Thailand Singapore Day 6: This Thai Girl Was Loving On Me…

 

It's time to leave the farm, but not before one final breakfast.  And what a breakfast it is. Fresh cabbage salad.  A fruit plate with passion fruit, watermelon, and husk cherries.  Chicken soup with rice and hard-boiled egg.  With some fond hugs, we say goodbye to our hostess and new friend, Nikul. 

Our route this morning takes us down the other side of the mountain. If I thought the road coming up the mountain was insane, the road going back down is absolutely ludicrous. Mandy says it's curvier than Lombard St. in San Fran. I've never driven a road where you're literally going lock-to-lock on the steering wheel under power.  If there was a dash cam on me, it would look like the worst fake driving from every police show in the 1970s.  Halfway down, we find a Karen owned coffee stand. Basic in its construction, but with lots of design style.  We sit admiring the view in our funny little camping chairs sipping coffee and eating a bag of the Thai equivalent to Bugles.  (editor’s note: Of course, Bugles are the undisputed champ of travel snacks globally, and these are a fine representation of that art.)

Now properly caffeinated, it's about another half hour until we come upon the Elephant Freedom Project, a humane Pachyderm sanctuary, dedicated to the rescue and care of these regal beasts. Today we get to spend some time up close and personal to get to know three of the sanctuaries heard.  Mae Kum Chan is the matriarch, strong willed and with an unstoppable appetite.  Pang Pak Dee, the playful and mischievous teenager.  And Pak Dok Koon, the curious and willful baby, still learning from mama and his siblings.  Pat, our host for today is the sanctuary’s Mahout, The elephant’s protector and guardian.  Pat has a quick wit, an easy smile, and his own vein of mischief. 

The rest of our group arrives, and we're briefed on safety and caution around the animals. Next step is preparing lunch. This involves chopping long bamboo stalks into 18-inch chunks using a machete. Mandy is a quick study with the big blade, which worries me a bit. We add dozens and dozens of bananas to each feed basket then grab the meals and take them across the street.

It's there we meet the three elephants in person for the first time. We may not know what to expect but they certainly do. We spend about half an hour feeding them by hand. We’re amazed at how gentle the elephants can be, and how dexterous they are with their trunks.  Mama Mae prompts us to give her two or three pieces in the curl of her nose which she then sorts out. Bananas in her mouth, bamboo on the ground in front of her for a second course. We were warned about this behavior ahead of time.  Just because an elephant puts a piece of food down, does not mean they don't want it. Once you hand it to them, it's theirs, and they will Muy Thai sucker punch you if you try to take it back.

We’ve done plenty of other animal interaction experiences in our lifetime.  25 years ago, when we certainly didn’t know better, we separately did swimming-with-the-dolphins in the Caribbean.  Both of our experiences left us dissatisfied, understanding intrinsically that those creatures did NOT want to be there or be with us.  Last year in the Galapagos, we got to experience the best version of animal interaction, with the least possible impact on the fauna and environment.  Carefully researched, today is way closer to the Ecuador encounter.  No, we are not seeing these animals in the wild.  Unfortunately, over the last few hundred years these animals were hunted to near extinction and worse, captured and abused.  To this day, poachers have a voracious appetite for elephants left unprotected.  These sanctuaries exist because they have to.  I step back midway through feeding to observe the staff interactions.  Each elephant is assigned a Mahout, a one-to-one relationship, and these are lifetime bonds for both parties.  When the teenager get a little anxious, her Mahout lets her wander away.  No stick, empty handed, and in fact, his arms never leave his side.  He simply speaks to her in measured, assuring tones.  No raised voice.  When she tries to back into the nearby dirt street, he simply stands behind her.  As she backs up to him, he holds his ground, still only speaking in the soothing, but resolved voice.  His calm demeanor eventually carrying the day, her pulse and breathing normalizes.  Instead of being a big to-do, the Mahout made it just a momentary lapse.  No problemo.

The baby is a bit finicky.  She tries to eat only the bananas, but eventually mama intervenes.  Mama literally starts taking the bananas out of baby’s mouth, forcing the switch to the fiber rich bamboo.  There is plenty of food and plenty of time, so all ten of us had ample unrushed interaction with each of the three animals, plus time for all sorts of pix and vids.  When the baskets are finally empty, the staff brings 4-foot sections of palm tree, each a full 20” in diameter, over to each elephant.  They happily get to work on this third course, the two older individuals working their tusks and jaws to split the logs into smaller, more edible pieces.  Baby doesn’t have tusks yet, so she demonstrated an elephant’s use of tools by dropping the log into a channel of metal near feeding station and using that metal to rip the wood into splinters.  Adapt, overcome, eat!

