There’s something liberating about being out on the side of the mountain, exposed to the weather and with nothing to keep you from harm but your own skills. I recently had that fantastic feeling out on the slopes of Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand. I’d read about the mountain on a list of things to do in Chiang Mai – I’ve lived there for six months, and I had no idea that such a high mountain was nearby.
I wanted to climb the mountain, but first I had to contend with the notorious Chiang Mai weather. At this time of the year the weather in Chiang Mai is often awful – the south west monsoon from India brings rain every single day, often heavy and often several times of the day. It can be dangerous up on the mountain with such heavy rain, as there are often mudslides.
Anyway, I found myself a good day to go, but at the last minute I was called away to Bangkok to help develop a Bangkok BTS guide for tourists coming to the city for the first time. The BTS, if you didn’t know, is the elevated train network that passes over the streets of Bangkok, and it can be a pain in the ass to use the network for the first time.
After finishing the job and returning to Chiang Mai I had to wait another two weeks to hit the mountain thanks to the Chiang Mai weather. There had been severe flooding all across Thailand -so bad that quite a lot of people died – so I couldn’t risk heading solo for the mountain in case of problems.
Anyway, this week I finally got out onto the mountain, and it was everything I’d hoped for and more. Up at over 7,500 feet the views are incredible, and it’s amazing to be up there alone. If you ever find yourself in Chiang Mai I really recommend you head up Doi Inthanon.
