Way Up North

  Mae Hong Son, Thailand
Tuesday, November 14, 2006

After a one night stopover in Mae Sariang, I've made my way up to May Hong Son, in the far northwestern corner of Thailand. I'd read that the ride from Mae Sot to Mae Sariang was rough (6 hours in a songthaew on bumpy, winding roads). The description was accurate, but the ride was actually quite nice. Lots of interaction with local Karen people on the ride as we passed dozens of villages and plenty of fresh air. Also worked a bit on my french (of which I know maybe twenty words) thanks to a couple who spoke only a minimum of english. We muddled through conversations on and off throughout the ride. I also ended up eating dinner with them that night. I had a prime table overlooking the river and they seemed disappointed there weren't others available, so I invited them to join me. They were actually from Belgium, retired but still quite young.

2.0. Lake Jong Kham

Wasn't much to do in Mae Sariang. A very small, quiet town. I stayed at the See View Guesthouse, on the west side of the river, which was fine but not especially nice. Took the bus on to Mae Hong Son the next day (Tuesday). A much rougher ride than the day before, even though (or perhaps partially because) it was in a real bus. Checked into the "Friend House", which is in a great location, right by the lake on the south side of town. Walked up to a wat on a hill to the west of town which has amazing views of the valleys in almost every direction, including into Myanmar. They sometimes call Mae Hong Son the Switzerland of Thailand and you can see why espcially well from up there. It's surrounded by relatively tall mountains. Also, the lake area has a sort of European feel to it (by which I think I mean it has very manicured flora) but the two Wats on the east side somewhat mitigate this. Speaking of those wats, I also visited them. This is the first town in which I've gone inside active wats. There were monks working and people giving offerings (making merit).

A night market was set up around the lake that evening, which made the atmosphere that much more festive. Unfortunately it got rained out around 9pm. The first rain I've seen since I've been in Thailand. I guess the rainy season really is over (almost). Spent the next day relaxing and using the internet in town, and got recruited for a trek.

On Thursday I headed out on a two day (one night) trek to a Karen village with a German girl (Katrin) and our Karen guide, Jack. We started early that morning and hiked for several hours through bamboo and banana trees. Jack stopped along the way a half dozen times to make a new bamboo walking stick for one of us (he was never quite satisfied with the one he had), which only took him a few minutes with his trusty machete. We stopped for tea and lunch at a hut in the jungle next to a terraced rice paddy. The occupants were out working somewhere and Jack saw fit to use their fire place and kettle. Had a delicious lunch (they always are after you've been hiking) and heard many a story a Jack's days fighting with the Karen against the Burmese.

3.3. Our Host/Cook with Jack

Made our way that evening to the Karen village of Ban Na Jed Lock (Village of the Seven Rice Fields), which was composed of eleven families. They'd had some, but not much, contact with western travelers, and many had been to Mae Hong Son. The children were especially taken with our digital cameras and eager to pose and even take some shots of their own. We were made perhaps the best meal I've eaten in Thailand (again, hunger may play a part in that opinion, but it was good regardless) and enjoyed a relaxing evening listening to a few of the men play guitar and sing. Slept under a mosquito net on a covered porch area, while some of the men were out after midnight hunting anteater (we got to see the catch the next day).

Hiked on after breakfast the next day to a big waterfall and had lunch. Then spent the afternoon crossing the Mae Samat River over and over and climbing the occasioanlly steep rocks along its banks. A great time from begining to end, much of it due to our wonderful guide.

Finished this trek on Friday the 17th and have just gotten this finished now due to slow or dead internet connections. As a result, I've finally given up on putting all my full quality photos on Flickr. Going to do the archiving when necessary by buring CDs instead. I'll still be posting many more photos on Flickr than here, so you should still check it out, but just not as many as before and with significantly smaller file sizes.

Also, a random observation I'm just now rememebring that I've been meaning to include here since Kampheng Phet. It seems that while many Thai children know some English, almost every one of them knows the word "hello" and loves to say it whenever a person like myself is spotted. They seem to get a real kick out of me returning the hello, as if they've discovered some secret code for communicating with us strange looking foreigners. This is the most pronounced in the towns that see the least number of tourists.

OK, I'm writing this from Pai, and you'll be hearing more about this place soon I hope.