myrainasia

Thinking about boycotting my own blog until people start e-mailing, but since my diary seems to have bitten the dust in Sydney, I’m going to need this blog to remember where I was and what I did.

So back to MHS.  After falling in love with the view from the balcony I hit the road to find a tour for the next day.  Didn’t really care where to, the major criterion was getting me back to my room by night (i.e. no trekking).  The tour guide in my guest house had treks (!) to offer but no one day tour- although she was willing to set me up with my own personal guide for the day.  Walked over to the main drag and found a tour office that had people signed up for a half day tour the next day- a boat ride to a “village” of long-necked Karens.  (To digress a moment- I have subsequently learned- by going to the Hilltribe Museum in Chiang Rai- that these villages are hardly villages.  You pay a fee of 250 baht (about $8) to enter.  Our guide Ju (pronounced Choo for those who care) said the money goes to the villagers (I specifically asked this) who are refugees from Myanmar and not Thai citizens.  PDA (Population and Development Association) which runs the Hilltribe Museum (as well as the connected restaurant- Cabbages and Condoms) says the villagers are exploited and the money goes to some bigwhig who keeps the villagers weaving away and wearing the native costumes.  Truth- I’m glad I saw this even though I now feel guilty.)

The boat ride took us by some lovely scenery and the people in the village were very sweet.  I bought some very minimal souvenirs (at least I think it was that village, but I have been in so many hilltribe villages at this point.)  I also think I have already explained the long-necked Karens so I am not going to do so again.  Let’s just say fascinating but weird. 

I really enjoyed the morning with John, Dave and our guide, so I decided to sign up with Ju for another all day tour the next day.  Got back and went to take a shower (I do that about 3 times a day here- the combination of sweat, suntan lotion, insect repellent, and smoke/pollution from the controlled slash and burn that is going on in northern Thailand at the moment is less than appealing) and ended up taking a nap.

Went out for dinner and invited myself over to a table of English speakers.  Turns out they live in Mae Hong San and work with the Burmese refugees (apparently there are some very large refugee camps- not on the tourist trail- which line the border with Myanmar).  So I had a lovely dinner, followed by drinks, with some fascinating, socially committed people.  What a treat for a NY liberal!

The next day’s tour included 2 new Americans- Libby and Barbara who were also staying at my guest house, and John and Dave who decided that another day of Ju’s touring would be a worthwhile endeavor.  Another excellent day- more hill tribes, a sacred cave (see sacred carp photos), 1 or 2 national parks (never quite sure what I’m seeing but most things turn out to be “presents” from the king or queen – whatever that means), a waterfall with no water due to the fact that it’s the dry season, and probably another few stops that escape me at this moment.  Oh yes, we also saw a village that was half Chan and half Kuomintang (silly me, I thought they had all gone to Taiwan) and the stop was mostly so we could buy tea and tea accoutrements (none for me- coffee might have been another story).  A good time was had by all.

Next day was my flight back to Chiang Mai where I would immediately hop on a bus to Chiang Rai.  The flight was not until 3 pm so I had time to see the 2 big temples in Mae Hong Son.  One was at the foot of the mountain and directly in town.  The other was on the TOP of the mountain.  I was definitely the only weirdo to make that climb.  No idea how many steps I hiked up, but Let’s Go says it is 474 meters above town. The views were outstanding; the climb was idiotic.  When I finally reached the top I looked a bit like I had run through a sprinkler- except for the panting breaths and red face.  One of the local vendors called a tuk tuk for me- no way was I walking back down.  We stopped for my luggage and took off for the airport which, as I subsequently discovered, is in walking distance from my guest house.  (One rarely thinks of walking to an airport.)  Furthermore, while there is food EVERYWHERE in Thailand, this had to be the only airport without food.  But I learned my flight was delayed 30 minutes so I checked in and then walked back to town (10 minutes max) and ate some really good fish ball soup at the first local vendor I found.

Said a sad adieu to Mae Hong San and took off for Chiang Rai.  To be continued…… 

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