Camping

[dyinganimal]

Has anyone camped out over here?

I've been to Ob Khan National Park and Mae Ping National Park. the former was amazing but the latter not so good. Ob Khan had a pretty decent 4 hour trail which ended at a place where there was a crystal clear river and a small beach at the river and loads of boulders to sit on and make a big fire. There was plenty of firewood about and it was far enough away from the forest that the bugs weren't too bad, or too big. At Mae Ping they didn't want us to camp out of the camping sites - which is pretty boring really as you don't really feel like you are off the beaten path.

Does anyone know where there's clear water and good camping spots at other national parks, far enough away from people but not too difficult to find? i have all the gear and am pretty fit.

[Niloc]

We went camping at Wat Chan, turn off before Pai on the way to Mae Hong Son.

They charged us 100 baht a night and supplied plenty of firewood, you can also rent cabins which are really nice. There is a huge lake where I caught a decent fish.

The gardens are lovely in the spring and the restaurant is quite OK too.

Colin

[mobile69]

A few years ago, a couple of Aussies were murdered as they camped in a remote location away from the crowds (somewhere near Thaton i think. Motive was robbery I believe. ) Anyone recall more details of this incident.

Best to avoid weekends & holidays for camping in national parks. Camping at Doi Pukha NP on holiday weekend, the campsite was as crowded as Glastonbury festival, & just as noisy. Oh, to get away from it all.....

[cm das]

A few years ago, a couple of Aussies were murdered as they camped in a remote location away from the crowds (somewhere near Thaton i think. Motive was robbery I believe. ) Anyone recall more details of this incident.

I don't know anything about this incident but camping or hiking in remote areas anywhere near the Burmese border (e.g. Thaton) is not a good idea at all - too many smugglers who might shoot first & ask questions later.

[Puwa]

In the cool season it's nice to overnight on Doi Pui. Drive right up to the campground, pitch a tent and build a fire with the city lights below and the stars above. In the morning just pack up, roll back down the hill into town, and rejoin the rat race.

[Goshawk]

A few years ago, a couple of Aussies were murdered as they camped in a remote location away from the crowds (somewhere near Thaton i think. Motive was robbery I believe. ) Anyone recall more details of this incident.

It was Doi Angkhang in 2000. A pair of Australian birdwatchers were attacked and robbed as they camped up there by a Chinese Haw worker on the Royal Development Project.

The guy was shot dead and the girl escaped with wounds. She later identified the assailant, where upon he admitted to murder and attempted rape.

[dyinganimal]

Thanks for the replies.

Both times i've been camping i have tried to stay away fronm campsites as it just doesn't feel right to me. Like i said, in Ob Khan we found a spot in the middle of nowhere - a guide helped but then left us alone - he told us no one except forest workers had ever been on the trail. And man, it was magnificent. I quite like the outback stuff, as long as there's a river or stream nearby it's hard to get lost.

I was here when the tourists were killed, i'm quite sure a ride through town on a Friday night is more dangerous.the last time camping i was stung by a bee and a hornet in the space of an hour, and then just managed to get out of the way of a little grey scorpian.

[Sao Jiang Mai]

In The Nation today:

Hilltribe 'scapegoats' cleared of killing

Two hilltribe men were acquitted yesterday of the murder of an Australian student and the rape of his girlfriend in a brutal attack in a national park north of Chiang Mai in February 2000. Published on September 4, 2007

The Supreme Court verdict, read out in the provincial court in Chiang Mai, cited conflicting prosecution evidence. It upheld a Court of Appeal ruling acquitting Sangthong sae Yang and Inthorn sae Jong, two Chinese Haw men now in their mid-20s, which overturned the original lower court ruling in 2002 that sentenced both men to death.

According to facts verified by the final acquittal verdict, DNA signatures extracted from both defendants' sperm did not match that found in the rape victim.

This vital evidence was not available to both the lower court and the Court of Appeal.

The Supreme Court also acknowledged an additional piece of evidence, which was supplied to the Court of Appeal. Pictures of a village meeting showed that both defendants were away from the crime scene - a hilltop in Doi Angkhang in Fang - on the night of the crime: February 3, 2000.

Melbourne backpacker Kelvin Bourke, 23, was shot by two young assailants while camping with his girlfriend Sheri MacFarlane in an isolated part of the national park. McFarlane was raped and brutally beaten but managed to escape after pretending to be dead. The original verdict, by a judge in Fang, was contentious. Chiang Mai lawyer Wirachai Wangkaheamsuk said two years ago that the only reason prosecutors appealed the release of the two men was because the case involved foreign tourists.

Wirachai described his clients as "peh rebarp" - scapegoats - for a crime that local police were under enormous pressure to resolve quickly.

"The case against the men is so weak that the latest appeal should be dropped altogether. They should be given compensation for the ordeal they have endured," he said at the time.

Yesterday, the families of the two hilltribe men were delighted to be finally relieved of a huge burden that had seen their sons spend two years on Death Row.

But down in Melbourne, the MacFarlane family is hardly likely to be happy with the outcome from a police case that was condemned as incompetent almost from the start.

The Nation

[Gravelrash]

This sad thread about that murder and coverup has been covered elsewhere, but it is a warning about camping on your own outside designated areas, Thailand is far from being a campers paradise as yet.

As an aside my wife when back home was amazed by caravans (and trailers for that matter), thought it was all people could afford in the way of a home, couldn't get her mind around the notion of camping or why anyone would do it. Particularly if there was a perfectly good hotel in the same general area.

Mind you reversing a trailer, although not really difficult, takes some skill, may be a bit of a stretch here at the present time.

[percy2]

I go camping all the time (especially in the winter) and all around the country.

Some of my favorite places are next to the Burmese border the remoter the better!

Cheers