The Long and Winding Road

Our last day in Thailand was a trip up the mountain overlooking the city. As the title suggests it was a steep, narrow road with countless switchbacks. When we stopped, we mistakenly thought we had reached our destination only to learn we were switching vehicles for the last leg of the journey. Apparently our tour company had been in an automobile accident on this final stretch of rough road some years earlier that had delayed a tour for hours and from then on used local drivers and their open air trucks with no seatbelts. This is safer?

The village of the Doi Pui Hmong Hill Tribe is at 3000 ft. above sea level. Superstition says that if University students walk to the top of the mountain, they are sure to graduate. (They are probably just too tired to party!). The village is part of a National Park with beautiful gardens (including the biggest poinsettia we have ever seen) and waterfalls. The tribe is originally from Tibet but moved into Thailand early in the 20th century. Originally they farmed opium. In 1969 King Rama IX intervened to move the villagers from opium to coffee, flowers and, apparently, tourists.

We meandered higher to a coffee shop where Brian enjoyed a delicious and artistic latte. They grow their own coffee beans on the steep slopes.

Next came a walk through the Hmong Tribal Village and market. We resisted the urge to rent traditional garb for photos and made our way through the town, looking in on a local elementary school. We learned that the Hmong house’s are built in clusters, with several clusters forming a village. The Hmong are divided into clans and the oldest male controls the extended family. Each village has a Shaman to exorcise evil spirits and restore health to the sick.Read more