A Taste of Thailand - Mae Hong Son Loop and Piak Private Tour

Rice Fields and Hills in Pai

We set off for a week-long journey, exploring the Mae Hong Son loop which covers the northern and northwestern parts of Thailand, close to the Myanmar (Burma) border. We stopped at the Morkfa Waterfall along the way to Pai. The road was very curvy as we entered into the jungle and hills. We were below the trees mostly so we only caught glimpses of valleys and hills. Our hosts from Chiang Mai have friends with a guesthouse in Pai, so we followed instructions to find (eventually) the Piranha Fish Camp. Yep, it's a catch and release place with ponds that have piranhas and other fish in there. We are told that this variety of piranha is vegetarian, but we weren't going to test out that theory. 

 



We toured Pai and stopped at a great viewpoint on the way back just beyond the Chinese village. For our 20 baht/pp entrance fee, we were served Chinese tea and a local banana.

 

We decided that Pai was sufficiently explored in a day and pushed on towards Mae Hong Son. Our first point of interest was the Tam Lod Caves. Not well signed, or at least not in English, we wound our way through a small village and narrowing roads into the bush. At the point when we were sure we were lost and needed to turn back, a sign appeared and we found ourselves near the caves. 

We arrived in Mae Hong Son and tried to find one of Lonely Planet's recommended guesthouses, unsuccessfully. Their directions said to take a left at the northern-most traffic light and the follow the signs... what signs? We continued through town and found a place with little bungalows that looked nice. There was nothing positive to say about the bed, except that it was beautifully adorned with Thai silk elephant motif runner and pillows. It was as hard as the concrete floors, if not harder! 

Piak Private Tours

Planting Chili

By far, the highlight of our trip was our 2-day overnight tour with Piak. We called this local tour guide in Mae Sariang who got rave reviews in Trip Advisor to see whether we might organize a day trip or an overnight trip walking in the area and visiting local hill tribes. So much of that is touristy and focused on getting you to buy stuff that we wanted to make sure we could have a less intrusive and more authentic experience. The trip was fantastic! We trekked in the jungle and to a lovely 3-tier waterfall, we had lunch with the local shaman/farmer at his house, then more trekking and helping to plant little chilies on a very, VERY steep hillside, the first day.  

Shaman Home Lunch

 The Shaman's home was a single room built off the ground. One removes shoes and climbs a ladder to access the low-roof, no-window room. The cooking area is set off to one side and there were a variety of pots, for rice, veggies (which we picked along the way there) and an area above to smoke meats and such. At the time of our visit, there were two rats drying... happily, they were not on the lunch menu!

Piak's Mother-in-Law

We spent the first night at Piak's wife's village, a White Karen hill tribe. Upon our arrival, we were ushered into his sister's home for a warm reception and dinner, which was yummy. We then headed to Piak's Mother-in-Law, where we would spend the night. We awoke at 4am to the shrill sounds of the rooster. Loud though he was, he did seem to come equipped with a snooze button, because we were able to sleep on and off until morning. 

We had tea and brekky, which consisted of rice, fish mashed with unknown stuff, boiled green veggies of some green and stalky variety, and hard boiled eggs. It was rainy and the trek would have been slippery and dangerous, so we opted to stay inside and visit. Piak made coffee from his own home grown beans, which was delicious. Several people came over to visit and when the rain stopped, Roger brought out his computer to show pictures of the boat and our travels. It was lovely being able to share both ways... each of us curious about the other.

Dinner at Piak's Sister's House

Piak took us on a short walk around the property, introducing us to various fruits and plants, some of which were edible, some used for medicinal purposes and some for dyes. We munched on star fruit, saw avocados, ate more bananas and marveled at the huge bamboo groves. 

We visited a handful of other households, each with a warm reception, then made our way back to Mae Sariang late in the afternoon.

It was an amazing experience. These beautiful and gentle people have so little by western standards, but are so rich and have such abundance in many ways... with what is basic and important. They have plenty of water and fresh delicious foods, they weave their own clothing and build their own homes, they have a caring community with relatives and friends close by. They have smiles on their faces and warmth in their hearts and hearths. Our lives are so very different than theirs, but we had a sense of comfort and wished we could have spent more time there.

