101 Uses for Bamboo
We are back in Chiang Mai again after spending 4 days on a “trek.” We were the only people signed up, so it ended up being a sort of private tour with a guide to ourselves. I think the recent protests at the Bangkok airport have scared away some tourists, which is a shame because this area is great and stable, but hurting a bit from all the economic troubles like the rest of the world.
The trek itself was actually a big loop of northern Thailand with a variety of activities. The first day we went to an elephant camp and saw how the mahouts (trainers) bathe and care for them. They are pretty impressive animals and are surprisingly agile given their huge size. From there we took a bamboo raft down the Ping River to meet up with our driver. There are many hill tribes living as farmers in this areas and we stopped off in some of the Akha and Lisu villages on the way to start a hike up to our lodgings for the night. We stayed in a bamboo hut, but this one was “deluxe” with a shower and bathroom right next door.
The next morning we hiked back from the village and headed through more agricultural areas to the Chiang Dao cave. This area grows a lot of rice, as well as peanuts, corn, lychee, coffee, soy, and other crops. There are bamboo plants growing naturally everywhere too, and the hill tribes put them to great use. Everything from walls, floors, fibers for roofs, brooms, baskets, a TV antenna pole, as a “pot” to cook a sticky rice treat in, cups, and so many other things are all made from it. Pretty amazing plant.
As we went along, we stopped at quite a few temples and learned quite a bit about the different architectural and religious styles of the Burmese, Sri Lankan, and Thai inspired temples that are all represented here. We spent a quiet night in a hotel overlooking the Me Kok River in a small town called Tha Ton near the Burmese border. The next day we continued through more Akha, Yao, and Chinese (refugees from years ago) villages until we reached Mae Sai and the actual border with Burma. We had the chance to cross over into Myanmar as it is now known, but decided not to. You have to give up your passport when you cross and the fees go to the Myanmar government, not Thailand. Didn’t seem worth it just to get a passport stamp and say we were there.
Our next stop was a Karen village where they train elephants. We stayed in a nearby, but remote Lahu village, but the dirt road to get to it was too bumpy for our van. The only way to get there is to hike up a steep hill, take a motorbike, or as we did, go by elephant. Our elephant was named something like “Mingga,” but I preferred to call her Stampy. About 10 minutes into the journey, the trainer jumped off and just “steered” her by voice commands walking behind us. Occasionally she veered off the path to grab bamboo leaves to eat. Going uphill was pretty scary, but slow. Going downhill was terrifying. I was pretty sure I was going to plunge off the side into a muddy stream. However, over an hour later, we did arrive safe in Ban Yafu village where we fed her an entire bunch of bananas in one bite.
After the ride, we finally relaxed and checked out our digs for the night. We were staying with a local family in their house completely made of, what else, bamboo. They live a very simple life, but seem to be very happy and have all the basics – lots of food from the hill farms, as well as pigs and chickens who crow all night long – not just as dawn. The government has also started a program to supply them with solar panels, so incredibly they have electric lights at nights.
After our night in the village, we hiked back down and took the van to the Golden Triangle. This area is where the Mae Ruak and Mekong Rivers meet and forms the border of Burma, Laos, and Thailand. It’s very strange to be able to look into 3 countries at once, especially given the vastly different political systems in each one.
Finally, it was back Chiang Mai. The trip was mentally pretty exhausting because there is so much to take in and think about. I’m sure it will take days for me to really process everything we saw and did. However, I’m starting to feel more like a real “traveler” and less like a tourist. My biggest accomplishment came on the trip too. I’m not an expert yet, but I can now successfully use the local toilets, aka the squatty potty, without too much distress or mess. That’s it for today.
The grand bamboo:
One of the quieter moments with Stampy:
Tags: Thailand, Travel, Tag Index
halftime
January 13th, 2009 at 2:36 am
All that trekking sounds like work… 🙂 time for some massages.
Krabi is great. The water & rock formations are beautiful. Enjoy.
You didn’t miss much at CES this year. The usual non-sense with the team.
January 13th, 2009 at 3:53 am
Squat toilets are great! A splash of water and all is done with little water and mess. They’re all over the developing world in one form or the other when you get out of the hotels. Gene and I really enjoyed our time in Thailand back in the 80s. I’ve got a friend in Northern Thailand who volunteers as a consultant to a farmers’ cooperative. Glad you put this on your trip and India will be great too. Just don’t give any money to the street beggars (and you’ll find how very difficult that is to do). We only had time and money to take a few days down to the Isle of Wight this year so far!
January 13th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
did you try the rice cooked in bamboo? its delicious! In Sarawak, local tribes have it too. We also cook pork, wild boar, chicken and fish in freshly cut bamboo. gives the food a great flavor.