Mae Kam Pong and The 9-Headed Dragon

Mae Kam Pong is a small mountain village about 40km out of Chiangmai. Recently, some youtubers posted contents about this place, claiming it to be one of the most beautiful in Thailand. Elevation is about 1300m above MSL. With this elevation, the small road leading up to it as expected; squiggly and steep. Some caution required. But it isn’t that bad. And having said that, I did tip over while attempting a U-turn at the top of a steep incline. But no damage though, as I already mastered the skill of tipping over. Ahem. Just let the bike down as gently as possible and at the last moment, do a small roll away from the bike and stand up like a superhero. Didn’t even scratch my helmet. Nobody applauded.

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And yes. It is indeed a quaint, unusual and beautiful place with wonderful sceneries all around. The houses, shops, and homestays are built with wood from the woods. Except for the foundation of hard concrete. At the front of the few eateries, you face the sloping streets with cute and weathered facades of small wood builds on both sides, some 2-storied, brighten by their colourful cottage-industry products. Looking away from the back, you get views of green hills and valleys below, and a small stream which would become a river further down. Everything just fit. It is a tourist magnet but the inhabitants are unlike those that make their living off tourism in big cities. You are pretty much left to your own, to browse the products, or see how they prepare their street food or take photos of what you fancy. You can sit anywhere by the narrow street and just take in the scene and enjoy the atmosphere. Nobody bothers you. It has a coin-operated petrol pump at the start of the street. It runs empty sometimes. Really, simply, beautiful.

A small place, it is, but a big impression, it leaves.

About a third of the way down from Mae Kam Pong, we side-tracked and visited a wat situated at the cul-de-sac. Actually, it looks more like a Taoist or Hindu temple, because among the Buddha statues, there were also figures of deities. Also very prominent was the sculpture of a huge 9-headed dragon with its elongated body twisting gracefully to the right and doubling back to the left, the tail curling and reaching skywards. Nestle within the folds of the dragon sat a deity. The dragon’s 9 heads are in a formation that resembles the hood of a cobra, hovering over the deity protectively. Reminds me of Hinduism. There is another smaller version of the dragon with fewer heads and a different deity standing next to it. There were other deities as well, and many big Buddha statues. The dragons were painted gold and other bright colours. The deities were brightly painted too. And the stream that flows from Mae Kam Pong, cool & clear, only ankle deep, has become much wider now as it runs by this temple. Pretty stunning.