I’ve been wanting to explore a mountainous region of Thailand like Chiang Mai, but unfortunately it’s burning season and most say to stay away. Been in BKK 4 nights already and the pollution hasn’t impacted me. But if visibility is severely limited then that’s a problem for me.

What are the closest mountainous areas closest to Bangkok that I can get to using trains? And is there any part of Thailand that looks and feels like Ubud, Bali?

I visited Ko Kret yesterday and absolutely loved it. There were some interior parts of Ko Kret that reminded me a little of Bali; including someone riffing on a gamelan-style instrument on a random house down a random path. Made me want to book a side trip to Bali but that would be costly in terms of both money and time.