We are off on a new adventure!
We will be traveling for nearly 6 weeks through Thailand, known as the "Land of Smiles".
We'll land in Bangkok and a few days later fly north to Chaing Mai. From there we'll head farther north through the heart of rural northern Thailand exploring and discovering local culture and life of the hill tribes. We'll see a variety of hill tribe groups as we travel to Chang Saen, Karn, Doi Angkhang, Pai, Mae Hong Son, Mae Chaem and Mae Wang.
Bangkok
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We departed Seattle January 27th, 2020 and landed in Tokyo, Japan, 9 hours later.
After a 4 hour layover, we flew 7 more hours to Bangkok, Thailand.
All totaled, from the front door of our home to our Thailand hotel room, we had traveled over 25 hours and 7,349 miles. By crossing the International Date Line on Monday the 27th of January, we arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday, January 29th. Bangkok is ahead of Seattle by 15 hours. We'll have to keep that in mind when we text our family and friends!
As we checked into our lovely Novotel Hotel early Wednesday morning we saw this poster. We'll have to remember that here in Thailand, the Super Bowl is on Monday not Sunday! If we want to see kick off, we'll have to get up early on Monday, for it airs at 6:30 AM.
Three Days in Bangkok
Bangkok, otherwise known as Krung Thep, the "City of Angels", is a vibrant, urban, sprawling city of over 9.5 million people. Bangkok also has an inordinate amount of stunning historical temples, amazing gold leaf Buddhas, an intricate network of canals and rivers, lush green parks, world-class restaurants, delicious smelling street food, including one of the largest markets in the world. Thailand is called the "land of smiles" and Bangkok certainly showed us 3 days of beautiful weather and sunny smiles.
During our three days in Bangkok, we were treated to unexpected, delightful weather. Our previous trips to Bangkok a few years ago, which were in October and March respectively, were incredibly hot, muggy and uncomfortably humid! Surprisingly, on this trip, the temperature was 90 degrees, but with low humidity each day and a cool breeze it felt like 85 degrees! So we really appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed all our outdoor activities.
Each day we took the airport rail link to the BTS Bangkok sky train. From there it was a short walk from the Saphan Taksin BTS station to the Chao Phraya River. We also rode the subway every day to the Sanam Chai Station, which is stunning!
Here are a few photos of the interior of the station.
The red and gold offer a sense of "exquisiteness and elaboration" according to the principles of Thai architecture.
The Sadhum pillars adorned with tiles of lotus flowers are covered with gold leaves and practically shimmer in the interior lighting.
The station's floor and walls resemble the historical city wall
while its ceiling has been designed in a spectacular star and moon pattern which are adorned with cotton rose flowers.
The Sanam Chai Station's location is surrounded by Thailand's holy sites and prestigious attractions such as the Grand Palace, the temple of the Emerald Buddha, and Wat Phra Chettuphon Wimon Mangkhalram. The station also provides highly convenient access to Saranrom Park, the Pak Klong Talat (Flower Market) to name just a few tourist attractions within walking distance.
There were also large barges with cranes!
We passed by some high rent areas
Both high rent and low rent dwellings located side by side .
From our top deck seating, we were able to view the astounding temples from the water's edge.
We crossed the Chao Phraya River over to Bangkok Noi Canal by ,walking across the heavily trafficked bridge and wound around through the streets until we found the market place wishing us a Happy New Year
with a monk and his iPhone.
Each day we took the airport rail link to the BTS Bangkok sky train. From there it was a short walk from the Saphan Taksin BTS station to the Chao Phraya River. We also rode the subway every day to the Sanam Chai Station, which is stunning!
Here are a few photos of the interior of the station.
The red and gold offer a sense of "exquisiteness and elaboration" according to the principles of Thai architecture.
The Sadhum pillars adorned with tiles of lotus flowers are covered with gold leaves and practically shimmer in the interior lighting.
The station's floor and walls resemble the historical city wall
while its ceiling has been designed in a spectacular star and moon pattern which are adorned with cotton rose flowers.
Because of the time of day that we were there, Sanam Chai Station was sparsely populated! It is otherwise a very busy place!
The Sanam Chai Station's location is surrounded by Thailand's holy sites and prestigious attractions such as the Grand Palace, the temple of the Emerald Buddha, and Wat Phra Chettuphon Wimon Mangkhalram. The station also provides highly convenient access to Saranrom Park, the Pak Klong Talat (Flower Market) to name just a few tourist attractions within walking distance.
It was such a lovely day, sun shining with a gentle breeze, that we decided to take a boat ride and see the sights from the river. Our Hop on Hop off ferry was just the ticket. We had a front row seat on the open-air top deck.
The river and adjoining canals were busy
with boat traffic zig-zagging around.
with boat traffic zig-zagging around.
We passed by some high rent areas
complete with the ubiquitous Starbucks.
From our top deck seating, we were able to view the astounding temples from the water's edge.
We got off at stop "N11, the Royal Barge Museum". We had quite an adventure getting to it.
We passed a lovely serene park area complete with shrines.
We crossed the Chao Phraya River over to Bangkok Noi Canal by ,walking across the heavily trafficked bridge and wound around through the streets until we found the market place wishing us a Happy New Year
with a monk and his iPhone.
We rounded the corner and followed the signs to the Royal Museum of Barges. It was an interesting route to be sure.
Our guide book had said it was a "tad tricky itinerary to get there."
"The museum is almost visible from the street across a small naval yard but the guards won't allow you to cross it and you need to walk all the way through the maze behind it. The narrow and rather messy concrete path is very well indicated along the way, but it is a bit of a trek."
Just around the corner...we found it and I must admit, the Royal Barge Museum pretty much blew our socks off! It was breathtaking and not like anything we had imagined.
Photos taken prior to World War II simply do not do the Royal Barges justice.
This infrequent flotilla dates back 700 years and has been witnessed only 15 times in almost 90 years as both a religious and political event.
The most recent time in the past 90 years occurred this past December. The Thai Royal Barge Processional was part of the final ceremonies for the Royal Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajirdonghon.
We were thrilled to see the 8 Royal Barges housed in the 'boathouse". Each one is a sleek and slender, fantastically ornamented vessel with exquisitely hand-carved, elaborately decorated, hand painted and finished in gold leaf. These historical barges are both graceful and yet foreboding with the cannon expertly concealed under the bow.
We were greeted by the door by the Asura-Vayuphak or the half giant-half bird Royal Barge.
Photos taken prior to World War II simply do not do the Royal Barges justice.
This infrequent flotilla dates back 700 years and has been witnessed only 15 times in almost 90 years as both a religious and political event.
The most recent time in the past 90 years occurred this past December. The Thai Royal Barge Processional was part of the final ceremonies for the Royal Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajirdonghon.
We were thrilled to see the 8 Royal Barges housed in the 'boathouse". Each one is a sleek and slender, fantastically ornamented vessel with exquisitely hand-carved, elaborately decorated, hand painted and finished in gold leaf. These historical barges are both graceful and yet foreboding with the cannon expertly concealed under the bow.
We were greeted by the door by the Asura-Vayuphak or the half giant-half bird Royal Barge.
This Royal Barge is the shortest being
6 feet wide, 100 feet long, and 6 feet deep.
During the processions, it carried
40 oarsmen, 1 officer,
2 steersmen, 1 standard bearer signalman,
2 station markers, and 10 drummers.
Of the 8 Royal Barges, there were a total of 400 oarsmen over 1,200 courtiers.
Here is a December 12, 2019 photo of the Asura-Vayuphak Royal Barge.
From inside the boathouse to majestically being rowed on the water.
This is His Majesty's Royal Barge with the dragon snakes on the bow for protection.
The king's royal throne on his Royal Barge.
The longboat has an outboard motor and flies through the water.
Here's what the interior looked like:
We were low to the water!
Along the way, we slowed down as we passed this humble home.
This lovely gentleman rowed his longboat over to our boat and asked if any of the passengers wanted snacks(he had lots of pringles and candy bars!), water or beer.
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WAT PHO and the RECLINING BUDDHA
Wat Pho and the Reclining Buddha
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With the Bangkok traffic always looking this congested, we opted instead to use mass transit. We tried to travel at times when it was not as crowded.
It's very simple and so fast! Just purchase the ticket, which is a token. Place it on the magnetic spot and voila, the stiles open. To leave the train station one just inserts the token in the slot and you're on your way.
We wore our masks each day whenever we were on the subway, train, or walking throughout Bangkok. We only took our masks off to eat! At the time we were in Bangkok, there had not been any reported cases in Thailand of the Coronavirus which originated in Wuhan, China. Nonetheless, no one was taking any chances. Virtually everyone on the subway, trains, and markets were wearing some variation on the masks.
Of course the policewoman on hand helped.
Throughout our stay in Bangkok, one of our favorite spots was the famous Wat Pho. It is one of the oldest, largest and most important temples in the city. It is located on an impressive 20 acres on Rattanakosin Island! In fact, the full name of Wat Pho is Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan. Fortunately for us, saying "Wat Pho" (pronounced "poe") got us where we wanted to go. Wat Pho predates the moving of Siam to Bangkok as the capital. No one knows how old the temple is nor who constructed the original shrine known as Wat Photoram. Incidentally, Wat Pho is the birthplace of Thai massage and also serves as an important center for studying traditional medicines.
We wandered the halls and pavilions marveling at the master craftsmanship in the stonework,
the gold leaf Buddhas, and the intricately hand-painted ceiling panels.
We strolled by the 91 stupas.
Each one was exquisitely made of ceramic.
No matter where you walked throughout Wat Pho, you were surrounded by beauty.
Even when you looked up, you never knew what gold-leafed image you'd see shimmering in the sunlight.
The reclining Buddha statue truly is the centerpiece of Wat Pho.
This reclining Buddha has massive feet with each positioned one on top of the other. The long projections of the 10 toes jut outward and even have swirled toeprints.
The reclining Buddha's feet are 16 feet long.
They are exquisitely illustrated with mother of pearl inlay.
There are 108 illustrations representative of the 108 positive actions and symbols that helped lead Buddha to perfection.
It was truly an awe-inspiring experience to view such a massive yet elegant, magnificent image of an iconic spiritual leader.
As we traveled through the bustling, cosmopolitan city of Bangkok, we were surprised and delighted by the number of green spaces and parks right in the heart of this capital city of Thailand.
Green, tranquil sanctuaries offered a respite for those to exercise, relax or unwind.
We enjoyed exploring Lumpini Park. It is called the "green lung" for it is considered one of Bangkok's most beautiful parks.
There are even swan paddle boats to while away the afternoon.
It was a lovely place to sit and relax.
Throughout the park, there are both historic
and modern buildings which are constructed the traditional motif.
There was always something new to discover. We loved this sundial.
This natural sanctuary in the middle of the city was a welcome retreat from the hustle and bustle of busy Bangkok and we enjoyed every relaxing moment.
Tomorrow morning we leave for Chiang Mai.
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CHIANG MAI
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Chiang Mai
We flew from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in a little over an hour. We are staying in the "Old City" at the lovely boutique hotel, The Green Tiger which has an excellent vegan restaurant.
