Glistening vistas of frozen dew, masses of cold air and fog have attracted thousands of tourists to the national parks and resorts in the highlands of Thailand’s North and Northeast.
At Doi Intanon national park on the famed Intanon mountain, Thailand’s highest standing in dignity at 2,330 meters above sea level, lodgings were fully occupied and hundreds of tents were pitched over the Constitution Day long weekend as tourists swarmed to enjoy falling temperatures and witness the frozen dew.
Kriangsak Thanompan, chief of Doi Intanon national park, said nearly 10,000 tourists visited the park during the three-day holiday as the temperature dropped rapidly.
Frozen dew – ice crystals – dropped on the ground and trees, with the natural phenomenon lasting throughout the week, he said.
He said the park normally accommodates about 1,000 visitors per day to avoid overcrowding while holidaymakers are allowed to set up tents in specially-provided areas.
Kriangsak urged visitors to visit Doi Intanon by buses available at the entrance of the national park instead of driving their cars to prevent traffic congestion.
Visuth Buachum, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Chiang Mai office, said hospitality and tourist-related businesses generated over Bt200 million revenue a day during the long weekend while more than 30,000 vehicles entered the province.
Another two northern provinces, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son, have been equally favored by worshippers of the cold weather.
Temperatures dropped to 12 degrees Celsius on Doi Mae Salong, about 1,200 meters above sea level, in Chiang Rai and the northernmost province of Mae Hong Son.
At Pa Mor E-Dang in Khao Phra Viharn National Park, Si Sa Ket province bordering Cambodia, tourists stayed overnight amid the cold weather and sea of fog in the morning.
