Hill tribes and orchids: A short trip to Chiang Mai

We took a short flight from Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai. Fortunately, we did not have the same problem in Chiang Mai that we did in Luang Prabang; we booked a hostel at the airport just to make sure we had somewhere to stay for the night. We were only in Chiang Mai for one night and one day, so the afternoon we arrived our first priority was taking care of arrangements. We needed a train ticket to Bangkok for the following night, and a tour to the mountains of northern Thailand for the day. We had heard of small minority tribes located in the north of Thailand, and the reason we wanted to come to Chiang Mai was to hike into the mountains to visit their villages. Once we checked into our guesthouse, we asked them about train tickets. Unfortuantely, all the sleepers were sold out, so we bought two seats on the train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. We then went shopping around for hilltribe tours.

The Lonely Planet mentioned competition among the travel agencies selling hill tribe tours was fierce, and they were definately right. It wasn't difficult at all to find dozens of places selling tours at competitive prices. We knew immediately which tour we wanted to join; it was a combination tour that took us to 5 different hill tribes. Our guesthouse sold it for 1000 baht (about 25 US dollars) but we found the same tour down the street for 800 baht, so we took them. Our guesthouse, through casual conversation, discovered we had gone to another agency, and they were not happy with us. I think they were the first Southeast Asian people we angered.

I think even more disappointing to me was the fact that I feel as though I saw so little of Chiang Mai...there was so much more to see of northern Southeast Asian culture therei.

After getting both those errands taken care of, we went to a restaurant for dinner and ate sticky rice, noodle soup, and sauteed pork. We then decided to check out the market. This night market made the one in Luang Prabang look like a minimart; the stalls went on for blocks and blocks, selling everything from Thai silk, cotton clothing, erotic statues, pirated DVDs, and dirty T-shirts in English. Ally was quite shocked at the content of many of the T-shirts. One T-shirt had the 7-11 symbol, but instead of "eleven" it said "inches"; after seeing her reaction I stopped explaining the various sexual innuendos.

We wandered through, but didn't buy anything because we had already planned a full day in Bangkok at the weekend market where we knew we would find the same stuff for much cheaper. After a couple hours of wandering, we went back to our guesthouse. As we walked back, I began to see a big difference between Thailand and the other two countries we visited. THe night life in Chiang Mai was certainly alive, and there were obvious prostitutes (some of them who were obviously male once upon a time) lining the streets in short skirts and high heels. We saw trash problems in the other countries, but none seemed as obvious as Chiang Mai. On one street, we saw a large pile of trash, and as we neared it we saw a rat as big as a kitten crawl underneath the bags. Our pace quickened a bit after that sight. Perhaps because Chiang Mai was a big city, it had this kind of atmosphere; nevertheless, it was incredibly different from Laos.

The next morning we awoke bright and early to go on our tour. We were joined by two girls from Northern Europe traveling Southeast Asia for a semester, a couple from Eastern Europe, and an American man traveling with a Thai woman. Our tour guide was friendly and energetic, and as we climbed into the minivan, he gave us our schedule for the day. We then sat back an enjoyed a bus tour through the city of Chiang Mai; 45 minutes later we arrived at our first destination.

Our day began at a famous orchid farm outside of Chiang Mai. Many orchids grow native in Thailand because of the optimal climate, and many of them were preserved in pots in this particular farm. There was also a butterfly pavillion, but because we were there during winter, many of the butterflies were asleep, and thus not visible to us. Ally and I wandered about for a bit to take pictures with the beautiful rare flowers, and then sat down at the cafe for a well needed breakfast and a cup of coffee. Neither of us had much interest in the orchid farm.

Our next stop we were not told about in advance, and definately came as an unexpected suprise. As we stopped to get out of the car, I asked the Northern European girls where we were, and they told me "We are watching them make paper from elephant poop." I was quite suprised to hear this, as was Ally. Ally looked at me with a quizzical look and said to me softly "we're...getting out of the car to see elephant poop?"

