Jack had to go to Chiang Mai this week to extend his student visa so I hopped a bus on Friday to meet him and spend the weekend on a little getaway. Every time I visit Chiang Mai I like it a little bit more, probably because we avoid the other farang (Westerners) and get into the rural surrounding areas. This time, I wanted to visit some hill tribes so we wandered a bit to find the best price on a tour. Pro tip: The way most of the tour companies work here is that they all book on the same tour: usually no matter who you book through, you will be on the same minibus with the same people. Knowing this, we can shop around town for the best price (which can be as much as $10 difference) on whichever tour we want, as long as we pay attention to the descriptions. I had already found a place I wanted to book with online, but on the way we spotted these guys outside a tour company and I started snapping photos.
Jack is pretty used to me stopping in my tracks to take some pics, so he entertained himself by checking out their tour menu and discovered the tour we wanted for cheaper than I’d found. Bonus! we headed in, booked it, and continued walking around town. Here are some of the interesting graffiti and art we spotted.
On our way home from dinner, we stumbled upon a makeshift skate park in front of the Three Kings monument.
Bright and early the next day we started our tour. First stop: Thai Orchid and Butterfly Farm. We were greeted with a real orchid pin souvenir, pretty but perishable. Our guide (who we had on a previous tour booked through a different company) explained that orchids are grown from seeds in a nutrient-rich gel in an air-tight bottle. After one year, the bottle is broken and the repotted plant will take three years to bloom. Here’s a little tidbit of orchid knowledge for ya: you can figure out its age by the number of leaves it has. An orchid grows six leaves every year.
The souvenir shop sold orchids and butterflies preserved in resin and made into jewelry. (Some other insects were coated in metal or framed.)
The best part of the gift shop for us was this insanely sweet little girl lounging on her blankey and just waiting for attention. If you know us, you know we didn’t leave her unsatisfied.
On to the flowers!
The butterfly farm was not particularly great—Jack and I actually have quite a few more butterflies around our jungle house than they had here.
After this pit stop, I was ready for what I booked this tour to see: the hill tribes. The first groups were the Akha and Lisu tribes. They live together in the mountains peacefully now, but that wasn’t always the case. They used to fight over land, and the government has since split the land and taught them to live sustainably. Since they live too high in the mountains to grow rice, they harvest corn, peanuts, lychee, mango, longan, peppers, and rubber. Both tribes originated in Tibet.
The first two photos are from the Lisu tribe. The garment is worn by women and despite the heat, it’s made from a relatively heavy velour fabric. Lisu houses, unlike Akha, are built on the ground with separate buildings for the kitchen, bathroom, and living area.
The women pictured below are from the Akha tribe. As we walked along their village, they incessantly asked if we wanted to buy their handicrafts. If you visit any touristy markets in Bangkok or Chiang Mai, you will see them walking around (just follow the sound of the croaking wooden frogs). Also pictured below is a typical Akha home, all rooms under one roof and built on stilts.
Additional photos from the village. The large swing is used in some sort of marriage ceremony but during the off season is a miniplayground.
Just before we boarded the bus, our guide noticed some boys trying to make rhinoceros beetles fight…while a baby was getting a bath in the background.
Our next stop was a Karen hill tribe village. This tribe makes up 47% of Thailand’s tribal population and there are four different groups—you’ll see how distinct this group is from another we met later that day. Our guide told us that this particular village had only been in Thailand for 5 years and some do not have a Thai ID. They appear to be Christian as we spotted a church in the area. The woman pictured below is sorting out the seeds of the peanuts and (you can’t tell by the photo but) spitting the juice of betel nuts next to her. (Also, omg they have piglets! Squee!)
Alright, back in the van for one more stop before lunch: Chiang Dao cave. This cave is home to various small temples and Buddhist statues and penetrates 14 kilometers into Thailand’s third largest mountain. Since it is so large, tourist access is limited to the first kilometer unless you hire a guide to light your way further. (As you can see, it’s very danqerous!)
This rock formation looks like a human body so it has been decorated.
At the furthest point in the cave that we were allowed to go, there is a Burmese-style reclining Buddha. Notice he is laying on his back instead of his side, as is typically seen here.
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore further, and according to legend we were really missing out:
Stretched ears and black teeth. Their teeth turn black as a result of chewing betel nuts, mentioned earlier.
The rings worn around their necks are made from brass coils, which are quite heavy. It doesn’t actually elongate the neck but compresses the ribcage to make the neck appear longer, and it should only be added and removed by someone experienced in doing so. While the women don’t die if the rings are removed, the coils are very strong and can seriously injure someone if not handled carefully. The women begin wearing them around age four and get an additional ring every four years until age 45.
This is completely optional for them and some women choose not to wear the rings. There are many stories about why they wear them, and our guide says she hears a different one from each tribe she visits. Some say it is to protect the women’s necks from tigers while the men are off working for the day, or it’s a punishment, or it’s to make a beautiful woman more ugly after marriage. At this point the coils and stretched ears are just for decoration (and sustaining a living though the tourism industry).
In this village, the men are off working elsewhere and the women spend their days tending the children, weaving scarves, and selling souvenirs.
This was one of my favorite tours so far and quite a deal too. Highly recommended!
