I'm currently in Mae Hong Son for a few days on holiday, and this beautiful little town is the perfect place to recharge.

This blog will be in a few parts, but this one in particular will be a little bit about Mae Hong Son in general, how to get there (and back) from Chiang Mai, and how to get to the where the hotels and guesthouses are from the bus station.

Mae Hong Son

Mae Hong Son is the northwesternmost province in Thailand, just west of Chiang Mai. It is also on the Burmese border and they have their own culture that tends to be a fusion of Burmese and Lanna (northern Thai) styles. There are a few cultures around this area, but Mae Hong Son has a strong 'Shan' influence, as reflected in the restaurants and in the local markets.

As with Chiang Mai they have a main city that shares its name with the province itself. There is also a more popular town to visit called Pai, which is a growing tourist destination for people looking for that bohemian vibe. However just a few more hours north leads you to Mae Hong Son. There are lots of tours to do here if that is your thing, but if not you can easily stay in the town and do very little. There is a lake in the centre of town where you can walk around, feed the fish or simply have some food by the lakeside. Either way, you should feel far more relaxed than before you arrived.

How To Get There From Chiang Mai (and back)

Mae Hong Son is a six hour minibus ride from Chiang Mai, and leaves hourly from 7:30 until 2:30 in the afternoon. The minibus costs 250 baht (about $8, or £5) and leaves from the main bus station (Arcade. This is important because a lot of local buses leave at Chiang Phuak bus station, which is a few kilometres west of arcade bus station).

The bus leaves at platform 11, and you can buy your ticket at a green kiosk close to platform 11. If you can't find it, don't worry, just ask someone about Mae Hong Son and they'll be happy to point you in the right direction.

There is a local bus that leaves at Chiang Phuak bus station for less money, but this takes eight hours and I'm not 100% sure how often they run. Personally I would recommend getting the minibus as they are efficient, run often and is in a location where people speak English.

The way back is very similar, except they leave on the hour instead of on the half hour (i.e. 11:30)

How To Get To The Town

First of all here is a google maps link below which has tagged the bus station to give you an idea of where to go:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mae+Hong+Son+Bus+Station/@19.2972522,97.9629486,16z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x30daa5f8811815c1:0x5640961ad3633d3d!8m2!3d19.2912018!4d97.9595368

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It looks like you are in the middle of nowhere, but you are surprisingly close. Walk out the bus station then turn left. Then keep walking straight until you see a war memorial on your right (picture provided below). Keep going and take the second right. Then keep going straight until you see the lake in front of you. The walk is about 15-20 minutes depending on how quickly you can walk. Alternatively you can always get a tuk tuk driver to drop you off at the lake for 80 baht if you don't want to walk or if it's raining.

I stayed at Rom Thai Guesthouse (also in the google maps link) and paid 300 baht a night. The room is a two minute walk away from the lake and is near pretty much anything you need in Mae Hong Son

I hope you enjoyed this post and it was informative. If you have any questions feel free to pop them in the comments section below, and the next blog will be about what I did in Mae Hong Son on the first day.

• Spoiler, it involved a lot of trekking...