Journey to the World

January 31, 2007

Right now I’m staying in a remote bungalow, high up in the mountains, close to the Burma border under two down blankets, two wool blanket, wearing a coat, an angora shirt and a wool hat. My rechargeable NiMH AA batteries died because of the heavy cold, probably between zero to three degrees celsius.

The guest house is far away from civilization, disconnected from electricity. It wasn’t connected because of its distance. The government gave the owner solar collectors which enable him to produce electricity sufficient enough for light a couple of bulb for a a few hours in the evening, none of which are inside the bungalow (200 baht, toilets is outside. There’s no need for a fan).

How it all started…

I came here in an hour considered late, in complete darkness after driving fifteen minutes inside a deserted forest. Even the full moon couldn’t light it up. I was given matches, candles and a good meal, but it’s pretty accurate to say that after it gets dark, there’s nothing to do around here. Complete darkness and the full moon appears from time to time beyond the mist.

The bungalow is not sealed to the winds. You can’t even close the window without it being opened from time to time. Under the door there’s a big crack letting the wind get inside. The candles I’ve lighted earlier are out for some time. Only my PDA with the lithium battery is still breathing on the contrary to everything else around here.

I planned today to leave Mae Hong Son and drive back to Pai, on the way find interesting places, visit the largest long neck Karen tribe in the area and also the fish cave. As always, I found exciting places out of the plan, but this time I found a special place in which I stayed for too long. The whole way was filled with amazing landscapes, green, green and more green.

Nai Soi Village of the Long Karen Tribe

A long dirt road took me to the biggest Karen village in the area of Mae Hong Son. The tribe is located near the Nai Soi village, distanced 33 kilometers from Mae Hong Son. This is the most impressive tribe I visited. Just like in other tribes, long neck women with metal rings on their necks sell scurfs and other products in their stands, and you can take their photographs. I met there a couple from Switzerland who made all the way from their country to East Asia on bicycle in a period of two years. They rode over 5000 kilometers in different countries like China, Mongolia and others.

An Unplanned Detour

I continued driving towards the Fish Cave, but on the way I saw a sign leading to a waterfall. I checked my watch and changed the plan. You can get to the waterfall on a side-road going from the main road and ends up in the fish cave, so it doesn’t make the way too long. The road is rural green. At some point I had to stop to get some fuel.

Feeding The Fish In The Waterfall

The entrance is free. The waterfall is pretty but not very impressive. They sell fish food in the entrance (5 baht). Basically it’s the only attraction in this place, since in the pool hundreds of fish are swimming, some are very big. After half an hour of fish feeding I left. On the way out the fish food seller recommended me to continue driving with the road toward the villages near Burma. According to him, the view at that area is like “Switzerland in Thailand”.

Pong Tong Palace

Not willing to miss such a recommendation, I drove on that road leading west to Burma. The ride is long, and on the way I see a sign pointing to Pong Tong Palace. When I get close a soldier jumps out and ask me to pay 20 baht, entrance fee. I asked him whether the castle is bigger than the castle near Doi Tung. He answered that it’s a small castle. I was a little disappointed by his answer and wanted leave the place.

In the last moment I changed my mind, a decision which would later turn out very successful.

The castle’s area includes an agricultural project involving the locals in treating the nature in a better way. You can find there fields of flowers and other crops. There’s a school inside so it’s not rare to see children walking around. The place is charming and quite. The singing of the birds is heard everywhere.

The Open Zoo Of Pong Tong

There’s an open zoo inside, an experience by itself. In the zoo there are peacocks and other strange birds. There are also deers as well as two or three clouded leopards inside a big cage. I went to the leopards cage. A pregnant leopard was walking around with nothing to do. She looked like a big cat so I called her to get closer so I can take her photograph. After a few failed trials, the leopard got closer to the fence making gargle sounds. She came so close that I could pet her head while the leopard responded like a regular cat.

Sheep Herd And A Small Lamb

After the open zoo I arrived at a place where there was a sheep herd. Nearby there were three sheep that everyone could feed. On a wooden cart there was a beautiful white lamb waiting for people to feed him. He was so cute that he reminded me of a puppy. He was white like the moon and had a soft touch of wool. This was one of the amazing creature you can find there. After an hour of feeding I drove on the road toward the horse ranch.

The Horse Ranch In Pong Tong

There are a few young horses in the stables. Other horses are walking free in a corral. After the good experience with the sheep, I tried my luck with the horses, so I asked the ranch manager whether I can ride one of the horse.

The manager talked in Thai to some of the workers. It was not long till I was led to the horse, who looked quite young.

A saddle, a harness and the required equipment was set up on the horse. I ask for helmet, get a cowboy hat instead and already on the horse. This was the easy part. The horse is young and impressive, but had a mind of its own. A short ride made me realize that when you tell the horse to turn right he turns left, when you tell him to turn left he turns left as well. At least he listens to half of the commands. One of the workers noticed that I can’t control the horse, told me to get down and showed me how to command the horse. It seemed a little different than what I was used to.

Another half an hour on the horse which included a worker trying to pull the horse, trying to make him understand there’s something called turning right, ended up with no success. Even the trial of the leader to show me how to command the horse didn’t work so well. After we got back I talked to the ranch manager. I was told this is a working horse that wasn’t trained for riding. It probably turns to one direction because it’s used to it from the field. Sadib, the manager told me he is a soldier working on behalf of the army in the ranch for twelve years.

The School And A Viewpoint Over The Agricultural Fields

Near the ranch, there’s a school located on the top of a hill. You can see from there the entire area where farmers are growing their crops.

The Deer Cage

On the way back I visited a huge deer cage. A deer standing near the fence had some interest in me. He started file his horns on the metal fence. I don’t know if he did it because he was bored or to show his ownership over the place.

The Royal Castle

I went to the royal castle, a nice place which overlooks the big lake nearby. It’s a wonderful viewpoint which managed to bring me to euphoria, so when I went back down I managed to drive the motorcycle into a small trench before starting to drive. The motorcycle is OK except for a small unknown part in the breaking handle. It’s nice to have insurance.

The Agricultural Project

I spent the whole day in the Pong Tong area until six o’clock. That time it was getting dark. I wanted to continue driving toward the villages near the Burma border and see the fish cave. I skipped driving to Pai a long time ago, and decided not to go back to Mae Hong Son but to look for a local guest house in one of the villages in this area. It is not rare to see a sign on these roads warning for an “Accident Ahead” which should warn you against a dangerous curve. On the way I checked out a government agricultural project, another gem worth looking at, and quickly drove away to find a guest house before dark.

Remote Guest House Near Burma

Locals referred me to a distanced village, 8 kilometers from there. From that village it was possible to get to the bungalow in which I’m staying right now. The bone freezing road toward the top of the mountain gave me a taste of what’s to come in the rest of the night. Those who intent to stay here in the late hours should come prepared with very warm clothes.

 

This article was originally written in Hebrew. It was translated to English at a later time.

 

This article was published at 31-01-2007 Time: 20:46 and belongs to categories Motorcycle, Fish, Far East Travel Journal 2007, Sheep, Villages, Mae Hong Son, Waterfalls, Tigers, Horses, Deers, North Thailand, Long Neck Karen, Thailand. You can follow comments to this article using the feed RSS 2.0. You can post a comment, or trackback from your website.