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Published: August 2nd 2006
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Mae Hong Son
At Ji Ji Restaurant It was a misty trail from Pai, over the mountains which led to yet another picturesque valley: Mae Hong Son. It was small and there appeared to be few tourists and I was met by a torrential downpour.
Rain was not the only circumstance that kept me indoors for I was plagued with the most extreme gastro and was glued to the toilet for days. I couldn't eat nor sleep for the constant trips to the loo. I ran out of water but could barely move and was completely parched. It was a virus unaffected by immodium and maxolon and only began to slowly improve once I was able to get some antibiotics. I was determined, however, to get out and see the town and eventually managed to do so for short periods of time.
There did not seem to be much to do in Mae Hong Son itself besides a temple tour and I set off to explore what I could. I came across a very old stuppa with weathered bricks, moss covered and crumbling and it was a great photo op. As I was crouched down to photograph the stuppa from a particular angle, I heard
some very unusual heavy breathing behind me in a sort of bizarre panting. I looked up to see a man standing close by, staring intensely and breathing far too heavily. I half expected him to pounce on me. It was as though he'd never seen a woman before and he appeared to be deranged and lust crazed. I decided to make a quick exit but he followed just as quickly, grabbed my arm and began to stroke my shoulder and down my arm. It was such a strange thing to do and I pulled away, hurling a few coarse swear words in English that had no meaning to him, and hurried down the street and away from the temple. I was lucky he only touched my arm.
Later that day I made plans for the following day to tour round the areas surrounding Mae Hong Son. Due to the unpredictable nature of the weather and the inevitable rain, I decided to get a new raincoat as the one from the Jungle trek needed to be replaced. I found one for 20B in a store that sold fabric and raincoats. After agreeing on the price I handed the woman the
money which she took but refused to give me the raincoat. I was a little confused. We had definitely agreed on 20B and she wasn't asking for more money, she just didn't want to give me the coat. Then she explained that in order to get the coat, I needed to buy some silk. I didn't want any silk, I just wanted to leave. While she was motioning toward the silk and telling me about its great quality, I lent over to take the coat from her hand. Her grip tightened and we ended up in this raincoat tug of war that to any onlooker would have looked very odd indeed. Just as I thought I'd won, she grabbed the coat once more but I'd had enough and told her to let go. She reluctantly obliged, still talking about silk and I left thinking what a strange interaction it had been.
Given my fragile stomach, I rather foolishly agreed to a day trip as a passenger on the back of a motorbike. There were only two of us on the tour which is where I met Gal, a Russian girl who'd grown up in Israel and was also traveling
Fortune Teller
They have these fortune boxes in most temples where you draw out a stick and find the corresponding box to read out your fortune. Some were in English but mine was in Thai so who knows whats in store for me... on her own. The day's agenda was to visit Nai Soi, a village of Burmese refugees known as the Karen. For tourist purposes they are called the 'longneck village', identified by the brass rings the women wear around their necks. From there we were to see Fish Cave, Pa-Sau Waterfall and then to a few other villages close to the Burmese border.
I have been reluctant for a long time to see the Karen longneck women. I've always felt it was a tourist venture that was in fact encouraging this practice of burdening women with brass weights that hinder and restrict their natural movement. For them it is a tradition and considered beautiful but I wonder if the practice would continue if it was not so encouraged by tourism so that the villagers now rely on this as their income. There is a 250B entrance fee and the main road of the village is a line of souvenir stalls. But I did choose to go and if nothing else it has enlightened me to the plight of these women. They are stunning and so photogenic.
While I did enjoy Mae Hong Son, I did have a few odd
Wat Chong Kham
View from Chong Kham Lake experiences. I just wish I'd been well enough to enjoy it that little bit more. Maybe next time...
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