The Royal Thai Air Force is inviting visitors to the Phra Maha That Nopphamethanidon Nopphaphon Phumisiri pagodas on Doi Inthanon to look at the fog, with the cool season now under way.
Group Capt Thaksin Chantharasorn, head of the working group at the site, said the lawn in front of the pagodas gives a high view over Mae Chaem district. On a clear day, he said, you can make out the houses below. When the mist rolls in, you get the sea of cloud instead. The viewpoint is open daily from 7am to 5pm.
Visitors to Doi Inthanon National Park can catch a shuttle every day from the helicopter pad, opposite the entrance to the Kio Mae Pan nature trail. Hydrangeas, impatiens and other cool-season flowers are in bloom around the grounds, and there is an escalator on the way up to the pagodas for older visitors.
Group Capt Thaksin and his deputy, Group Capt Chakkan Kanthachomphu, took Chom Thong district chief Nathakon Phatthawanon up for a look at the view.
The air force is also still building. A third pagoda, 37 metres tall, will house relics of the Buddha. On November 11, the air force commander is due to preside over the raising of the main and secondary pillars, and the public is invited to donate towards construction. The appeal is pitched at anyone who visits, and the pagoda, the air force noted, sits at the highest point in Thailand.
