For most Vietnamese tourists, northern Thailand is still a rather unfamiliar destination. Few people know that this land has long been a destination for free spirits.

I decided to visit northern Thailand after seeing a few pictures of Mae Hong Son province on social media. The photo showed lush green trees and bright, clear sunlight, a strong contrast to the crowded, modern Bangkok, of what I had always imagined about Thailand. That attracted and urged me to come to this land.

Taking the flight around noon, Chiang Mai welcomed me with the scorching heat of mid-November. As most people know, northern Thailand has Chiang Mai, which is one of the country's famous tourist destinations, but for Vietnamese people, compared to Bangkok, Phuket or other tourist destinations in southern Thailand, northern Thailand is still very unfamiliar.

However, information about destinations in northern Thailand is not rare. In recent years, young Vietnamese people who love Thailand and are passionate about traveling have discovered nearby destinations and discovered wonderful places that I have missed for a long time.

I had a day to get acquainted with Chiang Mai. Although it was early winter and geographically higher than other lands, it was still as hot as summer. Chiang Mai is a tourist city, so here, you still cannot feel the wildness and desertedness of the mountainous region. However, the hustle and bustle of Chiang Mai is very different from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok.

At 8 pm, I took a tuk tuk to Wua Lai Walking Street night market because I heard that this is a famous night market and only opens on Saturdays. From the gate, I could feel the noisy, bustling atmosphere of people coming and going. The grilled food stalls made the "sizzling" sound of food just placed on the charcoal grill, giving off a fragrant aroma that made even full stomachs "fall in love". Along with the laughter and the bustling bargaining, it created a lively and vibrant picture.

There is one thing that I think is not available anywhere else except here. That is the massage service right in the market. No relaxing essential oils, no welcome drinks, no professional treatment package consultation, the guests coming to "market massage" are invited by the staff to sit on plastic chairs and perform the service.

Massage guests can relax, watch people passing by, hear and smell the surrounding space. It may sound chaotic, but it is actually an interesting experience that I think everyone who comes here should try at least once. The price for an hour of massage service here is much cheaper than the massage parlors in the center, only 150 baht/hour.

At the end of my first day in Chiang Mai, I returned to the hotel and prepared for my "infiltration" into northern Thailand tomorrow morning.

I made a bold decision to choose motorbike as my means of transportation for the entire trip. Although I knew this was a big challenge as I would have to drive on the left, through winding mountain passes for the next 5 days, but if you come to northern Thailand without experiencing this feeling, your experience will not be complete.

From Chiang Mai, I started to enter Doi Inthanon National Park. In many movies, if you pay attention, the opening scene often has a scene of a car speeding on a deep road, surrounded by forests on both sides, in the gentle sunlight, now I feel like the main character in that scene.

I can see why I see so many groups of backpackers and families with small children riding in pickup trucks heading north. It’s the tourist season for Thais. A sense of peace pervades the air from the first bends and continues all the way to the end.

From Doi Inthanon, I headed towards Mae Hong Son province. The whole way was filled with mountain views hidden behind clouds, rows of tall, straight trees providing shade, making the air always fresh and cool even at noon. On the seemingly endless green expanse, I saw specks of yellow, and I just discovered that it was also the season for wild sunflowers to bloom.

Following the wildflowers, until I saw a hill dyed in yellow before my eyes, I knew I had arrived at Doi Mae U Kho, the largest wildflower hill in Thailand. Many tourists come here to admire the beauty of the wildflowers. This is also the only time of the year when this place becomes crowded because after only 2 or 3 weeks, the flower hill will return to its sad state when the last wildflowers wither.

The hill stretched on forever. What I liked most was being able to go up high and look out over the hill. From this vantage point, the line of cars parked on the winding road below looked like ants crawling across a bright yellow tablecloth.

Leaving Doi Mae U Kho, I continued on my way. The curves were now more "vicious", challenging the driver's skills. The next destination was the highest land in Mae Hong Son province, Ban Rak Thai village. It was late at night when I arrived at the village. On the long, dark road, there was not a single streetlight. Only occasionally could I "cheat" the light from the vans that were passing by. At the end of the road, the village appeared with the bright lights of lanterns and the cheerful laughter that grew louder and louder.

Ban Rak Thai at night is like a festival. I chose a riverside restaurant for dinner and watched the boats slowly drifting by, taking visitors sightseeing. Since this is the land of Chinese immigrants, when coming here, the atmosphere gives visitors a bit of a Chinese ancient town.

In the morning, Ban Rak Thai is fresh after shaking off the evening mist. Now, I can clearly see the tea hills surrounding the village. Before tourism developed, growing and producing tea was the main livelihood here. The lush green tea hills are always carefully tended, interspersed with houses with Chinese architecture that are always crowded with visitors to check in.

Not far away is the Pang Oung Mist Lake. If you are wondering where the backpackers who come to northern Thailand will stay, the shore of Pang Oung Lake is their camping ground. The reason it is called the Mist Lake is because every morning, you will see the lake covered in mist. In the silence of the standing trees. The early morning scene at the lake is full of silence.

As the sun rose, the colorful tents of the campers appeared. People flocked to the lake shore, watching the mist lingering on the water as if caressing a lover. Bamboo rafts carrying tourists to explore the lake split the water into countless perfect V-shapes. The pair of swans that King Rama 9 and his queen had gifted to the locals also woke up and swam on the lake, proudly facing the curious eyes of tourists.

Leaving the peaceful atmosphere of Ban Rak Thai village, I continued on the car and wandered to the next destination of the journey. If Ban Rak Thai is a quiet, shy young lady who always preserves traditional beauty, then Pai is a young man who is adventurous, devoted to life but very emotional and warm.

The small town of Pai, nestled under the towering hills of Mae Hong Son. In the morning, this place is quiet, evoking a feeling of melancholy like in modern romantic movies, completely different from the atmosphere when the evening comes, vibrant and full of emotions. Pai is the resting place of many travelers who consider the land and sky as their home, so when I came here, I seemed to be influenced by that energy, becoming strangely in love with this land.

Pai was also my final destination, concluding a 5-day, more than 700 km journey to explore northern Thailand. What I was left with was a bit of satisfaction mixed with regret for arriving quite late. That feeling brought back to my mind the image of the late-blooming wild sunflowers in Doi Mae U Kho. The latest blooming flowers will be the most brilliant. Just like northern Thailand for me, although I arrived late, this will be one of the destinations that left the deepest impression.