06.10.08: I don’t think I’ve seen Sean any more nervous than this part of our trip so far. We decided to go from Chiang Mai up north to Doi Ang Khang, about three hours away, up in the mountains near the Thailand and Myanmar border. We decided to rent a car and Sean’s never driven on the left side of the road before. In the end, he did great. It’s only one left turn from the hotel, up a paved highway/road for 75% of the way, and another slight left up the hill…..up a very STEEP hill that our gutless little rental car seemed to barely make it up. But, we made it! In the end, it was nice to have a car so we could take our own route and see what we wanted along the way.
Personally, I think this might be the best part of our trip so far. We are staying at the Ang Khang Nature Resort, which consists of little cottages that have a very cabin-in-the-mountain feel to them (complete with that musty smell…) I wasn’t sure how much it would cost. But again, I was able to score a pretty nice last-minute discount on their web site. (It is owned by the same parent company as the hotel in Chiang Mai, hence the same type of web deals. Actually, looking at this resort’s web site is how I found the other one.) In this area, apparently called Thailand’s “Little Switzerland”, the weather is very temperate, especially in contrast to Bangkok and even Chaing Mai. It’s somewhere in the 70’s. The elevation is 1,400-1920 meters (4620-6336 feet). Going up the hill, I saw pine trees growing amongst bamboo in the lush forest. The atmosphere here is utter peacefulness, almost a bit unnerving with rambunctious Kailani (sometimes lovingly called “Demolani” or “Crylani” when she’s having a breakdown). The resort is supposedly run by someone who is very ecologically-conscious and they serve organic food produced by the Royal Project Foundation (more below). We took a walk around the very large grounds in the evening. Cottages are spread out between the absolutely stunning gardens. We tried to point out to Kai as many indigenous as well as imported plants, flowers and fruit/nut trees as we could recognize. I believe all the imported plants probably came from the Royal Project (again, below). It’s low season right now and we were the only one’s staying at this fairly large resort. Regardless, we were blessed with fairly clear weather. It only rained for a few minutes our first and last days.
Besides visiting some of the hill tribes in the area where they produce local handicrafts, another attraction to Doi Ang Khang is the Royal Project Agricultural Research Station, adjacent to our resort. This is the very first station of the Royal Project, set up in 1969. The Royal Project is an effort, put forth by the King of Thailand, to help nomadic hill tribes in this northern region of Thailand. Research is carried out to find alternative crops for them to replace the previously cultivated opium poppy. This is not only to curb drug problems for both tribal members and the world, but to stop the slash-and-burn methods of opium cultivation that was destroying the forests and watershed areas. Hill tribe people are encouraged to farm in appropriate, permanent areas, keeping the forest and farming areas separate. This area had been previously deforested, and it is now covered with fertile forest again. The Research Station covers the introduction of temperate-zone fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers from other parts of the world. They now grow Western berries (strawberries, raspberries), grapes (and make wine too!), lettuce, artichokes, macadamia nuts, avocado, kiwi, etc. It even covers growing linen, livestock farming, fishery, capital costs and marketing, rehabilitation and conservation of natural resources as well as social, health, education and cultural aspects of the hill tribes. His Majesty’s guidelines were quoted as “Keep the procedure as short as possible, work as quick as possible, in the manner of attaching gold-leaf to the back of the Buddha. Don’t perform to show off, but to help those people to be self-reliant.” It seems like quite an impressive undertaking if you ask me!
