Been To Hmong Village On Doi Pui?

[nokia]

Hi CM folks,

Has anyone been to the hmong village on Doi Pui? The one on the right of the fork,not the commercial hmong village on the left of the fork, and it's after the Doi Pui camping area. The track or unpaved route seems difficult even for 4WD.

Pristine spots for nature lovers are getting fewer and fewer each day,and it seems like 4WD + trekking is a necessity...

[Ajarn]

Hi CM folks,

Has anyone been to the hmong village on Doi Pui? The one on the right of the fork,not the commercial hmong village on the left of the fork, and it's after the Doi Pui camping area. The track or unpaved route seems difficult even for 4WD.

Pristine spots for nature lovers are getting fewer and fewer each day,and it seems like 4WD + trekking is a necessity...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, it's a beautiful area

I have some involvement with the school in that village, and I'm up there every month... During the rainy season, a 4WD helps, but it's not really necessary - My co-worker has been there in a songthaew (500 baht!)...

The road continues down the hill and ends up at Huay Tung Thaew reservoir...

For nature lovers, there is so much to see up there. I think the best access is from the Mae Sa valley, up through some of the Hmong villages in the area. Following some of the roads on the 'other side' of the Mae Sa valley road, from Pong Yang village, will take you into some more 'pristine' areas...

[x-pat]

nokia: Pristine spots for nature lovers are getting fewer and fewer each day,and it seems like 4WD + trekking is a necessity...

What?

There's no cable-car/mono-rail/hot-dog-snack-kiosk on Doi Pui yet? I thought that's part of Thaksin's tourism expansion plan.

X-Pat (Ex-) City Slicker

[chanchao]

> The track or unpaved route seems difficult even for 4WD.

Not at all. Perhaps only during or after heavy rainl. In the dry, you can drive a Honda Jazz there. (Though any kind of pickup obviously gives greater peace of mind that expensive plastic bits won't drop off or get scratched)

> The road continues down the hill and ends up at Huay Tung Thaew

> reservoir...

> I think the best access is from the Mae Sa valley, up through some of

> the Hmong villages in the area.

Well, if you don't go straight/right down to Huay Tung Thao but left instead, to the royal project area, then CONTINUE, then you get to that same area and emerge in the Mae Sa Valley area where you can take a right to Mae Rim.

Note that the first part of that road just after the Royal Project was seriously hairy when I did it a couple of years ago... Almost flipped the Land Rover I was driving.. Some hills took a couple of tries to get on to because of loose rocks. Good that it was an old Land Rover because it would definitely have left scratches..

But yes, nice area.

BTW, how far is the walk up to Doi Pui on that road that's always closed for traffic?

Cheers,

Chanchao

[nokia]

Yes, it's a beautiful area 

I have some involvement with the school in that village, and I'm up there every month... During the rainy season, a 4WD helps, but it's not really necessary - My co-worker has been there in a songthaew (500 baht!)...

The road continues down the hill and ends up at Huay Tung Thaew reservoir...

For nature lovers, there is so much to see up there. I think the best access is from the Mae Sa valley, up through some of the Hmong villages in the area. Following some of the roads on the 'other side' of the Mae Sa valley road, from Pong Yang village,  will take you into some more 'pristine' areas...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's always refreshing to get away from the crowded traffic around the city moat.

Do you actually drive a pickup through the 3km of 'earth shaking',rocky terrain at 5km/hr from the Doi Pui camping area every month, or is there a short cut from Huay Tung Thaew reservoir? My new 4WD Vigo was shaking on all its 4 wheels on 20-30' inclines. i was worried about damage to the suspension & shock absorbers and thought i'm not coming here again.

I saw a new corolla Altis scraping its bottom while making a u-turn at the Doi Pui camping area, and its occupants quickly came out to lighten the load! btw, we didnt walk up to Doi Pui. Anyone did?

