Christmas week

I left the Chiang Mai region on Tuesday with the intention of spending Christmas in a town called Phitsanoluk (often called P-Luk) , once the capital of Thailand some 500 years ago. The bus ride was rather uneventful, save for the an odd sign just a few kilometers from P-luk. Another sign right alongside it identified the area as "Indochina". I'm guessing that this is the intersection for the whole SE Asia area?!? The road to Danang, Vietnam supposedly runs continuously to India, I suppose the road to Kuala Lampur is also continuous.

There's not too much to do in P-Luk. Aside from a few wats and some ruins from the old capital palace, the most interesting attraction is the factory where bronze Buddha statues are created. While walking around the area, I encountered a four-foot long, 3 inches wide snake of some variety. He was slithering around the buddhas in a dark corner. I asked the woman there if the snake was a pet. She nodded her head, but a few moments later she saw the snake and freaked out. Apparently it wasn't a pet.

I've found that P-Luk is just a nice hub for doing stuff around the area. I biked my first metric century (100 kilometers in one ride) in three years, along Highway 12 (the same highway that leads to Danang). It was mainly one straight line along the flat savannah of lower Northern Thailand. I was so encouraged by the flatness that I convinced myself that I can ride to the national park with my camping gear, cameras and backpack, which is 80 kilometers from P-Luk.

I almost left for the park on X-Mas eve, but made a last minute decision while waking up to stay one more day to experience what Thais do for X-Mas. There was a street party along the river that featured over 50 food stands, as well as live performances of traditional Thai dances and music, handicrafts, pirated CDs and DVDs, clothes and other "stuff". It turned out to be a good decision.

Among the highlights of food tasted were roasted pork and Thai fried ice cream - a ball of ice cream is covered in a donut and flash fried in oil then topped with chocolate syrup and sprinkles and served with a side of fruity jello.

Christmas Day was a roller coaster, both literally and figuratively. It started with biking to Thung Salaeng Luang park. I read that this was supposed to be the best trail riding in all of Thailand, so I was stoked to bike out there even with all my stuff (probably weighing 30 lbs). The first 50 kilometers were mostly flat (which I already experience a few days earlier), with only one minor hill to climb.

At about the sixtieth kilo, the hills started to get higher. It wasn't climbing the elevation that started to make me cranky, rather it was the fact that once at the top of each hill, there wasn't any fun downhill to give me momentum to go up the next hill. Adding to this was that I was probably getting a little dehydrated (it wasn't a hot day, so I wasn't drinking as much water as I normally would), which showed when I misread the map when plotting a spot to take rest.

My attitude started to sour when I told myself to stop at the 63rd km marker where there should be a waterfall. Upon approaching said marker, there was nothing around. 64 passed, nothing. 65 passed, still nothing. With each passing marker, my frustration grew. By the 67th km, I pulled out the map again and realized that the waterfall was actually at the 72nd km mark. Aaaarrrgh!!!!!!!

But all this rage faded upon reaching the promised land. 80 kilometers had exhausted me, but my spirits lifted when I saw a bike trail on the side of the road just one kilometer from the HQ. Ahhh, a good sign if I already see a trail!

Then the mood changed once again at the ranger station. While registering for the campsite, I asked a ranger where the foodstalls were. She informed me that they permanently closed down a while ago, but that the closest town to get food is just twelve kilometers away. My heart just fell to the ground. Bike another twenty-four km! Yipes! I didn't want to do another century, but it seemed to be my only option. [Actually this is untrue. I did have a stash of jerky that I could've just gnawed on for dinner.] I dropped off my stuff at the campsite and headed out to town. Fortunately, there was a roadside food stand just a kilometer from the park's HQ, so I delayed the journey to town for the next day.

When I got back to camp, I started to read a book (In Cold Blood by Truman Capote - a great book, highly recommended!) while sitting on a large rock in the river. No more than two pages were read when I poked my head up and noticed a new tent was pitched and four PYTs (Pretty Young Thing for you Michael Jackson fans). They were sitting in front of the tent and waved at me. One of them walked over to me (just ten meters away) and offered me some snacks. We made some small talk then she invited me to dinner. What a stroke of luck! or rather a Christmas Miracle!?! They are second year students in P-Luk out for a one-day camping excursion. We had Thai-style ramen noodles and roasted sweet potatoes and corn in the campfire.

The next morning I met another group of nine campers who were on holiday from Bangkok. Mostly teachers from the same school, every year they get together during the holiday break to celebrate the birthday of Tom. When they found out that I was American, they invited me to hang out with them so they can practice their English. They poured me a cup of coffee and we chatted for a while. Soon enough, they asked if I would join them on the next leg of their journey - to camp up in the mountains in a cabbage farming village called Tab Berk, 1800 meters in elevation.

