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| 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 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!
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| Piak Private Tours |
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
