Here is a taster of what you could find in Thailand if you have a care to. I will not be using specific place names or any real names of the people featured and photos will not include recognisable faces. This is for the protection of the children featured.
After a busy year running a childrens home in Chiang Mai I was in much need of a good rest. During the Songkran period I had determined to give the children 3 weeks with their families and for myself to find somewhere to relax and think of nothing.
I had thought of trying to find a Temple somewhere and asking to stay but as it happened I was invited to stay in one of the Mountain villages that one our children comes from.
This is the first part of the story of a perfect retreat for me.
Having taken the truck for testing and new Tax Disc the day before we left Chiang Mai at around 5pm , (myself, assistant Somboon and 6 children), setting off on the long drive to Nan Province.
After doing this drive in the day time last year I decided the cool of night time would be much easier.
Making several rest stops on the way we reached Nan bus station at just past 4.30.
Last years journey took 7 hours so you can see we took our time this year.
Leaving the bus station at just after 6 am we then had to travel to a couple of different villages to drop the children off with their familes.
First it was our two eldest girls at their hilltribe village.
It was good to see that the long dirt track to their village is now a tarmacked road.
Last years drive led to a broken suspension soon after.
As you can see from the photos most of the houses are basic bamboo houses with the floors being the earth that the house is built on.
As in many such villages many of these small houses accommodate extended families in very cramped conditions.
Another half an hours drive took us to where we dropped off Nu, Som and Tai.
With just the eldest boy left we first headed back to Nan City in order to sort out Boons bus ticket back to Chiang Mai where he would be taking care of the home and our 5 dogs.
We had a much needed breakfast stop on the way and then after sorting the ticket it was another hour and fifty minutes drive to our final destination, a very isolated Mountain Moobahn.
Nestled amongst the tips of a group of mountains, well off the tourist trail, it was the perfect place for my holiday.
As we needed to return to the motorbike market to complete the paperwork for the orange Wave we had agreed to meet Ally there at around 9am.
Taking the right hand turn towardds Ban Huaw Kaow, Ally first took us to what she called , ‘the alternative hot springs’. There is a Hot springs further up the main road, at Pong Nam Rorn, with a market and several food and drink outlets , which is used as a tour rest stop.
The water is, without a doubt, extremely hot , but is also disgustingly black in most of the pools and stinks to high heaven.
We were met enthusiastically by the owners golden labrador who refused to stop barking until we’d all said hello.
All caffeined up, on we went, wending our way through the hills working our way over to our main destination of Doi Khun Tan National Park. It was a long and beautiful ride. On the way we made a slight detour to our surprise lunch destination,(thanks again Ally), Tharntong Kitchen, at Tharntong Lodges. This wonderful place, nestled up in the mountain forests, with a mountain stream running through it, has been beautifully landscaped and has many wood cabins spotted around in which you can stay if you wish. With the cheapest room being 1,200 baht a night , its out of my usual budget; but for the stunning surroundings and excellent facilities, including top notch food, I’d say its worth it.
Treating myself to wild pig in red curry sauce, (120 baht..excellent quality and good portion),
e you’ll get to say hello to the resident cockatoo who is extremely friendly and poses well for the camera. He was most gentle when taking the fruit that Ally offered.
Another long, but very enjoyable ride, through more stunning scenery.
This relatively modest compound holds some beautiful Temple buildings.
What a beautiful spot, its like something out of The Railway Children, with palm trees. Lovingly landscaped and manicured, you feel you are waiting in somebodies garden rather than a station. We came across a group of farang who had been staying in lodges and had a little gripe about how long they had been waiting for the train to come. I could only remark about what a wonderful place to have to wait.
We stayed for coffee and saw their train arrive, exiting the tunnel from the mountain, that looks too small from the platform.
We had had a long ride through the day, so from here it was basically continuing on to meet the Highway 11 at Mae Ta, where we also visited the train station. Although not in quite such a stunning location, this station was equally well cared for and landscaped, where waiting for a train could only be a joy.
After a brief walk around and breakfast at the cafe we set off for our next destination, Wat Pa dara Phirom. To get there we turned right out of the car park and carried on down the road which follows the continuing canal from Chiang Mai, to a small intersection with a bridge.Turning left over the bridge and immediately left again going down the otherside of the canal took us to the very impressive Wat Pa Dara Phirom.
This Temple wat developed in the 1890s, on land donated by a decendant of the great Lanna Princess, Phra Raja Jaya, born Chao Dara Rasmi, 11th daughter to Chao Inthawichayanon, one of the last rulers of Chiang Mai and the Lanna Kingdom. Doi Inthanon was named after this King. For an excellent 
The extensive compound holds various Temple buildings and Viharns and is has feast of historical relics spotted all around.
The plush main Temple has exquisite decorations on the outside and equally extravagant decor inside, including chandeliars and a silver metal beaten image of the Princess.
There is some remarkable art work inside the white Chedi to the right of the entrance, including an interesting ‘Buddha foot’ impression in the centre.
The gardens are as stunning as the architecture with such a wide variety of trees, many of which were in glorious bloom when we visited.
Turning left out of the Temple road, towards the mountain we soon came to another Temple at a small village,Wat Ampa Wan.
We then tried taking the side road that the Temple stood at the corner of and ended up on a mud track passing some local women harvesting Jack Fruit, who happily informed us that we could carry on and just keep turning left. Well we tried, but ended up returning the way we came. Still, it was fun.
Once on that road we stopped outside the Elephant camp for a fresh coffee, passing one of the camps elephants on its way home from work, before carrying on around the Loop that takes you around the western side of Doi Suthep and its neighboring peaks.
Look out for mountain streams;
a beautiful terraced landscaped resort which we discovered, on our next trip that way, has a Thai cookery school, with classes held in the wooden construction you see at the top of the garden area.
It is not until you get to the top of the entrance steps that you realise that the grounds then extend up the hillside behind the Temple and that there are many more steps to explore the whole site.
There is a wonderful Monks building to the left of the main Temple with a roof completely covered with a lush climber with orange flowers. There was also a large courtyard which then led through to a large school in the land adjacent to the temple grounds. For more photos, please visit our 
Wat Tay Par Lam (my translator is not 100% sure on this as the sign is in Lanna language)
Needing to get back to the business there wasn’t much time for stopping elsewhere other than to catch the many fantastic views along the way.
For more photos from this day please visit our 
Guarding Chiang Mai City and out lying areas, sitting near the top of the mountain, Doi Suthep, is this beautiful Temple complex with the best view over Chiang Mai that you are likely to find.
There are varied versions of how and when this Temple was founded. It is said to have been founded in 1383. This appears to be when the first Chedi was built.
The other piece , the King placed on the back of a white elephant which was released in the jungle. The elephant is said to have climbed up Doi Suthep, which in these times called Doi Aoy Chang (Sugar Elephant Mountain). The elephant is said to have trumpeted three times before dying near the top of the mountain. Interpreting this as a sign King Nu Naone ordered the construction of a Temple at the site.
A large area at the foot of the Temple grounds is taken up by gift stalls and for those not wanting to have to scale the long, steep steps to the Temple it self, there is now a cable train available for just 10 baht per person.
Within the Temple compound at the top there are coffee and snack shops and regular shows of traditional dancing and music by local school children.
Within the inner compound is the Chedi, surrounded by many many sacred Buddha images.
The road, on the whole, is very good and for the most part was quite empty.
The guest house had a very nice friendly feel to it, had a range of accommodation, from dorm beds to air con rooms. We settled on a double room with fan.
Having breakfast, I was joined by another guest, Martin, a German guy who had been living in America for 6 years. We discovered that we were heading in roughly the same direction and struck up a plan to travel together.Martin was a funny guy, after we convinced him to hire a motorcy, ( having never ridden one before), he then took an awfully long time tying his bags on, being somewhat overcautious. But each to his own:).
When the rain receded we carried on, very carefully, to our destination.
Beautiful , but not so big, after about 40 minutes there we decided to head back down and on to Maesai.
Boon went ahead with Martin to find some help. I carried on down, walking the bike, until they returned just 10 minutes later with a foot pump, borrowed from a repair shop nearby. After putting enough air in so that I could ride it slowly, we took the bike down to the workshop, where a very friendly guy replaced the inner tube in 10 minutes.Whilst waiting, some of the mechanics friends offered us local Thai ‘whiskey’. Not wanting to appear impolite, I accepted a small glass of the clear liquid, that tasted more like schnapps. Just as well that I just had the 1….it was extremely potent.
When we arrived there were many people there sitting outside the house, under a rough lean-to, drinking Thai whiskey. It was an interesting night, we received a warm welcome and the various people did their best to chat with us through Somboon.The striplight we were sitting under attracted hundreds of winged insects.
Waking early with a headache I joined boons aunt and younger brother as the boy prepared for school.
Sure enough the insects from the night before had been de-winged and fried up.
After breakfast we called in at the next ‘uncle’ who lived in one of the traditional wooden stilted houses, where another uncle was busy woodworking. This family was obviously better off and we were even able to get a heated shower and a more substantial breakfast. We stayed for nearly an hour, during which time I was offered a similar house down the lane.
Off for our next tour destination, 