Here's the view from our room
All total, we will be in Northern Thailand for 15 days, 5 of which we'll be in Chiang Mai, the land of "misty mountains".
The other 10 days, we will be traveling north into the mountains to the border of Thailand/Laos/Myanmar. We will be visiting the colorful hill tribes and will even experience a homestay.
Located in a verdant valley on the Ping River, Chiang Mai is the largest city in northern Thailand with its population of 131,000.
The name Chiang Mai means "new city" for it was founded in 1296. In 1997, Chiang Mai celebrated its 700th anniversary. As the guide book says, "Its Old City area still remains vestiges of its walls and moats from its history as a cultural and religious center."
Here's the view from our room
All total, we will be in Northern Thailand for 15 days, 5 of which we'll be in Chiang Mai, the land of "misty mountains".
The other 10 days, we will be traveling north into the mountains to the border of Thailand/Laos/Myanmar. We will be visiting the colorful hill tribes and will even experience a homestay.
Located in a verdant valley on the Ping River, Chiang Mai is the largest city in northern Thailand with its population of 131,000.
The name Chiang Mai means "new city" for it was founded in 1296. In 1997, Chiang Mai celebrated its 700th anniversary. As the guide book says, "Its Old City area still remains vestiges of its walls and moats from its history as a cultural and religious center."
Today, Chiang Mai is one of the few places in Thailand where the past and present seamlessly merge. There are modern buildings standing side by side old temples.
In its heyday, Chiang Mai was the center of Buddhism in northern Thailand. That emphasis is still felt today. Throughout the city and mountainous areas, one will see a plethora of stunning, elaborate Buddist temples. In fact, there are over 300 "wats" ( a place of Buddhist worship) scattered around the city and countryside. No other province in all of Thailand has more. We were duly impressed with the beautiful ancient temples in both Chiang Mai and its mountainous areas.
Our first day we took a private walking tour of the old city, which is sprawling. We enjoyed this walking tour for it was a great way to get a feel for the city and to learn about its history.
One of the first things we learned is that Chaing Mai is known for its delicious coffee and amazing latte art!
We walked past the fortress of the city which was built in 1800. We learned that "the plan called for a square formed by moats and walls that faced the cardinal directions". So they built a wall constructed around the moat.
We walked to Thapae, one of the original 5 gates of the fortress around the Old City. It is located on the eastern side of the old city fortress.
We also walked past the ubiquitous Thai Massage Parlors. It seemed as though signs such as the one below lined the streets.
One in particular caught our attention.
It was the only massage center that we saw that had a TripAdvisor certificate of excellence!
It was the "Woman's Massage center by
Ex-Prisoners"!
Our guide took us to another part of the city to see the woman's prison
which is actually the spot where some prisoners come each day to sell their hand made items which they have learned how to
make in prison. In prison, they are taught to sew and to administer Thai massages so they'll have the means to support themselves when they are released from prison.
In addition to selling their hand made items, they also serve food at their little cafe.
Each night the ladies return to their prison cells on the outskirts of the city. But for many, their days are spent in this lovely place, filled with birds and flowers... a little oasis in a bustling city street.
Afterward, we toured various temples and learned the symbolism of the exquisite dragon being consumed by the crocodile guarding the entrance of the temples.
This dragon or serpent motif also is seen on
the roofs of the temples.
So many of the temples are still brilliantly illuminated with inlaid reflective colored glass which glistens in the sunlight.
Our guide took us to see numerous brick relics such as this 600 year old temple.
We also saw any temples that were under renovation.
So often, the side streets were lined with lovely temples, many of which had monks inside.
Today we had a private guide who had been a monk from ages 13-19. We learned that one can be a monk for either a portion or all of their life. Our guide, Kip, provided a fascinating insight into the daily life of a Buddhist monk. He also gave us an amazing explanation of the temple's artistic religious symbols and even taught us Buddhist meditation methods. It was a profound experience.
Kip told us about his monastic life. One of the many takeaways for us today was the Buddhist philosophy of "Eat to live, not live to eat". Wise words indeed!
As we approached Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, we were met by a long staircase of 306 steps. This staircase is flanked by a stunningly beautiful mythical creature of "Naga". The Naga is a half serpent (dragon) emerging from the mouth of a crocodile. It is to protect the holy area.
The 306 long stair-stepper climb up to the temple is intended to help devotees accrue Buddhist merit. So up we went.
The crowning 5 tiered umbrella marks the city's independence from Burma and its union with Thailand.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep was established in 1383 to enshrine a piece of bone said to be from the shoulder of Buddha. In a sacred ceremony, a monk broke the bone into two pieces. The other one is enshrined in Wat Suan Dok. The second fragment was mounted on a sacred white elephant
that wandered through the jungle up the mountain for days with the devotees following close behind. The elephant journeyed to the top of the mountain where, as the legend goes, she laid down and died. It is that very spot where the monastery was founded.
The relic is housed in a "chedi" surrounded by an array of gleaming gold-leafed Buddhas.
Pilgrims wait patiently in line to offer lotus blossoms.
The sunlight today gave the shrines surrounding the "chedi" a beautiful, glowing golden hue. The statues of Buddha that surrounded it were in an abundance of different poses.
We were given the opportunity to be blessed by a monk and greatly appreciated the kindness.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is a massive area filled with smaller shrines.
We spent hours walking on and through the various shrines and temples. Soon it was time to go. As we were walking down the 306 steps of the long stairway,
Kip asked us if we'd like to go to a place that is very special to him. He said he would go there to meditate when he was a monk and would we like to go. Of course, we said, "Yes!"
Kip hailed a songthaew and it drove us halfway down the mountain to the beginning of a dirt road. This "road" is easily overlooked as one is driving up the mountain to see the popular Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.
Kip said that we were now walking on the to the lesser-known Wat Pha Lat and it is a hidden gem.
Before one gets to the entrance to Wat Pha Lat, there is a coffee stand!
It had this sign on the counter so of course we all ordered an iced boon coffee and contributed to the monks' dental plan.
It was a great cup of coffee and its cup holder was made out of a palm frond. But most of all, we especially loved the words on the coffee cup:
"Be Happy. Enjoy the little things."
Kip told us that Wat Pha Lat is nestled in a lush green jungle temple paradise. We learned that "a jungle temple is different than a community temple. Jungle temples serve primarily as a calm place for monks to live and meditate".
The entrance to Wat Pha Lat is guarded by these magnificent, massive statues.
As we entered the dense, lush greenery of this "jungle temple", we were overcome by the serene sense of calm. As we were walking, we passed this sign that read, "Please keep calm in the temple".
We entered old stone temples laced with intricate carvings and statues. Each temple had steps leading to the entrance and huge symbolic statues protecting the temple.
And there were elephant statues! Lots and lots of them.
One of my favorite statues is of this monk.
Kip led us to the cave where a hermit monk, who had taken the vow of silence, lived his entire life.
Kip also showed us a cave that had monk statues carved into the walls of the cave. Devotees have shrouded these silent monks in golden robes and have laid offerings outside the cave.
Most of all Wat Phra That's jungle temple area provided plenty of scenic spots to meditate.
Chiang Mai can be seen in the valley below. There's a path to a hiking trail that leads to the city below and can be done in under an hour.
It was in one of those breathtakingly beautiful viewpoints that Kip taught us how to calm the "monkey brain" and to walk in meditation as the monks learn to do.
And they are hedging their bets by decorating elephants early for Valentine's Day.
Our first day we took a private walking tour of the old city, which is sprawling. We enjoyed this walking tour for it was a great way to get a feel for the city and to learn about its history.
One of the first things we learned is that Chaing Mai is known for its delicious coffee and amazing latte art!
We walked past the fortress of the city which was built in 1800. We learned that "the plan called for a square formed by moats and walls that faced the cardinal directions". So they built a wall constructed around the moat.
We walked to Thapae, one of the original 5 gates of the fortress around the Old City. It is located on the eastern side of the old city fortress.
We also walked past the ubiquitous Thai Massage Parlors. It seemed as though signs such as the one below lined the streets.
One in particular caught our attention.
It was the only massage center that we saw that had a TripAdvisor certificate of excellence!
It was the "Woman's Massage center by
Ex-Prisoners"!
Our guide took us to another part of the city to see the woman's prison
which is actually the spot where some prisoners come each day to sell their hand made items which they have learned how to
make in prison. In prison, they are taught to sew and to administer Thai massages so they'll have the means to support themselves when they are released from prison.
In addition to selling their hand made items, they also serve food at their little cafe.
Each night the ladies return to their prison cells on the outskirts of the city. But for many, their days are spent in this lovely place, filled with birds and flowers... a little oasis in a bustling city street.
Afterward, we toured various temples and learned the symbolism of the exquisite dragon being consumed by the crocodile guarding the entrance of the temples.
the roofs of the temples.
So many of the temples are still brilliantly illuminated with inlaid reflective colored glass which glistens in the sunlight.
Our guide took us to see numerous brick relics such as this 600 year old temple.
We also saw any temples that were under renovation.
So often, the side streets were lined with lovely temples, many of which had monks inside.
Here are just a few more photos of some of the wondrous sights we saw today.
It was an action-packed, busy day filled with stunning sights and historical knowledge!
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Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
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Today we had a private guide who had been a monk from ages 13-19. We learned that one can be a monk for either a portion or all of their life. Our guide, Kip, provided a fascinating insight into the daily life of a Buddhist monk. He also gave us an amazing explanation of the temple's artistic religious symbols and even taught us Buddhist meditation methods. It was a profound experience.
First stop, the temple located on the highest hill in Chiang Mai, "Wat Phra That Doi Suthep". Most people just refer to it as Doi Suthep, but as we found out, that is the name of the mountain where this holy temple is located. This temple is a sacred site for many Thai people.
To get to the temple, we had a choice of using Grab (which is like Uber) or taking a Tuk Tuk up the mountain. When we told Kip we would prefer to go the less touristy route and do what the locals do, Kip suggested we jump onto a "songthaew" pronounced "song-tau".
This method of local travel is a converted pickup truck with two benches in the back facing each other. The red ones (also known as "rot daang" meaning "red truck") operate in the city center. Flag one down, ask the driver if he's going in the direction you want and ask the price. Then hop on, or hold on as the case may be, and you're off.
Kip arranged for the red "songthaew" to take us up the mountain to the entrance to Wat Phra That Dio Suthep. The songthaew definitely was the way to go the distance for us today. It was quite an experience.
This method of local travel is a converted pickup truck with two benches in the back facing each other. The red ones (also known as "rot daang" meaning "red truck") operate in the city center. Flag one down, ask the driver if he's going in the direction you want and ask the price. Then hop on, or hold on as the case may be, and you're off.
Kip arranged for the red "songthaew" to take us up the mountain to the entrance to Wat Phra That Dio Suthep. The songthaew definitely was the way to go the distance for us today. It was quite an experience.
Kip told us about his monastic life. One of the many takeaways for us today was the Buddhist philosophy of "Eat to live, not live to eat". Wise words indeed!
As we approached Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, we were met by a long staircase of 306 steps. This staircase is flanked by a stunningly beautiful mythical creature of "Naga". The Naga is a half serpent (dragon) emerging from the mouth of a crocodile. It is to protect the holy area.
