A 40 minute flight from Chiang Mai over mist clad jungles takes you to Mae Hong Son, a small provincial town set in the midst of beautiful unspoiled landscapes, rivers and waterfalls, Burmese style temples and pagodas, and is the perfect setting for an elephant safari. Mae Hong Son is famous for its golden wild sunflowers (DokBua Thong) which burst into bloom each November and early December and the province is home to the famous long necked Karen hill tribe. Also popular nowadays are the nearby small towns of Pai and Mae Sariang. Another Northern Province well worth visiting is Sukhothai, with its two ancient historical parks of Sukhothai and Sri Satchanalai that date back to the 13th Century and one of Thailand’s golden ages under the renowned King Ramkhamhaeng, who created the Thai alphabet and laid the foundation for modern day Thai politics, the monarchy and religion.