Photography Thailand Forum

[Marc Schultz]

Recently Bjorn was asking me the location of the Japanese Sakura trees in the North.

A friend of mine just forwarded me some photos which were taken in Chiang Mai on Doi Kun Mae Ya. I am attaching them here, but bear in mind I do not own the copyrights to any of these pictures as they were taken by other, unknown photographers.













The next group were taken in another area close to the shots above. These were taken in Chiang Mai on Doi Pui in the Kun Chang Kean area.



























Apparently the flowers remain in bloom until February for those who might want to go to see them.

[epixx]

Wow... thanks Marc. Looks like a weekend in Chiang Mai would be useful 

[SimonP]

Yes, thanks for posting this Marc - I've always wanted to go to the north at this time of the year and this is another reason to do just that.

[Marc Schultz]

Yes, the locations really do look spectacular with their natural beauty. Sometimes, with most of the central plains being so flat, it is easy to forget that Thailand also has a very green mountainous area with beautiful vegetation like this.

I would only suggest getting in touch with the national parks department to make sure the flowers are still in bloom before you go if that is your main purpose of visiting these areas. Following is a link to the Thai Forestry web site which may also be of interest as they have info for all the national parks in Thailand:

http://www.thaiforestbooking.com/default-eng.htm

[bjorn slis]

Great stuff Marc, thanks. I was there (Doi Pui) last week to check, but there were no flowers yet. I will check again (probably tomorrow) and let you know. For those of you that want to go there, just go up Doi Suthep pass the temple andkeep going straight until the T junction, for the location of the first couple go right towards the visitors center, for the location of the last ones go left. (follow the sign to the Hill Tribe village) for the last the road is pretty bad (4WD)

[epixx]

(follow the sign to the Hill Tribe village) for the last the road is pretty bad (4WD)

Thanks for the "road-map". Would a motorbike (small, normal, light, rental one, Wave or similar) do the trick instead of a 4WD?

[bjorn slis]

I think so, that's how the villagers themselves do it, but a friend of mine went up there with a non 4WD car and they had some serious problems.
Anyway, I'll try it on my Honda Dream this week and let you know.

[Marc Schultz]

Bjorn - Just wondering if you have any new information to add on this about in terms of the road access, if the trees are blooming now, and how the general area looks? I imagine there might be a lot of local visitors too which might make it more challenging to get wide angle shots of the trees and landscape without people in the pictures.

[bjorn slis]

have been very busy but i'll be going up there again on monday (probably very early to avoid tourists) to i'll let you know

[lotuseater]

Just got back from a trip up to Doi Pui. The blossoms are all out now at least near the top of the mountian near the Hmong village. Though Doi Pui does not have the same density as the pictures that Marc posted there are a number of trees and I am sure more than a few creative shots to be had.

I didn't think the road was that bad up to the Hmong village, just about any motorbike should make it up there, just watch for people coming around the hairpins way too fast. Cars should be able to make it up to the village as well, I don't think one would need a four wheel drive to get up there when the roads are dry. It can get quite cold up there though so if you do take a bike up make sure to bring a sweater or jacket especially if you are going in the morning or the evening.

[Marc Schultz]

Cheers for that insight Ryan. If you got any snaps of the area while you were there please feel free to post them.

[lotuseater]

No sorry no pics this time, I was just up there for a motorcycle ride, didn't bring the camera. ( I have to get my one of them there fancy G10's or something else to just stick in my pocket). Going to go up again this weekend and do some shooting though.

[Marc Schultz]

Sounds great Ryan, thanks. Looking forward to seeing what the area looks like with the trees in bloom.

By the way, is that Hmong village anything of interest? Do they have any agriculture around the village and are they normally wearing any traditional garb?

[lotuseater]

I just briefly went through the Hmong village up there. It is billed as a tourist destination so I always worry about the "human zoo" aspect of it but past the village on the main road, I did run into a few women dressed in traditional dress. Those however are some serious four wheel drive roads, the peak is up there though renting quads which may not be a bad way to see the area.

[Marc Schultz]

A friend of mine just got back from visiting the Sakura trees on Pui Doi Suthep. She said that at this point many of the flowers are already falling off the trees and that the best time to go is really from late November to late December. Apparently the road getting up there is very narrow going along a steep edge. She advised a motorcycle would have been better than the car she drove up in. She said that there were times that she was scared the car might fall off the narrow edge of the road. Apparently though the road is smooth, so it would be easily navigable by motorcycle. Bean in mind, this is not first hand information, but I assume the information that my friend told me from her trip is relatively accurate.