8/13/10 (chiang rai)

Chiang Rai – Mae Salong Valley – Chiang Rai

After having spent some time at the hilltribe museum yesterday we decide to explore the northern areas of Chiang Rai where many of the hill tribe villages reside. I set an ambitious schedule that included the Maesalong Valley to visit the villages, Mae Sai to explore the caves and the Burma border, and the Golden Triangle to visit the Hall of Opium. We rented a four-wheel jeep from an ad at our guesthouse for 1000 BHT (about $33 USD). The guy showed up with a rigidity jeep that looked like it had been through warfare. As we were leaving he mentioned that fuel tank was on empty and we would need to fill it up. When we returned the jeep we could return it with no fuel. We thought it was a bit of a scam since we really didn’t know how much gas we were going to use and could end up putting more in than needed. I guess we could have fueled up half way but since we were going to be gone all day we decided to fuel up all the way.

We made on our way to Mae Salong Valley, about seventy miles from Chiang Rai. Once we entered the valley it was beautiful. There were small settlements along the hillside with corn, rice paddies, and tea plantations. We read there were security checkpoints around the region though we really didn’t know what they for until we went to the museum yesterday. The Thai government had cracked down on opium growing and distribution. The Royal Thai police set up the checkpoints to ensure that people weren’t smuggling opium. Most of the time we were just waved through. I guess we didn’t look like the opium smuggler type. At one point I asked them for directions to the hill tribe villages, which Jon laughed at because they were pretending to take their job seriously and weren't tour guides. I figured it didn't hurt to ask.

One of the challenges in venturing on our own was that we didn’t know exactly know where the hill tribe villages were located. We read our guidebook, bought a map, and hoped there would be signs. Anytime we saw a sign that had “ban” on it we stopped since we guessed that meant village. We moved at a glacial speed along the mountainside because of our powerless jeep. It was a tank to drive not to mention the difficulty in making u-turns, which always happens when you are on unfamiliar roads. There were many steep turns and at one point I was afraid that we were going to roll down because the jeep didn’t have enough power. All part of the adventure.

Along the way to Mae Salong we saw a sign for a tea plantation and village. We decided to turn down the narrow path to see what was beyond. This is where we really tested the jeep. A moment of the Indiana Jones Adventure ride at Disneyland flashed before my eyes. The road, if we can call it that, was big enough for one car with the edge and no railing dropping down a few hundred meters. The road soon turned from gravel to mud slush to huge potholes to a mixture of everything. I guess that’s why the jeep has the panic bar at the front for me to hold onto so I didn’t bump my head or fall out the vehicle. As I had a frightful look on my face Jon was grinning like a little kid. He was living his Indiana Jones adventure.

When we arrived at the village there was an English-speaking man, along with a few Thai workers, going up the mountain to cut down coffee trees. He invited us to come along but regrettably we had to decline since we had on flip-flops. It would’ve been such a cool experience to go with them. As we parted ways we continued walking into the village. A woman in her late sixties came out of her bamboo hut and the only word she knew was hello. That one word with a few hand gestures meant everything from ‘come here’, ‘look’, ‘buy something’, ‘tea plantation’, to ‘you look pretty.’ She walked us around the village and showed us a view of the tea plantation. We were able to walk right up to the tea fields. As we admired the view she and her two grandchildren quickly brought out bags of bracelets that they had tucked in their waist. We were reluctant to buy anything but gave in. We bought a bracelet from the little girl for 10 BHT ($0.33 USD). Jon asked if we could take a picture of the elderly lady. We learned that we must always ask for permission before taking photos, as the hill tribe villagers believe that the photos take away a part of their soul. She was very self-conscience of her teeth since she didn't have any and the only one visible was completely black. She had been chewing something that also caused a red ring around her mouth and she had to spit every few minutes. We tried to be very respectable of her appearance and convey that we thought she looked fine. After Jon snapped some photos he showed her the photo to illustrate how great she looked but she slapped him on the shoulder. We didn’t know if she didn’t like the picture or what. As we walked to the car many of the kids followed us and giggled.

