Our Trip to Mae Hong Son

Part Three -- Events, memories, pics & videos chronologically

arranged

Sunday April-13-2008 --- We left Bangkok in the evening, stopped

overnight in Nakorn Sawan.

Monday April-14-2008 --- Left Nakorn Sawan for Tak, had lunch in a
steakhouse near the town of Tak before heading for Mae Sariang via
Tern and Lee. Reached Doi Tao Lake (“Doi”=mountain, “Tao”= turtle)
and was sort of shocked to see NO WATER in the area that was
supposed to be a huge lake. What had happened? Global warming?!
The temperature at 4:30pm was at 38C or 100F. Very, very hot.
Pics of a dry lake: (3 photos) http://good-
times.webshots.com/slideshow/563245532SuDTUg

All the way along the road to Hod there was a creek a few meters
beneath the street level with the water only knee-deep. Many people
were there enjoying the splash. Sorry we did not take any pics here.
The road became steeper after we had passed Ob-luang National Park.
At 6pm we saw a huge and crowded village with the name “Ban Bo
Luang” on the hill to our left. To our right, we saw a colorful evening
sky with the sun almost gone beyond the mountain tops. What a view!
I was envious of those who lived here: they could see this beautiful
sunset EVERYDAY!
We reached Mae Sariang when it was dark. Riverhouse hotel was
good. See pics: (5 photos)
http://community.webshots.com/slideshow/563246683zzHite
At night there was a blackout and we saw fireflies outside our hotel
room. It had been quite a while for any of us grown-ups to see
fireflies. It might have been the first time for our boys to see such
wonder in nature. In the morning we found our room facing a river.
No wonder it was named Riverhouse. The other side of the river was
full of huge trees. They looked great! As for the blackout, we were
told this happened often…

Tuesday April-15-2008 --- There were the biggest teak trees

somewhere in Salawin National Park but we did not go to the trees.
The reason: A few years ago we followed the sign that led us to the
biggest “kra-baak” tree in some national park in Tak. It turned out to
be a very strenuous trip of more than 400 metres down the valley in a
jungle ON FOOT along a slippery and narrow dirt stairway with a
wooden but very shaky termite bitten handrail. The same way up felt
even worse. The whole trip took hours. After that we never follow any
signs in national parks without making sure how far we had to walk.
See pics taken in Salawin National Park: (4 photos) http://good-
times.webshots.com/slideshow/563247081bDtwaq

There was a small port by Salawin River about 47 km (30 miles) from
the national park. For your info, Salawin River is on the Thai-Myanmar
border. At first the road was OK, but as it left the villages up the
mountains it got narrower and narrower and narrowwwerrr…. See pics:
(12 photos) http://good-
times.webshots.com/slideshow/563246704SfKrin

At Mae Sam Lab village gate we saw some huts, and were told the
village was a few turns beyond the gate down the steep road. The port
was of course towards the end of the road and could not be seen from
the gate. I had almost wanted to give up when I saw that steep slope.
But we went down the narrow path anyway, and I felt like having
several heart attacks.
We found most of the locals looked more Burmese than Thai. In other
words, they did not look Thai! Some people had streaks of white or
yellowish powder on their faces. Burmese sunblock?
The huts and wooden houses at the street level down there were
actually hanging ON THE CLIFF! The valley looked deep. I saw a huge
sign: “Children without nationality should register ( on a certain date )
in order to apply for Thai citizenship”.
The port was disappointingly small. We had expected to see something
“grand” after all those twists and turns along the way down here. Oh,
well, never mind…. Salawin did not have much water in the dry
season. The other side of the river was Myanmar, or Burma, but I did
not see any strict patrol on our side! Maybe those illegals do not prefer
this route.
The way back up was faster than what I had thought. After we got out
of that village we passed by a small immigration office on the main
road. See pics: (8 photos)
http://community.webshots.com/slideshow/563247781AejUkG

In Mae La Noi there was an open space by the road with a building
dedicated to the King, and a few huge outdoor tribal swings. It was
very hot in the afternoon at 3 pm and the place, though beautiful,
looked deserted. See pics: (7 photos) http://good-
times.webshots.com/slideshow/563247793ilAPKv