One thing I've learned in Thailand is to always accept an invitation to go camping with Thai people. Obviously, the company of Thais is always enjoyable. But what is most enjoying is the food that they bring to a party. This was no exception! We stopped at a market to pick up some food: four red snappers, corn, sausages, fruits and veggies, club soda and three bottles of scotch whisky (hey! it's Tom's birthday!). At the last minute, Moo grabbed me and we sprinted to the butcher stand to purchase a shank of pork. Apparently, pork was not a planned item and Moo saw that this grave error be rectified. I was in full agreement.

The next morning we parted ways; they went back to Bangkok and I headed back to Thung Salaeng to take care of some unfinished business - biking. Knowing that there was a twelve kilometer climb en route to the park, I chose to take a bus instead of biking. About four km from the park HQ the roads were moist from a brief rainfall. For a second I considered just staying on the bus and go back to P-Luk because I didn't want to hang out in a park while it's raining. I buried that urge thinking, "I wouldn't be keeping it real if I let a few drops of rain stop me from biking thru the best trails in Thailand."

Maybe I should've followed my instincts. As I was descending down the three kilometer hill to get to the campsite, I excercised caution because the road was slick. What I was not factoring in was the weight and bulkiness of the huge backpack behind me. On the last turn at the bottom of the hill, the tires slipped and I was down for the count. The first thing I checked was my left hand: no blood from where a previous blunder still shows a scar, but a blood blister did form underneath. #$%#! It seems that this hand will never fully heal. The only blood was just a flesh wound on the left elbow. There were also two huge scrapes, one on the hip and the other on the shoulder. While these were just minor wounds, biking was now out of the question because the hip took most of the impact and pains me so. I can still bike, but I would rather not. I should be back on the horse in a few days, don't you worry!

pork!!

spicy pork snausage balls

on the top is pork jerky, bottom right is moo todd (sun dried pork strips that are fried in oil creating a bacon-flavor sensation), bottom left is beef jerky

northern foods

Moo tawd: I am in pork heaven up here in the north! Above are strips of pork drying in the sun. Once dried, it gets fried in oil to a crispy texture. The end-product are strips that taste like bacon! A friend from Bangkok introduced me to this while in Mae Hong Son. He also brought to the table eggs that were grilled in their shells - a winning combo!

Pork and bacon jerky: Finally! after four months, I finally found jerky! The Thai twist is that they add coriander to the soy sauce marinade for a refreshing sensation. On an eight-hour bus ride from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son, I was able to survive with just water and a bag of beef jerkey.

Khow kow moo: a shank of pork that has been slowly steamed (not braised) and is served over rice. The pork is so tender. Usually, a small portion is served over rice for 50 cents. In a Chinese village near Pai, a restaurant serves the whole shank with skin and fat for almost $4... this is meant to be for a whole family, but Gabor and I ate the whole thing - gluttony at it's finest.

Hanglay: a northern specialty. Pork is slowly simmered (possibly steamed) and served with a dark red curry sauce. Not especially spicy hot, but extremely tasty. One restaurant in Mae Hong Son has the pork so tender that it melts in the mouth. I usually don't eat too much of pork fat or skin (yeah, cardinal sin of pork lovers is to waste pork, but I eat so much much pork, that I gotta draw the line somewhere), but I had to make an exception for this bowl of goodness.

kaoh soy: wide yellow noodles are served in a spicy red curry broth, with some sort of meat added - usually chicken, beef or pork. Crispy fried noodles are thrown in on top for texture, as well as pickled cabbage and sliced shallots. It's usually only 50 - 75 cents. Since I've been up north, I probably have this five times a week for lunch/breakfest/brunch.

fried chicken: previously reviewed, but it needs to be revisted. Some of the northerners have fried whole legs and sometimes half the bird, which keeps the natural juices inside. I must say that this is the way to go... soooo juicy. The batter is somewhat thicker than other places... maybe someone stole the Colonel's method of the double-dipped batter?!?

Northern sausage: I know I've forsaken sausages when in the south because of the bone-factor, but was conviced to give it another try up here. I found a place that roasts a coil of sausages in an oven. I just had to try it. Nice and spicy, reminded me of an andoullie sausage. And there were no crunchy bones! There are also sausages that are like the Cajun Boudin - rice and glass noodles are added to pork and rolled into either a suasage link or many little balls. I'm not a big fan of these, but they are really cheap.

Fern leaves: I've had this in a couple of varieties - steamed and served with oyster sauce (preferred), as a salad with roasted garlic and dried shrimp (the shrimp/garlic combo is too strong of a flavor) and an addition to a soup (not really a big player). These ferns have many tiny, sharp thorns on the stems, which have been playing havoc on me when I'm biking on some of the trails in Chiang Mai - if one thorn tears into me, ten others follow. Eating them is a small bit of revenge.

