Sun 5th Feb
Up early – lovely breakfast at a sunny table in its own pagoda – was so warming as the hut was so cold in the shade! Paid our bill, handed our lovely table to Annie who had come out in search of sunshine and we collected our bags – ready for our 10am pick-up by sornga-taa-ou to take us to the main bus station in Chiang Dao . 150B for the ride and had a little wait for the 10.30 orange bus to take us to Tha Ton. B63 each and was a luxurious bus compared to the last one! A monk summoned us to sit in the back row with specific gesticulations that I must sit at the window – not next to him (custom is they cannot touch women) – well we have another story to tell about that! Seems like problems of the Catholic Church are rooted deep here too! Very twisty, curvy road – had to eats nuts and crackers to keep nausea at bay – but such beautiful scenery and so much agriculture, on the hills as well as the flats. Took about 2 hours and we were dropped at the last stop which very conveniently was opposite the road with a signpost showing Apples Resort on the river! Only had to wheel the bags for a couple of mins and there we were at this perfect location right on the river! We were met by the lovely Pin who I had spoken to on the phone- checked out the rooms and the lovely ones on the river were 1400 BHT but garden huts 700BHT so as we are on the budget trip of course we were in the garden . There is a huge deck in the main building overlooking the river and bridge and as they only do breakfast at the Guesthouse, Pin said we can bring our own drinks and food and use the patio. Alan now convinced he wants to spend at least 3 or 4 nights now as the perfect place to chill! We decided to explore the town a bit and also book a guide for a trek that we had been long awaiting! Went down to the boat harbour to find out more about the boat trip to Chiang Rai on the Kok River. Guidebooks say that often the boats have stopped at this time of year as the water level is low but if you can it is a recommended trip as is a very scenic trip! Luckily we found boats still running but the need a min of 6 on the public boat 400BHT pp to operate. Put our names down for the 8th and hope for the best. They gave us the name of a guide who takes walkers into the various villages so we went to seek him out and book! We found Mr Puk sitting listening to music in his hut and organised to do a day trip with him in the morning . Negotiated a 1500 BHT deal, including lunch (that he carries). We then set off to check out the Wat on the main street – Wat Tha Ton consists of a monastery complex spread over 9 different levels of the hill – each with huge statues and views towards Myanmar and the Tha Ton plains. Level 8 has a very colourful stupa known as Chedi Kaew and is painted in soft pastel colours that look wonderful in the late afternoon sun! As we were climbing the various levels of the monastery we came across many novice, young monks who were supposed to be doing work on restoration but as most seemed about 10 – 12 they were happier playing in the sand and messing around with sticks! Boys will be boys – no matter what outfit you put them in! On the way up we bumped into Puk who was doing his daily walking training routine up the “hill” and at one stage he got a phone call and asked us if we would mind if a French couple joined us tomorrow – we were fine with it and he told us not to discuss price as they had booked through a hotel and were paying a lot more – and as we agreed to “share” him he would pay the 250 BHT fee that the Long-Neck Tribe charge for photos! We started the walk down just before sunset as didn’t want to chance the dogs again for a 2nd night! Picked up some Chang Beer and 7-up from 7-11 on the way home and sat on the patio enjoying the beautiful scenery on the river . Just popped over to the next door restaurant for a bite to eat, nothing wonderful to report, have noticed that the food up in the north is not as flavourful as the southern part of Thailand!
 
Mon 6th Feb
29th wedding anni today (where has the time gone!)Up early to have our tea before breakfast at the guesthouse. Fruit, fried eggs, 1 piece of bacon, processed ham and yukky wiener with toast and with powdered OJ and instant coffee was our 100B breakfast deal at Apples! Puk picked us up at 9 then drove over the bridge to pick up the French couple who were joining us for the hike! Funny thing was they were staying at Apples as had seen them at breakie, they got picked up by cab and taken to the Guesthouse over the bridge where we picked them up! We drove about 20km to the Long-Necked Kayan village (just off the main road to Mae Salong) – Puk parked there and we first wandered through the stalls that they set up to sell their wares to all the tourists. Puk explained to us that if a woman is born on a Wednesday it is customary that they will wear the heavy brass coils around their necks, every few years a couple more coils are added until they have a max of about 20! Am not sure how true this is but we took it in! The Kayan people are a stateless people and the formerly independent farmers now have to rely on tourism to survive! There were a few stalls set up in front of the Kayan village and these were attended by the Akha hill tribe women. They wear headdresses of beads and silver ornaments and all seemed to chew the betel nut (seed from palm tree) which is chewed for its mood-enhancing effects! This gives them all a deep red or purple smile! Both tribes live in bamboo and wood huts on stilts . The Akha originate from Tibet and are another displaced people! Fascinating to see the weaving and crafts made by the women as well as seeing their traditional clothing and how they live their daily lives. Puk left his truck here and we walked a few km’s through farming lands and up a hill to see where the Lahu hill tribe lived. We crossed through fields growing eggplants, soya, kale and maize, walking on raised mud walls between the diffferent crops. When we were climbing the hill we could hear much chatter and voices but once we reached the village there was silence – just the chickens and pigs around. The Chief of the tribe came out to greet us (am sure all others were hiding in their huts!) and show us around! Very well swept grounds around the huts – obviously they take care to live in tidy and clean surrounds and also live in wood, bamboo and grass huts on short poles. We walked down to meet the ex-chief who was in his onesie and obviously lay on his porch all day, had a handle to pull himself up with, all signs that he was hooked on Opium (Puk tells us they all grown their own supplies in hidden locations). We then went back down and crossed a small river, crossed the road and started a long climb up to another Akha village. We passed Cassava, chillies, pineapples, lychees, garlic and rice being grown. Some of these houses were built of concrete blocks. We really did climb up pretty steeply, some in forested jungle and some in fields. Was pretty hot in the sun as about 25’ by now! The scenery was so beautiful with all the hills around and the agricultural fields all marked out . By about 1.30 we got to the highest village and Puk let himself into his friends hut and unpacked his rucksack to cook us lunch on an open fire – noodles with stir fried veg and chilli with chicken satays BBQ’d on fire.  What a delicious lunch, followed by a cup of very sweet coffee – think it had condensed milk in it! Earlier he had given us all a snack which he called Chinese Cake – a pastry like cake filled with pear and peanut, also tasty! Now we had the long walk down – and Puk never took us on the same path twice so made it very interesting. We came across a lookout guy for a moonshine operation so Puk took us in to find the guys brewing the illegal rice whisky – barrels of it sitting waiting to be dispersed! An older man was distilling the lethal potion that is known to make you blind if you consume too much! They move their operation every few weeks to avoid being caught! The last village we went through had ripe Papayas on the trees so Puk got a long stick and pulled down a few so we could eat them for dessert and take some home! So yum! Climbed down some pretty steep slopes to get back down to the valley where the truck was parked. What a great day it had been, we were all hot tired and exhausted by now, happy to jump in the back of the truck to be driven back to a cool shower at the GH! What a great guide Puk was and what an enjoyable way to spend our anniversary! Had the usual shandys on the patio watching the sun going down and then wandered in to the main street to find the Sunshine Restaurant that Puk had recommended for us Farangs! As we walked up – who should be there by Annie and Yves, the couple from Quebec! We joined them for dinner and swapped our days stories, had a good chicken cashew stir fry and wound up a really great day! We booked a scooter for our travels to Mae Salong the next day.