From there we went to Calcite Cave. Its name in Thai, “Tham nam
keng”, means an ice cave. “Tham” = cave, “nam” = water, “keng” =
hard, solid. Its formal Thai name given by our Queen is “Tham Kaew
Komol”. “Kaew” = glass or crystal, “komol” = beautiful. We reached its
parking lot and was told to leave our car there and go further up by
their shuttle bus. The road up was narrow, so was the entrance to the
cave. Only a small group of people were allowed to enter the cave at a
time. The temperature inside was very high, about 40C, with terrible
humidity. We were told not to bring our cellphones, cameras, or bags
with us. Although there was a locker for us I did not want to risk
myself so I decided not to deposit my handbag and go in but to wait
outside. It must be awful when even small handbags were not allowed
in there! When my boys returned they said it was beautiful inside but
indeed HOT and the way down the cave was extremely narrow. The
small “chambers” in there all had elegant Thai names.
Pics taken in the reception area and outside the entrance (6 photos):
http://good-times.webshots.com/slideshow/563248482WWZnKL
My translation of the Thai writing in pic no. 10 of this slide: "The
attractiveness we see here will fade away very soon but if we perceive
with our heart we shall always remember the Beautiful Crystal Cave."
One of my friends emailed me pps of Naica Crystal Cave in Mexico.
The crystals in there looked GIGANTIC. The temperature inside that
cave was 50C! You can google and see pics of Naica Crystal Cave at
this site: http://images.google.co.th/images?hl=th&q=naica&gbv=2
Calcite Cave in Mae La Noi was so tiny if compared.

We headed north after this. Kun Yuam was about 67 kms away. The
road looked wide and smooth. I was relieved.
There was a WWII museum in Kun Yuam. We visited it there in 2004
but not this time (therefore no pics here). I remember a few very
rusted tanks, jeeps, guns, all kinds of weapons, soldiers’ clothes,
kettles, water bottles, spoons, hats, boots, lamps, suitcases, etc. The
caretaker of the museum said after the war the Japanese soldiers, in
order to avoid being arrested, spread out and hid in the villages with
the help of the locals. When they could safely depart for their home
country they left all their belongings behind to the villagers, who were
mostly Shan people, or “Tai-yai” (= the big Thai; “yai” = big; cf: the
Thais in the Central part of Thailand are called “Tai-noi”; “noi” means
small). Later the villagers collected all the things and set up this the
museum. The departure, according to the records, was full of sorrowful
feelings on both sides. Unlike the Chinese and the Koreans, almost all
the people in Thailand had no bitter feelings towards the Japanese
soldiers. Way after the war, some Japanese veterans managed to
return to Kun Yuam almost every year to visit their old “friends”. A few
of them even set up a scholarship for local children in there.
At dusk we reached Rooks Hotel in the city of Mae Hong Son.

Wednesday April-16-2008
Doi Kong Mu (a temple on top of a hill near downtown Mae Hong
Son): (16 photos) http://good-
times.webshots.com/slideshow/563276050MVZKbX
There was a monument at the foot of the hill to commemorate the
first ruler of Mae Hong Son, who was of Shan tribe.
Anyone arriving in Mae Hong Son could visit its city office, which was
located near Doi Kong Mu and the Monument, and pay 20 Baht (about
a little more than half a US Dollar) for a certificate of having
successfully passed through the 1864 curves to Mae Hong Son. There
was also a sticker for the car. It was the second time we got them. The
first was in 2004.
Pics: (5
photos)http://community.webshots.com/slideshow/563277379CdTCGS

Long necks in Ban Nai Soi: See Part One.