Mae Hong Son - The Thai Alps

I spent the last week in Mae Hong Son, located in the far northwest corner of the country. Up until a few years ago, this town was barely noticed by tourists, in part to its inaccessibility. Even today, the roads are steep, winding and of poor quality, though it is changing with new pavement being laid down in some areas.

Of tourists spots, MHS is probably the least visited by non-Thais. Evidence of this is that I only counted maybe ten westerners in my week there, this pales in comparison to the ten I see every minute in Chiang Mai. The people that do come here are mainly Thais and Japanese.

{On a side note, people always wonder what nationality I am. It has turned into a game for me. People will look at me and assume that I am Thai. Then I open my mouth and if I speak Thai (what little I know), Thais will look at me funny like I am mentally retarded or have a speech impediment. They will ask me where I am from. I will reply that I'm American. They will give a second funny look, as I was lying or jerking their chain. Then I will tell them that my parents are born in Hong Kong. Their faces light up, as if they guessed correctly on a game show saying (translated), "Ahh, I knew you are Chinese!" and start smiling. However, in the northern towns, there are people that will assume that I am Japanese, presumably because of the huge numbers of Japanese tourists that come thru.}

I met up with my Hungarian friend, Gabor, for a few days. He's also a photographer/reporter (the only Hungarian correspondant in Southeast Asia he contends). Basically, we did the same thing as we did in Pai - look for interesting photo ops via obscure trails in the mountains or in villages.

One place was called Maeo Microwave, the latter word added because it was adjacent to three microwave towers on top of a mountain. The road to the village was so steep that our motorcycle stopped dead on a few hills, either because of us being too heavy on the steep angle or else the gas in the bike was so far back in the gas tank, that the engine ran out of juice.

After Gabor left, I explored the countryside via bicycle. Just like Pai, the rolling hills were fun, though at times intense. One climb was a solid fourteen kilometers up, more than half of it was on dirt trails. It was so steep that the rims on the bike were almost melting the break pads on the way down.

I visited one of the famous long-neck hill tribes, which is sorta like a tourist rip-off/exploitation of a poor population. The village doesn't have much of an economy (blow is a picture of clothes being made), though they have realized that tourists will pay money take pictures of the villagers. This has turned into a big money maker for these villages, but the social cost is that hordes of tourists (both Thai and outsiders) invade the village to take a bunch of snapshots. I am reminded of Lisa Simpson asking Homer, "How would you like it if slack-jawed yokels came into your home to take pictures of you?" Yeah, yeah, I know I am part of the problem in this sense, but the reality is that the village is gteting money... money they would not otherwise have.

back in Chiang Mai

up in the mountains, north of Pai

farmlands near Pai

Though my stay in Chiang Mai was supposed to be only a month, things change (as always). The day after my birthday, I traveled 120 kilometers to a small town called Pai. Pai is a artists' community (both Thai and foreigners) that attracts like-minded tourists. Most of these tourists are dreadlocked hippies, but they often travel together in groups, so it's easy to avoid them.

The town is northwest of Chiang Mai and up in the mountains. The bus ride was painfully slow at times, both up and down the mountain as it inched around the hairpin turns. To make the ride more interesting, the already-full bus picked up five more passengers just after leaving Chiang Mai. They were forced to stand in the middle walkway between the seats, so I got up and let a couple girls take my space. As we went thru the mountains, I was reminded of being on a MUNI bus in San Francisco because my body was shifting left and right with the bus.

Pai itself doesn't have much in terms of landmarks or fancy attractions. But it is close enough to many parks and caves. A Hungarian that I befriended in Chiang Mai met up with me for a few days. We traveled north thru another set of mountains to a huge cave. We hired a bamboo raft (more like a canoe) and checked out three sections of the cave that have rock formations and cave paintings from many centuries ago. We also trekked thru random forests in hopes to find ancient coffins made from wood that were stashed up in caves. We were successful once and it turned out to be an archeological site and off limits.

I left Pai a few days ago and am back in Chiang Mai to take care of some business. I had to renew my visa by crossing the border into Myanmar, but didn't do anything there. Just a quick in and out. (There's strange things going on in Burma - the capital just up and moved a few weeks ago without any real explanation to the outside world... it's doubtful anyone inside of Burma really knows either.)

Tomorrow I think I'll be departing this city for another adventure...

This is part of the fence on the southeast corner of the Old City in Chiang Mai.

The hill tribes don't really have many sources of income, so some resort to a form of begging. These girls dress in traditional clothes and ask for money when tourists (like me) take thier picture.