Scenic day trips

[st11x]

G'day,

I am expecting a visitor that likes to take pictures of nature and I would like to show him the beauty of this region but we don't have much time, 2 full days to be precise and we have no plans to stay over anywhere.

My thought was to start driving like around 8-9, and then return to Chiang Mai for dinner at around 5.

He really likes Pai, but that is too far for a day trip. So I have come up some other options:

1. Samoeng loop
2. Mae Taeng dam
3. Hang Dong canyon ? (never been there myself)
4. Ob Luang national park
5. Lunch @ Huay Tung Tao

Any other suggestions beyond these? I was thinking of combining some of the places into one trip, for example, Samoeng loop + Hang Dong canyon. Sankamphaeng Hot Springs with something else, or is there a nicer hot springs?

I am thinking the Promenada and maybe Central Festival for the evenings just to kill time and do some shopping.

thanks

Matt

[Throatwobbler]

Doi Inthanon is a doable daytrip.

[Throatwobbler]

Also Sankamphaeng Hot Springs and Mae on Cave are very close to each other. If you walk past the cave there is also a 15-20 minute walk to the top of the hill which can offer stunning views if you have the right weather.

Edited November 13, 2013 by Throatwobbler

[st11x]

Thanks for the recommendations. He has been to Doi Inthanon, so that is out I think.

I almost forgot about the cave. I did the walk to the top once, it was quite tiring for me, not sure if he is able to do that; he is close to 60.

From the entrance of the cave, it looked really steep and "creepy", and after being tired out from the walk to the summit, I decided to give it a miss. Do you need to be very fit to do that too?

Anywhere that you drive, get out, walk a couple of steps, take some pictures, is more the type I am after.

thanks

Matt

[noise]

Mae Ngat Dam. I would recommend driving up the 1001 Hwy and turning west to the dam. Stop on top and then go around to the restaurants and boat landings. You can take a boat trip out to the far end where there are floating restaurants and floating cabins. Leaving, continue west and before you get to the Mae Rim road, you will see this BIG blue wat (Wat Baan Den) off to the right. Massive wat that they have been building and adding to for years and years. Lots of photo ops. Nice day trip loop.

Edited November 14, 2013 by noise

[CMSteve]

Doi Ang Khang is doable.

[Jonathan Fairfield]

This topic is now being discussed on the Thaivisa Chiang Mai Facebook page - hopefully people will be able to give you some more info on there.

[st11x]

Mae Ngat Dam. I would recommend driving up the 1001 Hwy and turning west to the dam. ... (Wat Baan Den) ... Nice day trip loop.

I couldn't find the dam on Google maps. Where on 1001 do you make the turn to go west? The statues of the monks are so life-like, definitely a must see. Thanks!

Doi Ang Khang is doable.

The pictures of Doi Ang Khang are beautiful. There are Sakura flowers there too, but they blossom late January, too late for this trip. It looks quite far, almost as far as Pai?

Looks like it goes past Mae Taeng and Chiang Dao. Would be a nice loop if we had more days to do it.

This topic is now being discussed on the Thaivisa Chiang Mai Facebook page - hopefully people will be able to give you some more info on there.

Thanks for posting it on the Facebook page as well.

thanks

Matt

[Sicarius]

If you do the Samoengloop you can visit Mon Cham for lunch.

[st11x]

If you do the Samoengloop you can visit Mon Cham for lunch.

I have driven the loop so many times but never knew about this place. That is perfect. Are the roads challenging getting up to the restaurant?

[Throatwobbler]

Thanks for the recommendations. He has been to Doi Inthanon, so that is out I think.

I almost forgot about the cave. I did the walk to the top once, it was quite tiring for me, not sure if he is able to do that; he is close to 60.

From the entrance of the cave, it looked really steep and "creepy", and after being tired out from the walk to the summit, I decided to give it a miss. Do you need to be very fit to do that too?

Anywhere that you drive, get out, walk a couple of steps, take some pictures, is more the type I am after.

thanks

Matt

The first section of the cave is a bit steep and scary, but that is only while you go down the first ladder. After that it opens into a couple of big caverns. Got there once when it was closed and the trees around the car park were full of monkeys.

[Sicarius]

If you do the Samoengloop you can visit Mon Cham for lunch.

I have driven the loop so many times but never knew about this place. That is perfect. Are the roads challenging getting up to the restaurant?

No the roads are perfect. The last few hunderd meters through the village are a little bit steep and small though.