The next part of our day is taking the elephants for a walk.  No leashes, no cajoling, just time for a hike into the narrow valley nearby.  This is a bit of a hangout for us and our three companions, and the elephants do what the elephants do, mostly wandering back and forth finding stuff to put in their mouths.  At one point Mandy and I are talking to another guest when baby decides to “slip by” behind us, trying her very best to be polite.  She barely grazes Mandy and me, but even that most gentile of swipes nearly knocks us to the deck. 

A few minutes later, Pang, the teenager come up to me completely unprompted…

Yup, still got it!

Our time with the elephants over, we drive back into Chiang Mai for a quick lunch at SP Chicken, another recommendation from our restauranteur friend.  Birds for miles, but we like the pork even better.  Then it’s on to the airport for a 2 hour flight to Krabi.

It’s dark and past our dinnertime when we land.  We head straight into Krabitown, the central business and walking district.  On our way, we see a brightly lit street festival and decide to check it out. It turns out to be a Ramadan festival with several blocks of food vendors.  We pick from a few different stalls then head on to our final destination.

THAILAND SINGAPORE DAY 5: The Top Of Thailand

 

We literally wake up when the rooster crows.  It takes a second to come into focus.  We’re in a cabin in a farm field in Northern Thailand with the indigenous Karen tribe, and there’s a rooster crowing at 4am.  My first thought is that I’d like to invite him to dinner tonight.  My second thought is that we need to get up soon anyway.  We shower, dress and get into our remarkably capable Peugeot crossover and head out.  Our progress is halted by the closed front gate of the farm, but we overcome and get on our way.

(click on the picture to view the full size image)

This morning, we’re headed to watch the sunrise at Kew Mae Pan in Doi Inthanon National Park.  Getting there is no small feat.  The road from the farm to the park yesterday was the most challenging we have ever navigated.  Now we have to do that backwards, on the cliff side of the road, and in the dark.  Stressful is an understatement, but fun nonetheless.  We make it safely to the trailhead parking lot with time to spare.  We’re starving and desperately in need of caffeine but thankfully, the restaurant in the parking lot is open for business.  We wander over and try to figure things out.  There are three different places to order.  The one on the right is easy enough… a glass warming case full of dumplings.  The middle station displays a big bowl of brown eggs, plus smaller bowls of cilantro, sprouts and other veggies.  Working that station is a woman who ladles from a pot of hot liquid into quart size paper bowls, add the veggies and herbs, then finishes each dish by cracking a soft boiled egg into the mix.  The final station is a woman with a similar setup making noodle soup with minced pork.  We get one of each offering and find a table.  It’s bustling scene with dozens of patrons in various forms of jackets and blankets slurping piping hot breakfast bowls.  Except for the temperature – it gets quite chilly at these altitudes – this is a traditional Thai morning.

Across the street is the viewpoint where people gather to watch the sunrise.  We catch the first glimmers of the new day across the easternmost endpoint of the Himalayan Mountain Range.

The indigenous people at this part of the park are the Hmong Tribe, and at the Kew Mae Pan trailhead entrance, we are assigned a Hmong guide wearing a "Fucking Awesome" knit and sporting a "Hello Gorgeous" bag, who smiles, greets us and takes off.  She’s even faster than our guide yesterday and it’s everything we can do to keep up with her.  She's literally taking 4 steps to my one.  The hike is steep and I’m breathing heavy within minutes.  We (thankfully) stop for a few pictures by the Larn Sadet waterfall and I regain my composure.  It’s about 1km to the summit, the coveted “Sea of Mist”, a rare Thai cloud forest that permanently fills the valley below with a misty cotton candy of fog. 

The trail continues along the edge of the mountain with a steep dropoff to your right.  We stop to enjoy the red Rhododendron flowers, the wild white orchids and patches of wild blueberries which, of course, demanded to be sampled.  They were tiny and tart and only placed fourth after, in order, Hammonton Blues, Montana Huckleberries and Maine Wild Lowbush.

Rounding the final bend along the mountain edge, the famous King and Queen Chedis come into view. 

