THE KAHNS IN THAILAND: PART II – Chapter 3 "Exploring Lanna Country"

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When we weren’t busy indulging and pampering ourselves (or nursing someone back to health!), we did actually manage to take in some of the sights, sounds, and flavours of this culturally rich and diverse region. Thank goodness we had allowed ourselves almost 3 weeks here, which was still barely enough.

Northern Thailand is rich in natural beauty, extraordinary wildlife, and with an impressive cultural heritage. The biggest draw for tourists is perhaps the fascinating hill tribe communities, the ethnic minorities referred to in Thai as “chao khao” which translates literally as “mountain people”. Among the largest and best known hill tribes are the Hmong, Karen, and Akha. The most recognizable and iconic are the Kaya (known as the Longnecks), and the Kor Yor (also known as the Big Ear tribe) and yet these are ironically less indigenous, being mainly refugees from neighbouring Burma.

Believe it or not, we asked not to see this popular tourist attraction… at least not the well-packaged technicolor version promoted by most of Chiang Mai’s tour operators. We had come to understand that there is an unfortunate phenomenon of “human zoos” at play in Northern Thailand, where virtually tens of thousands of tourists come through eager for an up-close encounter with a colourful member of a hill tribe, all decked out in their traditional regalia, doing something quaint like weaving some fabric on a traditional loom and looking like a 80 year old postcard. However, the unfortunate reality is that most of these “indigenous” people are bused in to a convenient location for the day, where they are paid miserable wages to play the part of their ancestors in order to meet the tidy expectations of foreign tourists. The even uglier truth is that such painful and oppressive traditions as the brass rings around the necks of the Kayan women would have long died-out were it not for the demand generated by tourists. And sadder still is the fact that many of these women have little other choice but to maintain this tradition, as the local government is reluctant to grant them alternatives having recognized the lucrative pull of their ethnic image. This is particularly the case of the Kaya who, being Burmese refugees, should in fact be eligible to seek asylum overseas and could be resettled in various willing countries were the Thai government ever to grant them the exit visas they have been requesting for years.

Thanks to the insightful guidance of our friend, Kun-Mai, we were able to arrange a less typical, if not slightly more orthodox visit to a Hill Tribe area, which involved a stroll through an authentic town, established by Hmong people. While a few older ladies wore something resembling traditional attire with just a touch of hand embroidery, most of the residents were in regular clothes and it was more the low-set housing and drying coffee beans that indicated the origins of these people going about their regular lives around us. We stopped at a small hut selling coffee where we were able to enjoy a cup of wonderful, top quality, freshly ground coffee. The extensive cultivation of coffee in this area is the result of a successful government initiative to help local tribes identify alternatives to the once terribly profitable opium trade of the Golden Triangle. Likewise, this also offers them the option to not be put on artificial display for the benefit of tourists.

This one day outing, which also included a sunset visit to the stunning Wat Phrathat temple on Doi Suthep mountain, wet our appetites for more rural exploration and so we decided to make our way further North. The northern-most Thai city of Chiang Rai had featured on our original Asian itinerary as the main stop at the end of a two and a half day slow boat journey up the Mekong from Luang Prapang in Laos. However, we changed our minds about this approach into Thailand after countless warnings of how un-child-friendly the slow boat facilities were. And indeed, spending two days in a row of confining our young, barely potty-trained children to a small boat bench for 9 hours at a time would have been complete madness… and only slightly better than spending those same hours in a bus. We were therefore left with little choice but to fly out of Luang Prapang and skip right over the Golden Triangle, landing already in Chiang Mai. But my disappointment at missing out on this famous corner of Southeast Asia got the best of me and I talked my family into backtracking the necessary few hours it took to drive up to Chiang Rai. From there, we could finally see the Golden Triangle region for ourselves and get to the heart of Hill Tribe territory.

