Tea plantations in Thailand

Tea plantations are a very picturesque sight. I had seen photos of tea plantations from other countries in Southeast Asia (Malaysia) and always dreamed of visiting there myself.

I am not yet ready to travel abroad, but during a trip to the north of Thailand I found out that in the province of Chiang Rai there are tea plantations (or as some call them “tea farms”). Therefore, when I reached Chiang Rai, first of all I visited the tea plantations.

I visited two tea plantations and did not taste a drop of tea! I will tell you more about this below.

In all the places that I will talk about below, admission is free. All these places are located in the Chiang Rai province of Thailand.

Tea Plantation 101 Doi Mae Salong

Coordinates of this place: https://www.google.com/maps/@20.16024,99.6591201,17z

The first tea plantation I visited is called Tea Plantation 101 Doi Mae Salong.

This is a complex that includes a hotel with stunning views of the mountains, mountain valleys and tea bushes, a restaurant, shops selling tea and related products, as well as the tea farm itself.

Video Tea Plantation 101 Doi Mae Salong – tea bushes and mountains:

Another video from Tea Plantation 101 Doi Mae Salong – a very picturesque part next to the hotel:

My photographs do not show the entire tea plantation – I saw some areas later, moving along the road.

The even stripes of tea bushes are mesmerizing. On the left side of the photo, the taller bushes used as hedges are also tea bushes, but of a different variety.

Here I found exactly what I saw in the photographs from Malaysia – a mountain slope with steps formed by rows of tea bushes – very beautiful!

There are observation decks with stunning views of the mountains. There is a heart-shaped figurine for romantic photos and more.

Having already returned home and looking through photographs from the observation platforms, I realized that the views of the mountains are beautiful, but sometimes the tea bushes are not visible from the observation platforms.

We can walk freely between the tea bushes, the only rule is not to pick leaves or damage the bushes in any other way.

In the area of the main complex of Tea Plantation 101 Doi Mae Salong there are several buildings: a restaurant, a hotel, shops, employee housing, and several other buildings apparently not currently in use.

Overall, very nice. I liked everything: the even rows of tea bushes and the view of the mountains.

Since admission is free, we decided to somehow thank this place and went to the restaurant. And for good reason! The restaurant is another vantage point.

But not only that. It was also at the Tea Plantation 101 Doi Mae Salong restaurant that I saw pork knuckle (pork leg) on the menu for the first time in Thailand. This is one of my favorite dishes and that's what I ordered. The pork knuckle was not only very tasty, but also very big! Although we were in a hurry (as always), it took my wife and I a whole hour to eat it. We were so full that we didn’t even have dinner that day. I definitely recommend this restaurant and the pork knuckle.

But there was an embarrassment with the tea. When we ordered, I asked for hot green tea. The waitress answered me:

– There is no tea.

– I don’t care whether it’s hot or cold – any local green tea.

– There’s no tea at all… But if you want, I’ll go to a nearby restaurant and order for you…

That is, this is a tea plantation and a huge green tea store, but there is no tea on the menu of their restaurant… Moreover, when we paid, I noticed that the same waitress was selling dry green tea, and in front of her there were several types of tea for a FREE sample. That is, I could just sit there and try this tea, but she didn’t bring it to me at the restaurant… It’s a little strange.

Choui Fong Tea

It's not over yet. I had planned to visit as many as three tea plantations that day, but my day started with getting my motorcycle repaired at a garage because my brakes had failed the day before. But we still managed to visit another tea farm called “Choui Fong Tea”.

Coordinates of this place: https://www.google.com/maps/@20.2001548,99.8166089,16.51z

This tea plantation turned out to be even larger and even more picturesque, but there were much more people here.

Separately, the road to here should be noted – it passes through mountainous terrain and from there there are such beautiful views that some viewpoints in national parks would envy them!

The Choui Fong Tea plantation is truly grandiose – there are roads through the tea fields, there are several parking lots and several buildings with restaurants and shops.

What beautiful mountains here!

At the previous place (Tea Plantation 101 Doi Mae Salong) I constantly smelled green tea. Here I no longer paid attention to the smell.

The advantage of this place is that the tea plantations are collected in one place. That is, here there is a feeling of an “endless” sea of green tea leaves.

You can walk between the rows of green tea and take pictures, the main rule is that you cannot pick the leaves.

At about the twentieth second of this video you can see girls in stockings. Thank God, when I saw them I had already gotten off the motorcycle. But one of the cars indeed crashed into the masonry around the concrete pillar. I think the driver was just staring. Now I joke with my wife that although she has reasons to scold me for staring at women, at least I don’t crash into trees and poles))))

And another short video:

On the territory of the tea farm there is a pond and a gazebo on its shore. There are also several photo spots available.

In this photo you can see one of the restaurants overlooking the tea plantations.

Overall very nice.

We would have loved to have sat in a restaurant or at least tried the local green tea, but at the previous tea plantation we had eaten so heavily that there wasn’t even room for tea.

As a result, we spent half a day on two tea plantations and did not try green tea.

Choui Fong Tea Plantation, Ban Phaya Phraya

Another place with the name “Choui Fong Tea Plantation” but located further north in the village of Ban Phaya Phrai, very close to the border with the country of Myanmar.

Coordinates of this place: https://www.google.com/maps/@20.3267087,99.6037915,16.21z

A beautiful tea plantation, definitely worth a visit. Free admission. Located away from tourist routes.

It is recommended to photograph in the evening in good lighting. There will be a sea of fog on a winter morning. You can have a picnic. Quiet and few people. There are two entrances.

There is no entrance fee.

P.S.

Coffee plantations in Thailand? I searched but didn't find it. In the north of Thailand, wild coffee is found, but I did not find coffee farms similar to tea farms. If you know coffee plantations in Thailand, write in the comments!