Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu, Mae Hong Son
Two white Burmese-style chedis on the hill above the town, looking down on the morning mist.
Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu, Mae Hong Son
Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu stands on the hill immediately west of Mae Hong Son and is the town's landmark. Two whitewashed chedis in the Burmese Shan style - tiered, with delicate tin finials and hanging bells - occupy the summit terrace; the larger was built in 1860, the smaller a few years later.
The terrace looks down on the whole of Mae Hong Son in its narrow valley. The town sits low enough, and the surrounding ridges are steep enough, that for much of the year it lies under mist until well into the morning, and watching that from the summit is the reason most people come up at dawn.
The Shan character of the temple is not incidental - Mae Hong Son was founded by Shan settlers and remained closer to Burma than to Bangkok for most of its history.
- Ban Rak Thai, Mae Hong Son — A Yunnanese tea-growing village around a lake on the Burmese border, settled by former Kuomintang soldiers.
- Su Tong Pae Bridge, Mae Hong Son — A long bamboo footbridge across the paddy fields, built by villagers and monks to reach a hillside monastery.
- Wat Chong Kham and Wat Chong Klang, Mae Hong Son — Two Shan temples side by side on the lake in the middle of Mae Hong Son, reflected in the water at night.
- Tham Lod Cave, Mae Hong Son — A river cave over a kilometre long, crossed by bamboo raft, with prehistoric teak coffins inside.