4WD newbie

[Ajarn]

Yes, it's a beautiful area 

I have some involvement with the school in that village, and I'm up there every month... During the rainy season, a 4WD helps, but it's not really necessary - My co-worker has been there in a songthaew (500 baht!)...

The road continues down the hill and ends up at Huay Tung Thaew reservoir...

For nature lovers, there is so much to see up there. I think the best access is from the Mae Sa valley, up through some of the Hmong villages in the area. Following some of the roads on the 'other side' of the Mae Sa valley road, from Pong Yang village,  will take you into some more 'pristine' areas...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's always refreshing to get away from the crowded traffic around the city moat.

Do you actually drive a pickup through the 3km of 'earth shaking',rocky terrain at 5km/hr from the Doi Pui camping area every month, or is there a short cut from Huay Tung Thaew reservoir? My new 4WD Vigo was shaking on all its 4 wheels on 20-30' inclines. i was worried about damage to the suspension & shock absorbers and thought i'm not coming here again.

I saw a new corolla Altis scraping its bottom while making a u-turn at the Doi Pui camping area, and its occupants quickly came out to lighten the load! btw, we didnt walk up to Doi Pui. Anyone did?

4WD newbie

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I haven't been on the Huay Thung Thaew stretch of that road for 15+ years, so I can't say much about that area, but maybe chanchao can tell you more... But, on a cruise last week around the back side of the lake, I could not see any access to that road where I figured it should be...

[PrivatePilot]

I saw a new corolla Altis scraping its bottom while making a u-turn at the Doi Pui camping area, and its occupants quickly came out to lighten the load! btw, we didnt walk up to Doi Pui. Anyone did?

4WD newbie

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I walked up to the summit of Doi Pui back in August. It takes about 30-45 minutes from the campground to reach the peak. depending on how fast you walk uphill (it's uphill all the way to the summit). It might seem a bit steep at times, but it's a cakewalk compared to Phu Kradeung, Doi Chiang Dao, or Phu Soi Dao. If you enjoy walking through pine forests and taking in the fresh cool air, it's worth the walk up. But if you're expecting to find a nice view at the top, forget it. The summit is surrounded by trees on all sides, so there's no view looking down into CM. I walked up hoping for a decent view below, but was rather disappointed.

[Johpa]

I walked up to the summit of Doi Pui back in August. It takes about 30-45 minutes from the campground to reach the peak. depending on how fast you walk uphill (it's uphill all the way to the summit). It might seem a bit steep at times, but it's a cakewalk compared to Phu Kradeung, Doi Chiang Dao, or Phu Soi Dao. If you enjoy walking through pine forests and taking in the fresh cool air, it's worth the walk up. But if you're expecting to find a nice view at the top, forget it. The summit is surrounded by trees on all sides, so there's no view looking down into CM. I walked up hoping for a decent view below, but was rather disappointed.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you are looking for a rare "peak" view then try the "Rock Tower" that looks down upon the ol' Erawan resort from the east. You can take a right turn just before the Erawan turnoff. Look for signs for the Royal Project at the Mong village of Nong Hoi. At Nong Hoi, once past the Royal Project, look for a right turn heading further up the mountain. The road has now been paved almost to the top although the last few hundred meters may still be a dirt track that becomes very slick in the rain as my painful memories of a pulled hamstring can attest on my last visit. There also use to be a hiking path up there from the days when the local Thai military practiced repelling up there. But I am not sure if that trail exists anymore.

Nong Hoi is a vibrant and bustling community. You can drive through Nong Hoi and head down the other side of the mountain, with more outstanding views, passing through a sister Mong village, where I have a pal who has three wives, the fool. A little further down you pass through the combination Khon Muang (was Kh'mu) and Mong village of Mae Khi, where some Dutch guy grows commercial flowers. Just before this village, where the pavement begins again, is a three-way fork that if you take the hard left onto the dirt track will lead you down to the Samoeng Valley. The Samoeng valley is one of the last places to see some fairly traditional Khon Muang daily life in a beautiful rural setting.