a soothing walking through this park. So it appears that we are located less than 6 minutes from the city centre, which is perfect for me. Hance took me to the night market and suggested the sate sticks are the best. (I must try this another day). So as we continue south down the main road, past the library we were confronted by a cluster of food carts set up in front of a municipal building. The aroma of the food reached my nose and it felt as though I was eating everything that I passed. They had sausages, sate sticks, spicy salads, rice cakes and noodles stands. As we were planning to go elsewhere for dinner, I didn't sample anything but I will surely be back tomorrow.
We dined at 'Fern Restaurant', one of Mae Hong Son's upscale restaurant. The service is professional and the expansive menu covers Thai, local and even European dishes. I ordered a spicy mince pork salad served with rice. Hans ordered a vegetable dish cooked in curry paste. We also enjoyed dinner over a bottle of 'Singha' each. There was a Thai guy singing live soft music. It was very chill out. Learnt that Hans is a retiree from Switzerland and working as an engineer before retiring. He is also a private pilot which I found very cool. He told me many stories of his past flight adventures and a lot of informative facts about everything and anything. The constant flow of conversation really got us losing track of time, to the point that the restaurant was closing. It was nice to have such good food and good company.
When we got back, we chilled out on our front porch with a can of Chang beer each. It was nice that Hans had offered me one of his beers. I have never tried Chang beer before, but I have got to say it was very nice to down. However, I still much prefer Nepal's Everest or Gorkha beer. We sat talking more about our travels before calling it a night. I really enjoyed my first day in Mae Hong Son. Even though it rained most of the morning, it didn't bother me at all as it was perfect sleep in weather. The food has been exceptionally great since arriving and I have a very strong feeling that I will be putting on heaps of weight here - something I will have to deal with later I guess. Tomorrow I am going to start my first lesson of teaching. I have been advised that I will be teaching at the monastery. It was originally planned that I will go to the orphanage but apparently, there are some things that need to be finalised before I can go there - which will be sorted over the weekend. Therefore, this week I will be teaching monks English. Something different. Looking forward to tomorrow.
Good night world.
XOXO
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