AmyHuang
Hilltribes of northern Thailand: Trek day 1
[We travelled with G Adventures]
One of the biggest reason we are up here in Chiang Mai is for a chance to visit the hilltribes of northern Thailand. These tribal villages are mostly refugees from Burma and have kept to their mountain living traditions to now. Our trip started with a drive north for about 2 hours, stopping by a local market to pick up supplies and began our trek somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
We chose this trek in particular because we wanted to experience the mountain jungles of the north and have the opportunity to stay in the villages. Besides our group, for the entire 2 and a half days we didn't see any other travellers, and it felt like we had the whole mountain to ourselves.
Of course, it wasn't until the end of the trip when I took out our map did I realise we've only covered a very small portion of the Huai Nam National Park.
Our first day was mostly uphill. Following narrow jungle trails only a guide could track, we were soon lost to the civilised world. Along the way, our guide Sombat taught us how to identify any edible vegetation, including three forms of ginger, wild taro roots and a particular plant leaf that could be used as antiseptic on a wound. We were also introduced to the Thai version of poison Ivy and trying every effort not to have body contact with them as we sift through the woods. There were steep hills to climb and fallen trees to navigate through, but our efforts were rewarded with fresh mountain air, and exceptional views of valleys and farmland.
After five hours of laborious foot work we finally arrived in our first village. This is one of the four Karen villages in the region. 'Karen', a tribe name more famously associated with the Longneck tribe, includes other tribes such as the one we stayed with for our first night. They no longer wear their traditional tribal clothing, but their lifestyle, their housing and their language remain.
This was in fact, Sombat's village, and as we stroll between houses Sombat was busy greeting his parents, cousins, brother-in-law and niece and nephews.
We were given a teak house of our own which had a large communal 'bedroom', a kitchen and a dining area. There are real 'out-houses' with limited running water, and solar panels for limited electricity. As we rested our feet, Sombat turned into the chef and cooked up a storm, and served green curry, vegetables and spring rolls for dinner.
After dinner we sat by a camp fire and admired the star littered sky. Without modern lighting and other distractions, it was as if every star in the universe were present, each trying to out shine each other. As we slept, frogs and crickets sang their lullaby and the gushing sound of the river draining its water soothes our minds throughout the night, life couldn't be any better (except for the really hard bed, which my spoilt city body just simply could not handle!).
(to be continued...)
One of the biggest reason we are up here in Chiang Mai is for a chance to visit the hilltribes of northern Thailand. These tribal villages are mostly refugees from Burma and have kept to their mountain living traditions to now. Our trip started with a drive north for about 2 hours, stopping by a local market to pick up supplies and began our trek somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
We chose this trek in particular because we wanted to experience the mountain jungles of the north and have the opportunity to stay in the villages. Besides our group, for the entire 2 and a half days we didn't see any other travellers, and it felt like we had the whole mountain to ourselves.
Off into the jungle we go...
Of course, it wasn't until the end of the trip when I took out our map did I realise we've only covered a very small portion of the Huai Nam National Park.
Our first day was mostly uphill. Following narrow jungle trails only a guide could track, we were soon lost to the civilised world. Along the way, our guide Sombat taught us how to identify any edible vegetation, including three forms of ginger, wild taro roots and a particular plant leaf that could be used as antiseptic on a wound. We were also introduced to the Thai version of poison Ivy and trying every effort not to have body contact with them as we sift through the woods. There were steep hills to climb and fallen trees to navigate through, but our efforts were rewarded with fresh mountain air, and exceptional views of valleys and farmland.
Rice fields
Smile for the camera!
After five hours of laborious foot work we finally arrived in our first village. This is one of the four Karen villages in the region. 'Karen', a tribe name more famously associated with the Longneck tribe, includes other tribes such as the one we stayed with for our first night. They no longer wear their traditional tribal clothing, but their lifestyle, their housing and their language remain.
This was in fact, Sombat's village, and as we stroll between houses Sombat was busy greeting his parents, cousins, brother-in-law and niece and nephews.
The village
We were given a teak house of our own which had a large communal 'bedroom', a kitchen and a dining area. There are real 'out-houses' with limited running water, and solar panels for limited electricity. As we rested our feet, Sombat turned into the chef and cooked up a storm, and served green curry, vegetables and spring rolls for dinner.
Our beds!
After dinner we sat by a camp fire and admired the star littered sky. Without modern lighting and other distractions, it was as if every star in the universe were present, each trying to out shine each other. As we slept, frogs and crickets sang their lullaby and the gushing sound of the river draining its water soothes our minds throughout the night, life couldn't be any better (except for the really hard bed, which my spoilt city body just simply could not handle!).
(to be continued...)
