Ever since we came to Thailand and experienced the heat, I have had a dream of driving to the highest peak and drinking hot cocoa. 2016 was finally my year! With Krew Ray's family I got to experience my second mountaintop in one year.
Doi Inthanon national park is very beautiful. We have driven this way many times but always stopped or turned before going up to the top. I was a bit shocked at the price increase for westerners. The western price is expensive by Thai standards at 300 Baht per person, but there are a lot of stops to make along the way. I felt bad that Krew Ray's family was treating us as there was no way to negotiate to the Thai price.
The waterfalls were absolutely amazing! Some of them were so large it was hard to capture in one shot without being far away. This one is seventy meters high, and it can get you a bit wet if you're too close.
It's not as bad as standing on the bridge of splash water falls, but it was refreshing.
This is color enhanced a bit, but you can see a rainbow at the bottom.
Domestic animals are prohibited, but wild ones are welcome? I guess it's difficult to prohibit wild ones.
We stopped at this village that is right off of the main road. We were a bit early to see the ready-to-harvest golden fields, but the view of the terraces were still pretty.
We're almost to the top!
Finally! We're at the summit and enjoying the cool temperature. It was about 64 degrees the morning we were there, but it had been down to 52 that night.
We enjoyed having the wireless feature on our new camera. Rusty can use his phone to communicate with it, and it makes it great for group shots.
"I just ordered my hot chocolate!"
We stopped by a garden area that has two pagodas built in honor of the king and queen. The gardens are beautiful and filled with flower and plant varieties that are not easily grown in the harsher conditions of the city. The hydrangeas that are found here really put my struggling plants to shame!
It can be difficult to get clear view shots on the mountain. We saw a lot of fog that would come in and keep us from getting a far-reaching shot. But who can complain when the weather is so nice?
We ate lunch at the royal project restaurant where they make use of the varieties that are grown locally for the king's agricultural project. I splurged and ordered the trout which is farmed as part of the project. Everyone got a bite of my $9 fish. They thought it was funny and expensive, but I figured this was my one shot so I would enjoy it. The waterfall up above can be seen from the royal project park and can be accessed from there as well.
I love this picture just because Mr. Niyom is playing around by putting his head in the cutout spot. It's so seldom he cuts up!
We finished out the afternoon with three more waterfalls. They were all beautiful and worth seeing. This one is fifty meters high and is supposed to have water all year. That's important to know!
We've been to this waterfall several times in the past. Earlier this year we posted pictures of it on Facebook as it was flooded.
By the time we got to the last waterfall, I think we had worn out Mr. Niyom. He was already thinking about the long drive back home, but we all enjoyed the hike back to see this one. It was worth the walk! It's 250 meters high and fans out as it comes down the mountain. It's about 500 meters from the parking area, but it wasn't bad since the weather was cool.
The boys enjoyed it, but I think even they were getting a bit tired.
We drove back to the city and enjoyed supper in our village. Then it was back home to get some rest for an early departure.
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