Tha Ton: a peaceful stop at the gates of Burma

Chiang Mai, Northern Provinces, Tha Ton, Travel to Thailand

The title is self-explanatory. Tha Ton is a small provincial town west of Chiang Rai but part of the northern Chiang Mai province, in the heart of northern Thailand. It is nestled in a valley that borders nearby Burma, just 3 km away as the crow flies.

Well, as such there is nothing special about "flirting" with Burma, on the other hand, driving on this beautiful road 1089, which stretches between Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai and stopping at Tha Ton, yes!

In this case, be careful not to confuse this Tha Ton with the one in Burma (located in the Mon state, close to Hpa An, we had just passed by on our way between kyaiktiyo et Mawlamyine)

Arriving towards Tha Ton.

Summary hide

Tha Ton, starting point for exploring a little-known region

Wat Thaton: the crystal pagoda

Baan Ruam Mit, Karen village, and elephants

How to get to Thaton

Tha Ton, starting point for exploring a little-known region

It is a mountainous region, so there are plenty of waterfalls, typical villages and landscapes that are worth a visit! The area around Tha Ton is populated by various tribes (in varying numbers, there are Yao, Lisu, Lahu, Karen, Shan and also Akha). Not far from Thaton, there is the Doi Mae Salong and its Chinese village of Santikhiri.

While I know the Mae Salong area, I would love to explore the area around Tha Ton in more depth, as it is the kind of place that is not spoiled by mass tourism.

Concretely, Tha Ton itself is composed of about 2000 souls. Apart from its temple, there is not much to do in the city itself. The best option remains to rent a motorbike on site in one of the guesthouses for 300/350 baht per day.

Wat Thaton: the crystal pagoda

I, who sometimes like to add a "historical" touch, etc., for once, I don't really have any information concerning the why and how of this temple, what I know and can do is a description of the place!

Its main chedi, called “Chedi Keaw”, which can be translated as "crystal pagoda", is a bit kitsch (Keaw refers both to the color green and to glass, the material, as with the Keaw of Wat Phra Keaw in Bangkok).

And the photos speak for themselves. The colorful chedi dominates the city (well, village rather) and faces the valley, there is a great viewpoint there. Its construction is quite recent, since it started barely 10 years ago (information that I had on the official site which no longer exists… but we can see it under construction on this site, in 2008)

Inside, there are of course Buddhas, but not only that. We are welcomed in its center by this majestic coiled dragon, acting as a ramp to the heart of the bell, 2 floors higher.

From there, you can go out onto a terrace that goes around and offers a panorama over the entire valley.

Next to the area where we arrive, there are also 2 large dragon statues. Further on, continuing on the road that climbs again, we arrived at another viewpoint, a little blocked by the trees and where there was a statue of a standing Buddha.

Baan Ruam Mit, Karen village, and elephants

It is actually closer to Chiang Rai than That Ton, but since it is possible to get there from Tha Ton by boat, I will tell you about it here. Personally, I went to Tha Ton by car (starting from Chiang Saen), but I tested the part between Chiang Rai and the Karen village of Baan Ruam Mit (also written as one word Ruammit), by boat. A journey that lasts 1 hour, the Kok River crossing the region allowing the connection between Chiang Rai and Tha Ton by boat in the right season (see the section “How to get to Tha Ton”).

Baan Ruam Mit is also a a village with elephants, although here I suspected that it would not be a place to recommend…

However, having walked along the main street, I still appreciated the atmosphere that emanated from the village itself, these smiling inhabitants, weaving clothes on the side of the road, its church (a change from Thai temples!), we felt a certain tranquility in this peaceful village.

As I was saying, on the elephant side, you will have to move on. Already, when disembarking from the boat, we are greeted by souvenir shops, and I think that elephants are lost in the gears of tourism. Certainly here, there is no show type, paintings, elephants clowning around, etc.

Of course, not all the mahouts had the famous hook to guide them (and that remains a good sign), of course, it is a place with few elephants, offering 2-hour walks in the forest to see real villages, or along the river but…

Brand new, concrete reception… too bad.

But I can't help but see these chains, observe some scars on some elephants, and especially see this brand new concrete center, from where the tourists embark, and which demonstrates to my eyes that the village is getting lost in mass tourism.

During my research, looking at older photos of the village, we see that the elephants roamed more or less freely and welcomed you there at the edge of the river when you arrived from the boat. The structures were made of wood and right on the edge of the river (all the more logical since that's what these elephants were used for in the past, transporting wood from the nearby forests).

Too bad, but you are expected.

How to get to Thaton

The 2 simplest solutions:

- From Chiang Mai, take a bus from Chang Phuak bus station (north of Chiang Mai), the journey takes between 3 and 4 hours for a cost of 90 baht.

- From Chiang Rai, there is a boat that connects Thaton to Chiang Rai (mentioned above), sailing on the Kok River. Allow between 3 and 4 hours of travel for a cost of 350 baht per person (be careful though, since it must be at least 4 people, otherwise you can take the boat by charter for 2200 baht). In the direction Chiang Rai – Thaton, it is against the current so allow between 4 and 5 hours of travel.

To take the boat, you have to go to the bank of the Kok River, just in front of the Dusit Island Resort hotel in Chiang Rai. It's a small boarding pier, not very well indicated (but thanks google maps for allowing me to find the place!)