It turned out we were. Apparantly they use elephant poop to make a special kind of craft paper, which they then put on boxes, picture frames, magnets, and cards, and sold them overpriced in the gift shop. It was actually quite simple to make. They first dried out the dung completely. Then, they soaked it in chemicals to rid it of the smell and bacteria. After that they bleach it, and then dye it different colors. Finally, they put it on large screens to allow the fibers to bond together, making paper. We then saw ladies pasting the paper in cute shapes onto picture frames. We watched part of a demonstration, and then moved on to the next area.

The next stop was four ethnic villages. The first village was the Paluang tribe, of which the people originally come from near Burma. They were all seated on the porches of their small straw huts with crafts for sale. Ally and I wandered about the village, and discovered a few small huts, and some farm animals. We were a bit disappointed that all they really wanted us to do there was shop. I thought we would be able to talk with the villagers and learn more about them. Unfortuantely, this was representative of the whole tour. Because of this, it was the most disappointing part of our trip. Nevertheless, we still learned quite a bit.

I still learned a bit about the Paluang tribe while I was there. One of the first things I noticed was that they all had black teeth. According to our tour guide, the women chew a certain kind of tobacco which is supposed to be good for their teeth, and it makes them very black. I also learned that the claim that many of the souvenir crafts that can be bought in Southeast Asia are "homemade" was not a fallacy. We saw many women on hand and foot controlled looms making beautiful cotton and silk scarves.

The next village we visited was the Akha tribe, and the people of this village immediately looked familiar. Last time I was in Bangkok, there were little ladies wandering the streets with elaborate colored hats adorned in silve beads selling handmade crafts and wooden frogs. They were persistant and ubiquitous. I learned here, however, that these ladies were the Akha people, and our tour guide introduced them as "the businesswomen of the hilltribe community." It was true, the women followed us and pestered us as we walked through the village, as did a small group of children. The children followed us onto the next village, the Lisu village.

The Lisu tribe were originally from Mongolia. It was here that we were able to step beyond a tourist trap and learn a bit about the community. We learned that much of their economy is self sustained, and that they have to produce their own agriculture and livestock. We saw an old woman with her husband taking beans out of their outer casing on a large plastic tarp. We were also introduced to many of the fruit trees that grew near the area.

We were also taught how they make their houses. The Lisu tribe in particular use a special kind of leaf that grows native to their village to make the roofs of their houses. They were beginning to make more stable houses from stones and rocks, but these were relatively rare. Most of them were wooden and straw houses on stilts to prepare for the flooding that came in the rainy season.

We were later told that the reason that they had to be so self-sustaining is that the Thai government puts severe restrictions on how and when they can leave their particular village and go to Chiang Mai, or even the rest of Thailand. Hilltribe people have to apply for citizenship cards, and perhaps within 10 years of applying they may recieve one. Then, and only then, are they permitted to leave the village. This information made me more understanding about the rapid spread and dominance of tourist goods. At first, it seemed as though tourism had ruined these tribes. However, it is the sale of these tourist goods that allows them to sustain themselves. Therefore, by buying these kind of goods, it helps the poor people of these villages to earn their livlihood.

Another fact about many of these villages was that they were all largely Christian. Western missionaries had taken a large interest in the hill tribes of Chiang Mai, and their influence was incredibly dominant. Almost all of the hilltribe people practiced Christianity, and there was a Christian church in nearly every village. However, their indigenous religion was not completely absent. There was still a form of superstitious led shamanism/buddhism that was pervasive in their habitual behavior, clothing, and even architecture. Our guide showed us that on the roof of most Lisu tribal houses there was an intricate strand of dried grass weaved in an angular design that hung around the porch so as to keep evil spirits out.