The 306 long stair-stepper climb up to the temple is intended to help devotees accrue Buddhist merit. So up we went.
At the top of the staircase, one enters the shrine by passing through massive teak carved pillars that are over 100 years old. The carvings depict various stages of Buddha's life. Kip shared with us the significance of each pillar's carving. These teak pillars were made from massive teak trees and had exquisite carved detail.
The palatial temple area is outstanding. We had a stunningly beautiful clear blue sky day and the gold leaf was shimmering in the sunlight. It was very special.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep was established in 1383 to enshrine a piece of bone said to be from the shoulder of Buddha. In a sacred ceremony, a monk broke the bone into two pieces. The other one is enshrined in Wat Suan Dok. The second fragment was mounted on a sacred white elephant
that wandered through the jungle up the mountain for days with the devotees following close behind. The elephant journeyed to the top of the mountain where, as the legend goes, she laid down and died. It is that very spot where the monastery was founded.
The relic is housed in a "chedi" surrounded by an array of gleaming gold-leafed Buddhas.
Pilgrims wait patiently in line to offer lotus blossoms.
The sunlight today gave the shrines surrounding the "chedi" a beautiful, glowing golden hue. The statues of Buddha that surrounded it were in an abundance of different poses.
We were given the opportunity to be blessed by a monk and greatly appreciated the kindness.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is a massive area filled with smaller shrines.
We spent hours walking on and through the various shrines and temples. Soon it was time to go. As we were walking down the 306 steps of the long stairway,
Kip hailed a songthaew and it drove us halfway down the mountain to the beginning of a dirt road. This "road" is easily overlooked as one is driving up the mountain to see the popular Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.
Kip said that we were now walking on the to the lesser-known Wat Pha Lat and it is a hidden gem.
Before one gets to the entrance to Wat Pha Lat, there is a coffee stand!
It had this sign on the counter so of course we all ordered an iced boon coffee and contributed to the monks' dental plan.
It was a great cup of coffee and its cup holder was made out of a palm frond. But most of all, we especially loved the words on the coffee cup:
"Be Happy. Enjoy the little things."
Kip told us that Wat Pha Lat is nestled in a lush green jungle temple paradise. We learned that "a jungle temple is different than a community temple. Jungle temples serve primarily as a calm place for monks to live and meditate".
The entrance to Wat Pha Lat is guarded by these magnificent, massive statues.
We entered old stone temples laced with intricate carvings and statues. Each temple had steps leading to the entrance and huge symbolic statues protecting the temple.
Kip led us to the cave where a hermit monk, who had taken the vow of silence, lived his entire life.
Kip also showed us a cave that had monk statues carved into the walls of the cave. Devotees have shrouded these silent monks in golden robes and have laid offerings outside the cave.
Most of all Wat Phra That's jungle temple area provided plenty of scenic spots to meditate.
Chiang Mai can be seen in the valley below. There's a path to a hiking trail that leads to the city below and can be done in under an hour.
It was in one of those breathtakingly beautiful viewpoints that Kip taught us how to calm the "monkey brain" and to walk in meditation as the monks learn to do.
Afterward, we sat in silence listening to the birds and the wind rustling in the gentle breeze. It was lovely and a lasting memory.
All to soon we knew it was time to leave. As we departed this special jungle temple area, we walked by the same coffee stand and saw these monks receive their dental donations.
Kip had arranged for our songthaew to pick us up and we were on our way once again down the mountain to Chiang Mai. We will always remember today and our time shared with Kip.
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Walking Around Chiang Mai
We always enjoy walking around a new city and seeing the sights. The sights in Chiang Mai proved rather exceptional.
We were especially intrigued by their electrical wiring system.
In case you might be wondering how they repair the wiring, we saw a handmade bamboo ladder leaning against a van that was double-parked on a busy street.
When we looked up, we saw that the bamboo ladder was leaning on the electical wires!
We also witnessed one of the most interesting ways of pouring concrete to form a building. It involved multiple workers, both male and female, handing each other buckets full of cement from the lower floor to the upper floor!
We passed artwork that adorned back street walls.
There were flowers in full bloom everywhere.
We also saw the makings of the annual Flower Festival which is an international event the first weekend in February. Thousands of Chinese flock to Chaing Mai for this festival each year which is quite an infusion of tourist baht in the Thai economy. Yet with the Corona Virus out of Wuhan, no Chinese came to the Flower Festival in Chiang Mai this year.
And even though Christmas was last month, Santa was still in town!
And they are hedging their bets by decorating elephants early for Valentine's Day.
While Chiang Mai is known for its multitude of multi-ethnic cuisine, these two were not what we expected.
We wandered through the streets and there were temples under reconstruction
and beautifully restored ones.
Nearly every temple had a gleaming and slightly different looking Phaya Naga guarding it.
Some temples had the Phaya Naga on the roof and even gold-leaf horses on the pedestals of the surrounding walls.
Side street shrines were everywhere.
And outside the doors of major shrines and temples,
there is this explanation of respect for Buddha.
Throughout the city, there were bridges over intersections with the king's face at different stages of his life. Thai people love their king. It is against the law to say anything derogatory about the king. In addition, if a baht (which has the king's likeness on it) falls on the ground and you step on it to keep the money from flying away, that is considered a jailable offense.
We also visited the Sunday Night Market.
There were vendors selling virtually any and everything one's heart could desire.
First by the entrance was Mrs. Tavee Saeheng"s one stop shopping...pedicure and Thai massage. There were plenty of takers.
Beside the pedicure and Thai areas, there were vendors selling their wares.
Handmade items 100 baht is $3.00 and 150 baht is $5.00
Masks were very popular! 20 baht is 67 cents.
There were some beautiful creations
If you want your purchase altered, there is one on-site who can help you.
There are shoes galore! 109 bahts is around $3.50 US dollars.
These lovelies are handmade soaps in the intricate shapes of flowers. They were so beautifully made.
There also was every type of food one could enjoy from the "yummy food tastes so great" stand
to fresh seafood
and fish that has been smoked.
to meat kabobs next to vegetarian delights
to popsicles
made in metal cylinders filled with flavored syrup that are then plunged into the vat of dry ice. When they emerge from the ice they are pulled out of the cylinders and are in the perfect popsicle shape. This stand was VERY popular!
The pizza stand was also popular although it was not like our pizza. It was Vietnamese pizza.
40 bhat is about $1.35
When not in use as a taxi, this songthaew is a coffee stand.
The jelly coconut stand was hugely popular.
Coconut milk was served up by the vendor hacking a fresh coconut open with a machete! It was impressive to see!
Directly beside the cricket stand was a dessert stand with a beautiful array of confectionary treats.
If you were interested in skateboards, there was a vendor there to help you part with your money.
All too soon it was time to head back to our Chiang Mai home away from home, The Green Tiger House. We needed to get packed and head for bed for tomorrow we start our 9 day journey north to the Hill Tribes.
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LAHU Northern Thailand Hil Tribe
and the AKHA Northern Thailand Hill Tribe
Thailand's Hilltribes ~Lahu and Akha
to help grow their crops.
Houses in this hill tribe village are built of bamboo, wood, and grass.
One of the more affluent homes with electricity and a satellite dish.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The following day we drove to another remote location in the mountains to visit the
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Akha hill tribe of Ban Lorcha:
Akha construct village swings that are placed at the highest part of the village.
The swing festival takes place sometime between August and early September. The actual date is determined by the village shaman. The swing festival coincides with the rice harvest and is performed to give thanks to the spirits.
The swing festival celebration goes on for 4 days. As part of the celebration, some older girls get a chance to wear women's attire for the first time. This reflects the girl's "coming of age" to marry. After the 4 day celebration, the swing is left undisturbed until the following year's celebration.
The strawberries are grown on acres of terraced rows.
It was a very special time with these two gentle, loving people. We were there for a long time and they said they were sad to see us go. They wanted us to come back soon.
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Karen Hill Tribe Homestay
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The "household" chores are the responsibility of the Karen women.
In the photo below, one of the Karen women is carrying water in her jug up to her home.
Waiting for the pot of water to boil.
The members of the Karen hill tribe went out of their way to make us feel comfortable. We transitioned into a very peaceful, quiet way of life.
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LONGNECK HILL TRIBE
and the BIG EAR HILL TRIBE
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Attached to this high powered motor was a propeller that looked like a weed eater on steroids.
Perhaps you can see, at the bottom of the photo below, the long propeller that is sticking out from the motor mounted on the back of the boat.
I was given the opportunity to become an honorary Longneck woman. Let me tell you, those coiled metal brass neck rings are heavy!! It's hard to tell if I'm laughing or crying!
It was an amazing day and all too soon it was time to go. We said our warm good-byes and headed to the riverbank. Our fisherman and his relative helped us board his boat.
The sun was setting as we motored our way downstream back towards civilization. Our time with the Longneck and Big Ear hill tribes is a day we'll never forget.
What an amazing experience! Jeff and I spent Valentine's Day at the Elephant Rescue Park in Chaing Mai. It proved to be one of the highlights of our lives.
The Elephant Rescue Park is located in a lush green valley on the outskirts of Chang Mai. The park's primary objective is to rescue elephants abused from circuses and logging camps. This Rescue Park provides the elephants with a safe, loving, and secure environment. The goal is to keep these elephants healthy and happy by providing a natural habitat within which they can enjoy the rest of their lives.
In case you're wondering, the purchase price to rescue an abused elephant is between $60,000 to $80,000 US dollars. By Thai standards, this is an enormous amount that few can afford.
It was inspiring to be in an environment where the health and welfare of the elephant are the primary concerns. In fact, we were able to help make "vitamin food balls" for the elephants.
We were with one elephant who had arthritis in her back legs. For 20 years, this elephant worked in a teak logging elephant labor camp pulling one-ton teak logs an average of 20 times a day. That's 20 logs of 2,000 pounds each. This elephant had been pulling 40,000 pounds each and every day.
To help ease her arthritic pain, this elephant received glucosamine in her daily vitamin balls. Glucosamine is unavailable in Thailand. So these glucosamine tablets are imported in huge shipments from the United States. The brand? Why it's the Kirkland brand from COSTCO!
During our time at the Elephant Rescue Park, we learned many fascinating facts about elephants. Did you know that elephants are herbivores and that eating ripe bananas, leaves, bamboo and fruit consumes 18 hours of the elephant's day! A female Asian elephant, called a cow, weighs over 6,000 lbs. She can consume 336 pounds of food a day!
A male, or bull elephant, is around 8,800 pounds. He eats 422 lbs of food per day!
Because elephants also do not eat in unclean surroundings tainted by dung, their instinct is to roam to a new area to eat.
Another interesting tidbit about elephant dung is that elephants can only digest 40% of their daily food which results in 60% elephant poop. For a female Asian elephant poops 202 pounds of poop daily and a male poops 253 pounds per day!! That's a lot of poop!
We learned that elephant trunks are like our fingers. The Asian elephant's trunk has one "finger". That's why it must wrap its trunk around objects like a boa constrictor.