Dipping back into the mossy forest we start the 2km leg back to the start.  Somehow this trail is uphill both ways.  Many online sources complain about the crowds on this trail, one of the most popular in the country.  Most also estimate 2 to 3 hours for the loop.  We make it back to the parking lot in just over an hour, so this quiet week just after Chinese New Year worked in our favor.  Back in the parking lot we stop to use the facilities.  We were cautioned ahead of time to roll with our own roll, which we did.  We see the sign from the restaurant this morning and figure out why…

Next stop is just a few hundred meters away.  The King and Queen Chedis, officially called Phra Mahathat Naphamethanidon and Phra Mahathat Naphapholbhumisiri, are massive twin, ornate pagodas surrounded by beautiful, high-altitude gardens located near the summit of Doi Inthanon. It’s fun to learn that they were built to honor the 60th birthdays of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (1987) and Queen Sirikit (1992), because we’re here celebrating our turning 60 this year, too.  We take some photos from the entrance level then head up to the purple and gold Queen Chedi first.  Remarkably, we have the place completely to ourselves.  We take in the grandeur, the spirituality, the energy of this place.  The essence is uplifting light.  Before we leave, Mandy signs in to the Queen’s visitor log.

We explore the Queen’s gardens, past peak bloom, but still remarkable.  You have to force yourself to look up to see past the plantings to sweeping view.

Down the long stairs and backup the other side to the King’s Chedi.  Another beautiful space.  It’s slightly larger, darker, more seat-of-power energy.  If the Queen is the carrot, this is the stick.  It’s a very interesting contrast between the two.

Recharging with a nice cup of coffee from the outdoor café, we hit the short loop of the Ang Ka Luang Nature Trail next.  The constant humidity of the perma-mist causes moss to grow on every surface creating and moody forest vibe.  It’s like walking through a Windows background.  Down the short spur, there is a strange and colorful memorial to those who have served in the Thai Air Force, including this eternally smoking airman.  At least that’s what we think it honors… hard to tell.

The last planned stop of the day is walking the short loop to the Doi Inthanon summit, the highest point in the country.  There’s a sign, a small monument, no view, and 8414 feet high.  No wonder I’ve been huffing and puffing so much on the hikes.

Thanks to the complete and total lack of crowds, we have all the luxurious time in the world.  We’re at the very end of the park so the only way to go is back from where we came.  We’re kinda looking for another adventure and kinda looking for lunch.  We see the signs for Siriphum Waterfall, the last on Mandy's list, and veer off to the left to see what we find.  The little road puts us in the middle of a village, this one a bit more modern than we’ve seen around here.  Many of the properties have erected yurts or small guest cabins to supplement their farm incomes.  Near the end of the road is a trailhead and two very tired shed size “stores”, one selling yogurt bowls, the other selling local-ish crafts and staffed by a singing old woman, busily mending clothes with needle and thread.  We are the only ones at this attraction and start up the trail.  Unlike other trails in the park, this one is clearly in disrepair, maybe abandoned by the park service altogether.  That’s a shame, because it’s one of the most beautiful hikes in the park, lush and peaceful.  The big fern plants even roll out their fiddleheads to let us know visitors are still welcome here.

Back on the roller coaster we affectionally know as the road back home, we search for lunch, but find the Karen's equivalent to a Buckee's.  

It only takes bills, and only up to 100 Baht notes (about $3 USD), so the process is put in a bill, pump just shy of a quart, repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.

Finding lunch is more of a challenge.  We know the little shacks in the villages will make delicious dishes, but they are not necessarily the most approachable of places for outsiders.  We have a few false starts at coffee-only joints, then finally find an adorable place on the left that looks very welcoming.  They speak a little English, which we thank them for, and order the pork with curry paste and omelet rice plus a “red soda”, a non-alcoholic drink that tasted like Campari and bitters with just a splash of club.  We sit and eat, overlooking the farms in the valley and the peaks around the edges.

We explore further into the villages of Mae Wang to check out the neighborhood.  It’s an interesting mix of Amish-like traditionalism, overlaid with buzzing scooters and a splash organic tourism development.  We stop on the side of the road to watch a pair of men with conical nets doing some aquatic foraging, but we cannot for the life of us figure out what catch of the day may be. 

We have some very serene downtime at the farm, including some more of Nikul’s fine coffee.  Dinner is served around 6 and includes potato soup with cilantro, stir fried snow peas, grilled chicken and some fresh veggies.  All ingredients are, of course, farm to table in the most literal use of the term, being grown within 100 yards of here.

After dinner, we walk down the main road, which may be the only road in town, with two of the farm’s three dogs in tow.  Their not on leashes, they just wanted to come with, so they did.  About a quarter of a mile when we find the local boutique.  It’s a canvas propped up big-top style that houses 4 rows of colorful ladies- and menswear.  While we peruse, one of the pups shows up with a fully cooked sausage on a stick.  Good dog, good, good doggie.  Not surprisingly, he does not share.  Surprisingly, Mandy finds a nice top that will be making appearances in Brigantine this coming spring.