Tucked away in Chiang Kham district of Chiang Rai right on the Lao border is the village of Ban Huak, which sits in the Phu Sang National Park. On the 10th and 30th of each month (I don’t know what happens in February!) there is a big market. Many hundreds of Lao people cross the border in jam-packed pickup trucks and make this a very colourful market indeed. Many hill-tribe people were there when I visited - a lot of Hmong people. It's a good trip to make as the road passes through Phu Sang National Park on the way to Chi Fa mountain, the highest point in the area. Starting from Chiang Rai, it pays to get going by 6am if traveling by public transport. I didn’t make the bus terminal until after 7am, and the Chiang Kham bus didn’t leave until 7:45am. The 35B ordinary bus and the 50B air-conditioned bus take two hours to drop you at Phu Sang school. From the police box at the school turn-off, light-blue songthaews from Chiang Kham pass on their way to Ban Huak. This bit takes about 30 minutes and costs 20B.
I got to Ban Huak market at nearly 11am as streams of people-laden songthaews were leaving! It was still a busy place, but I’d missed the real bustle. Lots of clothes and pots and pans on sale as well as many small snack stalls. The area is very beautiful, surrounded by big, green mountains. The daily local bus going up to Phu Chi Fa mountain passes through Ban Huak at about 3:30pm if you want to spend the night up there after visiting the market. Phu Sang Waterfall is also just 5km before the village right by the roadside.