One does not feed an elephant as one feeds a horse where you place the food on the palm of your hand for the horse to eat. With an elephant, you never hold the food, such as a banana, in the palm of your hand. You hold the banana upright and the elephant will grab hold of it.
I was taught how to use a file and then I got to file this elephant's toenail!
Asian elephants come in three different colors: brown, grey, and black. Their skin feels like leather.
Poo poo fibers
The first step in the process of transforming elephant poo into everyday paper involves scooping up the poo. Once the workers have gathered it, they wash away the waste. All that's left are the plant fibers.
Believe it or not, the poo is odor-free and is dried in the sun for 2 days. It feels like hay.
The dried poo is then boiled for several hours to become completely sterilized. This is a manual process.
The sterilized poo is strained into a container where it is mixed with other non-wood plant fillers. At this time, natural and chemical-free plant dyes are used for different colors. Now it is ready to hand press into the screen.
Once dried, we could easily remove it from the screen. The trick is to be patient and not tear it. And voila, poo poo paper!
After the hands-on tour, we made colored poo poo paper photo frames, diary covers, and cards.
Of course, there were items for sale, such as the ones below. All proceeds go toward the care for the elephants at the Elephant Rescue Park.
We created a poo poo paper photo frame. It will be a lovely, lasting memento filled with photos of our amazing, memorable day with the astounding elephants of the Elephant Rescue Park Chaing Mai.
There were vendors selling virtually any and everything one's heart could desire.
First by the entrance was Mrs. Tavee Saeheng"s one stop shopping...pedicure and Thai massage. There were plenty of takers.
Beside the pedicure and Thai areas, there were vendors selling their wares.
Handmade items 100 baht is $3.00 and 150 baht is $5.00
Masks were very popular! 20 baht is 67 cents.
There were some beautiful creations
If you want your purchase altered, there is one on-site who can help you.
There are shoes galore! 109 bahts is around $3.50 US dollars.
These lovelies are handmade soaps in the intricate shapes of flowers. They were so beautifully made.
There also was every type of food one could enjoy from the "yummy food tastes so great" stand
to fresh seafood
and fish that has been smoked.
to meat kabobs next to vegetarian delights
to popsicles
The pizza stand was also popular although it was not like our pizza. It was Vietnamese pizza.
And who can possibly resist eating a "delectable" selection of fried crunchy crickets, lots of crickets, Big crickets, Small, crickets, Mole crickets. you name it crickets oh, and grasshoppers!
Directly beside the cricket stand was a dessert stand with a beautiful array of confectionary treats.
Throughout the Sunday Night Market there were stands upon stands of corn! The grilled corn on the cob was very delicious.
If you were interested in skateboards, there was a vendor there to help you part with your money.
And if you didn't want to skateboard home with your purchases, you could always take a tuk tuk.
We walked home and while we had seen these sights during the daylight
we so enjoyed seeing the sights all lit up at night even more.
All too soon it was time to head back to our Chiang Mai home away from home, The Green Tiger House. We needed to get packed and head for bed for tomorrow we start our 9 day journey north to the Hill Tribes.
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LAHU Northern Thailand Hil Tribe
and the AKHA Northern Thailand Hill Tribe
Thailand's Hilltribes ~Lahu and Akha
Thailand's Hilltribes ~Lahu and Akha
Pat was our incredible guide for our private 9-day tour of northern Thailand hill tribes. He specializes in authentic and ethical expeditions to these tribal villages.
Although English is not his native language, Pat is self-taught and spoke very good English. His driver, Sam, shown below, spoke Thai and just a few English words.
Throughout our time together, we will be observing and interacting with local tribe members, delving deeper into their culture and way of life. Pat told us we'll have a homestay so the hill tribe can share the beauty of their homeland with us.
As we drove away from Chiang Mai for the start of our 9 day hill tribe adventure, little did we know what an amazing and life-altering experience awaited. Soon enough we would visit authentic hill tribe villages, farming areas, and local markets.
All totaled, we traveled over 1,000 miles. Each day as we were driven up and down the seemingly never-ending northern Thailand mountains, Sam kept us alive with his expert driving skills as he negotiated the narrow mountain roads, some with 1,864 curves, 2,070 curves, and even 4,088 curves. We traveled them all. They even sell these decals at coffee shops for those who survive the routes.
I must admit that one day I felt every sharp switchback curve on those narrow, serpentine mountain roads. But, it was well worth the long rides each day for they brought us closer to our hill tribe destinations.
It is important to know a bit about the history of these fine people. They live in such remote, small villages that many are unmarked on the map. Some villages have as few as 20 people.
The hill tribes of northern Thailand are ethnic minority groups. Years ago they fled oppression from Laos, Myanmar, China, and Tibet to settle in northern Thailand's highlands or hilly areas, hence the term, "hill tribes".
Traditionally, hill tribes are subsistence farmers who grow rice and corn crops. They live in poverty and use "swidden", a slash and burn farming method,
Swiddening is actually a sustainable form of horticultural in low-density populations. Unfortunately, with the addition of roads and logging by Thai companies and the influx of immigrants, there is little area to farm. Consequently, the land has not responded well to swiddening.
Up until it was outlawed in 1960, the major source of the hill tribes' meager income was growing opium. During the decade of the 1960's, the Royal King's Agricultural Project taught the hill tribes how to switch from growing opium to cultivating strawberries
and coffee
as their source of income. We read how Thailand's eco-method has become a "global community showcase of success for eradicating opium growth and replacing it with sustainable crops."
These northern hill tribes are known for spending long hours working in the hot sun in the fields and consequently, their skin is a darker hue than the majority of Thai people. Unfortunately, there is discrimination against the northern hill tribes, most especially by Thai city dwellers who want to make their skin lighter which they consider as a sign of higher status. Numerous skin creams and lotions sold in the cities contain bleach to help the Thai women and men lighten their skin color.
The government also discriminates against hill tribe families for their children are not permitted to attend government schools. While having lived and worked in Thailand for years, the government does not recognize the hill tribes as citizens. Because money is scarce, many of the hill tribe children and adults wear clothing that has been donated by various regional charities. It is not uncommon to see, for instance, an Adidas jersey underneath tribal clothing, or a Disney character t-shirt on a hill tribe child.
Throughout our Northern Thailand journey, as we visited the various hill tribes, we felt as though we had been transported back in time. It was a unique and thought-provoking experience.
Pat has lived in these rural areas of northern Thailand and has close ties with the northern hill tribes. He speaks their dialect and has many friends in each village. With Pat acting as our interpreter, we were invited into tribal member's homes and were fortunate to share a part of the respective hill tribe's lives. We were given the privilege to learn from them and experience their life.
At first glance, one might consider all of these northern Thailand hill tribes to be impoverished; but we found them all to be very rich in relationships, and to be, without exception, happy, gentle and generous. Regardless of which hill tribe we visited, we found each of them to be a proud cohesive group that strives to maintain, and continue through generations, the integrity of their respective cultures, customs, and language.
There are 7 different northern Thailand hill tribes: Karen, Akha, Hmong, Mien, Lahu, Lisu, and Palaung.
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Thailand's Hilltribes ~Lahu and Akha
Lahu hill tribe
The Lahu hill tribe villagers fled oppression in south China and Myanmar years ago.
At the end of a very narrow, dirt, mountain road, we were met by these two adorable little girls.
Their dad was busily weaving a basket.
Houses in this hill tribe village are built of bamboo, wood, and grass.
The houses typically stand on posts.
Here they are drying beans.
and working hard to sort them. The monsoon season will begin in a few months.
Hand sorting the dried beans is laborious, hard work.
Nearby there were lovely, loving moms with their happy babies.
An old hog walks down the path.
The New Year celebrations have recently passed and the village women are hand-sewing and embroidering new clothes to wear in the coming year. It takes them a full year to create their clothes for the following year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The following day we drove to another remote location in the mountains to visit the
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Thailand's Hilltribes ~Lahu and Akha
Akha hill tribe of Ban Lorcha:
Akha believe that humans and spirits dwell in the same world: the Akha live in the village and the spirits in the jungle. The village spirit gate was erected to create a clear demarcation between the humans' village and the powerful, malicious spirit world. One must always pass through the spirit gate each time one enters the village. This way one is decontaminated from the powers of the evil jungle spirits. It is taboo to touch the gate as one is walking through it. One must never strike it with a blade. Those who violate this sacred structure in any way must donate a pig for slaughter.
A large male wooden figure is placed on the upper side of the path to the spirit gate because the Akha believe men should not live under women. The primary purpose of these figures is to indicate that beyond the spirit gate is the realm of human beings.
Traditionally, the Akha are known as excellent hunters. In the past, they used every means available to survive in the jungle and devised various techniques to catch different types of animals such as birds, small animals and long ago, they even caught tigers. We saw demonstrations of their wooden traps (sans animals) that were quite amazing and very ingenious.
The swing festival takes place sometime between August and early September. The actual date is determined by the village shaman. The swing festival coincides with the rice harvest and is performed to give thanks to the spirits.
When an Akha couple is married, a new house must be built within 13 days after the wedding. The couple is not allowed to build their house in advance and construction much be completed within one day only. This house is small and is built near the parents' homes. If the house is not completed in one day, then the Akha believe that evil will befall the married couple and their children will be born with deformities.
Akha houses traditionally have no windows and the roof is constructed such that the eves come down low on both sides. The interior is quite dark but it is protected from the wind and rain. It gets very cold in the winters of northern Thailand so wind protection is extremely important.
The Akha home is divided into a male section and a female section with a shoulder-high partition separating the two areas. Males and females sleep in separate rooms. Even husband and wife sleep in separate sections.
The men and women's sections each have their own fireplaces. Food is prepared in the woman's section of the house and water is boiled for making tea at the men's section.
Because these wood and/or charcoal-burning fires are used for cooking within the house, smoke coats the thatch roof shingles with soot. The thick oily coating blackens the roofing material and protects it from moisture and decay.
Much can be said about the Akha's beautiful, colorful tribal clothing. It is the result of multiple months of painstaking embroidery.
The headdresses have antique silver rupees.
All their clothing starts with weaving the base cloth. The weaving is an extensive process.
Once the cloth has been woven, it will be dyed using natural dyes and then embroidered to create their beautiful headdresses and clothing. It is quite an elaborate process but the result is stunning!
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Palong Hill Tribe
Palong Hill Tribe
We visited the Palong hill tribe in the Fong area of northern Thailand, located about 7 miles from the Myanmar-Thailand border.
There are very few members of the Palong northern Thailand hill tribes. The Palong fled from Burma (now called Myanmar) to Thailand between 1982 and 1984. They escaped from the violent Burmese government forces and rebel armies. They fled to the high Doi Angkhang mountains which border Thailand and Myanmar.
Before we visited the Palong tribe we stopped at the Thailand-Myanmar border crossing.
There is a strong military presence at this border with soldiers and barbed wire fences with bamboo spikes.
The culture of the Palong is similar to the other northern Thailand tribes. They are very spiritual and deeply believe in "animalism". This is the belief that all objects, places, plants, creatures, weather systems, rivers, human handiwork, and even words possess a distinct spiritual presence and are all alive and animated.
The Palong women are incredible weavers. They create stunning, colorful clothing. They believe the spirit lives within the woven cloth.
