|
Leafy THA TON , 176km north of Chiang Mai, huddles each side of a bridge over the Kok River, which flows out of Burma 4km upstream. The main attractions here are boat and raft rides, but if you've got a morning to kill, visit the over-the-top ornamental gardens of Wat Tha Ton on the south side of the bridge. Travelling down the hundred-kilometre stretch of the Kok River to Chiang Rai gives you a chance to soak up a rich diversity of typical northern landscapes, through rice fields and orchards, past riverside wats and over rapids. The police have several riverside checkpoints, and at Mae Salak you'll be asked to show your passport. Noisy, canopied longtail boats leave from the south side of the bridge in Tha Ton every day at 12.30pm for the four-hour trip to Chiang Rai (B200, plus B300 for motorbikes). Boats from Chiang Rai leave at 10.30am. If you have more time, choose the peaceful bamboo rafts which glide downriver to Chiang Rai in two days. They leave at about 8am, take four to six people and the price includes mats, sleeping bags and food. Thip's Traveller House organizes the standard two-day raft trips (B1500), with a night spent in a Lahu village and an elephant ride. Buses between Chiang Mai's northern Chang Phuak bus station and Tha Ton take about four hours, but many buses go only as far as Fang, 23km short of Tha Ton, from where you should take a songthaew. Thip's Traveller House (tel 053/459312; under $5), on the south side of the bridge, is the best budget place to stay in Tha Ton, with decent en-suite rooms and good food. Mrs Thip organizes rafting packages to Chiang Rai and longtail trips to the Burmese border, twenty minutes upstream. On the north side of the river, Garden Home (under $10), 300m from the bridge on the north side of the river, has attractive en-suite bungalows in an orchard, and rents bikes.
Your Tip for Tha Ton
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Tha Ton - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Tha Ton - visit the main Tha Ton forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Tha Ton webguide section below! Thanks.
|
