“An unforgettable experience”: the Israelis who discovered an unfamiliar place in the most familiar country

Rona Filar Shakh met Guy, her husband, while they were working together at a wine bar in Tel Aviv in 2012. After about a month together, they went on a two-month trip to India and Thailand, and in the process made a decision to extend the trip for another two years both in the East and in European destinations.

In 2014, when Rona finished her fashion studies at Shankar, they flew together to China for work, and stayed there for about seven years. “The time in China, which also included countless work trips and trips around the world, made us realize that life abroad is exactly what we want, and we started looking for destinations,” Rona shares in a conversation with mako. A year later, our son, Uri, was born, and we returned to China as a family.”

At the end of 2021, they flew to Kopenhagen for a vacation, this time with their little son, and there they made the decision to move their lives to Thailand for a few years. “We left our jobs in China and started rebuilding ourselves on the island. With the tools and knowledge we acquired over the years in China, and with the help of several courses in photography marketing and editing, we started our journey in independence, to be free and work from anywhere, and along the way my Instagram page was born that authentically shares our travels in the world and everything in between.”

During their stay in Thailand, Rona and Guy had the idea of ​​making a special trip in the north of the country, with a route that people hardly know – and in a caravan. “In the past, we traveled in southern Portugal, northern Italy and other places with a caravan, and we decided that we wanted to do it in Thailand, and this is something we’ve been thinking about for a long time. This type of trip is not very common, but the infrastructure here is simply amazing for such a trip. Thailand is full of overnight parking lots and refreshment stations that really invite you to stop and rest.”

The Israelis found a Thai couple who offered a compact and well-equipped caravan in Bangkok at a cost of $100 per day, which exactly matched Rona and Guy’s requirements. “We planned a route that goes around the area in the north called ‘Mei Hong Son’ (Mae Hong Son) with some changes of our own and we set off from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, which was actually our starting point in northern Thailand.”

“We started at Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand, and from there we continued north,” Rona shares. “We passed through villages and districts, met friends, dipped in springs and crossed mountains and caves. Every night we slept in a different camp, at a basic cost of 100-200 baht, which gives you space, toilets, a hot shower, and a connection to electricity and water intended for the caravan, along with a breathtaking view. At each camp, you can order for dinner ‘Mookata’ – a traditional Thai barbecue at a cost of up to 500 baht For the family. It’s a grill placed on a charcoal pot with a grilling grid for meats and vegetables, the base of which turns into a delicious soup in which the vegetables and noodles are cooked. It was a particularly comforting and pampering experience in the cool weather of the north.”

Medui Inton, Rona and Guy, together with their 5-year-old son Uri, traveled to two other towns in the area and also made a two-night stop in Pai, from there they continued to the northernmost point they reached – Ban Rak Thai, a picturesque Chinese village that sits on a lake and is about a three-hour drive from Pai, which is known to all Israeli travelers. “It’s a long and winding road but worth every effort!”, says Rona. “This village is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the trip. Beyond the wonderful things, there were also quite a few challenges, including very cold weather at night, local food, and sometimes long and difficult journeys on dirt roads. But the scenery, the views, the food, and the meeting with the bright-faced Thais that we have not encountered anywhere else, were worth it all.”

After that, they drove along the Myanmar border to the town of Mae Hong Son which is actually the center of the province, and according to Rona is not appreciated enough. “Everything there felt a bit like ‘Thailand of the past’. Low prices, authentic markets, food, plenty of attractions, alongside lots of local tourists and almost zero foreigners. There we chose to pamper ourselves and sleep at the resort where Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt stayed during their trips to the region. It turns out that it was one of Angelina’s favorite destinations for a certain period and she used to come there often. It is a simple, ecological and authentic place.”

Later, they passed through several more towns, nature sites and stunning villages that surround the area, on the way to their next high point which was Mount Gloselo, a tiny village of the Karen tribe that overlooks Myanmar and the river that separates it from Thailand. “The climb to the mountain was a piece of extreme. Two hours of challenging off-road driving in a heavy vehicle, without dual-wheel drive, between streams, rocks and particularly steep ups and downs, for a moment we thought of turning back. Once we got to the top we were simply amazed and said ‘wow’, we wanted to stay there forever. At the edge of the mountain, the local tribe hosts the visitors. There are a few places that serve food, there is no reception, and not a single word of English, but the local people Very cute, pleasant and want to help. Accommodation is in tents or cars only, there are no rooms and only overnight parking. The next morning we woke up to a crazy carpet of clouds.”

Rona testifies that for them the long road trips were one big experience, even with a five-year-old child. “At each stop, the locals gave us and Uri small gifts such as fruit, drinks, wood for the fire, and sweets. We excelled ahead of time in craft materials, assembly games, sports activities and books, and we made sure to make multiple stops on our trips and included Uri in everything we did, from making coffee on the stove every morning, chopping wood, lighting a fire, and washing dishes. We also stopped at many local farms, he took care of In two-day-old pigs, there were goats and lambs, and it was simply magical.”

“Most of the tourism in this area is mainly within Thailand. There are very few tourists from Europe, and we encountered maybe two Israeli families during the entire trip,” says Rona. “On the one hand, there is all the necessary infrastructure there, and on the other hand, there is a wild and powerful nature that feels untouched. The coffee culture is very developed with lots of growing fields and agriculture, which is actually a historical project of the previous king of Thailand who decided to fight the opium crops and replaced them with coffee.”

According to her, the villages and places in the area are prepared to receive foreign tourists, but because it is an area that requires a long and sometimes challenging drive, most tourists stay in the comfort zones in the rest of the country. “However, we did see data showing that this destination is gaining momentum in recent years and registering a jump in searches. It is without a doubt the destination for nature lovers who want to escape the crowds of Pai and I believe that according to the situation of the tourist load in the other destinations, these destinations will begin to receive more attention.”

Rona and Guy define the area as a paradise for nature and driving enthusiasts. “It has hot and cold springs, a natural mud spa, authentic villages of local tribes, huge caves and never-ending nature reserves. At every stage of the trip when we opened a map to see what was around there were countless possibilities. In addition, the roads there are maintained with thousands of curves and for those who like to ride or drive it is simply a dream. There is also an endless traditional culinary culture and at very, very low prices, and it is a very different experience from what everyone knows in the islands or in the center”.