This scenic area is called the Golden Triangle because it is where Burma, Laos and Thailand meet, at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers. Historically, it was the largest heroin and opium-producing region in the world (a title now shamefully held by Afghanistan.) Nevertheless, opium cultivation and export remains a serious problem in Burma, where the government has lacked the political and financial muscle to seriously tackle the issue. On the Thai side of things, as mentioned briefly earlier, the story is far more impressive. Thanks to royal commitment to eliminate agriculture and trafficking associated with heroin or opium, the poppy growing tribes have been provided viable cash crop alternatives, like coffee and tea. In addition, a prospering industry of eco-tourism has taken over with the Thai government heavily promoting the area for trekking and other adventuresome activities like zip-lining and white water rafting.

The road trip up to Chiang Rai was very easy and we were quite awestruck by the comfort and cleanliness of the Thai buses, not to mention their punctuality! The town of Chiang Rai, itself, was a bit more of a disappointment. It somehow lacked the charm and vitality of its big sister, Chiang Mai. We quickly understood that this is not a city tourists visit so much as it is one serving simply as a launching pad to the sights and trekking opportunities in the surrounding hills and mountains. When we looked into the child-friendly options for exploring the areas beyond the city limits, we discovered the means to be limited to private day tours with rather hefty price tags (starting at a minimum of $100 USD!) After making the rounds of several tour operators and realizing that it was either a pricey day of interesting sights or a cheap day of our rather dull guesthouse, we caved in and booked ourselves on a day-long tour of the northern-most stretches of Thailand.

Though the human zoo phenomenon proved inescapable here, we stumbled into it somewhat accidentally and nevertheless guiltily enjoyed the enthusiasm and curiosity it generated in our children. It’s undeniably cool to have your children see first hand what most people have to rely on National Geographic articles to catch a glimpse of. And having my 4 year old understand the challenges confronted by children of a different origin from hers and comment compassionately and intelligently on it felt like a breakthrough moment in my life as a parent. It especially reconfirmed for us the wisdom of embarking on this mad journey across Asia. Our children may not remember the details, but it will surely affect their outlook and attitude towards the world around them in a positive way. That being said, I’m still trying to nudge Eva away from her fascination with the practice of stretching earlobes out “Kor Yor”-style!

As proud as I may have been of my children during this visit, I was less proud of my own compulsion to capture on camera the visually impressive “long-neck” Kayan ladies, despite knowing it is the very action of taking them in photos that perpetuates their unfair predicament. It is so much harder than one would think to break out of the spellbound tourist mold and demonstrate social responsibility based on an abstract notion of politically correct tourism. At least I was more successful in resisting the urge to purchase a sample of their weaving, preferring to later invest in craft items sold through a non-profit organization which actually helps improve the choices and quality of life available to Hill Tribe women.

Besides the Hill tribe villages and breathtaking landscapes, this eventful tour allowed us to take in such unusual sights such as the relatively modern Wat Rong Khun, better known as the “White Temple” and the Chinese refugee village of Santikhiri, better known as Mae Salong. The still incomplete Wat Rong Khun is the personal self-commissioned effort of eccentric and controversial Thai artist, Chaleumchai Kositpipat. The entire temple exterior is white with mirror mosaics. On first glance, it appears like something made out of sugar for an elaborate Disney celebration. But on a closer look, somewhat gruesome images emerge and the folly- and possible genius- of the artist become more apparent. He began this project in 1996, as an offering to Buddha. As he puts it, it was his “intention to build a temple in imitation of heaven... heaven on earth.” The white color is meant to represent Buddha’s purity and the mirrors represent “His wisdom shining all over the earth and the universe.” However, Kositpipat depicts Buddha’s message using images of Spiderman, George W. Bush, Osama Bin Laden, and even the ever-popular Angry Birds in what seemed to me like a visually overwhelming and rather cliché commentary on modern society and the conflicts between the purity of Buddhism and the greedy, violent tendencies of man. The temple, which is not expected to be complete for another 60 years, already operates as an official Buddhist monastery with monks in residence. However, it unfortunately currently draws visitors more for its shock value than any spiritual purpose.