The women all wear brightly colored jackets. The majority of the jackets are blue or black, while others are green or purple. The jacket style is similar to that of a bolero. Regardless of their color, all jackets have a bright red collar. The women wear a long skirt that is red and patterned with thin white horizontal stripes. It is worn like a sarong.
But the most striking part of the Palong women's clothing is a wide silver waistband. This wide silver waistband is one piece. To put it on each morning, the women step into it and shimmy it up towards the waist. They then put on a wide black belt to help keep it in place.
We saw women roasting corn.
There are very few members of the Palong northern Thailand hill tribes. The Palong fled from Burma (now called Myanmar) to Thailand between 1982 and 1984. They escaped from the violent Burmese government forces and rebel armies. They fled to the high Doi Angkhang mountains which border Thailand and Myanmar.
Before we visited the Palong tribe we stopped at the Thailand-Myanmar border crossing.
There is a strong military presence at this border with soldiers and barbed wire fences with bamboo spikes.
The culture of the Palong is similar to the other northern Thailand tribes. They are very spiritual and deeply believe in "animalism". This is the belief that all objects, places, plants, creatures, weather systems, rivers, human handiwork, and even words possess a distinct spiritual presence and are all alive and animated.
The women all wear brightly colored jackets. The majority of the jackets are blue or black, while others are green or purple. The jacket style is similar to that of a bolero. Regardless of their color, all jackets have a bright red collar. The women wear a long skirt that is red and patterned with thin white horizontal stripes. It is worn like a sarong.
But the most striking part of the Palong women's clothing is a wide silver waistband. This wide silver waistband is one piece. To put it on each morning, the women step into it and shimmy it up towards the waist. They then put on a wide black belt to help keep it in place.
We saw women roasting corn.
Cabbage for sale.
This is drinking water. You can see the bamboo gutter from which the rainwater flows into the barrel.
The Palong women also create stunning silver trimmed hats.
Living high in the mountains, this Palong hill
tribe grow strawberries. Row upon row of strawberries on the mountain slopes. This is a cash crop to replace opium.
tribe grow strawberries. Row upon row of strawberries on the mountain slopes. This is a cash crop to replace opium.
Interestingly, the Palong use fig leaves as organic mulch.
Palong woman tending to the strawberry fields.
The strawberries from that Palong field are sent out and are made into bottles of strawberry wine and jam for tourists to purchase in towns.
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The Oldest Palong hill tribe's
man and woman
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The Oldest Palong hill tribe's
man and woman
man and woman
Later that afternoon we visited the Palong hill tribe's oldest man and woman. No one knows how long this married couple has been together. Not only are there no marriage records, but there are also no birth records. So even they do not know exactly how old they are. But everyone agrees that they are indeed by far the oldest man and woman in the Palong hill tribe.
The couple has known our guide, Pat, since he was a young boy. They were very happy to see him again and to meet us. We felt so privileged to have been invited into their home. They were such happy, gentle souls.
The elderly husband had an instrument similar in size to that of a ukulele. He had carved it out of a piece of wood. It had 3 strings attached.
The older gentleman strummed it and sang two songs to us before his voice gave out.
Then he presented the wooden instrument to Pat who was very touched by the kind gesture. Pat said when his 2 year old son is much older, he will pass it on to him. Until that time, Pat will play it in his own home. It was a heartwarming moment.
The older gentleman strummed it and sang two songs to us before his voice gave out.
The elderly wife is going blind but was full of life. She sang along in her feeble voice. Then she put on her hat and a big smile.
It was a very special time with these two gentle, loving people. We were there for a long time and they said they were sad to see us go. They wanted us to come back soon.
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Karen Hill Tribe Homestay
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Karen Hill Tribe Homestay
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Of all of our Northern hill tribe interactions, the one that was the most profound experience was our homestay with the Karen hill tribe.
Our private guide, Pat, has a relationship with the Karen hill tribe so that we could experience the unique opportunity of a hill tribe homestay! It was an amazing experience.
The Karen hill tribe live in a remote area of northern Thailand's mountainous highlands and farm right to the edge of the jungle.
They have created environmentally sustainable rice fields. The rows of elevated land in the photo above are terraced rice fields. The Karen also grow corn, soybeans, and cabbage.
The Karen live in primitive conditions. The houses are on wooden stilts and the domestic animals such as the pigs, chickens and even cows reside underneath.
Their homes are modest and while you can't tell from the exterior of the photo below, the interior has a small loft as the upstairs level.
The "household" chores are the responsibility of the Karen women.
In the photo below, one of the Karen women is carrying water in her jug up to her home.
This Karen hill tribe's village was literally carved out of the jungle on steep hilly levels of hardened dirt.
There were water buffalo walking up the dusty path in front of us.
Our room had mosquito netting over our comfortable bed.
We awoke bright and early to water buffalo peering through our room's open-air window!
The Karen traditionally wear tunics and sarongs handwoven by the females of the family.
Many like to wear turbans of wrapped cloth on their heads.
The unmarried woman's dress is a long, plain white tunic worn down to her ankles.
The married women wear a sarong and a brightly colored Karen styled shirt with elaborate patterns and seeds sewn on it.
This rooster is a special hill tribe bird. It is tethered by a long leather leash. This rooster is periodically "released" into the jungle and will "hunt" for larger animals. The hill tribe men follow the rooster to locate the prey. We did not witness this, however, we were told that this is a common practice among hill tribes.
The meals were made with love and cooked over the open flame. The quality and quantity of food was fabulous. Here is our dinner with copious amounts of piping hot food. While delicious, we simply could not eat it all.
Our lovely homestay wife who prepared each dish over the open flame.
The following morning we had even more food! Pat, our guide, presented us with a special coffee the Karen women had made for us. It had honey on top.
This honey, I might add, was unbelievable. The hill tribe boys and men climb into the jungle trees and "rob" the hive of the honeycombs, always leaving some behind. The honey, for obvious reasons of hazardous duty, is highly prized. We were considered honored guests to receive it.
Pat also presented us with a delicacy for breakfast that the hill tribe wives had made for us.
Once a year the bamboo stalks are "ripe" and are harvested for this dish. The "husks" of the bamboo are stuffed with rice into the inside of the bamboo. This is then cooked over an open flame.
It is then eaten by peeling back the outer layer of the bamboo revealing the delicious sticky rice in the form of a tube which is then dipped in the honey.
We thought this filling, delicious dish was the end of breakfast but then the rest of the meal began arriving! The large circular woven bamboo tray was ladened with fruit and other main dishes of curry, noodles etc. Too much delicious food!
Here is the proud husband with his broad smile pointing to his wife. She was an amazing cook.
After breakfast, Jeff and I received handmade Karen bracelets that they made especially for us.
Here the two Karen women are taking off their handmade beaded necklaces to give to me!
All the members of this small tribe were genuine, kind and generous. The friendships that were forged during our homestay will live forever in our minds and in our hearts.
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LONGNECK HILL TRIBE
and the BIG EAR HILL TRIBE
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Longneck Hill Tribe and the Big Ear Hill Tribe
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Just when we thought our 9 day Northern Thailand hill tribe adventure couldn't get any better, we ventured into the mystical world of the Kayan Lahwi Longneck Hill Tribe. It was an amazing experience and we felt as if we were in a National Geographic magazine.
In order to reach the Longneck hill tribe's Huay Pu Keng village, we had a very long drive to the Pai River's edge.
Pat, our guide, arranged for us to have a fisherman take us on his boat to the village.
Our boat was long and quite narrow. Its bow was a good 4 feet off the water.
As we donned our lifejackets, they pulled the boat closer to shore. We hopped aboard.
Our boat was long and quite narrow. Its bow was a good 4 feet off the water.
As we donned our lifejackets, they pulled the boat closer to shore. We hopped aboard.
For balance, Pat, Jeff and I sat on the threadbare green rug in the middle of this long, slender boat.
The only other passenger was the fisherman's relative who was perched on the elevated bow of the boat.
The fisherman powered his narrow boat with a huge motor. The motor was from either a tractor or a car.
The only other passenger was the fisherman's relative who was perched on the elevated bow of the boat.
The fisherman powered his narrow boat with a huge motor. The motor was from either a tractor or a car.
Attached to this high powered motor was a propeller that looked like a weed eater on steroids.
Perhaps you can see, at the bottom of the photo below, the long propeller that is sticking out from the motor mounted on the back of the boat.
The sound of the massive motor was deafening. We held on for we were literally flying upstream.
The fisherman's relative, who was precariously perched on the bow of the boat,
The fisherman's relative, who was precariously perched on the bow of the boat,
would periodically point to the right or left as a means of "telling" the fisherman where the rocks were in the river. After a memorable 45-minute boat ride, we arrived at the Longneck hill tribe's Huay Pu Keng village.
As had been our experience in other hill tribe villages, the Longneck village had a peaceful, relaxed sense of calm.
Soon we saw a lovely woman sitting on a bench, strumming her handmade wooden instrument which resembled an antiquated guitar. As we approached, we heard her softly singing.
She stopped singing and motioned for me to come over and sit beside her. Then she serenaded us with many beautiful songs. It was irrelevant that we didn't know Thai nor that she didn't know the English language. Her beautiful melodic words transcended the language barrier.
As had been our experience in other hill tribe villages, the Longneck village had a peaceful, relaxed sense of calm.
Soon we saw a lovely woman sitting on a bench, strumming her handmade wooden instrument which resembled an antiquated guitar. As we approached, we heard her softly singing.
She stopped singing and motioned for me to come over and sit beside her. Then she serenaded us with many beautiful songs. It was irrelevant that we didn't know Thai nor that she didn't know the English language. Her beautiful melodic words transcended the language barrier.
We soon realized that Longneck women wear heavy brass rings not only around their neck but on their forearms and shins as well.
Pat knew of a Longneck woman who spoke English and was able to locate her. I think she appreciated our genuine interest in the culture of the Longneck hill tribe for she gave us an extensive, in-depth personal guided tour of the village and of areas tourists normally do not see.
We were also fascinated by the history of the rings wrapped around the Longneck women's necks. I had mistakenly always thought that the rings push the neck up, but I was wrong. These rings actually push the collarbone and shoulders down giving the appearance of the neck being pushed upward. The coils that can weigh as much as 25 lbs compress the shoulders, chest, and ribcage. This creates the illusion of a disembodied head hovering over a shimmering pedestal of gold rings.
We learned that the neck rings are actually one long piece of brass coil that is wrapped around the neck. As one gets older and requires more rings, that piece of coiled metal is removed and then a longer brass coil is wrapped around the neck to add more rings. Since the coils do not lengthen the neck, the coils can be removed without breaking the woman's neck. However, the neck muscles are so weakened and atrophied that the neck needs to be firmly supported and held in place when the new, longer brass coil is added.
Longneck women wear these coiled rings throughout their life. Starting at ages 4 or 5, a coil is added annually until the child acclimates to the increased weight.
With very few exceptions, the coils are never taken off. They are worn year round, even when sleeping!
These rings on the neck, wrists, and knees of the long neck women now are considered a traditional mark of beauty. It is believed that long ago these rings were worn to protect women from tigers.