What we expected when we walked into the Research Station was far less than what we found. The grounds were spectacular! We spent at least a good hour or more just on the first 10% of what there was, checking out the nursery/store (where they sell products made from the crops, like peppermint tea and macadamia nuts that we purchased) and the bonsai garden with exotic plants and a stunning rock garden. The Royal Garden next to the clubhouse and restaurant was pretty impressive too. Again, we enjoyed trying to recognize all the different crops and pointing it all out to Kailani. After a pretty good walk, we also visited the Baan Khum village (Thai Yai and Chinese Yunan descendents), next to the Research Station, and picked up some raisins and dried strawberries that I’m almost sure were grown by the Royal Project. Later that day, we also drove around, visited the Angkhang Pagoda and Nor lae Village (Palong descendents) which sits so close to the Myanmar-Thai border that the guard station is right at the end of the village. Along the way, there were a large group of kids of all ages walking down the road. I wish I could have taken a picture or video of their smiley, happy faces waving at us as we drove by. But, because I know some tribes in the area don’t believe in having their pictures taken, I was sensitive to taking pictures of anyone. We waved and said “sawasdee kha” to them. Some said it back to us while a few said “hello” or “hi” back to us instead. That mere interaction melted our hearts!
The next day, we took the scenic route out of Ang Khang, back to Chiang Mai, which takes you past a few other hill tribe villages. Because the route also straddles the Myanmar-Thai border, it also takes you past a couple more guard stations, which can be a bit unnerving when you get stopped. But, we passed with no issues. Between the mountainous forests are farming areas, which I’m sure some are receiving the benefits of the Royal Project. But, most was a plant that we didn’t recognize. We are still trying to figure out what that might be. Once out of the mountains, near Chiang Dao, we decided to visit one of the several elephant camps in the area. Recently, we purchase for Kailani a Babar the Elephant book and the movie, Horton Hears a Who. So, she gets excited over elephants right now. It was a bit worrisome to think that it might not be the most humane thing to support. I definitely did not want to see an “elephant show” for this reason. But, unsure how to gauge what good living conditions should be, we decided to at least pay them a visit. I try to think of it as no different than how Americans and other cultures have domesticated and stabled horses, except that elephants do more work in the forest. (Perhaps, wishful thinking!) We ended up at the Mae Taman Elephant Camp, mostly because it was the only one still open, and about to close right after we arrived. In the end, we decided to take a short ride on one of the elephants. It was a more thrilling ride than Sean and I expected. We expected the elephants to be large, but they are truly amazing when you are sitting on one. After the ride, one of the mahouts (elephant trainer) brought out a smaller elephant and let Sean and I take turns sitting on it bareback. Being able to get so close to the elephants like that is truly an experience that we won’t easily forget.
Personally, I think this might be the best part of our trip so far. We are staying at the Ang Khang Nature Resort, which consists of little cottages that have a very cabin-in-the-mountain feel to them (complete with that musty smell…) I wasn’t sure how much it would cost. But again, I was able to score a pretty nice last-minute discount on their web site. (It is owned by the same parent company as the hotel in Chiang Mai, hence the same type of web deals. Actually, looking at this resort’s web site is how I found the other one.) In this area, apparently called Thailand’s “Little Switzerland”, the weather is very temperate, especially in contrast to Bangkok and even Chaing Mai. It’s somewhere in the 70’s. The elevation is 1,400-1920 meters (4620-6336 feet). Going up the hill, I saw pine trees growing amongst bamboo in the lush forest. The atmosphere here is utter peacefulness, almost a bit unnerving with rambunctious Kailani (sometimes lovingly called “Demolani” or “Crylani” when she’s having a breakdown). The resort is supposedly run by someone who is very ecologically-conscious and they serve organic food produced by the Royal Project Foundation (more below). We took a walk around the very large grounds in the evening. Cottages are spread out between the absolutely stunning gardens. We tried to point out to Kai as many indigenous as well as imported plants, flowers and fruit/nut trees as we could recognize. I believe all the imported plants probably came from the Royal Project (again, below). It’s low season right now and we were the only one’s staying at this fairly large resort. Regardless, we were blessed with fairly clear weather. It only rained for a few minutes our first and last days.
