What is so special about Doi Inthanon, ChiangMai?

Reason 4:

The most important reason that i like Doi Inthanon:

Can you see it?
The Chedi on the hilltop. Sitting in our van, we couldnt wait to see the temples. It looks gorgeous from far away.




Doi Inthanon is the highest mountain in Thailand. I think it is a brilliant idea to build a memorial chedi on top of the mountain, which make it stands high and nothing is higher than it, other than the sky.

These temples were built in honor of the King and Queen in 1987 and 1992 respectively for the celebration of their 60th birthday.

The King's Chedi on the highest mountain in Thailand

Opposite the King's Chedi is the Queen's Chedi. Looking at each others. For me, it sounds Romantic. It just remind me of Taj Mahal- the symbol of love of the king to his wife.

What is inside the Chedi?
Both of the chedi also has buddha statues inside them and nice picture on the wall. We have to remove our shoes when we get into the chedi ( as show our respect), i did not wear socks, so my bare foot directly touching on the marble floor. It is ........terrific!! Haha.... very very cold. syiok!!!

The authority is very considerate. They reserved a corner as the smoking area. It is good both for the smokers and non-smokers. Smokers - they have a place that they can 'enjoy' smoking openly while for non-smokers, this is even better, because they can enjoy the view or sitting down in the garden without 'sharing' smoking with the smokers.

What is so special about Doi Inthanon-ChiangMai?

Reason 3:

a wonderful project- Royal Project Station

Beside the main road of Doi Inthanon, near to the hawker and market place, we can see some farms which are covered by transparent plastic ( in order to protect the crop).

It is the Royal Project which was initiated in 1979 by His Majesty the King in his great effort to help the hilltribes to cultivate crops other than OPIUM and also introduce them to modern agriculture techniques.

It is really a good project because the hilltribe has been planting opium for ages, the relevant authority did not just prohibit them from planting opium, but instead they give the hilltribe another greater skills and support to plant other crops such as strawberry, cabbage.... It is a really great job!!!

Bravo!!!

This is a rather unusual market.

MARKET, should be a place that is noisy and dirty ( This is what i can think of) or a place that is quiet but with rather not fresh goods. But, this is a quiet market where the vegetables and fruits look fresh and attractive. The stall attendants are good and not pushy. just felt very relax when walking in the market. By the way, the market is very clean. Hope that it will maintain to be in this way.

I love strawberry. A big beg of strawberry costs about 200 baht. yum.yum...

For our trip, lunch was included.
Lets have a look at our lunch.

Coconut White Curry Soup

First time i tried that, thumb up.

Sweet & sour pork

The taste was good. But, it was different from what i usually eat in Malaysia. Usually, in Malaysia, this dish is deep fried , then sweet & sour source is pour ontop of it.


There was another vegetable. A simple lunch with 1 meat, 1 vegetable and 1 soup. I would say simple but nice lunch.




After having lunch in the hawker centre, i went to washroom. I would have to say luckily i went to the washroom. Lucky not because the washroom is great or i fortunate to pick up any gold or money in the washroom.

BUT, the view behind the washroom was just great!!! wow...

What is so special about Doi Inthanon-ChiengMai?

Reason 2 :

In this tribe, white dress is for single lady, those who are marry, will wear another colour of dress. Well. It is a good way for guys to know whether that particular lady that he likes is still single & available or not.

Chance to see and get to know the local natives

Before i went to Chiang Mai, i had a misconception that it is just a cooling place with nice flower. After i came there, Chiang Mai really fascinated me. It not only has a well-conserved national park, great shopping heaven, delicious and reasonable price food and it has a very colourful culture with many tribes, such as Lisu, Lahu, Hmong and others. Each tribe also with with own culture and attire . By looking at their attire and product (purse, handicraft), one can tell that they are from which tribe.

I had a total different experience when i was there, compared to bangkok. umm... for me, Bangkok is coloured with Thai, and Chiang Mai is beatifully coloured with a variety of tribes. Each of the city is with their own sense of attraction.



This is a peaceful village inside the national park. By standing in the village, i really feel very relax. Everything seem like go slowly, no traffic jam....

Their houses are very simple. According to the tour guide, some of the houses dont have lights in the living room/bedroom, cos it is meant for resting.




Two married women ( can tell by looking at their attire) are busy making cloth by hands. All the product in that room are handmade, take weeks to months to be completed. Good quality. The good thing about this village is they are not pushy and didnt begged for selling their product.

Shawl, table cloth... and other handicraft that made by them. 100% handmade.

Coffee station- selling their special local coffee.

Can you guess what did i see under their house???
A pig!!! yes. Black PIG.
That pig was tied up there. quite smelly. Meant for food?? companion???

Back to the question of my tour guide.
Which city has the longest name in Thailand?
The winner is: BANGKOK

Its full name in Thai is:

Krungthepmathanakhon Amornrattanekosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharat
Ratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphiman Awathansathit
Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit

which translates to English as:

The City of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city ( of Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated God, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn.

Haha.... i was speechlessly impressed by their creativity. Thailand, you are the BEST!!

What is so special about Doi Inthanon, ChiengMai?

Chiangmai- a city that i dream to go long long time ago and at last i had a chance to leave my footprints and money( shopping) in that marvelous city.

When i think of 'Chiangmai', i would automatically relate it to a cooling+chilling place ALL YEAR ROUND, somewhere like our Genting Highlands or Cameron Highlands. After i went there, only then i realize that was not 100% correct.

According to our tour guide, actually Chiangmai has 3 seasons, which are cool ( November - early February), hot season ( March-May) and rainy season (June to October). The best visiting season is cool season especially November where there are flower festivals and the climate is good and comfortable. During the hot season, the temperature may goes up to 36 oC!!! wow!!! Sauna!!!

One of my friend happened to be the 'victim' because he went to ChiengMai with his family( parents and 2 children who are less than 5 years old), and all of them also cant stand the hot weather. It was not an enjoyable trip for them. It is important for us to check the season or climate before we go for a trip.

Climate definitely play a vital role whether it is a unforgettable sweet memory or disastrous memory.




During my first day in ChiengMai, we joined a guided tour of Doi Inthanon. It is one of the national parks. This national park is very big where it has 2 waterfalls, villages, markets, restaurants,guest house .... Entrance ticket is required in order to go into the national park.


i like Doi Inthanon for a few reasons:

Reason 1 :

The whitish and silky waterfall ( Vachiratharn Waterfall)
The height is 90metres( according to my tour guide)
Very relaxing when looking at the waterfall. A can see but cant swim waterfall because a lot of rocks.

After climbing up and down the staircases to look at the waterfall from different angles, perhaps one is hungry. NO worry. there are restaurant just beside the waterfall. yum.yum.

another waterfall in Doi Inthanon (Sirithan Waterfall)
the height is only 40 metres
a different kind of waterfall from the first one. sorry because busy looking around and totally forgot to take the picture of the waterfall. quite a distance of road has to be walked before reaching the view point of the waterfall. well. a good pair of shoes is very important.

During the trip, the tour guide asked us a question.
Which city of Thailand has the longest name in Thai?

Thailand - The land of Smiles (Chiang Mai)

Just came back from the marvelous ChiangMai, Thailand. Truly a great place where we should be there at least once a life time.

will talk about the trip very very soon...


Happy Chinese New Year!!! Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!