Now, for this trip you will need, either extensive local knowledge, a local guide, or a friend like Ally with an amazing GPS machine that shows you all the lanes and tracks that you wouldn’t know were there. We had arranged to meet at the point where we had parted company last week. It was [...]

Apparently this is the 26th annual Umbrella festival to be held in the Craft village of Bo Sang, about 20 minutes out of Chiang Mai city, towards San Kampaeng.

Don’t worry, its a 3 day event, so if you missed it yesterday then pop along today or tomorrow. The festival parade starts at 5pm. There are also stages for live music through the evening and a large food market on the main intersection at the entrance to Bo Sang.

Here’s yet another great day out for you. Quite a special one with lots of historical and cultural interest. We tend to start these days out at around 11am, due to business commitments, but if you were to set off a little earlier you’d give yourself even more time to take it all in.[...]

Its been a busy start to 2009, not just for the business but for me personally as I give my myself more and more to do. This being the case its a very ‘happy’ busy that is giving me much enthusiasm for the year ahead.[...]

Our main destination for the day was San Kampaeng Hot Springs, but to make good use of the day we called in at Bo Sang Craft Village on the way.

About half an hours drive from the centre of town, Bo Sang is a renowned centre for handicraft. Most noted are the beautiful hand painted Umbrellas, but the main street is home to a range of craft shops displaying all manner of hand crafted items, from paintings to wood carvings, jewelry to stoneware.
Having eaten we took a stroll along the main street to check out the other shops before heading back to the car and heading off to San Kampaeng Hot Springs.
The total cost of the day including the car hire and fuel was approximately 1600 baht, excluding food and peripheral spending.