Besides visiting some of the hill tribes in the area where they produce local handicrafts, another attraction to Doi Ang Khang is the Royal Project Agricultural Research Station, adjacent to our resort. This is the very first station of the Royal Project, set up in 1969. The Royal Project is an effort, put forth by the King of Thailand, to help nomadic hill tribes in this northern region of Thailand. Research is carried out to find alternative crops for them to replace the previously cultivated opium poppy. This is not only to curb drug problems for both tribal members and the world, but to stop the slash-and-burn methods of opium cultivation that was destroying the forests and watershed areas. Hill tribe people are encouraged to farm in appropriate, permanent areas, keeping the forest and farming areas separate. This area had been previously deforested, and it is now covered with fertile forest again. The Research Station covers the introduction of temperate-zone fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers from other parts of the world. They now grow Western berries (strawberries, raspberries), grapes (and make wine too!), lettuce, artichokes, macadamia nuts, avocado, kiwi, etc. It even covers growing linen, livestock farming, fishery, capital costs and marketing, rehabilitation and conservation of natural resources as well as social, health, education and cultural aspects of the hill tribes. His Majesty’s guidelines were quoted as “Keep the procedure as short as possible, work as quick as possible, in the manner of attaching gold-leaf to the back of the Buddha. Don’t perform to show off, but to help those people to be self-reliant.” It seems like quite an impressive undertaking if you ask me!
What we expected when we walked into the Research Station was far less than what we found. The grounds were spectacular! We spent at least a good hour or more just on the first 10% of what there was, checking out the nursery/store (where they sell products made from the crops, like peppermint tea and macadamia nuts that we purchased) and the bonsai garden with exotic plants and a stunning rock garden. The Royal Garden next to the clubhouse and restaurant was pretty impressive too. Again, we enjoyed trying to recognize all the different crops and pointing it all out to Kailani. After a pretty good walk, we also visited the Baan Khum village (Thai Yai and Chinese Yunan descendents), next to the Research Station, and picked up some raisins and dried strawberries that I’m almost sure were grown by the Royal Project. Later that day, we also drove around, visited the Angkhang Pagoda and Nor lae Village (Palong descendents) which sits so close to the Myanmar-Thai border that the guard station is right at the end of the village. Along the way, there were a large group of kids of all ages walking down the road. I wish I could have taken a picture or video of their smiley, happy faces waving at us as we drove by. But, because I know some tribes in the area don’t believe in having their pictures taken, I was sensitive to taking pictures of anyone. We waved and said “sawasdee kha” to them. Some said it back to us while a few said “hello” or “hi” back to us instead. That mere interaction melted our hearts!
The next day, we took the scenic route out of Ang Khang, back to Chiang Mai, which takes you past a few other hill tribe villages. Because the route also straddles the Myanmar-Thai border, it also takes you past a couple more guard stations, which can be a bit unnerving when you get stopped. But, we passed with no issues. Between the mountainous forests are farming areas, which I’m sure some are receiving the benefits of the Royal Project. But, most was a plant that we didn’t recognize. We are still trying to figure out what that might be. Once out of the mountains, near Chiang Dao, we decided to visit one of the several elephant camps in the area. Recently, we purchase for Kailani a Babar the Elephant book and the movie, Horton Hears a Who. So, she gets excited over elephants right now. It was a bit worrisome to think that it might not be the most humane thing to support. I definitely did not want to see an “elephant show” for this reason. But, unsure how to gauge what good living conditions should be, we decided to at least pay them a visit. I try to think of it as no different than how Americans and other cultures have domesticated and stabled horses, except that elephants do more work in the forest. (Perhaps, wishful thinking!) We ended up at the Mae Taman Elephant Camp, mostly because it was the only one still open, and about to close right after we arrived. In the end, we decided to take a short ride on one of the elephants. It was a more thrilling ride than Sean and I expected. We expected the elephants to be large, but they are truly amazing when you are sitting on one. After the ride, one of the mahouts (elephant trainer) brought out a smaller elephant and let Sean and I take turns sitting on it bareback. Being able to get so close to the elephants like that is truly an experience that we won’t easily forget.
1 comment:
truly amazing!! such a different experience than us. makes me want to go back and hang with you all. yeah!!! keep on truckin'!!!
Post a Comment