Live.See.Appreciate : The Living Museum of Mae Hong Son's Downtown

Chong Kham and Chong Klang Temples

Nestled in the rolling high mountains of the Shan Hills in the north of Thailand, the isolated Mae Hong Son (MHS) valley province is a destination known for slow life paces and ways of life that has changed only little through time. Strolling the 6 sq. km. MHS downtown offers a chance to see cultural identities of its mixed-ethnic residents become alive through century-old teak-wood houses, food stalls, dialectic words of items whose official Thai language names don’t exist, ethnic costumes daily worn, and colorful festivals. The town has seen modern infrastructure and experienced impacts of fast growing tourism, unfortunately, the fate shared even by remote villages in the country, but the local have preserved their cultural identities so strongly enough visitors only find it unique and unrivaled by anywhere else.

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The official settlement on the plain where downtown MHS is today was first recognized in 1831 when a king of Chiang Mai, a prominent city at the time, ordered a village built - assigning a village leader and having him invite Tai Yai and other hill tribal people, namely Karen, Lua, Lahu who had been living around the plain to build cottages on it. With Tai Yai as the major population of the village, the nowadays downtown is dominated by their culture with the presence of other tribal identities here and there.

The rising of chic boutique hotels and coffee shops in the downtown is the result of the tourism that arrived only less than a decade ago. Nevertheless, blending the new in while preserving the old, the local have crafted a perfect picture of the town harmoniously co-existed by originality and cutting-edge facilities shelled in the original appearance, a quite rare character in northern Thailand’s tourist destinations.

To understand the cultural background of MHS downtown and plan your sightseeing tour, visit MHS Living Museum Information Center an old teakwood 2-storey house tugged at Singhanatbamrung street. The center offers insightful information, colorful illustrations and pictures of downtown building’s architecture, local food and festivals, and many more. Pictures of the town’s older days and cute postcards adorn the walls while models of old houses scatter the second floor with detailed explanation on the old house renovation project. The staffs, always in Tai Yai colorful clothes, speak great English and are very helpful. Brochures and maps are available for free grabs to give you an orientation before setting your foot to explore the town yourself.

MHS Living Museum Information Center

Living It

Old House Architecture To the left and the right of the Information Center is strips of teakwood houses aging minimum 50 years old. Most of the houses follow Tai Yai architecture of ruen chua diew (one roof) and ruen faed (double roof). In October, you may see chong para, a paper model of Tai Yai temples hanging on the second-floor balcony of these houses, signaling the end of Buddhist Lent. While the ones on the backstreets along Singhanatbamrung remain pure residence, the up-front ones have been turned into stores, restaurants, and coffee shops. Anyamanee, built in 1895, now sells souvenirs, Tai Yai accessories and clothes. Hern Yai Kaew serves coffee and fusion dishes. At Singhanatbamrung intersection, a funky pub called Crossroad serves European dishes and is popular among bikers.

An Old Teak-wood House Turned into A Coffee Shop

Tai Yai Cuisine Served with steamed rice and fresh veggies, Tai Yai dishes incorporates lots of Thai herbs and smelly beans (fermented ground soybeans shaping like discs) as the main ingredients. At the morning Sia Yood market, find your breakfast stalls of tua pu aun (hot chick pea noodle soup), khao raem fin (Tai Yai bean curd), khanom cheen nam ngiew (rice noodles with spicy pork sauce), and many more. Then there are stand-alone restaurants with recipes passed down for generations. At Aunt Sri Bua Tai Yai restaurant (51, Singhanatbamrung st, tel. 053 612 471), try her signatures nua dung (spicy pork balls mixed with aromatic herbs) and kai aub (baked chicken curry). For sweet tooth, head to Aunt Manee Tai Yai Sweets (down the alley where Aunt Sri Bua’s is), desserts such as alawa (rice pudding with coconut milk and sugarcane, suay tamin (steamed sticky rice with coconut milk topped with a contrasting layer of hard sugar) come in a mouthful size banana-leaf wraps.

Ethic Costumes Apart from the Thursday Campaign when all government officials wear traditional Tai Yai costumes to work, the night market around the downtown Chong Kham Swamp hosts stalls whose ethnic-race owners usually adorn themselves with the best tribal costumes. Usually spotted are the Black Lahu with black shirts and pants of red, blue and white stripes on the arms and legs, Hmong with colorful velvet textile embroidered with glittering beads, among others.

A Black Lahu Lady

Tai Yai Temples The Tai Yai temples of Chong Kham and Chong Klang are the center of reverence and venues for festivals year-round. Facing Chong Kham Swamp, the left-side Chong Kham and the right-side Chong Klang share the same wall which makes them look like one big monastery. Influenced by Burmese temple architecture, both are famous for tiered roof adorned with plates of elaborately carved galvanized iron coated in silver or gold color. Chong Kham, built in 1797, is MHS’s first temple and hosts a Buddha relics pagoda while Chong Klang has a small museum in the temple’s hall exhibiting wood carvings, statues, and paintings by Burmese artisans.

Beeswax Candles

Roof Ornament, Carved Galvanized Iron

A Wooden Carved Wall, Chong Klang Temple

An Angel Statue in Chong Klang's Burmese Wooden Statue Museum

Tiered Roof, Chong Klang Temple

Festivals The backwater town of MSH turns alive with certain annual festivals. Poi Sang Long, on April 13 – 15, sees a long procession of novices with cleanly shaven heads adorned themselves with Burmese prince-like garment, valuable jewels and gems riding horses or carried over men’s shoulders through the town. Perd Muang Tai, in early December, summarizes ways of life of MHS’s 7 ethnic groups via a traditional house exhibition, stage dances, a food and local product fair.

Fireworks and Lanterns, Perd Muang Tai Festival

A Hill Tribe's House Mock-Up, Perd Muang Tai Festival

Make it Happen!

When to Go

Best time to visit MHS is from November to February when the weather is dry and mild, with the average temperature of 25 - 27˚C. For trekkers, early November sees wild flower blossoms and July to September sees rice fields turn green.

Getting There

From Chiang Mai (CM) there are two bus routes to Mae Hong Son. The northern route through Pai (270 km) takes 6-7 hours and the southern route via Mae Sariang takes 7-8 hours. Buses via Pai leave CM bus arcade 12 times a day from 6:30am to 4pm and the ones via Mae Sariang leave 7 times day from 6:30am to 9pm.

Alternatively, Nor Air flies from CM to MHS 3 times a day. Check the flight schedule at www.nokair.com.

Where to stay

MHS downtown offers plenty of mid-range accommodation for its small size. The Residence@MHS (T:053 614 100) is MHS’s first boutique hotel with rooms tastefully decorated with teak furniture. Piya Guesthouse (T:053 611 260) sitting in front of Chong Kham Swamp which is considered the town center offers very clean, heavily furnished rooms with TVs and air-con. Ngamta Hotel (T:053 612 794) at the junction of Khunlumpapas Road has reasonable rates and a central location, with spotless and nicely decorated rooms that all come with air-con, hot shower, TV and fridge.

Where to Eat

The night market stretching from the swamp to Khunlumpapas Road is a good place to forage local Tai Yai food, grilled chicken and fish served with somtam or spicy papaya salad. There is also a strip of bars and restaurants in front of the swamp itself. Fern MHS Restaurant (T: 053 611374; 87, Khunlumpapas Rd.) serves Tai Yai, Thai, and European dishes in antique house, popular among tour groups.