Driving the Mae Hong Son loop – the gem of Pang Oung – Thailand

The Mae Hong Son loop is a 600 km circular route starting from Chiang Mai, into mountaineous Northern Thailand. After our first stop at Pai, we continued towards Soppong. There we were recommended by fellow travellers to get off the beaten track and drive into the villages even more up north, close to the Birmese border.

So we did and what a gem we found! Pang Oung is a beautiful village at high altitude offering fresh air, less humidity and bearable temperatures, a beautiful lake and a pine forest! When I smelled the pine trees I got so excited!

We slept overnight at the beautiful homestay guesthouse of Mr. Pa La. He grows his own coffee and serves delicious iced or hot coffee. His wife lets the magic happen in the kitchen, and that combined with the beautiful views and calm and quiet vibe on their deck it makes one of the nicest places I’ve seen in Thailand.

Mr Pa La’s homestay in Pang Oung: the deck with view on the coffee plantation neatly squized in between two huge bamboo bushes!