We left Mirror with our guide ( Jackabo) around 9:30 a.m. on our 2 day adventure. First we went into Chaing Rai to visit the day market. Here Jack took us to a different part of the market we had not seen before. We saw LIVE frogs, eels, crickets, bugs, lots of fish, and the smells that we really do not want to remember!! Saw the temple with some huge turtles and an emerald Buddha.
Our next stop was the Karen village where we had an elephant ride through the market area. The interesting part of this ride was the portion when all the elephants walked through the river. After we went to the market area and got our pictures taken holding a very, very large anaconda snake that weighing 225 lbs. All five of us were lifting it including Terry who swore she would never touch a snake. Wow the stretches we are doing out of our comfort zone here is incredible!!
We climbed up a steep narrow path to have our lunch and enjoy the coolness of a waterfall. Our lunch consisted of 3 portions of our meal wrapped in banana leaves. It was sticky rice, pork, greens and chili paste. We waded in the cool water and actually saw a live snake slithering through the water. It was Lahu New Year so families were also having a picnic. Jamie once again was offered a taste of some local alcohol, and accepted to their cheers. They even had him sample another type and liked his willingness to try it.
We walked to the hill tribe museum to give us some history about the tribe we were about to visit. Then our 2 and a 1/2 hour trek began at around 2:00 p.m. in 38 degree heat This was a dirt trail leading straight uphill!!! There was very little shade to hide under, but when we found some took advantage of a little break. Our backpacks loaded with all necessities for 3 days felt very heavy and added to the exhaustion. Arriving at the village was like a step back in time. There were bamboo houses with thatch roofs all on stilts so the pigs, chickens, dogs, cats could live underneath. These animals wandered all over the village. The Lahu speak a totally different language from Thailand so we practiced our new greetings (Abooya' spelled phonetically) to anyone we met. We were greeted with a lot of toothless and black teeth smiles from some of the locals (a result of the use of beetlenut). The Lahu also has no written language, like many of the other hillside tribes. We had all made it safely- the hills were daunting - but a small slip cost us a casualty as Terry fell onto the path. Her bruise turned some pretty wild colors- what a trouper she didn't even CRY!!!
Our host family was an elderly couple. He was in the process of making bamboo cups for us, a gift from them. They offered us tea and bananas. We were in awe in our surroundings sitting cross legged on the floor deck on a woven mat overlooking the village. The house was big with no furnishings and was made entirely of bamboo. You could see through the slats in the floor, which made it very easy to dispose of dishwater, vegetable waste or scraps. The stove consisted of a fire, that was placed on a cement slab on the floor inside the house (with no chimney). A slice of a tree was her cutting board, the few cooking utensils were hung on the wall, and one piece of wood that served as a counter were all that were in the room. There was no sink, no cupboards, no fridge and no furniture.
The toilet was about 70 yards from the house and about to topple over, but it did not smell. However it was the true squat style toilet. The shower was a open hose pouring out of the hillside. This was apparently used by a few families. Needless to stay, only Jamie took advantage of this service. They served us plentiful food for supper (way too much) the usual, but very delicious. After supper she and her daughter brought their crafts of purses, water bottle containers, belts, bracelets, scarves and other. We were advised to buy from our hosts, so we all were happy to purchase these wonderful items from the creators!!
We soon were dressed in their tribal costume for the dance celebration. The Lahu dress is full of color,and Due to Jamie's North American sized shoulders they had a hard time finding a jacket that fit him! We wore a colorful jacket with a black skirt with hand sewn colorful stitching, amazing amount of work to do all that.
They led us outside and they did some tribal dances around the fire. The Lahu do not sing , they use is a drum and symbols and dance. It was different as we usually have music and some vocals. It was silent but beautiful. The children ran around the circle and as the evening went on more adults from the tribe gathered around. With the heat of the fire and the heat of the day we were all exhausted and were content with the night ending. To our surprise they offered a one hour massage ( for 100 baht= $3.00) for each of us, so of course we had to have one!! The massage at this village is quite different, it was more of a superficial pinching motion on your skin. Very relaxing and good for people who had treked up hill for most of the day!
Getting comfortable was a bit of a challenge as you are sleeping on a blanket on the bamboo floor, with a pillow made from stone- or at least hard packed sand. We had all settled in and slept for at least one hour before the various roosters started to crow. At least 13 roosters competing for the loudest crower award were present and showing off their skills- You can guess how much sleep we got- yup at least that first hour!! It felt like we were right next to them- Bamboo walls have no soundproofing qualities. I am not so sure how anyone could be accustomed to that noise- but I'm sure you must get used to it.
It was a day of" stretching out of our comfort zone"- for some the hills were daunting, others the lifestyle,and the hygeine but through all of this we each have all grown one way or another. We definetly have an appreciation for a lifestyle that is hard to comprehend and should be perserved and not torn apart. How bare a hut can be, but is still a warm and welcoming home- not the things but the people make a home- a lesson we have all learned.
Interesting Facts
- the Lahu tribe has no written language
- it was 90% self sufficient - only buying salt- until the goverment disallowed them from moving around and made them stay in one place, now they are only 10% self sufficient and go outside their community for 90% of their supplies
- they do not have citizenship in the country they were born in automatically- they have to go through a very expensive process ( requireing DNA testing) to apply - which could take years
- The work is divided equally between men and women - a man shares all duties equally
- there are many many intersting uses for Bamboo- which they use in their everyday lives- but the goverment is not allowing the hill tribes to cut any more Bamboo even that around their own huts!!
- The children walk a long long way to school to learn English and are quite shy
They led us outside and they did some tribal dances around the fire. The Lahu do not sing , they use is a drum and symbols and dance. It was different as we usually have music and some vocals. It was silent but beautiful. The children ran around the circle and as the evening went on more adults from the tribe gathered around. With the heat of the fire and the heat of the day we were all exhausted and were content with the night ending. To our surprise they offered a one hour massage ( for 100 baht= $3.00) for each of us, so of course we had to have one!! The massage at this village is quite different, it was more of a superficial pinching motion on your skin. Very relaxing and good for people who had treked up hill for most of the day!
Getting comfortable was a bit of a challenge as you are sleeping on a blanket on the bamboo floor, with a pillow made from stone- or at least hard packed sand. We had all settled in and slept for at least one hour before the various roosters started to crow. At least 13 roosters competing for the loudest crower award were present and showing off their skills- You can guess how much sleep we got- yup at least that first hour!! It felt like we were right next to them- Bamboo walls have no soundproofing qualities. I am not so sure how anyone could be accustomed to that noise- but I'm sure you must get used to it.
It was a day of" stretching out of our comfort zone"- for some the hills were daunting, others the lifestyle,and the hygeine but through all of this we each have all grown one way or another. We definetly have an appreciation for a lifestyle that is hard to comprehend and should be perserved and not torn apart. How bare a hut can be, but is still a warm and welcoming home- not the things but the people make a home- a lesson we have all learned.
Interesting Facts
- the Lahu tribe has no written language
- it was 90% self sufficient - only buying salt- until the goverment disallowed them from moving around and made them stay in one place, now they are only 10% self sufficient and go outside their community for 90% of their supplies
- they do not have citizenship in the country they were born in automatically- they have to go through a very expensive process ( requireing DNA testing) to apply - which could take years
- The work is divided equally between men and women - a man shares all duties equally
- there are many many intersting uses for Bamboo- which they use in their everyday lives- but the goverment is not allowing the hill tribes to cut any more Bamboo even that around their own huts!!
- The children walk a long long way to school to learn English and are quite shy
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