A Trek from Pang Mapha to Shan Village

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Saturday 6 February
Breakfasted at 8.30am then collected at 9am by Toy as arranged. We were driven to a local village where we met our guide, Peeuk. He led us an exhilarating three and a half hour trek to his own Shan village of Ban MaeLanka. It was estimated to be 15 kilometres in length, however we agreed it was closer to 12, as our guide took a couple of shortcuts, requiring him to carve a route through virgin forest at times. We passed a few small villages in an area called Ban Jabo, inhabited by the Black Lao tribe. Along the way Peeuk cut and shaped bamboo walking poles which we certainly appreciated on some of the very steep trails he also picked an assortment of different nuts and leaves to eat, and toward the end of the walk, he picked and peeled a very refreshing and welcome Pomelo. Whenever we met anyone we were met with smiles and calls of 'hello', especially from the children. It was a fascinating insight into local life with none of the hassling to buy memento's or bracelets. The homes may look humble, but the people seemed contented. The earth is fertile, and each house has land attached where several pigs are housed and, maybe the time of year, but tiny piglets are everywhere. At the end of our trek, we had lunch which was included in our trip cost,. An extremely tasty chicken and yellow noodle dish was served at a humble wooden table. We noted with interest that our guide was offered different fare, could well have been jungle rat (Alf and Marilyn could vouch for this, based on previous experience). At precisely 2pm, as pre-arranged, Toy arrived to drive us back to our hotel. He stopped twice at viewing areas where we had coffee and marvelled at the distant mountain views. Toy informed us that we had actually been only 20kms from the Burmese border. It was Shan State National Day the following day, and we saw a lot of motorcycles and trucks laden with Shan people and gifts, making their way cross the border, flying their national flag. Once back at our hotel we enjoyed a large cool beer before heading back to our respective rooms to chill out. Reflecting that the 'easy short trek' had actually been quite challenging at times, but so rewarding. As there weren't really any viable alternatives, we arranged to meet for dinner in our hotel. Great food again, the wine flowed as we recounted our great day together, conversation animated, the Owner eventually locked up for the night, and reluctantly we trundled off to bed.

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Comments

[Diane Jones]

Happy time
Enjoying your photos, how good to see you looking fit and well, also lovely to see Alf and Marilyn with you. Take care xxx

[kevlin]

Hello Sis
Hello lovely Sister and my favourite b-in-law X Yes, having lovely times in Northern Thailand. Great day yesterday with Alf, Marilyn, Janet and Tony Can't believe we are more than half way through our trip Take care Both xx