[ovenman]

Mae Ngat Dam. I would recommend driving up the 1001 Hwy and turning west to the dam. ... (Wat Baan Den) ... Nice day trip loop.

I couldn't find the dam on Google maps. Where on 1001 do you make the turn to go west? The statues of the monks are so life-like, definitely a must see. Thanks!

The turnoff is somewhere between the 45 and 50 km markers on Hwy 1001 and is well-marked with one of those green overhead signs.

[noise]

This should show you where the dam is and give you an idea where the turn off is. The turn off is marked with a sign in English, as was mentioned. I did not mark the road going west to Hwy 107 Mae Taeng and coming back south. But it is the only one on the map. Let me know if you need help with that.

This should give enough info to use Google maps to get a better one.

Going west from the dam, the wat is about 2/3 of the way long that road toward 107, is about 1 km to the north (right as you drive west), and easily seen. It is on a slight berm and has lots of big blue roofs.

Edited November 15, 2013 by noise

[st11x]

Thanks for all your replies. Noise, thanks for the detailed map.

I will go check out the places ahead of time and report back if things have changed.

Matt

[st11x]

Finally got to taking the various groups around the places.

Noise, route 1001 is beautiful, the turn off was a little tricky but we found it. Turns out the dam is the same one I visited before, but I knew it as the Mae Taeng dam. Took a wrong turn from 121 and ended up in some towns before hitting 1001 proper at Mae Jo university, so that wasted quite a bit of time.

Before you turn into the blue temple as you head west along 107, there is a restaurant on the left by the name Peung Jai. It was great lunch stop (nice building too) and great coffee (almost as good as Thom).

Mon Jam was beautiful and a great find, though ordering food could be tricky if you do not know Thai. The Rinrada resort before the elephant camp is maybe a better place for lunch.

At the other side of the loop, the Doi resort is a good spot to stop for coffee. Again, the coffee (Doi Chang) was perfect leading me to think that other Doi Changs are just as good but unfortunately not so. Hopefully it wasn't just a fluke. It is a nice looking resort but didn't see anyone staying there. Below the hills I did see some working elephants.

Didn't go to the caves nor Doi Ang Khang. That'll be for the next time.

Thanks

Matt

[Johpa]

Try the north Samoeng loop from Samoeng to Mae Saap to Tung Ting to Na Fan to Mae Pa and then up to Mon Chaem via Mae Khi (less pretentious is Mon Inn Dao or Mon View Ngaam) and then back to Mae Rim. Great views, waterfalls, and even a cave and hot springs along said route.

[wellred]

I was looking for similar information so hope the OP doesn't mind if I hijack this thread a little. I'm going to be in CM for 5 days and wanted to use up at least 3 seeing some nature. Doi Inthanon will definitely feature on my list as will mon jam hill.

I'm interested in this samoeng loop. Is that the sort of trip that a hotel tour desk can book with a driver? And I take it this can be done as a day trip?

Thanks

[Johpa]

I'm interested in this samoeng loop. Is that the sort of trip that a hotel tour desk can book with a driver? And I take it this can be done as a day trip?

Thanks

Should be easy, although not a mainstream tourist activity, so you want a driver who can read a map. Most drivers connected to hotels only know destinations where they get some sort of kickback. Buy a copy of the GT-Rider Samoeng loop map to use as your guide, you can also use the Mae Hong Song loop map if the Samoeng map can't be found. The map makes a nice souvenir.

[kjhbigv]

Samoeng loop can easily be done in a few hours. Doing it in a car is a bit boring. The route is simple, just look at any map. Just one road and impossible to get lost.

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Chicog]

I've said it before, but the Doi Saket temple (on a hill) is nice to visit, then you can go to Chiang Mai Sky Adventure and go microlighting, which includes flying around it. And you can take your camera up with you, too (although remember to take a wrist strap or similar).

Never fails to impress.

And in Doi Saket market you can get those novelty pictures of crispy tree frog kebabs, although if he's a nature lover he probably won't be too amused.

[Sicarius]

I was looking for similar information so hope the OP doesn't mind if I hijack this thread a little. I'm going to be in CM for 5 days and wanted to use up at least 3 seeing some nature. Doi Inthanon will definitely feature on my list as will mon jam hill.

I'm interested in this samoeng loop. Is that the sort of trip that a hotel tour desk can book with a driver? And I take it this can be done as a day trip?

Thanks

The road to Mon Jam hill is along the Samoeng-loop. Best to do both in 1 day. Its easily doable in 1 afternoon. You could also visit some of the tourist attractions along the Mae Rim road.