Ted. In addition to exploring Chiang Mai, Judy and I wanted to spend a day up in the hills so we booked a private tour called “1 Day Authentic Hill Tribe Tour” with a firm called Thailand Hilltribe Holidays.
Northern Thailand is home to seven “Hill Tribes” which are identified by language and culture as being distinct from the Thai people. I won’t go into a lot of detail about these folks because there is lots on info on Wikipedia.
On our tour we had a brief glimpse of four of these groups and also visited two national parks to see some of the natural beauty.
Our driver, Adon, was a Thai from Chiang Mai but our guide was Surachai, who was a member of the Karen tribe.
Our first stop was at a Hmong village. We had coffee and a snack, visited a market and walked around the village. It was Sunday and there was even a small group worshiping at a little Christian church. Surachai, who like many Karen people, is Roman Catholic, said that good number of the hill tribe people attend Christian churches but aren't above calling on local animist shamans for big problems.
 |
| A Thai snack, sort of like little waffles |
We then did a quick drive through a Lisu village on the way to a Lahu village. Here we spent several hours with a local family who prepared lunch, with our help and took us on a tour of the village. The son did his best to speak English but our guide stayed busy interpreting. Of course, Judy and the Mom instantly bonded and never needed an interpreter.
 |
| Judy chopped taro while Surachai chatted with Mom |
 |
| Lunch (all local vegetables served with rice) |
 |
| The colorful native dress doesn't quite fit me! |
 |
| The village sits on a ridge |
 |
| A longan fruit orchard |
Our next stop was Pre Daeng National Park to see a waterfall and relax in the hot springs (where I chose not to risk getting my iPhone wet).
 |
| Srisangwan Falls |
We finished the day at Chiang Dao Cave. It has been a Buddhist pilgrimage site for centuries and is filled with shrines.
 |
| A mellow Buddha |
 |
| Cave entrance |
This trip was a great way to wrap up our 2-1/2 weeks in Thailand. Frankly, the big cities and beaches were nice but, in the end, it was the ancient hills that really spoke to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment