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The following day back in Mae Sariang we teamed up with Adel again, got in the back of a pick up truck and soon were off. We stopped at the town of Mae La Noi an hour or so later to fill up with boxes of noodles and a couple of old Karen hilltribe women. This turns out to be the real start of the trip. We took off up a rough track which goes up and up through the jungle. Up and up and rougher and rougher and then steeper and steeper. As the road is just compacted mud we got to the point where it’s all out and a good hard push was required. Those hilltribe ladies were tougher than they look.
Into the mountains the scenery was amazing. Forests as far as the eye could see. Amazing scenery but a very sore body. We were bounced around for hours until we eventually arrived at a small stilt housed village. This was the end of the track from here we were walking, but not before lunch. We were shown into a stilt house which belonged to the headman. It was totally devoid of furniture – except for a TV and video which was showing Karaoke videos in the Karen language to some of the villagers. The only other ornamentation in the house were two photographs – one of the much revered Thai king and the other of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the multimillionaire Prime Minister. Apparently it is he who was responsible for the scores of solar panels seen all over the village which powered the three florescent lights in each house. Before lunch we were treated to some local hooch which somewhat relieved the aching bones.
The road which finished here was only open in the dry season. For 9 months of the year it was impassable. The only way to get goods into the other villages was by foot and that is what we did then. Our final destination was another village another two hours trek from here.
When we finally got there Adel didn’t actually know where we were to stay. We stood by as he chatted to the villagers. Then a lady appeared who apparently knew him. It was a distant relative who offered to put us up in her house. So at least we had a roof over our heads. The village itself, like many Karen villages was situated on a small ridge overlooking the surrounding countryside. The village of twenty houses were in two rows, all built slightly differently, all on stilts with roofs made of leaves and with chickens and pigs squeaking and grunting underneath. Each one also had a rice pounder underneath and a few had their own back looms on which a few old women were making sarongs while keeping their eyes on these two strange foreigners. Each one also had its own solar panel courtesy of the PM.
We entered our particular house up a rickety old ladder. There was a small platform open at the sides and this served as the family room and dining room – no furniture of course. Next to this was an open area for washing dishes, the water being supplied from a continually flowing bamboo pipe and passing between the bamboo slats to the area below. On either side from this was the kitchen – a room with just an open fire and very smoky atmosphere. On the other side were two bedrooms, with blankets on the floor for sleeping. The whole building made from bamboo.
After our long journey a shower was required. However, the solar panels certainly weren’t used to heat up the water. The shower was a separate tiny shack which apparently the whole village used, with spring-fed and icy cold water.
As night fell, people were arriving from surrounding villages ready for the festivities. I noticed a sign and according to Adel it was a warning that anyone bringing in alcohol into the village would face a 5000 baht fine. Apparently there had been a number of drunken fights previously and people had been stabbed and killed. Not tonight though. The 500 tribespeople and two foreigners got on famously. Already, the early arrivers were being treated to noodle soup and rice being prepared in huge vats. With darkness, the festivities began. In an open area near the village – the only flat area for miles around, a small stage had been set up. Again made of bamboo but decorated with blue stripy plastic, a florescent tube and a string of fairy lights.
It was here that some local officials gave their speeches. Following the speeches there were a number of music recitals featuring local instruments. Then the highlight for me. We were treated to a nativity scene complete with wise men, shepherds, Mary, Joseph and a baby Jesus in a very shaky crib. They also sang some carols. I could recognise the tunes but the words were all in Karen. Around eleven o’clock events were winding down and after a tough but enjoyable day we decided to turn in. All that was left was to admire more stars in the sky than I had ever seen and then following our candles made our way to our stilt house for a good night’s sleep.
