Chapter 6: Out of Chiang Mai, into the BeyondI know, I know, I’ve been away for a while. Yes I am alive, no I have not been eaten by malaria yet. But do you know how hard it is to post a blog when you are without a computer, internet, electricity, and in a border village where you can not only see Burma, but you can also see their Army camps on the next hill. It is quite liberating. So I’ve been out and about for a while, chilling in rural Thailand, hanging out with the Karen people. I’ve had some thoughts about things, but I ought to fill y’all in on the when and where I have been.
So on Friday May 27 we left Chiang Mai for the border. We woke up early and met our driver and guide, Kit. Kit is a college student in Chiang Mai that was ending his summer break. We left Chiang Mai and spent 10 hours driving. The first half was fine, it was on a straight and clear highway for most of the way. But the second half was on a curvey road of doom. Who knew that Thailand had crazy mountain roads? After many hours of traveling and nausea, we reached our first destination: Glau Tau.
In Glau Tau (and I apologize to those that know the proper spelling of the town since I am probably butchering it) we stayed with a Karen pastor named Edmund. And he dropped that on Saturday we had to lead a VBS (Vacation Bible School). So we had to create a 3-hour program in one night. Joy. So not only did we play with a bunch of kids, we had to sing and dance in front of them…yeah I’m not planning a Broadway career any time soon….
After a few days in Glau Tau, we headed to Blun Klewn (once again, I cannot spell this town.) This is actually Kit’s home and we stayed with his father, Pastor Samuel. We spent our time there teaching English in the local school and preparing for our trip to Lay Ton Ku. After buying food and getting packed, we were ready for the wild.
Now on Wednesday, we began our trek to Lay Ton Ku. Now Lay Ton Ku is this Karen village along the Thai-Burma border. It is also up in the mountains. We were presented with two choices. Either we could drive up their, taking the insane mountain roads to the village that would be of questionable quality (basically dirt roads) or hike the 10 miles where we would have to cross four ridges (meaning hiking uphill on steep mountain trails in 90 plus degree weather with heavy humidity). Well to have the “authentic experience” we hiked. Now I have backpacked across many trails, but this was probably the hardest that I have ever done. As I write this, I am still sore.
(As a side note, what in the name of all that is good is an “authentic experience?”? All experiences are authentic if we live them, even if it is sitting in a cubical. Should I ever master the Karen language, I would love to ask them their thoughts on why foreigners like to endure the elements to do things like sleeping outside and hiking when those things are daily realities for them. I have the feeling that those with vehicles are more than happy to have an “inauthentic experience” if it means getting to and from Lay Ton Ku was an easier process. Okay my rant is over)
So after getting to Lay Ton Ku, and after getting over the general feelings of praying to God to kill me, we head to the waterfall near the village. And this made all of the hiking worth it. Seeing the water, swimming in the waterfall, and enjoying life in the cool water after sweltering in the heat was nothing but pure rapture. I could feel the vitality returning to my body in that water.
Being in Lay Ton Ku was interesting. The people there had certain interesting habits. Men do not cut their hair, instead they wrap it around their head as a sort of turban. They also like durian, a lot, actually a little too much. Durian is this one tropical fruit that is spikey on the outside and has a mustardy like fruit on the inside. While in the village we visited the local temple and met Puchet, the senior monk and religious authority of the village. After meeting with him, he gave us a gift of not 1, but 12 durians, even more joy. We ended up regifting a few of them to the village Big Man (the village leader) after meeting with him. Nevertheless Lay Ton Ku was a lot of fun, but after spending Wednesday and Thursday there, we would be forced to make the return hike, and I was dreading that.
We made the return hike on Friday, and fortunately it was easier since there was more downhill, and we had the drive to push us forward to bring us back to Blun Klewn. When we got back to Kit’s house, there was a gift from the gods, Coke and Fanta. The coursing sugar and caffeine retuned much life to us (and exposed us to mosquitoes since our blood was now sweet with sugar. On Saturday we headed to Mae Sot, where we are now, to work with another NGO called Partners for Relief and Development (known now as Partners).
So all in all it was a good experience. Kit was an amazing guide and it was really fun to hang out with him. The Karen people were very friendly and treated us warmly. Though the hike was difficult, I am glad I did it, even though I think I may take a break from backpacking for a while…I’m still worn out by it…
