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Urban jungle escape... #stickywaterfall #buatongwaterfall #chiangmai #thailand #globalwanderer #travelgram #wanderlust (at Bua Tong Waterfall)

#globalwanderer #buatongwaterfall #chiangmai #thailand #wanderlust #travelgram #stickywaterfall

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Walking up the sticky (not so sticky in places) waterfall in Chiang Mai #stickyfalls #stickywaterfall #buatongwaterfall #culturetrip #waterfall #thailandwaterfall #chiangmai #trailheadthailand #gopro7 #goprothailand #hyperlapse https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxeo7_0HJOf/?igshid=17rxr1yisk0nn

#stickyfalls #stickywaterfall #buatongwaterfall #culturetrip #waterfall #thailandwaterfall #chiangmai #trailheadthailand #gopro7 #goprothailand #hyperlapse

roadbike to Buatong Waterfall #nkbikerentals #roadbikehire #roadbike #chiangmaitrip #bicycletrip #chiangmai #buatongwaterfall #vegan (ที่ NK Bike Rentals)

#chiangmai #nkbikerentals #roadbikehire #buatongwaterfall #chiangmaitrip #vegan #bicycletrip #roadbike

Buatong Waterfall or Sticky Waterfall is a one of a kind waterfall located in the Chetsi Spring Forest Park, about 71 km from Chiang Mai.

#thailand #chiangmai #stickywaterfall #buatongwaterfall #limestone #namphuchetsi #sevencolorsspring #chetsispringforestpark

Thailand - Chiang Mai - Bua Tong Waterfalls (Sticky Waterfalls)

