Mae Salong

The second stop on our journey was Mae Salong, a small mountain village nestled high up in the hills. From Chiang Rai, we took a bus to the town of Ban Basang and from there we would negotiate our way up to Mae Salong.

Bus to Ban Basang. Nice and mirror-y.

About 45 minutes into the bus ride we were literally dropped off at the side of the highway. "Ban Basang," the Thais on the bus all assured us, repeating and nodding towards the windows. Reluctantly, backpacks in hand, we made our way through what had become standing room only on the rickety bus and found ourselves in...Ban Basang. Not much to look at, a strip of dusty, highway through a town faded out by the sun. This was no bus station, let alone real bus stop, and we weren't exactly sure of our next move. It had started to rain, the sky overcast, and by all acounts, we were lost. Then, from across the street, a beckoning, a beacon - "You guys going to Mae Salong?"

Enter Sally and Tony. They had been trying to convince a songtaew (pick-up truck) to take them up the windy mountain road to Mae Salong but he had been adamantly shaking his head, gesturing that he wanted more people for his truck (thus more money for him to take the hour-long trip). Sally and Tony had been trying in vain for awhile until we showed up and we all split a songtaew up into the misty mountains...I only mention Sally and Tony because they were fellow young teachers from Chiang Mai, Americans, fun and friendly and, after an incredible ride up with breathtaking views, the only other farangs (foreigners) in Mae Salong. I also mention them because...their names were Sally and Tony. It was these seemingly fake names (though they weren't) that endeared me to Sally and Tony. And the whole idea of Sally and Tony.

It was rainy and misty in Mae Salong and that only added to its allure.


We found a cozy, little collection of bungalows to stay in (same as Sally and Tony).


And we also ate some incredible noodles and drank Mae Salong's famous tea (same as Sally and Tony).

Mae Salong is a one-horse town. Or, in Thai terms, a one 7-11 town. It is inhabited by Thais of Chinese descent and in fact much of the language, food, and tea is Chinese as well. Red, Chinese lanterns hang in the street and every morning there is a market at 5am, where members from the neighboring hilltribes come down (in complete regalia) and trade goods. We actually made it to the market (saw Sally and Tony coming back) but we have no pictures.
Beautiful views from Mae Salong:

Mae Salong is small and traditional and once you've had the tea, ate the noodles, browsed the tea sets...there's really only one thing left. The wat. High on the mountain behind Mae Salong is a wat temple and to get there you only have to climb 700 stairs. Just 700. JUST 700.

Child's play compared to the entire thing:


Long story short, it was a nightmare.
But..we did it!


And it was worth it...


There's Mae Salong!


And the temple...

As we wandered through the mist, it felt like we had been transplanted into some sort of surreal sky kingdom. We had the place all to ourselves (Sally and Tony went the next day) and we moved slowly through this dream-like state, tracing the tiles with our fingers, staring up into the mist.


And it seemed this was it, destined to circle the temple, lost in the fog and our own thoughts.
And then he appeared, out of the mist, we could hear his keys jangling before we even saw him. The gatekeeper! With a smile, he unlocked the massive, wooden temple doors, and we were ushered in...

We moved like ghosts. It was so quiet I could hear my thoughts echoing off the walls.

It was ethereal and still and beautiful.

And then we walked down 700 steps back to our bungalow.
Which looked like this:

And we watched this:


And then we fell asleep.

And somewhere close by, Sally and Tony were probably doing the same thing.