A relaxing afternoon at Huay Tung Tao Lake in Chiang Mai

Jul 16, 2017
3 min read

Since arriving in Chiang Mai I have become a self confessed, Google Map Geek, searching for places to visit that are not only toddler friendly but also away from the tourist frenzy. Chiang Mai is awesome, but one of the downsides is that it’s nowhere near the ocean, however during my many google map sessions I came across Huay Tung Tao Lake!

The lake is so peaceful and picturesque. The water is still and surrounded by little grass huts that line the banks. The mountains with their low lying clouds provides the ultimate scenic backdrop.

What I loved most about Huay Tung Tao Lake was the fact that there were no tourists (well perhaps one or two) but it is mainly a place for Thai Families and their children who enjoy the Lake as a place to swim and cool off.

When you arrive at the Lake the first thing you will notice is all the dogs and puppies that reside there and in the surrounding jungle. They are mostly very timid and keep to themselves doing what dogs do. Being Dog lovers we went a bit crazy with the Doggy Happy Snaps...

We enjoyed a nice stroll around the lake before choosing our very own grass hut where we enjoyed some fried rice and a cold drink served up and prepared by one of the restaurants. There are about twenty restaurants surrounding the lake that serve food and drinks. To order you need to point at the menu which is written in both Thai and English, as the staff don't speak English very well.

If you are keen to hit the water you can hire an inflatable rubber ring and go your hardest. Or if you want to get on the water and stay reasonably dry we noticed that you can also hire a swan shaped paddle boat! If you are into cycling or running there is also a road that runs around the lake which is perfect - We noticed many fitness fanatics taking advantage of this on our visit.

I can't describe how relaxing this afternoon was. Phoenix found the grass hut to be a real novelty and loved watching all the dogs, especially the one that came up to our hut and decided to go for a bit of a swim to cool off in the Lake.

We stayed until sunset and watched as the colours across the bamboo grass huts, the lake and the mountains changed. As we were leaving we noticed some police in a little boat going around the lake shouting something out in Thai through a megaphone which must have meant that it was time to close the restaurants and depart the reservoir. We ordered our Uber to pick us up and we were on our way back to reality.

I am glad that we visited the lake during the week when it was so quiet almost allowing us the entire lake to ourselves! I have since found out that the weekends can become very busy. It is a perfect little get away when you need to d-frag the brain after an intense few days of working and not leaving your condo (except for dinner)!