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An early start with breakfast at the hotel, then off with mr Tony Smile the driver and his Isuzu 4WD truck heading north towards the Myanmar border. Cheerful chap as the name suggests we were soon chatting away as we drove north through pineapple plantations to the mountains close to the border. The pineapples are small, called phu-lae, they result from a cross between the Phuket pineapple and the local one. Sweet but crisp, they are delicious and the roadside is full of stalls selling them. Our first stop was to be Doi Tung, Doi meaning mountain in Thai. This mountain was once a famous opium growing site and the home of the Akha people, one of the indigenous tribes of the Myanmar/Thai/Lao border region. Now famously the site of the royal villa and gardens of the present King of Thailand's mother, know affectionately as Mae Fah Luang or Royal mother from the sky.... She used to arrive by helicopter!
Having arrived at the mountain after a beautiful drive, Tony explained that the trees in the area were only around 20 years old as they had been part of the re-education and replanting project started by the queen mother. The villa and gardens were popular with Thai visitors, in fact I was the only western face around. The villa is an odd mix of lanna and Swiss log cabin... all the wood is recycled timber except for the floor which was confiscated golden teak and was offered to the queen mother by the government. It is the most beautiful golden colour, highly polished, no shoes allowed. It seems that the queen mother, who had spent a lot of time in switzerland for health reasons, was very concerned about the plight of the tribal people of the north, as is the present king, and she made her final home here where she encouraged the people to take up sustainable farming rather than opium growing. She employed many people to make and maintain the gardens and brought education and medical provision to the region. It's clear she was well loved.
The mountain has a beautiful setting and a cool, temperate climate, dahlias, busy lizzies as well as orchids and palms grow here. The outlook from terrace of the villa is across the mountains towards Myanmar. The name Doi Tung comes from Doi for mountain and Tung which are the long flags that hang outside temples, there are two sacred stupas higher up on the mountain. One of the other initiatives was the planting of tea and coffee here, the tea is a green oolong from Taiwan and the coffee is Doi Tung which is famous and drunk all over Thailand.
From here we went higher up to the border of Myanmar and Thailand. At 1486 metres is a viewpoint where you can literally step into Myanmar... See cover pic What is apparent is the difference of the landscape, the Thai side is forested, on the Myanmar side the mountains are bare of trees as the people still practise slash and burn agriculture. The border doesn't need markers as it's obvious which country is which.
After enjoying the view, we head off and leave Doi Tung and cross country to the east, dropping down into fertile valleys of rice fields and streams before climbing again into a gentle landscape of hills and valleys, passing though small towns and villages of Lamu and Shan tribes. The are a lot of Chinese people here who originally came from the yunnan area of china before borders really existed on the map. The larger villages have typical chinese style layouts, street fronting houses and shophouses and Chinese style pagodas dotting the landscape. There are also mosques and Christian churches as together with Buddhism all religions are celebrated.
We stopped for lunch at a Chinese roadside restaurant called "ting ting" which means delicious, same as "aroy aroy" in Thai. Had my first som tam, papaya salad, 4 chili version... and pork with garlic & black pepper, aroy indeed.
After lunch, we went to the so called "opium king" and the last of the royal Shan line's lair. His compound is hidden just outside the village, plain brick build around a central parade area. From here he commanded a small army of troops to fight off incursions and defend his position. Seemingly well respected by the Thais, it was he who finally, working with the Thai government brought opium production to an end in this region. Both a skilled horseman and fighter... Swords were his speciality, he was active in battle until late in his 50s and finally after spells in prision in Thailand, Myanmar and the USA, he died of cancer here in the north.
The buildings now contain a small homespun museum of maps, photographs and artefacts of his life and the history of the Shan state. It culminates in a rather spooky room that he held meetings in, dimly lit and locked, it is opened to reveal a gruesome waxwork of the man himself, rather unnerving sitting in judgement.
From here we drove back along ridges and finally dropped down out of the mountains and headed back to Chiang Rai. About 10km north of the city, we pull off the road and down a small track we come to "the Black Temple". This is the creation of another artist, but unlike the White temple is not a place of worship. The compound contains many buildings including a large central hall built in lanna temple style from centuries old teak wood. The artists house is also here and many of the other buildings are installations. He is a very skilled carver and there are workshops here as well. Quite how anyone is able to build on this scale is beyond me and it's a fasinating place.
So with that last visit of the day, I headed back to the north hotel for a shower and a phu-lae shake. Later going out for dinner at a northern style place that specialised in pork (moo). Luckily I can eat spicy food because it was firery... allowed myself a small Leo beer as a soother!
And so off to bed
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