Dry Season

We headed up to Mae Hong Son. It was pouring rain, the first of the season, which the locals welcomed in rejoice; the cold rain made the air fresh, cleaning out the toxins and washing away the smoke of the slash and burn agriculture pouring in from the surrounding hill-tribe villages.

After the rain died down we rented Honda motorbikes and cruised all around the surrounding area of Pai.

The first night we rode to a red canyon descending deep into the rocky soil below, silhouette of mountains on the horizon, as the gray sky faded to black. The next day we rode past the canyon, over WWII bridge and onto a dirt trail that led to the temple on the hill. We ascended the hill and reached the temple to see a view of the entire valley.

We returned into town and headed east, riding into a Chinese village. We climbed up a steep mountain, where many villagers lived and young children were screaming with excitement at the sight of a gang of fighting dogs. We drove off road through red soil,eventually arriving at a waterfall.

The next day we hiked for about 25-30 kilos through the mountains of Mae Hong Son. I was amazed at the contrast between what lay before me now and the way I remembered this environment; I walked through this terrain almost a year ago, during the rainy season when the jungles were lush and green, the rivers were high and it was pouring rain. It was a totally different environment now, during the dry season. Everything was hot and humid, and the effects of slash and burn agriculture left entire stretches of the forest burnt to the ground, blackened branches fallen into scorched ash. The dense smoke comes sifting down into the villages and down into the city Chiang Mai. Jakka-jahn insects shrieked in the trees.

T and P Manit led us into the cold darkness of three different caves on the outskirts of the tribal villages. Bats fluttered through the darkness as we entered into the caverns, tiny crystals in the stalagmites and stalagtites sparkling in the light of our candle / flashlights. One of the caves had a large wooden coffin in the center, which once contained the bodies of villagers.

We stayed at a tribal village, where chickens and pigs and stray dogs roamed. We drank whisky with some villagers and then ate tom yum mu, rice, and mixed vegetables before falling asleep on the bamboo floor with aching muscles.

We returned to Chiang Mai and watched KILL BILL Vol 1. and 2.