Marvel Overland Holiday

Mae Sariang sits in the southern reaches of Mae Hong Son province at the junction of Routes 105 and 108-the Mae Hong Son to Mae Sot and Mae Sariang to Chiang Mai highways. If you're doing the famous Mae Hong Son Loop by motorbike (or some other means), Mae Sariang is about as far south as you get-unless you decide to head to Umphang. While the loop is probably the reason most visitors do stop here, we reckon the town has enough to see and do, and sufficient charms, to make it worth staying for a couple of days in its own right.

For now, Mae Sariang remains a sleepy, fairly untouristy backwater. It sits on the eastern bank of the Yuam river and does more business as a small trading centre and regional market town for the surrounding farmlands than as a trekking and tourism centre-despite the dreams of some of its resident entrepreneurs, who hope it will be Thailand's next Chiang Mai-it does have more than its fair share of good places to stay.

Other than sitting with a coffee or beer and watching the Yuam flow by-which we could quite happily do for hours-there are not many sights as such in town. But you can walk around the quiet streets checking out the few wats, some old teak architecture.