Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MAE HONG SON PROVINCE
Mae Hong Son
POP 6,000
Mae Hong Son, with its remote setting and surrounding mountains, fits many travel-
lers' preconceived notion of how a northern Thai city should be. A palpable
Burmese influence and a border town feel don't dispel this image, and best of all,
there's hardly a túk-túk or tout to be seen. This doesn't mean Mae Hong Son is un-
charted territory; the tour groups have been coming here for years, but the city's po-
tential as a base for activities, from spa treatment to trekking, ensures that your visit
can be quite unlike anyone else's.
History
Mae Hong Son has been isolated from Thailand geographically, culturally and polit-
ically for most of its short existence. The city was founded as an elephant training
centre in the early 19th century, and remained little more than this until 1856, when
fighting in Burma caused thousands of Shan to pour into the area. In the years fol-
lowing, Mae Hong Son prospered as a centre for logging and remained an inde-
pendent kingdom until 1900, when King Rama V incorporated the area into the Thai
kingdom.
Sights
With their bright colours, whitewashed stupas and glittering zinc fretwork, Mae
Hong Son's Burmese- and Shan-style temples will have you scratching your head
wondering just which country you're in.
WAT JONG KHAM & WAT JONG KLANG
( admission free)
Wat Jong Kham was built nearly 200 years ago by Thai Yai (Shan)
people, who make up about half of the population of Mae Hong Son Province. Wat
Jong Klang houses 100-year-old glass
jataka
paintings and a
museum
(admission
by donation; 8am-6pm)
with 150-year-old wooden dolls from Mandalay that de-
pict some of the more gruesome aspects of the wheel of life. Wat Jong Klang has
several areas that women are forbidden to enter - not unusual for Burmese-Shan
Buddhist temples.
Temple