A Taste of Thailand - Elephants, yippee!

The moment I was waiting for with great anticipation... our visit to the Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary located a couple of hours north of Chiang Mai in the bush. I booked us for an overnight stay and I'm so glad I did. During the day, many people were there, but after the day visitors left, there were only 16 people (not including staff and volunteers) who stayed on. This allowed us to get an early start the second morning and we walked with the herd and watched them frolic in the river.

We were also able to hike up into the bush and see several of the elephants in their natural jungle environment, which was breathtaking! It was a lovely time there with plenty of "hands on" (literally) elephant time.
We fed them, bathed them in the river, petted them, hugged them, etc. It is simply magical to hold an elephant trunk or have one suction-cup your knee. There are 39 elephants at the park and all but a few were rescued from being abused, retired without care or orphaned. No riding, no tricks and no show here... simply elephants being natural and happy elephants. We learned about the practice of "breaking" the elephant as training to prepare them for working and it was heart wrenching. This is why you do not want to support elephants in the tourist trade. Most of the elephants are mistreated in one way or another. Do not engage in elephant tourism. Instead, visit and support a real sanctuary like the Elephant Nature Park. I think we took about 15 GB of photos and videos of these wonderful, intelligent and gentle beings.

With Elephants, Equanimity and Joy!

Beyond Phuket... A Taste of Thailand - Chiang Mai

Wat Bubparam

Phuket may be an international destination for those seeking a beach paradise and respite from the chill of winter, but it isn't quite the authentic Thai culture and experience we were anticipating. So after spending months in and around Phuket Island, we ventured inland to Chiang Mai and the surrounds in northern Thailand, followed by a short visit to Bangkok on the return trip.

Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand after Bangkok, but it feels more quaint. The old city is surrounded by a moat, and we stayed just outside the east side. Just a quick scamper across the traffic on the roads either side of the moat and we were at the local market, an assortment of restaurants and many lovely temples well within walking distance.

Mr Egg and Tuk-Tuk at Wat Champoo

We hired Mr. Egg and his "tuk-tuk" (sort of a motor-scooter-like taxi for two plus driver, think motorized rickshaw) to see some of the local temples, or "wats" as well as the requisite handicraft centers. Despite the fact that it was a tourist attraction, we were delighted with our visit to the Thai Silk Village. We saw the silk worms in action, munching voraciously on mulberry leaves, saw them spinning cocoons, and then learned about the entire silk-making process. Their retail shop had hundreds of luscious fabrics and 24-hour custom tailoring. We had shirts made which are exquisite. Hmmm... but when will we have an opportunity to wear beautiful dressy silk shirts?

Wat Phra Singh

We spent several days exploring locally, including visits to the major temples, the three cultural museums, the Saturday and Sunday walking street markets, getting a massage, and then headed to the Elephant Nature Park for a two-day adventure! See Beyond Phuket... A Taste of Thailand - part II: Elephants, yippee!

Wat Chedi Luang

with Equanimity and Joy

SW monsoon season at Yacht Haven Marina

It's been a while since we last posted on our blog, and we haven't been out sailing either. We decided to spend the SW monsoon season on the north side of Phuket Island at the Yacht Haven marina in Thailand. Unlike the southern regions of Phuket, the north side isn't a real tourist destination and the marina is in a fairly remote location. That's not a bad thing though, as we wanted our time here to be restful. It does mean that we need to rent a car to do provisioning or get anywhere. While we have EQ at the marina, we're enjoying some time with friends and some land travel... we have already been to the US and AU, and are heading to Chiang Mai and surrounds in northern Thailand next week. We hope to visit Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar before we head out for the next leg of our sailing adventures.

Yacht Haven marina sunset

Poolside fun with friends in Ao Po, Phuket, Thailand

Pretty soon we'll need to get on some boat projects and start preparing for our next sailing adventures! We'll post more when we are on our way again... zoom!

with Equanimity and Joy