The Mae Salong village further up in the mountains above Chiang Rai, just below the Burmese border, holds similar sociological intrigue. It is a settlement of former Chinese Nationalist soldiers who fled Chairman Mao in the early 1960s, first to Burma and then to this spot. Originally, they settled here in anticipation of an eventual attack back on China, aiming to build up the necessary resources by engaging in the opium business. They then were encouraged to take up Thai citizenship in exchange of their services in combating Thailand’s own communist insurgents. Opium production was consequently replaced by Oolong tea, which continues to be the main business of the town and makes for very tidy, green scenery. Chinese culture prevails throughout town, as is evident in both the architecture and the shop signs. We stopped at one of the many tea salesrooms for a taste of their finest green tea and diligently bought way more than we could possibly squeeze into our luggage.

We happily returned to Chiang Mai and dedicated our final week in Northern Thailand to touring more of the sights around the city's historical center. Among the places that marked us the most were the beautiful 660 year old temple, Wat Phra Singh, the equally intriguing Wat Chedi Luang- just across the street from our guesthouse, and the all teak Wat Phan Tao. Also right on our doorstep was the “Sunday Walking Street”, which is one of two cross streets in the town centre which turn into a lively night market every Sunday evening, selling a mixture of modern and traditional local crafts, plenty of which were conveniently edible.

Having moved out of the Riverside House and into the 3 Sis Vacation Lodge, following our return from Chiang Rai, we were not only incredibly well placed for taking in the main sights of historical Chiang Mai, but were also in a considerably more peaceful section of town, far from the bar scene and traffic noise. We might not have a pool anymore and were taking a slightly bigger bite out of our budget, but the upgrade felt so good that it was well worth the sacrifices.

We ventured occasionally outside the city center too, where we were able to enjoy some fun discoveries like the annual Nimmanhemin Art and Design Promenade (NAP) festival, featuring the best of Chiang Mai’s flourishing art scene, or the picturesque Mae Sa Waterfall and Park, 20 minutes North of Chiang Mai's center.

We spent a full day up in Mae Rim on the 80th anniversary of the death of Princess Dara Rasamee, where we were able to visit her home, now serving as the Dara Pirom Palace Museum. This Lanna princess, daughter of Chiang Mai's King Intra Wichayanon, was King Rama V's favorite concubine and their marriage was particularly significant for merging the two oldest and most powerful Thai kingdoms, the Chakri dynasty of Siam and the Lanna dynasty of the North. She returned to Chiang Mai after the death of King Rama V, on the approval of the new king, and built the Dara Pirom Palace. This is where she eventually died at the age of 60, but not before she introduced and promoted music and dance troops, as well as boosting local agriculture. As a result, she become much loved and respected by the people of Chiang Mai. This is why she is so honoured each year with this grand celebration. On this particular occasion, the festivities featured lots of traditional dancing- much to Mimi’s delight and fascination, and endless rows of food stalls- much to my delight and fascination!

On yet another day, we ventured eastward towards Bo Sang, known as the “Umbrella Village” due to its ancient parasol-making tradition. Not all excursions were successful however. We never did find the Sam Kampaeng silk weaving village, though that could once again be divine intervention saving me from tempting souvenir purchases. And more than once we landed in rather terrible restaurants, like the rooftop grill at the Furama hotel or the super rude Dada Café. Some more delectable discoveries included the friendly Italian dining at Il Coloseo on Phra Pokklao road, the spring rolls at Duang Champa, and the fresh juices at the Writer’s Club and Wine Bar on Ratchadamnoen road. But for the best Pad Thai in town, we had to return to Kun-Mai’s fantastic Huen Come In on Siritorn road.

In a trip such as ours, you win some and you lose some. But for the most part, we felt like jackpot winners in Chiang Mai and look forward to the day we can return to this wonderful province.

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Comments

[Mandy]

Fantastic!
What incredible experiences for all of you! Love reading about it all! xoxo

[Susan Jenny]

Variety of your experiences will leave rich memories!
You do so very much to make sure that the kids (and yourselves!) see different kinds of people, places, animals, countryside, culture - I'm sure it's a lot of organizing on parents' shoulders and then also taking advantage of opportunities as they present themselves. Wouldn't it be great if life could just continue like this? Well, maybe it will!

[Ollie]

great pics...
Some fantastic photos in your collection... Nice blogging.