Hill Tribes in Thailand
On the 27th of April I was supposed to meet Debs as she came out of the arrivals hall of Bangkok airport. Because of the traffic I didn’t make it to the airport until an hour after the flight had landed. I found Debs and her friend Becs milling around outside the arrivals hall, trying to decide if I was going to turn up or not. I quickly explained about the traffic, blaming the King and Queen of Sweden for the hold up (they were in town, and the cab sat at some traffic lights for 15 minutes, waiting for their cavalcade to go past).
Once we got to the guesthouse they both gave it the thumbs up and Debs said I did remarkably well in finding such a nice place. Apparently she had been expecting a poo-hole with squat toilets. This place had air-conditioning, ensuite bathrooms and a really nice restaurant to eat in. On their first evening in Bangkok I introduced the girls to Chang beer and “the bucket”. This resulted in us all having hangovers the next day.
As a result of the hangovers we decided not to do anything too arduous in the sticky heat of Bangkok. Instead, we headed down to the river and took a boat cruise around the city’s canals. It would have been relaxing if it wasn’t for the constant noise of the longtail boat’s engine. However, the water did mean that we all felt a lot cooler than we would have done walking the streets.
It was Saturday so we got up late, as usual, and headed for the weekend market. This is a huge, sprawling affair that covers several acres and sells just about everything under the sun. Well, I couldn’t find any egg cups for sale, or monkeys, but I guess you get the idea. If you had just bought a house and wanted to furnish it, this would be a good place to get everything cheaply and mostly at top quality. I can understand how the arty furnishing shops make money. All they have to do is buy it at ludicrously cheap prices here, ship it home, then sell that 5 foot high wooden elephant for �600, rather than the �30 it costs down the market in Thailand. Same with cloth and stuff, costs nothing here, but ship it home and some posh, liberal, city type is going to pay a fortune for genuine, hand woven, Thai Hill Tribe wall hangings. After an exhaustive look for monkeys in the market’s pet section we decided to head to Siam Square and have a look at Jim Thompson’s old house.
Jim Thompson is the bloke who gained worldwide recognition for his success in rebuilding the silk industry and for generating international demand for Thai silk. One day he went for a walk in the Cameron Highlands, and was never seen again. And now his house is famous. It’s actually a really nice house. It combines about three traditionally built and styled Thai houses, and creates a look not unlike that of the old manor houses in England. It has large gardens surrounding it and backs onto a canal. It really is an oasis of calm in an otherwise crowded and noisy city.
That evening we went to the cinema to watch The Quiet American and found that we had to stand before the film to listen to the Thai National Anthem, a tradition in these parts.
Sunday, March 2nd, was an early start as we were heading off to Kanchanaburi and the bridge over the River Kwai. At the River Kwai war museum we learnt the true story of the bridge. As usual, this was totally different to the movie version. Then we headed further up the “Death Railway” to have a picnic by a waterfall. After lunch it was time to board a train and head back down the rail line and along the tracks that had claimed so many POWs. It was a spectacular journey. As usual, I was completely taken by the scenery along the way. Upon returning to the town of Kanchanaburi we headed back to Bangkok. Once safely back at our guesthouse we met up with another friend. This was Jane, a friend of Bec’s who was to join us for two weeks.
The next couple of days were spent arranging visa’s for Laos, and a little bit of sightseeing. Not too much though as the weather was hot, and the streets crowded and sticky. On the fourth we caught an overnight train to Chiang Mai. Once there we quickly organized a 3 day/2 night trek to a couple of the hill tribes of North Western Thailand.
Then it was off to look at some of the temples and Wats that are one of the tourist draws of the city. In the evening we headed down to the night markets, where I grew increasingly frustrated with trying to keep the three girls together. Honestly, it was a nightmare. We would be walking through the markets when Debs would say, “Oooh, look at that stall over there,” and go darting off down an alley to the left, then Jane would say, “Ooooooooh, shoes!” and go darting of an alley to the right. Becs would carry on walking straight, and I would be left standing in the middle of a crossroads wondering were the nearest pub was.
Early start on March 6th for the hill tribe trek. First of all it was a two hour drive out to a short walk to a waterfall. Then it was lunchtime. After lunch it was another hour’s drive up to the start of the trek. Three easy hours later we found ourselves at the first night’s lodgings. The hill tribe people had very colorful costumes. They did look suspiciously like they had been hastily put on over their normal cloths though. After dinner we had a small camp fire, talked about the constellations for a bit, then retired to our wooden hut.
I was awoken early by the cockerels. Had a horrible breakfast of scrambled eggs that tasted like soy sauce, and sugary toast complimented by awful coffee. Then it was off for a short walk, again two or three hours, to an elephant camp. Like most people I have never seen an elephant in the flesh, and walking around a corner to see one standing in a river is an amazing sight. These animals are huge and look so powerful. It amazed me that they allowed themselves to be walked along like dogs by their handlers. We took an hour and a half elephant ride through the forest. All the time I was in awe of their size, and the skill with which the handlers treated them.
After the elephant ride it was another short walk to the next village. This one was a bit bigger than the last one. Probably because it was on a river. It also seemed to stand out of time. Ducks wandered the mud gardens, pigs snorted at troughs, and children ran up the street with a stick and a metal ring. After a short walk around the village there was enough light left to wash in the river and get ready for dinner. After dinner we all sat around the camp fire. Debs and a French couple went off to have a massage from a couple of old women in the village. Pretty soon, the talk around the campfire was interrupted by the gasps and moans of limbs being pulled in bizarre angles and bodies trampled on by old women. Breakfast the following day was just as disgusting as the first.
Our last day was to be spent on the water, drifting down the river on bamboo rafts, with a few rapids thrown in just to keep things interesting. I was stationed at the back of the raft and had to assist with steering the thing. You need two people, one at each end, because the raft is about 18 feet long. It doesn’t really turn, you just have to push it the way you want to go.
Arriving back in Chiang Mai we had time to shower and change before heading off to the night market for a McDonald’s and a few beers. This time the shopping was kept to a minimum, although I was on the look out for a laughing Buddha.
The following day we headed for the Thai-Lao border. Once there we had to decide if it was worth getting the guesthouse to arrange all our transport down to Luang Prabang, or if we should do it ourselves. We decided to organise everything ourselves. Traveling in Thailand was far too easy as it was.
