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The wild sunflowers of Doi Mae U-Kho in Northern Thailand (Mae Hong Son province) bloom during November and early December, painting the entire mountain of Doi Mae U-kho in gold. The flowers are also known as Bua tong in Thai or Golden lotus and are actually Mexican sunflowers.

The area that the sunflowers cover is more than 1,000 rai (400 Acres). The Bua Tong Forest Park is located on the mountain of Doi Mae U-Kho, 1,600 meters above sea level. Imagine entire mountain sides and valleys in bright colors of yellow, blue, green and occasionally pink. It is a divine sight.

In November you are almost guaranteed stunning blue skies and pleasant temperatures for your drive. You won’t have the sunflower fields to yourself as they’re just too beautiful to keep people away, but it’s hard to blame anyone for wanting to experience such a surreal and beautiful setting. You’ll find that most of the tourists at the sunflower fields are Thai since most guidebooks doesn’t mention this spectacular sight.

Along the way as you get closer to Khun Yuam, you’ll see the farmers bringing in the rice harvest and threshing by hand, and increasing quantities of naturally blooming sunflowers bursting from the road side.

Getting there

From Mae Hong Son, take 108 highway South to Khun Yuam, before turning off and following the signs for the last 30 KM to the sunflowers. You should allow 2-3 hours from Mae Hong Son to Khun Yuam, and about 45 minutes from the turn-off to get to Doi Mae U-Kho.

From Chiang Mai, the fastest route is highway 108 via Mae Sariang where you turn North towards Mae Hong Son. You should allow about 5 hours from Chiang Mai to Khun Yuam by car, and longer by motorbike. We’d recommend staying the night in Khun Yuam (as we did) and viewing the sunflowers at sunset and early morning.

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The Golden Triangle Rider website describes the Samoeng / Mae Sa valley loop as “…the best 100 kms ride in North Thailand“. We have done the loop several times now, and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get out of Chiang Mai and see some of the surrounding countryside and mountains for the day.

A few weeks ago, on a sunny weekend day, a group of us decided to do the loop to get out of Chiang Mai for the afternoon. It was the first time Tina and I had taken the video camera out with us on the bike…you can see the resulting 5 minute video below.

The Samoeng loop is usually about 100kms (if you follow the route on the GT Rider website), however we took a bit of a detour through some villages and rice paddies to go to the Mae Sap cave which meant that the trip ended up nearer 130kms. Unfortunately, as we didn’t have a torch/flashlight with us we weren’t able to venture more than a few metres inside the cave…so if you’re planning on heading there, take one!

If you’re interested in doing the trip yourselves - we recommend referring to the map on the GT Rider website. We would like to thank Death in Vegas for using a sample from the tune ‘Aisha’ in the video.

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The rainy season in Chiang Mai is fascinating and lasts from around June to about October. As opposed to most guidebooks I actually recommend people visit the city during this time of the year. There are several reasons for this: a) the rainy season doesn’t mean that it rains day and night, far from the truth. It may rain for one hour in the late afternoon and then not rain for the next 5 days or rain all night (when good children are asleep ), b) Everything becomes green and the air is fresh after the little rain has gone. This time is beautiful, with many wild flowers around, and it is nice for trekking or visiting the mountains which is one of the main reasons people come to Chiang Mai, c) There is a very low level of pollution as opposed to the end of the cold season (from February to April) in which the levels of pollution becomes a hazard to health. During the rainy season the air is fresh in the morning, and the daytime is not too hot, d) The accommodation in the city is much cheaper than in the high season (from November until January).

All of this being said, I will have to warm you about the amounts of rain that comes down when it does rain. Within a matter of minutes it can change (and usually does) from a few drops to a torrential downpour which often leaves the streets flooded. The rain is usually heaviest in September, with an average precipitation of 250mm for that month. Another downside to the rainy season is the amount of mosquitoes in the beginning (May – June) – do put lots of mosquito repellent on.

The “rainy season” video below was taken on September 16th and shows you how much rain comes down at one time – enjoy

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I just thought I’d post this video to show the mayhem that Tina and I experienced on Hadrin beach, Koh Phangan for New Year 2006/2007. Four days later, on the 4th January, it was followed by a full moon party. Haad Rin on Koh Phangan is not for the faint-hearted generally, but as the video shows, at this time of year it goes absolutely mental. If you’re not into partying - go somewhere else

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