Our next stop was the Wat Santakhiri perched high on the mountaintop. It provided a beautiful view of Mae Salong. Jon took the opportunity do a time lapse of the mist and rain clouds moving in. By the time we arrived at the town center we were ready for lunch. We stopped at the information center to pick up a copy of the local map. They didn’t speak much English but luckily another guy with a little better English came to help. I tried to explain to them that we wanted to visit hill tribe villages. I pointed to pictures of Akha villagers on the map with ornamental headgear but they said it was only during the busy season. It didn’t seem to make sense that they wear their tribal outfits during the busy season but maybe they only wear it for the tourists. An Akha village woman was passing by and I pointed to her. They finally understood what I meant and pointed out a few villages on the map. I was tempted to follow her but we were really hungry and needed some food.

I read that the Mae Salong Villa restaurant served the most authentic Yuannanese food so we decided to check it out. My favorite dish was the Yannanese style fried noodles. As we were finishing our meal we noticed that the restaurant had a sign from Chef McDang’s dad. He must have visited the restaurant before and gave it a seal of approval. We felt like we had found a gem. When we were done with lunch it was still raining so we took a nap in our car.

Feeling much more refreshed we headed to the villages that the tourist center had pointed out. We do feel a little out of place driving through the village as we are unable to communicate with the people and ask questions to learn about their culture. We decided to park the car and walk around to interact with more people. We met another elderly woman in her late seventies wearing traditional hill tribe attire. She didn’t speak any word of English but pointed us to her house. She asked us to follow her to house, which entailed climbing a bamboo ladder. We didn’t know what was going on but decided to follow her lead. The house was made from bamboo and it’s very dark as there is no electricity. She placed a mat for us to sit on. Then she went rummaging around the house for five minutes. We sat there looking confused at each other. Then she found her bag of goodies and displayed more bracelets for us to purchase. Jon felt tempted to buy another bracelet since the woman invited us into her home. Jon asked if he could take a photo of her at which point she became very stoic and sat straight up. Again he showed her the photo and again she slapped him on the shoulder. We were now catching on to the game. We had visited two villages and walked away with two bracelets in exchange for some photos. But Jon didn’t catch on about NOT showing them the photo till later.

As we drove through town we saw an Akha village woman in full attire with headgear full of bells by a produce stand. We hadn’t gotten any pictures of a woman in full attire and this was our chance. We stopped to snap a photo and were ready to make a purchase, having learned our previous lessons. She was selling sunflowers with the raw seeds in them. She showed us how to pick the seeds out and eat them. We bought a small sunflower at which time Jon asked if he could take some photos. She agreed and again she slapped him on the shoulder when he showed her the picture. He was trying to be nice and show the photos but he figured that they didn’t like to see their photos. It must be related to their belief that part of the soul is taken away when their photos were taken. We had read at the museum that you can restore their soul by giving them a copy of the photo but we had no way of getting it to them since we didn’t have a guide.  We spent a few minutes with the woman and her friends. She looked at the bracelets I was wearing and promptly displayed a bag of her bracelets. She pointed out that her bracelets were better quality than the ones I was wearing and that I should buy one from her. I had to admit that hers were a better quality and more intricate. Jon bought me another bracelet. Now I felt like a true traveler with an armful of bracelets. We appreciated the time spent with the villagers and hoped that next time we could find a better way to communicate with them.

Looking back it might have been a good idea to join a tour so we were able to get a better understanding of the hill tribe villages but then we wouldn’t have had our Indiana Jones moment.

We didn’t end up making it to Mae Sai or the Golden Triangle but we briefly visited the Wat Rong Khun, known as the white temple, just to use up some more gas since we had a half tank left and spent $45 fueling up the jeep.