May 19 - One thing that I was really hoping to do with Mike was to explore the "Sticky Waterfall", that I so fondly remembered from my last trip to Chiang Mai. The only problem was that it wasn't in the guidebooks, and it seemed that the only way to get there would be to hire a private songtaew for the day or rent a scooter (which our travel insurance doesn't cover :( We decided to splurge on the songtaew and as were leaving our guesthouse, decided to ask the owner if he knew of a way to go. He pulled out a binder and gave us some information on the waterfall itself, as well as directions using the local bus! A much cheaper (and more adventurous!) option. We walked 10 minutes north of our guesthouse to the small bus station (one of many in Chiang Mai, each station provides transportation to different locations). Then, we had to locate the small shop that was selling tickets to the town of Phrao, and indicate that wanted to go to the waterfall, which is about 50 km north of Chiang Mai, and 45 km before Phrao. We ran back and forth between bus drivers that couldn't speak any English, to the "information" desk where one person spoke broken English before we finally located the shop (and thankfully one person there spoke enough English to sell us tickets for the bus that was leaving in 2 minutes!). We quickly bought the tickets, and learned that we would be dropped off on the road, where we would have to walk the final 3 km to the waterfall, and then when we wanted to return to Chiang Mai, we would have to walk back out to the final road and flag down a bus (and hopefully there would be 2 seats). Off we went, and were dropped off as promised on the side of the road. We started down the small road in the direction of the waterfall, and not too long into the walk, a songtaew with 4 tourists stopped and the driver asked we wanted a ride. When we asked how much, he said you decide, so I jokingly said "1 baht" and he smiled and laughed and said "get in". So, we hitched a ride and got to the waterfalls much quicker than anticipated. When we got out, we asked the driver how much he wanted for our ride and told us it was free! We told the driver and the other tourists that we would consider getting a ride back with them in 2 hours, but we didn't want to be constrained by their schedule, so they shouldn't wait around for us if we weren't back when they wanted to leave. As we were walking towards the falls, we decided that although the sontaew ride back would cost us more than the bus, it was probably still worth it. We set our alarm for 2 hours and then took some time exploring the waterfalls. Since it was a bit overcast, a weekday and the beginning of the low season, as well as the waterfall being "off the tourist path", we were one of a handful of people there. The neat thing about this waterfall is that due to the mineral content of the water, the rocks have a relatively non-slip surface (they feel like a high grade sandpaper to the touch), and this combined with the "bubble-like steps" of the falls, makes it fairly easy to walk up. The water source is a spring, so even at the beginning of wet season, water still flows over the rocks (although it is more of a gentle cascade at times, due to the gradual ascent). After going up and down the waterfalls a few times, our alarm told us it was now 2 hours. We had heard some thunder in the distance for awhile, and the sky opened up and down poured rain. We raced to the parking lot, only to find that the songtaew had already left. There was another songtaew there, but it wasn't leaving for another few hours and there was no guarantee that the people that hired it would let us hitch a ride with them. So, we waited a few minutes under a tree until the rain let up and then decided to start walking to the main road where we planned to flag down a bus back to Chiang Mai. Shortly into our walk, a pickup truck came up behind us, and I decided to stick out my thumb (we saw quite a few hitchhikers in our travels around Southeast Asia, so it didn't seem too risky). To my surprise, they pulled over! Unfortunately, we learned that they were headed to Phrao, the opposite direction of Chiang Mai, but they offered to drive us the 3 km to the main road. We got into the back of the cab and zipped down the road, feeling slightly exhilarated. They were kind enough to go slightly out of their way and drop us off at a bamboo-covered bench and were told that this was the "bus station". We thanked them and then stood there waiting for a bus or songtaew. A little while later, a local woman stood about 50 feet away and also tried flagging down a ride. Vehicle after vehicle went by, but none stopped. After an hour we were feeling frustrated. We saw the other woman using her cellphone, and when a pickup truck stopped near her, we thought "great, she just called for a ride, and we are still stuck". We saw her talk to the driver, and I saw her look over at us and point to us. Quickly we grabbed our bags and ran over. We told the driver that we were wanting to go to Chiang Mai. The driver (a woman about my age) told us that the other woman had explained to her that the bus hadn't come and wasn't sure when (or if) if would. She told us that although she wasn't going to Chiang Mai, she would take us part of the ways and take us to the bus station. All 3 of us got into the back of the pickup and rode for about 20 minutes on the main road. They dropped us off at the "bus station" which was a group of parked songtaews on the shoulder of the rode and helped us negotiate a fare to Chiang Mai. We were told that the songtaew wasn't heading all the way into Chiang Mai, but would drop us off at the northern end of the city. Gratefully we got in with the other local woman and said farewell to the very kind driver of the pickup truck. The songtaew drove quite slowly for about 10 minutes and we realized that he was hoping to pick up other passengers en route. Soon the songtaew was full, or so we thought, until the driver picked up another 6 passengers! There were people filling the benches, a few people sitting at our feet, and at least half a dozen were standing outside hanging on to the back. It was hard get an accurate number (as I couldn't see all the passengers outside the truck), but I counted 21 people. When the driver stopped to pick up the last group of passengers, he got out of his seat and talked with a few of the other passengers in Thai. At one point, he was looking at us while he was talking. I presumed that he was trying to plan the best route to meet everyone's needs. After about 15 minutes, he stopped at the edge of the city and got out and told us to get out too. He explained in broken English that this was as far as he could take us, but told us to wait there at the bus stop and wait for a bus or songtaew that was going into Chiang Mai. As we went to pay, he told us not to worry about it. We aren't too sure, but perhaps when he originally quoted us the fare, it was based on a trip further into the city, and when most of he other passengers wanted to go a different direction, he dropped us off. So again we waited, this time for about 15 minutes, when a nearly full songtaew pulled up. It appeared that there was a spot for 1 person on the bench and 1 of us would have to join the others standing on the rail at the back of the truck. Just as it was pulling away, one of the guys on the inside decided to give us his seat, and stood at the back. I thought that the last songtaew was really full...I was wrong! We kept picking more and more people up, and I counted 26 people in/on this vehicle. We drove into the city, until the songtaew stopped again, and every one got out. Due to our previously good experiences with free rides and honest drivers, I had dropped my guard and failed to ask this driver how much the ride would be before we got in. When we got out he told us what we owed him - which was more than double what the previous songtauw had quoted us and for an even shorter ride, so after some bartering, we settled on a smaller amount, although we thought it was still more than it should have been. We then had the choice of taking another songtaew the 3 km to our guest house, or we could walk. We decided to get some exercise and walk back. Other than the last songtaew driver that we had, we were incredibly blessed by all the people that we had met that day. Our "day out" turned out to be very inexpensive (about $3 for each of us for the bus and songtaew, the admission to the waterfall was free). We laughed as we realized that it took a 1 hour bus ride to get to the waterfall, but it was a 3 hour 'journey' back, using 4 vehicles and our feet. Although our way back was the cheaper option, it was not the most efficient. We probably will not make hitchhiking our hobby anytime soon :)

~ Leah