I think I mentioned last week that when you get close to Northern Thailand there are mountains dotted everywhere, separated by almost completely flat plains. It’s bizarre. It’s like the mountains were just dropped there.

But north of Chiang Mai, there’s nothing flat at all. Barely a straight piece of road to be found.

I’ve put together a gallery of mountain photos, plus a few things I found along the way. Sadly the air was very hazy, so some of the pics are not that great, whereas in others the haze adds a kind of mystic look. Sorry, some might be repeats from an older article, but I thought it would be good to get them all in one place.

I must go back in November or December when the air is supposed to be clear. There seem to be lots of nice places to stay, small resorts dotted in the hillsides, or in the small towns. I think I’ll head to Chiang Rai as it’s been a long time since I was there, and then go west and south along the Burmese border as I did last week. Except this time I’ll take a week to ten days, instead of two days like last week. Wanna join me?

One place I will avoid is Chiang Mai. When I last went I enjoyed it. The place was busy and bustling, but not overcrowded. Now, it is very much the latter. Not nice at all. I think the difference is the recent influx of tourists from China. Their left-hand drive blue-license-plated cars are everywhere. That’s not meant to be a racist comment, just the reality of the situation. The city and surrounding areas are bursting at the seams.

Anyhoo, here’s the gallery…