http://kandaphati.multiply.com/journal/item/167

Fish Cave… We had sticky rice, papaya salad, grilled chicken, grilled
and sliced pork, and boiled eggs at a restaurant in front of Fish Cave
National Park (Fish Cave=”Tham pla”; Tham =cave, “pla”=fish ). It
was good but there were flies. We had to wave our hands over the
food while we ate. The shop owner said we “rum” ( = danced Thai
style) while eating. What a good expression, hahaha!
In the winter of 2004 We fed tangerine to the fish in the cave. This
time we fed them watermelon. Sliced watermelon was 20 Baht/bag. I
do not remember how much the tangerine was. Didn’t see any this
time. The fish in there seemed to love fruits.
The cliff across the street that overlooked the parking lot reminded my
boys of Transformer (the movie).
See pics: (17 photos) http://good-
times.webshots.com/slideshow/563277390NRKOqi
And 3 videos:
1. Interviewing Ken: Is the bridge high? Yes. How high? I don’t know.
Are you afraid? Yes. Do you see any fish? No. Why? Because there is
no fish, hahaha! (Note: But there were lots of fish in the water!)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nJuWbJM3NyQ
2. Ken probably had never seen or touched a water mill:
http://kandaphati.multiply.com/video/item/19 (I appeared a few
seconds in this video.)
3. Feeding watermelon to the fish in the cave:
http://kandaphati.multiply.com/video/item/20 The cave looked small
but the fish in there were bigger than what we had expected. They
moved fast, too.
On the way back we passed by Mud Spa but did not take pictures.

Thursday April-17-2008
Elephant ride -- I did not ride. Elephants are too tall for me and I
always feel insecure while riding. I might feel better with some seat
belt but there is never one. Ken brought with him a comic book to read
while on the elephant’s back. The ride into and out of the jungle was
an hour. See pics : ( 16 photos )
Experience the 1-hour ride with a ten-year-old: (but only 107 seconds
here, in 5 videos)
1. http://kandaphati.multiply.com/video/item/8 (31 seconds)
2. http://kandaphati.multiply.com/video/item/15 (14 seconds)
3. http://kandaphati.multiply.com/video/item/16 (25 seconds)
4. http://kandaphati.multiply.com/video/item/17 (17 seconds)
5. http://kandaphati.multiply.com/video/item/18 (20 seconds)

Long necks in Huay Sua Tao -- Already mentioned in Part One.

http://kandaphati.multiply.com/journal/item/167

We left the town of Mae Hong Son, went passed Fish Cave, arrived at
Phasua Waterfall, took some pics, and went up to Pang Tong,
where there were a palace and many Royal Projects. The road was
very steep and very beautiful up there. We even saw a herd of furry
sheep. I wonder if sheep feel hot in summer under the tropical sun?
Those sheep must have been one of the Royal Projects. We saw a
(Thai) school, too, but we just took some pics at Naresuan Memorial.
See pics: (8 photos)
http://community.webshots.com/slideshow/563277428ohbVqG

Ban Rak Thai: Please read it in Part Two.

http://kandaphati.multiply.com/journal/item/169

On the way to Pai we passed through Pang Mapha. The road was
more than 860 meters above sea level and was full of steep bending
curves. The mountains across the valley looked lower than the road.
See pics: (5 photos)
http://community.webshots.com/slideshow/563277645RNCfUM

It was quite a relief when we got to Pai. The town was on a rather flat
area. What a surprise, Pai was a lot bigger than a village! We stayed in
Belle Villa Resort for one night. The place was good but guess what?
There was a blackout again! During the blackout it was DARRRRRK in
our rooms and all the street lights were out, too, but we saw lights at
the information desk. We went there asking for extra flashlights and
the hotel receptionist told us power in guests’ rooms was from Mae
Hong Son and there must have been rain or storm somewhere
between the city of Mae Hong Son and Pai, whereas the power in the
information hall was from Mae Taeng in the province of Chiang mai,
and obviously there was no rain in Mae Taeng. The two sections were
only a few meters apart and were within the same fence! We heard
that power out in this town was frequent. It happened almost every
evening and each time it lasted for an hour.
The town of Pai was full of tourists from abroad. Many shops looked
very “foreign”, and the customers in the shop were mostly foreigners,
too. There was a supermarket that had lots of exotic (in my eyes)
imported goods including potato chips from Germany and orange juice
from Australia. If it weren’t for a few red ants crawling at the cashier
counter that reminded me I was in some remote place far, far away
from the central plain of Thailand I would have thought I was in some
supermarket on Sukhumvit road in downtown Bangkok. We bought
newspapers from a shop next to the supermarket. The shop had
several newspapers including Wall Street Journal! The shop owner told
us the Thais prefer to come to Pai in winter (Dec ~ Feb) and the
overseas tourists in summer (April). He also said when the Thais came
the foreigners would go away. I asked why and he answered: “Because
the foreigners do not want to be “disturbed”, and the Thais are usually
noisy.” What the…?!