As we wandered through the town, we said hello to all of the children as we walked past, smelled the fresh fruit, and played with the animals that ran freely around the houses. We saw baby piglets eating food laid out for them in small bowls, roosters ostentatiously roaming about, and particularly cute puppies that liked to use our shoes, toes, and fingers to begin teething. We played with these animals for awhile before moving on to our next destination.

After these places, we ate lunch and then went to visit the Pa Ok caves, which was a large Buddhist shrine within a natural cave that was built by the Burmese when they invaded in the 18th century. They had built many Buddhist statues and relics within the cave, which the Thai people do not recognize as the "actual" Buddha. In particular, there was a large reclining Buddha statue which was built by the Burmese. The Thai people of this particular village came and placed a much smaller reclining Buddha model next to the huge carved one. When Thai people come to this area, our guide told us, they worship the small model, not the large one carved from the stone of the cave.

The abiance of the cave was astounding; it was misty and damp, yet the small amount of light emitted into the cave reflected upon the stalagtites in a golwing way, showing their natural beauty. I've never particularly liked visiting caves, but I found this one very beautiful. It was also a nice retreat from the hot sun outside. After we looked at all the Buddha statues, we sat in an area with small numbered sticks in a jar. A famous Buddhist tradition is to use these sticks to tell one's fortune. A person should say a prayer, and then shake the jar of sticks until one falls out. They then take the number from that stick, and take the sheet of paper on the wall witha corresponding number. This number will tell your fortune.

We exited the cave and walked back into the hot sun. We took our pictures in front of the temple, went to the bathroom, and then we went on to our next and final destination, the Long Neck Karen tribe village. The Karen tribes, which are of many variations, originally come from Burma. There are Red Karens and White Karens, and both tribes have Long Neck varations.

The Long Neck tribes are called such because the women, starting around the age of five, wrap brass metal coils around their neck to elongate them. This was originally done because in Burma a long time ago, there were many tigers, and it was believed that the tiger attacks people at the neck; thus, they coiled the metal around their necks for protection. Eventually this came to embody beauty and tradition, and is now done for those reasons. The children get their first coils when they are small, and must leave them on all the time, even when they shower and sleep.

When we arrived at the village, there were women at a loom weaving handmade scarfs. Our tour guide then introduced us to their traditional culture, and then we were permitted to wander and view their souvenirs. As we walked around to look, we asked our tour guide about their situation in Thailand. There's is even worse than the other hilltribes, as it is nearly impossible for them to acquire a Thai ID, and it is also even more difficult for them to leave their village. They are largely persecuted by the Thai government. However, their persecution in Burma is much worse. They are truly a displace culture, fighting to survive in Southeast Asia by selling cheap tourist souvenirs. Because they were worse off, I did buy a souvenir from them, from a little girl.

As we drove back to Chiang Mai, I thought about the day. It had been a bit disappointing for me. I was hoping we would do serious hiking throughout the Northern Thai landscape, talk with real hilltribe people, and really learn something. Unfortuantly, there was little hiking involved, and almost no interaction other than business driven ones. Few of them wanted to really talk with us about anything other than how much money we could give them. In fact, I found it difficult to even walk among the village without getting pestered. However, I did learn something, although more implicitly. I may not have learned a lot about the specific cultures of the hilltribes, but I did learn about their place in the larger Thai context. Furthermore, I understand now the impact of tourism on these local hilltribes. They have sacrificed their traditional lifestyle for earning more money, and earning it by breaking down borders and walls between them and the outside world. They are allowing themselves to become a larger part of the global community; whether this is a step towards progress or a travsety is up for debate.

When we returned, we were hot and tired, so wandered trying to find something to drink before we caught the train. We then went to the main street for dinner before catching our train to Bangkok.

I think even more disappointing to me than our tour was the fact that I feel as though I saw so little of Chiang Mai. We looked at all the tours, and there was so much more to see of northern Southeast Asian culture there. Plus, there were so many outdoor activities that I wanted to participate in. I hope someday I can go back there and explore Chiang Mai even more.