From the bridge over the Ping on the newest Ring Rd.

Later that day, on the road to Om Koi

By the way, for those of you who have been avoiding going to Om Koi because of all the stories about how terrible the road is.... Well, now it's a beautiful paved road all the way... The last time I was on this road, it took me and a friend 10 hours to travel 50 k's in the rainy season (which is why I didn't return for many years). Yesterday, it took about an hour... 3 or 4 friendly Karen (Daeng) villages along the way... Mae Lai being my favorite...

I wonder if it really is that local. Because a week ago I also noticed very bad haze around town, but it did NOT clear up when going out of town, all the way past Chiang Dao North to "Arunothai" / Doi Angkhang. That's as the sticks as sticky as sticks get in Thailand, but still hazy. Of course I don't doubt that other areas can suddenly be clear, like you got in Om Koi (Love that area too)

I really wonder what's causing this, and why it's so radically different one day to the next. I always thought it was people burning waste, leaves and fields.. but the effect is NOT localized to populated areas and does differ radically; one day can be perfectly clear, the next it looks like you can cut it with a knife.

BTW, unrelated issue how long do you think you could take driving from one end of Chiang Mai (province) to the other? Say Om Koi near Tak all the way North to the Burmese border / Mae Ai disrict? I bet that would take considerable time right?

BTW, unrelated issue how long do you think you could take driving from one end of Chiang Mai (province) to the other?  Say Om Koi near Tak all the way North to the Burmese border / Mae Ai disrict?    I bet that would take considerable time right?

More time than the drive from Chiang Mai to Bangkok anyway.

BTW, unrelated issue how long do you think you could take driving from one end of Chiang Mai (province) to the other?  Say Om Koi near Tak all the way North to the Burmese border / Mae Ai disrict?    I bet that would take considerable time right?

More time than the drive from Chiang Mai to Bangkok anyway.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I would say 5-6 hours from the Om Koi area to Mae Ai or Doi Angkang, though Davidgrt might say 3 hours, at his pace.... It takes me longer because I like to stop often, especially if there are roadside sellers. Great chance for an interesting experience, and they can't easily flee the scene when I show up. Yesterday I got some fresh vegies and a banana-leaf wrapped bundle of 'paak waan' with Red Ant eggs. 10 baht for a very interesting taste/texture experience in my mouth. Bought some Somtam later from a very dodgy-looking setup (below), but the seller was nice, and the ten baht went to a good cause. I fed some dogs later...

As for Chanchao's observations, I've seen the same. One thing that can be easily confused for smoke is the visible humidity you can see this time of year at times, especially in the mountains on the way to Angkang, in my experience. But, in my travels the last couple of weeks, I've see a huge increase in forest fires and smoke. At the Lisaw village Sam Li, located near Phrao at about 1300 meters, you could hardly see the valley below, and this was clearly a smoke issue, not humidity

Yesterday, I'm not sure why the Om Koi area was fairly smoke-free, but as soon as I started heading back down to the CM plateau, the smoke was evident again, as were the huge black areas from recent burns. From Hot to near the Om Koi turnoff, I saw maybe a dozen brush fires along the road... Pretty ugly nature scenery in the hot season, in my view, but the most beautiful place in the Kingdom during the rainy season. Only two months away

Actually, along the road outside of Hot, among the dry, brown, scarred landscape, exist a few exceptions...

TiT, na'?

Oh, and here is a long shot from the Pai road looking north, outside the CM plateau... On my attempted pizza run recently...Pretty clear I thought, which does now lead me to believe that the smoke is a much bigger deal in/around Chiang Mai, more so than the western side, anyway. Around Phrae, Phayo, CR, Mai Sai., the smoke was pretty bad two weeks ago when I was last in those areas...

I really wonder what's causing this, and why it's so radically different one day to the next. I always thought it was people burning waste, leaves and fields.. but the effect is NOT localized to populated areas and does differ radically; one day can be perfectly clear, the next it looks like you can cut it with a knife.

Sorry, I didn't think about this earlier...

Chanchao, I'm sure you've seen the effects of even a small smoky fire on the surrounding areas... My sense is that this is part of the reason why it can change from day to day so much in some areas.

I'm reminded of a trip to Phrao not too long ago. When I came over the moutains from Chiang Mai, I could see, in this fairly windless environment, a long lines of spreading smoke covering many many square kilometers... After following the smoke for awhile, it started to concentrate, and a little further along, I spotted the culprit. A guy burning some leaves and garbage in his front yard... Just a small smoky fire, and most of the southern Phrao valley was covered in smoke for a good part of that day...

Anyway, in a couple more months, the rains will be here, and our sky will once again be blue again for awhile...

Not so fast, we get to enjoy the hot season first.. :-)

And....................... S o N g K r A n !!