Hilltribe village tour around Mae Hong Son

From link::cactuschild.blogspot


I decided upon a tour of the surrounding hilltribe villages for today, which i booked through Nam Rim tours. The company were recommended in the Lonely Planet, and the guide, Dam, seemed a very funny and knowledgeable guy with a fantastic grasp of the English language. He also knows a lot of the various Karen languages, and as he has a Kayan (longneck) girlfriend and used to work in Myanmar (where the Karen people have migrated from), we (me and a French lady called Francoise) did get a little bit of a more intimate and personal view of their lives.

Nai Soi Village

It costs 250THB to gain entry into the Karen village of Soryolay (or Nai Soi as it's more commonly known), yet only 10% of that goes to the Karen people themselves and the surrounding refugee camps. So they make their money selling handicrafts, which did give the village a very tourist-orientated feel.

The Kayan (longneck) people wear their rings from the age of around 5 or 6 years old. Some wear them on their limbs as well but most solely on the neck - hence the name 'longneck'. Contrary to belief, the rings do not stretch their necks; they depress the collarbone and ribcage, which gives the impression of the neck being unnaturally stretched. The rings around the neck can weigh up to 14kg but the normal weight of the ones worn by an adult woman is 5-6kg. The rings are only taken off 9 times in the women's lives : to change them as the collarbone and ribcage become more depressed.

The rings are worn for 3 reasons :

1.
To make the women look beautiful
2.
To warn off the interest of Thai men
3.
To distinguish them from other hilltribes

Also in the Nai Soi village live Kaya (red Karen) and Kayew (long eared Karen). There is a school in the village where the children learn Karen, Thai, Burmese and English languages. The villagers are a mixture of Buddhist and Christian religions so you will see both temples and churches existing side by side.

A great deal of time on the tour was spent in Nai Soi but we also visited a nearby Shan (Thai Yai) village which is part of the Royal Project for the King and Queen. The Shan cultivate coffee and tea and avocados in place of opium and the women spend their time making embroidery. The King and Queen have instigated the supply of electricity and fresh water to the village so that these projects can be undertaken more successfully.

Hmong Village of Huai Mae Korsom

After lunch and the best cup of coffee i've had in Thailand at the Shan village, we visited a local Hmong tribe. Their houses (made of wood or thatch) sit on the ground. Their belief system is Animism (taken from the latin word 'anima' meaning 'breath' or 'soul') and is a belief that a soul or spirit exists in every object, even if it is inanminate. Pologamy is also poermitted in the Hmong tribe, so some men have up top 4 wives.

Mae Aw
Mae Aw is 22km north of Mae Hong Son, on a mountain peak at the Myanmar border. Mae Aw is it's Chinese name, as it's a Chinese KMT settlement, but it's name has recently been changed to Ban Rak Thai (Thai loving village). There's not a lot to do here other than drink lots of tea (we tried Green, Jasmine & Udong) but the surrounding scenery is stunning.
Tham Pla (Fish Cave)

Tham Pla is a water-filled cavern in the Tham Pla National Park, where hundreds of Soro brook carp thrive. They grow to 1 metre in length and are found only in the provinces of Mae Hong Son, Ranong, Chiang Mai, Rayong, Chanthanaburi and Kanchanaburi. There's also a shrine centered around a statue of the Hindu rishi called Nara, said to protect the holy fish from danger. Just at the start of the walk up to Than Pla are several (it's difficult to tell how many as they're all entwined together) Monkey Ladders, which - until now - i never knew existed other than as a strange and interesting product you could buy from The Pier back in the UK!

Photo is of a Kayan (longneck) women with baby, Nai Soi, Nr Mae Hong Son।

From link::cactuschild.blogspot

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Hippyland, Thailand

From link::therangelife.wordpress

If you’re wondering where all the hippies went after Jerry Garcia died, I found them here in Pai, Thailand.

Well, that’s a little unfair. Marjan (the Dutch woman I met in Chiang Mai) and I did, after all, *just* get here after a hot, cramped, torturous, and lovely 4-hour bus ride from Chiang Mai. So before I blurt out any more ill-informed opinions about Pai, why don’t I recount what I’ve been up to.

When I last left you, I was in Chiang Mai at the beginning of 3 straight days of being soaking wet whilst celebrating Songkran, which is the Thai new year. Chiang Mai is Thailand’s “other” city - they say that while it has a slightly more northern Thai feel (in terms of architecture, food, and ethnic groups), its smaller population and more laid-back attitude allows visitors to experience to real Thailand without the struggle that characterizes doing so in Bangkok. All that said, I still don’t really know what Chiang Mai is like, because the city was shut down and turned into Water World for Songkran.

My first night in CM (Saturday) I had stayed at The Royal Guest House, which is outside the old city. Sure, it had a small pool and internet on the premises. And for a mere 300 baht (around $9.75) I was given the privilege of walking up 5 flights of stairs to a run-down room with no air-con, no hot water, no towel and no toilet paper. Gah.

In the morning (Sunday) I tried to avoid the water wars by visiting various Wats (Buddhist temples) around town. Wat Phra Singh, the main temple in the old city, was surrounded by people selling food and drink to worshipers (or followers?) who spent the day picnicking, listening to talks by monks, and watching what appeared to be hilarious, aggressively amplified amateur theater played on a makeshift stage. I escaped the shrill actors’ voices by returning to the streets, where I was greeted with buckets of Songkran cheer. I wove down side streets back to my guest house to drop off my bag (so my stuff wouldn’t get soaked) and joined in the fun.

That night I switched guest houses to Eagle House 2, where for 200 baht ($6.50) I got similar conditions but without the 5 flights or the attitude. I chose it because it’s friendly, centrally located in the old city, and it has a good reputation for organized treks to visit hill tribes in the surrounding area. I neglected to realize that in this case “centrally located” meant “sounds like the crappy cover band at the bar next door is actually playing in your bathroom.” So I was serenaded by some Thai dude’s renditions of hits by The Grateful Dead, Oasis, Nirvana, The Allman Brothers, etc. until around 1:30 am. At least the music distracted me from the sagging bed frame.

So while I haven’t been tremendously successful in getting sleep, I have been having fun. On Monday I joined a 2-day, 1-night trek organized through Eagle House to visit some villages of the Karen tribe. There were 11 of us: our guide, named Doh (heh heh); Boom (really!), the schlepper/sherpa-like guy who carried our food; Allison, a Canadian living in Bangkok and teaching Thai children at an international school; Roberta and Greg, Allison’s parents visiting from Montreal; Sam and Lisa, a lovely couple from York, England, who were on month 10 of their year-long trip around the world (again, I feel like a travel-schmuck); Cami (from Texas) and Sara (from Ohio), friends who had just finished their TOEFL teaching certification in Phuket; and then Matt, an Aussie with a British passport (or Brit with an Aussie accent?) who was in the midst of an existential crisis. He regaled us (so to speak) with conspiracy-like theories about pharma companies and the Aussie government, his hatred of capitalism and greed, the true secrets of life (there are many) and many, many, many other things.

There’s a ton to write about the trek, but right now I’m starving so I’m off to grab a bite. Also, this internet cafe lets you upload photos, so I’m hoping to add a few thousand words’ worth later today.

From link::therangelife.wordpress

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