Friday April-18-2008
We took a pic in front of the resort before we left. Our next stop was
another Chinese ex-refugee’s village. The name was San ti Chon
village, which means a peaceful place. In the Chinese character,
however, the same pronunciation means a village in the mountain. It
was around noon with scorching heat, and I was getting impatient
when posing for pics. You can see how terrible I looked in them. After
we left the village we came to Pai WWII Memorial Bridge. It was so
hot I did not notice anything wrong with its sign that said “built in the
year B.C. 1942”.
B.C.!? See pics: (6 photos)
http://community.webshots.com/slideshow/563277250DWNNyu

Pai Hot Spring National Park or “Pong Nam Ron Tha Pai” was just a
few kilometers away from the main road. The temperature of the hot
spring was 80C. However, the most impressive in there for my sons
and I was not the hot spring or the scenery, but groups of 10 or more
spiders in the corners inside the restrooms, each with its body only
about the size of a coffee bean, but each leg was like 3 inches long.
They clustered together in the lower corner of the wall. We had never
seen that kind of spiders, not even in the movies. As soon as I reached
the restroom, even before I could close the door, they suddenly
started to spread out and move together at the same speed as if
fleeing from some approaching menace. It was amazing to see half a
wall of spiders moving up. My sons saw the same thing in men’s room.
I did not scream but I did not dare to use the restroom there.
See pics of Ken waiting for the eggs to boil in the hot spring. No pics of
spiders though. (8
photos)http://community.webshots.com/slideshow/563277854QeWsZk

We reached Chiang Mai before dark. There was a severe traffic jam
on the road long before entering the city of Chiang Mai. Sigh…
Civilization! I was glad we chose to stay in Novotel Chiang Mai. It was
good: no blackouts, and the rooms were clean. We ate at Fuji
restaurant in a shopping center near Night Bazaar. It had been a long
time since we last enjoyed our meal in an air-conditioned place. I felt it
sooooooooo gooooood to eat without having to worry about any flies
around my plate!

Saturday April-19-2008
We left Chiang Mai and stopped in a national park in Tak that
displayed petrified wood or wood that turned into stone. Those
fossilized trees of 800,000 years ago had been discovered only a few
years ago and they were humongous. See pics: (11 photos)
http://good-times.webshots.com/slideshow/563277855qnoPbr

The most important for the boys on this trip was to buy Cha-kang-
rao’s grass jelly. They had missed it (terribly) ever since they had
this brand of grass jelly many years ago when visiting Bueng Chawak
Aquarium in the province of Supanburi. “Cha-kang-rao’s is stickier
than other brands,” said my boys. Later someone told me Cha-kang-
rao’s grass jelly was very famous and it had been on TV at least once.
Yet it is not available in most of the shops or supermarkets in
Bangkok. The town of Chakang-rao is in Kampaeng-pet province.
Kampaeng-pet means diamond wall. We did see big artificial “walls”
with welcome signs upon entering the province. I do not know what
Cha-kang-rao means, and I always feel it difficult to pronounce the
word correctly. Anyway, the boys were so glad when we found their
beloved brand of grass jelly at a store inside PTT gas station. The
salesperson gave a detailed introduction of what grass jelly was, how it
was produced, including how superior the brand was to others’.
Outside the store next to a small fountain there was a pot of the grass
with beautiful pink flowers and green leaves. My first time to see
them. I had seen only the dried one.
This is the website of Cha-kang-rao’s grass jelly factory. What a
surprise we do NOT grow such grass in Thailand. The raw materials are
imported from China, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
http://www.chaoguaychakangraw.com/Link_In/2_process.htm
Here are pics of grass jelly in Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_jelly

We got back home at around 10 pm that evening. It was a long drive.

We had travelled about 2000 Kms (1250 miles) in that week. All the
time only one person did the driving, but he enjoyed it tremendously.
The boys were extremely happy to be back home and the first thing
they did was to rush to their computers.

-- The End --
Thanks for reading to this line!