Through our time together, we learned quite a bit about the Longneck hill tribe.
The Longneck tribe members fled from religious discrimination, political oppression and civil unrest in Myanmar (formally Burma) to the safety of Thailand. While fleeing for their lives and crossing the border to the safety of Thailand was obviously the right choice, it created an economic problem for the Longneck Kayan hill tribe. In the eyes of the Thai government, they are illegal immigrants. Consequently, the Longneck's opportunity for gaining Thai citizenship is extremely limited to none.
The Longneck tribe members fled from religious discrimination, political oppression and civil unrest in Myanmar (formally Burma) to the safety of Thailand. While fleeing for their lives and crossing the border to the safety of Thailand was obviously the right choice, it created an economic problem for the Longneck Kayan hill tribe. In the eyes of the Thai government, they are illegal immigrants. Consequently, the Longneck's opportunity for gaining Thai citizenship is extremely limited to none.
We learned that the neck rings are actually one long piece of brass coil that is wrapped around the neck. As one gets older and requires more rings, that piece of coiled metal is removed and then a longer brass coil is wrapped around the neck to add more rings. Since the coils do not lengthen the neck, the coils can be removed without breaking the woman's neck. However, the neck muscles are so weakened and atrophied that the neck needs to be firmly supported and held in place when the new, longer brass coil is added.
Longneck women wear these coiled rings throughout their life. Starting at ages 4 or 5, a coil is added annually until the child acclimates to the increased weight.
With very few exceptions, the coils are never taken off. They are worn year round, even when sleeping!
These rings on the neck, wrists, and knees of the long neck women now are considered a traditional mark of beauty. It is believed that long ago these rings were worn to protect women from tigers.
The Longnecks live a rugged, tedious and simple lifestyle. While the men tend to be away farming in the fields, the women remain at home to weave and produce beautiful, colorful items.
While the majority of the men tend to be away farming in the fields for corn and kidney beans, some men have as their job to go into the hills each day and collect basket after basketful of huge fig leaves.
Our guide took us into the hills and one such fig gatherer passed us.
Our guide took us into the hills and one such fig gatherer passed us.
This gentleman has delivered his basket full of fig leaves and is heading back up the narrow, winding mountain trail to collect more fig leaves.
The morning fig leaves are more pliable for "threading". They dry out during the course of the day and become more fragile for weaving.
Our guide took us to the Kayaw hill tribe known as "Big Ears". We saw a Big Ear woman working on threading the fig leaves together.
Here are long strips of bamboo which have been stripped by hand.
This lovely Long Ear woman was busily inserting long strips of bamboo through the fig leaves.
On her right is a pile of the large fig leaves which have been woven into strips.
As she weaves the fig leaves together, she is creating the equivalent of shingles for the roof of houses.
Our guide took us to the Kayaw hill tribe known as "Big Ears". We saw a Big Ear woman working on threading the fig leaves together.
This lovely Long Ear woman was busily inserting long strips of bamboo through the fig leaves.
On her right is a pile of the large fig leaves which have been woven into strips.
As she weaves the fig leaves together, she is creating the equivalent of shingles for the roof of houses.
Here is the finished product you can see as the underside of the roof.
Here she is weaving the fig leaves together to form a row.
While living in close proximity to one another, the Longnecks and Big Ears hill tribes each have their own area of adornment. Just as the Longneck girls can start wearing neck rings at the age of five, so too the Big Ears start the young girls with holes and rings in their ears at age 5. The height of beauty is for their ear lobes to have a huge hole and adornment in the lobe.
Above is a close up of her ear "ring". It was quite large.
It is almost hard to believe in the photo above that the "ear rings" shown are in her ear lobe!
Back at the Longneck village, we had the honor of being invited into this woman's home.
While she was very dear to have the three of us in a photo,
it's plain to see that she MUCH preferred to be in the photo alone with Jeff.
While she was very dear to have the three of us in a photo,
it's plain to see that she MUCH preferred to be in the photo alone with Jeff.
The Longneck tribe women wear their neck rings with traditional pride.
It was an amazing day and all too soon it was time to go. We said our warm good-byes and headed to the riverbank. Our fisherman and his relative helped us board his boat.
The sun was setting as we motored our way downstream back towards civilization. Our time with the Longneck and Big Ear hill tribes is a day we'll never forget.
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ELEPHANTS!!!
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Elephants!
The Elephant Rescue Park is located in a lush green valley on the outskirts of Chang Mai. The park's primary objective is to rescue elephants abused from circuses and logging camps. This Rescue Park provides the elephants with a safe, loving, and secure environment. The goal is to keep these elephants healthy and happy by providing a natural habitat within which they can enjoy the rest of their lives.
In case you're wondering, the purchase price to rescue an abused elephant is between $60,000 to $80,000 US dollars. By Thai standards, this is an enormous amount that few can afford.
Currently, 4,000 captive elephants are in the 223 elephant camps. There are less than 1,000 wild elephants left in Thailand!
Throughout our day at the Elephant Rescue Park Chiang Mai, we felt the elephants were treated with kindness, respect, and love.
Throughout our day at the Elephant Rescue Park Chiang Mai, we felt the elephants were treated with kindness, respect, and love.
We were with one elephant who had arthritis in her back legs. For 20 years, this elephant worked in a teak logging elephant labor camp pulling one-ton teak logs an average of 20 times a day. That's 20 logs of 2,000 pounds each. This elephant had been pulling 40,000 pounds each and every day.
To help ease her arthritic pain, this elephant received glucosamine in her daily vitamin balls. Glucosamine is unavailable in Thailand. So these glucosamine tablets are imported in huge shipments from the United States. The brand? Why it's the Kirkland brand from COSTCO!
During our time at the Elephant Rescue Park, we learned many fascinating facts about elephants. Did you know that elephants are herbivores and that eating ripe bananas, leaves, bamboo and fruit consumes 18 hours of the elephant's day! A female Asian elephant, called a cow, weighs over 6,000 lbs. She can consume 336 pounds of food a day!
A male, or bull elephant, is around 8,800 pounds. He eats 422 lbs of food per day!
Because elephants also do not eat in unclean surroundings tainted by dung, their instinct is to roam to a new area to eat.
Another interesting tidbit about elephant dung is that elephants can only digest 40% of their daily food which results in 60% elephant poop. For a female Asian elephant poops 202 pounds of poop daily and a male poops 253 pounds per day!! That's a lot of poop!
As part of the experience, we had to change into our "uniform" complete with a straw hat which was a welcome addition to create a bit of shade from the 98 degree heat of the day.
We learned how to make our homemade elephant vitamin balls.
Then we met our elephants!
They came walking down to meet us.
It was love at first sight!
They are enormous and it is easy to see why they are the world's largest land animal.
One of these magnificent pachyderms had had years of abuse before being rescued and was blind in her left eye. Although she was a gentle giant, we were cautioned to only be on her right side.
We were also instructed to touch the elephant's hide by petting it as hard as one would pat the head of a dog. If one pats the elephant with a very gentle touch, the elephant will think you are an insect and swat at you with its massive trunk.
We had an amazing time feeding these gentle giants.
Amazingly, while not having a bone, the elephant's trunk does have a staggering 40,000 muscles and 150,000 individual units. Our human body only has 639 muscles. You can see how intricate the elephant's trunk is.
The trunk is used for smelling, touching, grasping objects and food, producing sound and of course, breathing.
Elephants are the only animal that can snorkel without artificial aid. By holding the tips of their trunks above the water's edge, elephants can traverse a river being totally submerged. They simply walk across the riverbed.
And believe it or not, elephants can suck up 10 gallons of water per minute!
Then we met our elephants!
They came walking down to meet us.
They are enormous and it is easy to see why they are the world's largest land animal.
We were also instructed to touch the elephant's hide by petting it as hard as one would pat the head of a dog. If one pats the elephant with a very gentle touch, the elephant will think you are an insect and swat at you with its massive trunk.
We had an amazing time feeding these gentle giants.
If you were to look at an elephant's skeleton you would clearly see the tusks, which can grow up to 10 feet; however, you would not see the trunk because there is not one bone in an elephant's trunk.
Amazingly, while not having a bone, the elephant's trunk does have a staggering 40,000 muscles and 150,000 individual units. Our human body only has 639 muscles. You can see how intricate the elephant's trunk is.
The trunk is used for smelling, touching, grasping objects and food, producing sound and of course, breathing.
Elephants are the only animal that can snorkel without artificial aid. By holding the tips of their trunks above the water's edge, elephants can traverse a river being totally submerged. They simply walk across the riverbed.
And believe it or not, elephants can suck up 10 gallons of water per minute!
It's pretty amazing what all we learned. One question asked was "Why do elephants cry?"
Well, the scientific answer is that they don't. Unlike most mammals, elephants do not possess any tear ducts. What they do possess is an evolutionary sweat gland! This sweat gland is at the inner corner of its eye. With nowhere to go, this fluid spills out and runs down the face. There is actually a diagonal groove in the skin next to the inner corner of the eye that serves to draw the liquid away from the eye and down the elephant's face where it can evaporate.
We learned that elephant trunks are like our fingers. The Asian elephant's trunk has one "finger". That's why it must wrap its trunk around objects like a boa constrictor.
One does not feed an elephant as one feeds a horse where you place the food on the palm of your hand for the horse to eat. With an elephant, you never hold the food, such as a banana, in the palm of your hand. You hold the banana upright and the elephant will grab hold of it.
The elephant wraps its trunk tightly around it, then pulls it into his mouth. They are voracious eaters!
Asian elephants have 5 toes on their front legs and 4 on their back.
However, the elephants' toes are hidden.
We only see their massive toenails.
The elephant's toenail was hard as a rock! It was a lengthy process to file the elephant's toenail.
But my elephant seemed to think I did a good job.
The distance around the elephant's foot is actually half the height of the elephant to its shoulder!
Then we were off for a long hike to the water for a bath.
We headed out into the jungle to the river.
The afternoon temperature was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Along the way, our elephants stopped to grab huge chunks of dried dirt from the ground, and with their massive trunks, they heaved the clay dirt and powerfully threw it onto their backs. Suddenly plumes of dust exploded all around us. All of the elephants did this to cool down from the oppressive heat and soon we were surrounded by enormous clouds of dust.
When the dust settled, the elephants were covered with bits of grass and dirt. Time for a bath!
After the long hike,
we were out of the jungle and at the river's edge.
Then it was off to take a bath in the river!
What an amazing experience to wash these magnificent animals. It's a day that we'll never forget.
After all the scrubbing, washing, and rinsing, our elephants were all clean! Time to head back home.
I had made a friend for life!
Here's Jumbo who's showing off with his blaring trumpeting!
What an incredible day!
We hated to say, "good-bye" but as we left, we took with us a memory of a lifetime.
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POO POO PAPER
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PooPoo Paper
Asian elephants come in three different colors: brown, grey, and black. Their skin feels like leather.
Their life span is between 55 to 70 years.
The Asian elephants' top speed can reach 27 miles per hour. In parts of Thailand, it's challenging to share the road with an Asian elephant! This elephant charged out of the jungle and onto the road to chase the Toyota! This photo was taken in the Khao Yai National Park.