Jack is pretty used to me stopping in my tracks to take some pics, so he entertained himself by checking out their tour menu and discovered the tour we wanted for cheaper than I’d found. Bonus! we headed in, booked it, and continued walking around town. Here are some of the interesting graffiti and art we spotted.
On our way home from dinner, we stumbled upon a makeshift skate park in front of the Three Kings monument.
Bright and early the next day we started our tour. First stop: Thai Orchid and Butterfly Farm. We were greeted with a real orchid pin souvenir, pretty but perishable. Our guide (who we had on a previous tour booked through a different company) explained that orchids are grown from seeds in a nutrient-rich gel in an air-tight bottle. After one year, the bottle is broken and the repotted plant will take three years to bloom. Here’s a little tidbit of orchid knowledge for ya: you can figure out its age by the number of leaves it has. An orchid grows six leaves every year.
The souvenir shop sold orchids and butterflies preserved in resin and made into jewelry. (Some other insects were coated in metal or framed.)
The best part of the gift shop for us was this insanely sweet little girl lounging on her blankey and just waiting for attention. If you know us, you know we didn’t leave her unsatisfied.
On to the flowers!
The butterfly farm was not particularly great—Jack and I actually have quite a few more butterflies around our jungle house than they had here.
After this pit stop, I was ready for what I booked this tour to see: the hill tribes. The first groups were the Akha and Lisu tribes. They live together in the mountains peacefully now, but that wasn’t always the case. They used to fight over land, and the government has since split the land and taught them to live sustainably. Since they live too high in the mountains to grow rice, they harvest corn, peanuts, lychee, mango, longan, peppers, and rubber. Both tribes originated in Tibet.
The first two photos are from the Lisu tribe. The garment is worn by women and despite the heat, it’s made from a relatively heavy velour fabric. Lisu houses, unlike Akha, are built on the ground with separate buildings for the kitchen, bathroom, and living area.
The women pictured below are from the Akha tribe. As we walked along their village, they incessantly asked if we wanted to buy their handicrafts. If you visit any touristy markets in Bangkok or Chiang Mai, you will see them walking around (just follow the sound of the croaking wooden frogs). Also pictured below is a typical Akha home, all rooms under one roof and built on stilts.
Additional photos from the village. The large swing is used in some sort of marriage ceremony but during the off season is a miniplayground.
Just before we boarded the bus, our guide noticed some boys trying to make rhinoceros beetles fight…while a baby was getting a bath in the background.
Our next stop was a Karen hill tribe village. This tribe makes up 47% of Thailand’s tribal population and there are four different groups—you’ll see how distinct this group is from another we met later that day. Our guide told us that this particular village had only been in Thailand for 5 years and some do not have a Thai ID. They appear to be Christian as we spotted a church in the area. The woman pictured below is sorting out the seeds of the peanuts and (you can’t tell by the photo but) spitting the juice of betel nuts next to her. (Also, omg they have piglets! Squee!)
Alright, back in the van for one more stop before lunch: Chiang Dao cave. This cave is home to various small temples and Buddhist statues and penetrates 14 kilometers into Thailand’s third largest mountain. Since it is so large, tourist access is limited to the first kilometer unless you hire a guide to light your way further. (As you can see, it’s very danqerous!)
This rock formation looks like a human body so it has been decorated.
At the furthest point in the cave that we were allowed to go, there is a Burmese-style reclining Buddha. Notice he is laying on his back instead of his side, as is typically seen here.
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore further, and according to legend we were really missing out:
Local people say that if one penetrates deep into the caves, the first thing encountered will be a stream which flows from the pedestal of a golden Buddha. Still further in is the legendary town of Laplae, where may be found the cloth of the gods, a great lake, the divine city of the Nagas, heavenly food, a sacred elephant, and the resting place of the hermits themselves. Here, too, is the great golden Buddha from which the stream springs. Locals, whilst professing to believe in this legend, say that nobody has ever seen these marvels because no one has ever gone far enough into the caves.Our final stop on the tour was to visit another Karen tribe of the Kayan group, characterized by their long necks and stretched ears. (Pro tip: the entry into the village was 500 baht, which was over half of what we paid for the entire tour. It is possible to visit this village on your own, but joining a group proves to be quite cost-effective.) This particular village of 150 is from Myanmar, where they still have citizenship.
Stretched ears and black teeth. Their teeth turn black as a result of chewing betel nuts, mentioned earlier.
The rings worn around their necks are made from brass coils, which are quite heavy. It doesn’t actually elongate the neck but compresses the ribcage to make the neck appear longer, and it should only be added and removed by someone experienced in doing so. While the women don’t die if the rings are removed, the coils are very strong and can seriously injure someone if not handled carefully. The women begin wearing them around age four and get an additional ring every four years until age 45.
This is completely optional for them and some women choose not to wear the rings. There are many stories about why they wear them, and our guide says she hears a different one from each tribe she visits. Some say it is to protect the women’s necks from tigers while the men are off working for the day, or it’s a punishment, or it’s to make a beautiful woman more ugly after marriage. At this point the coils and stretched ears are just for decoration (and sustaining a living though the tourism industry).
In this village, the men are off working elsewhere and the women spend their days tending the children, weaving scarves, and selling souvenirs.
This was one of my favorite tours so far and quite a deal too. Highly recommended!
This post made me so excited!!! I even mentioned it in my blog :)
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