Tue 7 Feb
Alan up early to go and fetch the scooter for 400BHT and on the way found one for 250 BHT from the Honda Dealer – pretty good helmets with face shields too – we needed gears on the bike as were going to hit some pretty serious hills so was nice to know we had good head protection too! Headed out after breakfast – 40 km to Mae Salong, a village high in the mountains and in days gone past was in the centre of the Opium industry! We first ventured through the flats and actually passed a very colourful procession of people in the road – groups all dressed in different ethnic costumes, a chinese dragon dancing and music being played (have this on video from the bike as we whizzed by!) am wondering if it was a New Year Celebration for some of the hill tribes as apparently they celebrate at a similar time to the Chinese New Year!? After this we did some serious twisting and turning and hairpin bends – at times only just making it up the hills in 1st gear! Magnificent scenery on all sides. They say Mae Salong gives you an idea of what areas of China look like. It was originally settled by a Chinese Regiment who had fled to Myanmar after communist rule was established in China, then they were kicked out of Myanmar and resettled in Mae Salong. These people are known as the Yunnanese, after the province they had left behind in China. There is definitely a Chinese vibe about the place and the opium fields have been replaced by tea plantations. We stopped at a lovely modern tea shop on the outskirts of town, my butt was killing me so needed a rest. Well believe it or not I had the yummiest cappuccino ever here – along with a complimentary Oolong Tea! We carried on through town, stopping to take many pics and had decided (due to Alans insistence!) that we should continue through to Ban Thoet Thai (another 20kms further) as this village was famous for having been the base for the Opium King, Khun Sa and there was a museum there! Very pretty winding past many tea plantations set on the hills, many villages had tiger grasses spread on the side of the road as they dry them to make brooms with. Finally got to the village and took a few wrong turns until we eventually found the abandoned museum!!!! A few buildings with locks on them but you could see displays in them. Alan tried a door and nearly pulled it off its rotten hinges – eventually he found someone who slopped off and came back with keys and she opened up all the rooms. Most of displays in Thai writing but we got the picture, then some of the rooms opened up were Khun Sa's bedroom and then there was a life size model of him sitting at his desk. He had an entire army based up there with him. He eventually went to live in Myanmar and was allowed to stay there on an amnesty until he died in 2007. There was a $2million bounty on his head as the Americans wanted to shut down his operation! On the way back to Mae Salong we chugged up a long hill and pulled into the 101 Tea Plantation. Very picturesque plantation and we looked around for a food area but only had a few tea tasting areas with lovely views over the hilly plantation. Somehow we managed to sit in the VIP tasting area and had a lovely young girl explain the various methods of fermenting the tea and the making of the oolong and green teas – must say they tasted good and not at all bitter – she showed me which special teapot to buy when home in Canada – certainly not the one from China as is plastic and contains toxins! We later found out she was the grand daughter of the owner and he had originated in Taiwan! We then headed into town , searching for food but yet again got side tracked by a huge chedi up a hill that looked like it offered a magnificent view! Took many wrong turns and no one could actually tell us how to get there – made it to one with a view the opposite direction and then decided to call it a day and I was whining for food. Stopped at a very Chinese looking restaurant and I pointed to a tasty looking chicken dish – when it arrived it certainly didn’t look the same and had many bones in it – chicken joints or something! Could only eat ½ and then headed back for the long slog back! Many stops made to relieve butt pain and we also pulled in to where we had seen the festivities on the road but not many people left (or most of them further up the hill – sitting eating) kids playing on a traditional village swing. Stopped at a small vineyard on the road – thinking we might get some wine but think it was just a table grape vineyard! Carried on back to Tha Ton and returned the scooter. Grabbed some drinks from 7-11 and headed back to the GH for sundowners on the deck. So beautiful looking out on the river, watching the odd long-tail boat travelling on the river. Headed over to the Sunshine Restaurant again for dinner – bumped into 2 Auzzie boys we had been chatting to earlier and they said they were getting the boat down the Kok River the next day so we knew the boat would be running as I really wanted to do this trip from Tha Ton – Chiang Rai. They need 4-6 people to operate the boat.