The Asian elephant's height can be between 7 feet to 10 feet.
Asian elephants can weigh from 6,500 lbs to 11,000 lbs! They eat over 18 hours in a day.
You and I eat only 3 or 4 pounds of food a day. An average female Asian elephant, called a cow, consumes nearly 350 pounds of food per day. A male or bull elephant, eats nearly 440 pounds of food a day.
And, are you ready for this? A female Asian elephant poops 202 pounds daily! A male poops 253 pounds per day!!
That's a lot of poop. So what can be done with all that poop you ask? Well, you can make it into Poo Poo Paper. Yes, that's right. Poo Poo Paper!
We visited the Elephant Poo Poo Park.
The mission of the Elephant PooPoo Park is to utilize daily elephant poop and process it into sustainable paper products. The "end" result of the poo poo paper is a colorful paper that is tree-free. The finished product does not integrate wood pulp fibers nor any chlorine nor bleach in the making of the paper. The dye is natural, and chemical-free. Believe it or not, the colored paper is edible and made with soy-based ink.
We enjoyed our interactive experience making the Poo Poo paper. Creating the Poo Poo paper products from elephant poo illustrated the important message of conservation and sustainability.
The process of making Poo Poo paper has to be seen to believe it, so here are a few photos:
We enjoyed our interactive experience making the Poo Poo paper. Creating the Poo Poo paper products from elephant poo illustrated the important message of conservation and sustainability.
The process of making Poo Poo paper has to be seen to believe it, so here are a few photos:
Poo poo fibers
The first step in the process of transforming elephant poo into everyday paper involves scooping up the poo. Once the workers have gathered it, they wash away the waste. All that's left are the plant fibers.
Believe it or not, the poo is odor-free and is dried in the sun for 2 days. It feels like hay.
The dried poo is then boiled for several hours to become completely sterilized. This is a manual process.
As a side note, some of the mixtures can be rolled into colored balls where they are sun-dried into hard, colorful poo poo balls. These poo poo balls are quite light.
Back to the process of making the poo poo paper: one starts pressing and smoothing the colorful, soft, gooey mass evenly on a mesh screen board (similar to a silk-screening board). The board is then set in the sun for drying.
Back to the process of making the poo poo paper: one starts pressing and smoothing the colorful, soft, gooey mass evenly on a mesh screen board (similar to a silk-screening board). The board is then set in the sun for drying.
Once dried, we could easily remove it from the screen. The trick is to be patient and not tear it. And voila, poo poo paper!
After the hands-on tour, we made colored poo poo paper photo frames, diary covers, and cards.
Of course, there were items for sale, such as the ones below. All proceeds go toward the care for the elephants at the Elephant Rescue Park.
We created a poo poo paper photo frame. It will be a lovely, lasting memento filled with photos of our amazing, memorable day with the astounding elephants of the Elephant Rescue Park Chaing Mai.
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THE MOKEN TRIBE
ON THE SURIN ISLANDS
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We left the mainland behind and headed out on the Andaman Sea.
We had a wonderful time camping. We also enjoyed eating meals, swapping stories and spending quality time with our adventure guide, 2E.
You couldn't help but be relaxed and happy spending your days snorkeling in the Andaman Sea.
We saw a beautiful hawkbill turtle and swam with her for quite a while. It was magical.
Our Moken guide's village lines the shore.
To the Moken, the sea is their universe. For hundreds of years, the Moken were called "chao-lay" or "sea gypsies" for they lived a semi-nomadic life relying heavily on the sea. Until the 1981, whole families of the Moken would spend of their entire life living in their boats, called "kabangs",
traveling from bay to bay throughout the Surin islands, living on shellfish, sea cucumbers, and fish.
The Moken are very spiritual and practice "animatism". This is the belief that all objects, places, plants, creatures, weather systems, rivers, human handiwork, and even words possess a distinct spiritual presence and are alive. To them, all the world is animated and filled with spirits.
This sacred shrine, located at the village entrance, is flanked by these carved, painted wooden poles called "spirit poles". They are sacred symbols which the Moken believe enable them to communicate with the spirits.
The Moken speak a unique native language, yet they have no written language. Their oral history is passed from generation to generation in folklore, legend, and songs.
It is particularly noteworthy that some words which are common in Western languages do not have any equivalent in the Mokan language. For instance, the Moken have no word for "worry". Other words that do not exist in the Moken language are "want", "take" or "mine" which is reflective of their culture of sharing and giving. The concept of individual possession of the land does not exist.
In 1981, the 5 Surin islands were established as the Mu Koh National Park, bringing profound changes to the Moken way of life. Government restrictions were placed on how much the Mokens could hunt and gather from the reefs, beaches, and forests in this newly "Protected Area" of the National Park. For instance, now the Moken are not permitted to cut any trees. So there is no wood with which to build their kabong boats. The art of making a kabong is literally dying out with the older generation. In addition, the Moken are also limited to the number of fish they can kill.
The kabong is at the heart of the Moken's former life, seen as part of the family. Their innate way of life, living as sea gypsies, traveling in kabongs, and living off of the bounties of the sea are now prohibited because their islands and the Andaman Sea surrounding each island are a "protected area" owned by the Thai government.
Nowadays the Mokens are permanently located in a small village built on stilts on the water's edge on the Surin island of Koh Surin Nuea.
THE MOKEN TRIBE
ON THE SURIN ISLANDS
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The Moken Tribe on the Surin Islands
Moken grandmother with her 18-day old granddaughter.
She is singing a song of life to her grandchild as her husband softly plays the drums.
The Moken tribe's small village is located on the island of Koh Surin Nuea, one of the 5 Surin Islands off the coast of Thailand.
The Surin Islands are located in the Andaman Sea, 38 miles west of the mainland of Thailand and 6 miles from the Thailand-Myanmar border.
The Surin Islands are one of the very few untouched places in Thailand. Aside from the national park premises and the small Moken village, there are no other buildings on the 5 Surin islands.
The Surin Islands are located in the Andaman Sea, 38 miles west of the mainland of Thailand and 6 miles from the Thailand-Myanmar border.
The Surin Islands are one of the very few untouched places in Thailand. Aside from the national park premises and the small Moken village, there are no other buildings on the 5 Surin islands.
We started our 3-day adventure trip to the Surin islands from Ronong on the mainland of Thailand. We were met by our adventure guide, who told us her Thai name was so long and difficult to pronounce that she goes by the nickname "2E". We all boarded a speed boat with its high powered engines that had 3 times the horsepower of my Toyota Camry!
An hour and a quarter later, our high powered speed boat had taken us 38 miles out at sea to the Surin Islands. We landed at the Mo Ko Surin National Park.
The water was breathtakingly beautiful! The sand was like walking on confection sugar. The crystal clear, warm water was oh, so inviting!
We camped in a tent on the Mai Ngam Beach for 3 days.
Here's Jeff's and my tent.
Talk about a room with a view!
It was heavenly!
2E, Jeff and I went snorkeling multiple times each day to the different Surin Islands. 2E had arranged for us to have the Moken tribal chief, Nguey Klatalay, be our snorkeling guide. Nguey brought his brother who steered the boat. We were driven to the different Surin islands in a "long-tail" boat powered by a car motor attached to a long shaft with a propeller at the end.
Our Moken snorkeling guide, Nguey, in the foreground and his brother on the rudder.
2E translated what our wonderful Moken guide shared about each island's astoundingly beautiful coral reefs and what marine life we might well see.
The snorkeling was sensational. The rich biodiversity of the Andaman Sea with its translucent water was surreal. Throughout our 3 days of snorkeling, we swam over vibrant blue coral and pink coral. We saw stunning blue starfish, massive giant clams and huge sea fans many as large as tabletops.
We saw a beautiful hawkbill turtle and swam with her for quite a while. It was magical.
We also saw many parrotfish.
The Moken tribe do not kill the parrotfish. They protect them for they know the parrotfish eat the algae growing on the coral thus preventing the coral from being suffocated.
One day we even had a black-tipped shark swim under us and then quickly scoot along! We were told that they are not aggressive. But it was still a shark!
We were amazed by the multitude of technicolor fish. The Surin Islands are home to over 1,400 different species of fish that come in all shapes, sizes, and behaviors. In fact, we were surrounded by more abundant varieties of fish than are in most aquariums.
In addition to the 1,400 different species of fish, there are 300 species of echinoderms (starfish, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers), numerous small and massive clams and mollusks, not to mention dolphins, sharks, in particular, the elusive whale sharks (which arrive in March April),
and manta rays to name just a few of the stunning sea creatures. Incidentally, the Manta rays have the largest brain of any fish. In the Andaman Sea, the Manta rays can be 23 feet in width.
In addition to our amazing snorkeling adventures, we also had the exceptional experience of spending time with our Moken guide's family in his village on the Surin Island of Ko Surin Nua.
Koh Surin Nuea is the home to an indigenous community of around 150 Moken.
Koh Surin Nuea is the home to an indigenous community of around 150 Moken.
Our Moken guide's village lines the shore.
To the Moken, the sea is their universe. For hundreds of years, the Moken were called "chao-lay" or "sea gypsies" for they lived a semi-nomadic life relying heavily on the sea. Until the 1981, whole families of the Moken would spend of their entire life living in their boats, called "kabangs",
traveling from bay to bay throughout the Surin islands, living on shellfish, sea cucumbers, and fish.
The Moken are very spiritual and practice "animatism". This is the belief that all objects, places, plants, creatures, weather systems, rivers, human handiwork, and even words possess a distinct spiritual presence and are alive. To them, all the world is animated and filled with spirits.
This sacred shrine, located at the village entrance, is flanked by these carved, painted wooden poles called "spirit poles". They are sacred symbols which the Moken believe enable them to communicate with the spirits.
The Moken speak a unique native language, yet they have no written language. Their oral history is passed from generation to generation in folklore, legend, and songs.
It is particularly noteworthy that some words which are common in Western languages do not have any equivalent in the Mokan language. For instance, the Moken have no word for "worry". Other words that do not exist in the Moken language are "want", "take" or "mine" which is reflective of their culture of sharing and giving. The concept of individual possession of the land does not exist.
In 1981, the 5 Surin islands were established as the Mu Koh National Park, bringing profound changes to the Moken way of life. Government restrictions were placed on how much the Mokens could hunt and gather from the reefs, beaches, and forests in this newly "Protected Area" of the National Park. For instance, now the Moken are not permitted to cut any trees. So there is no wood with which to build their kabong boats. The art of making a kabong is literally dying out with the older generation. In addition, the Moken are also limited to the number of fish they can kill.
The kabong is at the heart of the Moken's former life, seen as part of the family. Their innate way of life, living as sea gypsies, traveling in kabongs, and living off of the bounties of the sea are now prohibited because their islands and the Andaman Sea surrounding each island are a "protected area" owned by the Thai government.
Nowadays the Mokens are permanently located in a small village built on stilts on the water's edge on the Surin island of Koh Surin Nuea.
The Moken survived the devastating December 26, 2004 tsunami unscathed because they listened to their village elders who recalled the generational folklore tale about the evil "Laboon". The legend of Laboon reveals, "When the land argues with the sea, the sea goes away, but always comes back to take revenge. It brings Laboon, the wave that eats people."
