Today we laced up our sneakers and headed out for a day exploring some of the natural gifts Northern Thailand has to offer. Our first destination was Doi Inthanon National Park for a hike, but first we made a stop at a market where the locals buy their food. Our guide Pat said that visiting a market is the best way to experience the local culture of a town, where you can learn a lot by what they sell and eat.
At the market we saw some very interesting delicacies! Besides the usual fruits, vegetables and herbs, we saw fried pig skin, fried snakehead fish, discovered a new fruit called java plum (a cross between a plum and a mango), and ant eggs. What?? As you can imagine Jennifer had some questions about why anyone would want to eat ant eggs!
The drive to the park was approximately 1.5 hours south of Chiang Mai through the countryside. We drove past many farms, mostly rice farms. During the drive we learned many interesting facts about northern Thailand from Pat. For example the northern region of Thailand didn't used to be part of Thailand until 100 years ago. Also, the people in Northern Thailand are very different from Central Thailand, including they speak in a different dialect, they use a different alphabet, and they don't like spicy food (not by central Thailand standards anyway).
When we arrived at the launching off point for our hike we met our second guide, Rath (sp?), a young woman who is a member of the Karen tribe who live in a village in the national park. We headed off down the trail with so much to explore – many species of trees such as bamboo and banyan, wild flowers, and beautiful scenery from the mountain. We didn’t see a lot of wildlife, however we did see a green tail snake (yes poisonous) in a tree branch right above the trail. Eek!
The trail was a combination of dirt paths, rocks and steps, and bridges and railings made from bamboo.
It was a treat to see several beautiful waterfalls, each one we saw better than the last. Probably the most unique thing we saw on our hike was a terraced farm. It produces strawberries, magnolias and potatoes; in the rainy season it is a rice farm.
At the end of the hike Pat had boxed lunches waiting for us, along with mangosteen and java plums that we purchased at the market earlier. We sat in a lovely spot overlooking the fields while we ate our lunches. We noticed a group of young boys off in the distance who rode their bicycles to a small lake, took their clothes off and jumped in for a swim where they played joyfully. Jennifer and I commented on how fun it must be to grow up in a village, to experience such freedom, such simplicity.
Then we got back in the van and headed to the nearby Watchirathan Waterfall, one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Northern Thailand. It was beautiful to hear the dramatic flow of the water and feel the cool mist after a long hike on a hot day. On our way out we bought local strawberries from a small fruit stand.
Once back at our hotel we were ready for some down time. After a failed attempt to nap we grabbed our fruit and our yoga mats and headed down to the green space underneath the rain tree on the river’s edge. We rolled out our mats, ate our fruit (mangosteen, java plums and strawberries), practiced yoga, meditated, and just sat.
Then we transformed ourselves from yoga clothes to dresses for dinner. We went to David’s Kitchen, voted by Trip Advisor reviewers as the #1 restaurant in Thailand. The hospitality was outstanding – we were greeted at the door by David himself, who wanted to know all about us and our time in Thailand. The food was great, we even shared two desserts. Definitely a testament to the value of great customer experience!
Off to bed with happy tummies and happy hearts.
Laura & Jennifer ❤❤
I think there is a typo Karen tribe who live in a village but it was really good overall