Do you ever go on vacation and kind of feel like you are either being taken advantage of by tourist prices and traps or simply not know what to do other than drink cocktails and sit by the pool? I know that I have felt that way in many places and on many times in the past but there is a solution if you are part of the Hash House Harriers and they are called "outstations."
These are simply mini-vacation that the HHH will go on in an area that is normally quite close to where the Hash chapter is located and someone who is much more familiar with the area will go up there a few days before and organize a run or two as well as pointing people towards some nice accommodation at a great rate.
These work out wonderfully because our locations are normally some place in the middle of nowhere that it is very unlikely that you would end up at by accident. It is quite common in Thailand for there to be some sort of accommodation in the jungle that doesn't really appear to be near anything other than nature in all directions. While this could get boring if you were just up there looking around for a while, it is truly amazing if you go there with a big group of Hash friends who are familiar with the area from either being from there, or by knowing someone who is going to let us use their land for our runs.
As strange as it is for the locals here in Chiang Mai to all of a sudden see 25 brightly-dressed mostly foreigners popping out of the jungle near their house, it is even more rare in a place like Doi Intanon, which is where the above photo was taken. We do take precautions when we are out at these places because we don't want to piss off the locals. We make sure to check with the landowners beforehand to make sure it is cool if we run on their land with the promise of not damaging anything. We will normally offer to pick up garbage while we are on their land in return and there have only been a few times that people have told us that we cannot go there. When people say no, we don't go. It is as simple as that.
It can result in some amazing views though and especially if the Bunnies decide to come along as well, we normally end up eating a wide array of food that many of the foreigners probably wouldn't ever order on their own. Thai food is wonderful but there are just so many options that it can prove very difficult to figure out what it is that you actually want to order. Therefore, the "guides" can help to make this mini vacation even more enjoyable particularly if you do not speak Thai. Some of these places that we go to are so remote that they don't even have any menus in English because there likely have never had foreigners stay there before. I suppose these days with translation apps that it could work out for you anyway but having a crew with you on this trip makes it a lot easier and more enjoyable.
Mostly, outstations consist of 1 or 2 nights with several runs and other activities if the area has any. Mostly the places are so remote that the entire attraction is the peace and quiet as well as the views and since Chiang Mai is so busy and sometimes very polluted, this is something that all of us welcome. We don't normally invite non-members to these things but you never know! We do so many events that if anyone wants to come and join us, we are probably going to say yes by default. Check our official website for more details.