After lunch on December 26, 2004, the sea retreated, revealing an unprecedented exposure of shoreline. The elder knew the legendary Laboon was coming and immediately ordered everyone to run away from the sea and up into the jungle's mountains. All heeded this warning and it is said that within a half an hour later, the 100 foot wall of water hit their village and annihilated it. Miraculously, every Moken survived! Tragically, the same can not be said for the 30,000 lives that were lost on the other islands and mainland of Thailand.
The Moken village after the tsunami.
It is especially significant to note that the first place in Thailand to be hit by the tsunami was the Surin Island where the Moken live. Laboon unloaded all its furry on the Moken village. From there the tsunami traveled to the mainland of Thailand to wreak havoc and devastation.
Below is an excellent youtube on the Moken:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwOsGGiJMpM
After the tsunami, the world discovered the Moken. Few, if any, foreigners spoke their unique language. The shy Moken, faced with their newfound notoriety of having escaped the tsunami unharmed, were unaccustomed to western culture and confused with the attention and commotion.
The Moken village was rebuilt in 2005 by Thai government assistance which brought in generators for electricity. They restructured the Moken village with an emphasis on western housing. The huts were built in a regimented line and extremely close together instead of the traditional Moken method of leaving generous space between the huts.
This housing proximity proved deadly. Just last year, the village was destroyed again. This time not by Laboon, but by man.
Just after sunset on February 3, 2019, a generator caught on fire and exploded. The layout of the village, three rows of huts made from bamboo and dried pandanus (palm) trees, packed so closely together that their roofs were almost touching, enabled to flames to spread at a frightening speed, "like a fire spirit dancing from roof to roof". Within 30 minutes all 61 huts were swallowed by flames.
The entire village was ablaze and then incinerated. The Moken said this was more disastrous than the 2004 tsunami. After the tsunami, they were able to recover some belongings. But this time, because of the fire, nothing was left.
Below is a photo of the scorched remains of the Moken village.
While miraculously the was no loss of life, 273 people were left homeless, all their belongings were gone, from cooking pots to clothes, work materials and tools, life savings and generations-old family heirlooms. Some charities stepped forward and donated clothing, household goods, pots, pans etc. The rainy season, which arrives at the end of March, was fast approaching. There was a rush to rebuild and limited funding.
The village was rebuilt, once again by the government, and, once again, the bamboo huts with palm leaf roofs were built in the confined space layout, 3 rows of small huts packed into the same tight space, adjacent to one another, built with the same flammable materials.
Every rebuilt hut is still very small;
however, the government did install in all the huts solar panels
and many have satellite dishes. TV is the norm in many homes now. This occupies young minds instead of hearing stories of lore and their oral history.
Poverty by western standards is also the norm.
By being forced to stay in one location, and not being allowed to be sea gypsies, the stringent restrictions from the government has challenged the very livelihood, culture, and destiny of the Moken.
Many tourists visit the Moken village by arriving in the one-day tour boats to see the Surin Islands. They arrive at the Moken village, take a few photos and stay for less than an hour. Then they are on their way back to the mainland.
Above: A Moken mother with her baby resting in the shade.
Below: These two adorable girls are swinging and cooling off in the shady spot below their home.
Here's 2E is admiring the handmade woven basket. The lovely Moken woman's hand-dyed, handwoven basket took 2 days to make and cost 60 cents.
We were taught how to weave these patterns for a bracelet. It is not easy!
One of the two days we were at the Moken village, a barber arrived. It had been many months since he was last there. The Moken boys and men were very excited.
His mother, Sabai, is in her late 60's and has 11 children. Now she is blind.
Sabai is one of the last Mokan in the village to have spent the majority of her life on a kabong. She longs for that life of freedom on the sea. She wishes her children and grandchildren could have had the life that she had. This is a sentiment among many Moken who yearn for the nomadic life, a life of freedom on the sea, before they were permanently housed on this island.
Here Sabai is singing traditional folk songs with her husband, Tat, who is accompanying her on his simple wooden drum called a "ba nang". Sabai is the last person in her village who can sing these plaintive ballads. Many are concerned that when she passes, so too will pass these traditional Moken rhythms and words of their once nomadic culture.
Here Sabini is singing a song of life to her 18 day old granddaughter as her husband accompanies her on his drums.
t the fish. After receiving instructions, he tossed two huge stalks from a banana tree out in the ocean and waited for us to perfect our method. After numerous tries, and I do mean numerous tries, we each speared it!
Definitely not as easy as it looks.
We also learned how to row a Moken
"sa pan" which is a wooden dugout canoe that is extremely unstable.
The Moken have a unique method of rowing. The oars are crossed.
One is supposed to stand as one rows. I preferred to sit so I wouldn't tip over!
Nguey's son hopped in the bow of my boat to help with stability.
And I was off !
Getting out was definitely harder than getting in!
The Moken village was rebuilt in 2005 by Thai government assistance which brought in generators for electricity. They restructured the Moken village with an emphasis on western housing. The huts were built in a regimented line and extremely close together instead of the traditional Moken method of leaving generous space between the huts.
This housing proximity proved deadly. Just last year, the village was destroyed again. This time not by Laboon, but by man.
Just after sunset on February 3, 2019, a generator caught on fire and exploded. The layout of the village, three rows of huts made from bamboo and dried pandanus (palm) trees, packed so closely together that their roofs were almost touching, enabled to flames to spread at a frightening speed, "like a fire spirit dancing from roof to roof". Within 30 minutes all 61 huts were swallowed by flames.
The entire village was ablaze and then incinerated. The Moken said this was more disastrous than the 2004 tsunami. After the tsunami, they were able to recover some belongings. But this time, because of the fire, nothing was left.
Below is a photo of the scorched remains of the Moken village.
While miraculously the was no loss of life, 273 people were left homeless, all their belongings were gone, from cooking pots to clothes, work materials and tools, life savings and generations-old family heirlooms. Some charities stepped forward and donated clothing, household goods, pots, pans etc. The rainy season, which arrives at the end of March, was fast approaching. There was a rush to rebuild and limited funding.
The village was rebuilt, once again by the government, and, once again, the bamboo huts with palm leaf roofs were built in the confined space layout, 3 rows of small huts packed into the same tight space, adjacent to one another, built with the same flammable materials.
Every rebuilt hut is still very small;
however, the government did install in all the huts solar panels
and many have satellite dishes. TV is the norm in many homes now. This occupies young minds instead of hearing stories of lore and their oral history.
Poverty by western standards is also the norm.
By being forced to stay in one location, and not being allowed to be sea gypsies, the stringent restrictions from the government has challenged the very livelihood, culture, and destiny of the Moken.
As a way of "helping" the Moken living permanently in their protected area, the Thai government established an elementary school. The teacher arrives daily from the mainland (weather permitting) and teaches in a one-room schoolhouse. She is mandated by law to teach the classes in Thai, not in the Moken native tongue. Consequently, there is an entire generation of youth who know very few Moken words. There are also future generations who will not know Moken at all and only Thai.
After elementary school, students can go to the mainland to further their education. These students are discriminated against because their skin is a distinctive, darker, chestnut brown color. They look different than the other Thai, many of whom place a value of social importance based on one's paler skin. The darker skinned Moken are labeled "dirty" and asked by many Thai children and adults, "why should you go our to school?"
Above: A Moken mother with her baby resting in the shade.
Below: These two adorable girls are swinging and cooling off in the shady spot below their home.
2E works for a non-profit organization that is helping the Moken learn how to monetize tourism and become more independent.
Here's 2E is admiring the handmade woven basket. The lovely Moken woman's hand-dyed, handwoven basket took 2 days to make and cost 60 cents.
We were taught how to weave these patterns for a bracelet. It is not easy!
One of the two days we were at the Moken village, a barber arrived. It had been many months since he was last there. The Moken boys and men were very excited.
This young gentleman was very proud of his new haircut.
Moken children learn to swim before they can walk. They learn to "free dive" at a young age, holding their breath underwater and swimming down to the reef's sandy bottom, collecting sea cucumbers and shellfish. They can see clearly underwater for they have learned at an early age how to contract their pupils! It is astounding.
The Moken freediving ability is incredible! "They can dive to depths of over 60 feet on a single breath, stay there for several minutes and control their buoyancy without the need for weights, allowing them to walk across the seabed or remain motionless, suspended above their prey.
The Moken still hunt sustainably with spears and have developed their own techniques for attracting fish, such as blowing a stream of bubbles to lure certain species or lowering rope with leaves attached, creating a natural reef. They only ever take enough to fulfill their immediate needs."
The Moken freediving ability is incredible! "They can dive to depths of over 60 feet on a single breath, stay there for several minutes and control their buoyancy without the need for weights, allowing them to walk across the seabed or remain motionless, suspended above their prey.
The Moken still hunt sustainably with spears and have developed their own techniques for attracting fish, such as blowing a stream of bubbles to lure certain species or lowering rope with leaves attached, creating a natural reef. They only ever take enough to fulfill their immediate needs."
A wonderful youtube of the Moken's extraordinary ability to see underwater is:
On multiple days, we were most fortunate to experience the Moken village. One day we received an unexpected invitation to have lunch in the home of our Moken snorkeling guide, Nguey Klatalay, who is the chief of the village. It was a privilege to be invited into his home.
We met his family members: his father, Tat, his mother, Sabai, his wife, and 3 young sons, all 7 (including himself) of whom live in the small hut built on bamboo stilts on the edge of the Andaman Sea.
Here's the view from the inside of his home.
His mother, Sabai, is in her late 60's and has 11 children. Now she is blind.
Sabai is one of the last Mokan in the village to have spent the majority of her life on a kabong. She longs for that life of freedom on the sea. She wishes her children and grandchildren could have had the life that she had. This is a sentiment among many Moken who yearn for the nomadic life, a life of freedom on the sea, before they were permanently housed on this island.
Here Sabai is singing traditional folk songs with her husband, Tat, who is accompanying her on his simple wooden drum called a "ba nang". Sabai is the last person in her village who can sing these plaintive ballads. Many are concerned that when she passes, so too will pass these traditional Moken rhythms and words of their once nomadic culture.
Nguey also taught us how to spearfish but wit
Jeff tried and speared it.
And I tried it
I speared it !
We also learned how to row a Moken
"sa pan" which is a wooden dugout canoe that is extremely unstable.
The Moken have a unique method of rowing. The oars are crossed.
One is supposed to stand as one rows. I preferred to sit so I wouldn't tip over!
Nguey's son hopped in the bow of my boat to help with stability.
And I was off !
Getting out was definitely harder than getting in!
Jeff did a great job when it was his turn.
Then I got in and Jeff did all the work!
Ahhh, this is the life!
Later we went out snorkeling again with other members of Nyuey's family. It was another great day of snorkeling. It was especially fun to share it with our new friends! One doesn't necessarily need to know another's language in order to communicate happiness and joy.
It was sad to say goodbye to our new Moken friends, but after our glorious 3 days on the Surin Islands, it was time to go back to the mainland. We took with us our rich memories of the sea-gypsies and the abundant life under the Andaman Sea.
