The Windy Road Up

A few weekends back, my brother and I had the opportunity to spend a weekend in the mountains in the town of Piang Luong, which lies just before the Thailand Myanmar border. We took a van from Chiangmai (nicknamed “bread-car”) that took about 4 hours, two of which were spent driving up the windy mountain road. Luckily, we weren’t so carsick that we had to throw-up; I did need a toilet so bad that I was praying to God I’d make it up in one piece. In the end, my weak stomach did survive the journey (barely).

Bathroom Break Tip:

• if you have never been to Asia, especially in the more rural areas, be prepared to squat low to the ground. Once finished, use the bowl next to you and ladle out the water to flush, and walk out. Toilet paper? None. Always bring your own, along with some hand sanitizer

The 10 other people had already exited the van, but my brother and I were uncertain where we were. The driver that Jia Shen had instructed had switched out mid way with another one, and so here we were in the middle of a town on the mountain with a driver who continued to ask us questions in Thai. I frantically told my brother to get on his phone (he had a local SIM) and call our hosts, call the person we’re staying with, anybody! But no calls went through, even though he had reception. The driver pulled up a little further and opened the van. A woman appeared and said, “Ni hao, ni hui shuo zhong wen ma?” Which means, “Hello, do you speak Chinese?” Thank God there were a lot of Chinese people who lived in this area. She knew the teacher we were supposed to meet, and in 5 minutes we were picked up.

Residents of Piang Luang

The Dai are one of 70+ ethnic minority groups in Thailand. They immigrated from the southern China province of Yunan, and Myanmar. The population here is about 100,000, and they are also known as the “hill tribes.” They are highly superstitious, and their religion differs from from Buddhism practiced in Thailand. I noticed the elderly had similar tattoos on their wrists and arms; that traditionally, the Dai would get them as part of a coming of age ritual. When we arrived at 7 PM, there were scarcely any people on the streets, even by the bright lit 7-Eleven.

While we were in Piang Luong, we stayed with a missionary from Taiwan, Li Ru Chen. She has been living among the hill tribes for 13 years, and has learned both Thai and the Dai dialect. On Saturdays, she offers free Chinese language and English classes to elementary and middle school kids. Li Ru loves her work, but like any other teacher, still gets frustrated at children who can attend classes for three years and still hardly be able to spit out a few phrases in English. Education is extremely lacking in this area, and many kids drop out by middle school to begin working in trade jobs. Boys will typically farm or go to the city and fix cars or work construction, girls may sew and make clothes. Ms. Chen says,

“They are smart kids, but don’t work hard.”

Like anywhere else in Thailand, the kids all must adhere to strict rules of hair length until they graduate high school. Almost every girl will sport this bowl cut and bang look until middle school.

As we walked around the neighborhood, we were warned not to step on any scorpions or snakes. I saw only 2 short, black ones slithering away.Some of these houses still looked like basic shacks-a basic wood structure and a straw like roof. In the last ten years, however, most of them have already been rebuilt into concrete. There were a lot of army men in the area as well, and on the way up we had to pass 2 checkpoints where they would ask for identification. I learned that this area is one that is occasionally frequented by foreigners from the West, but for the purpose of dealing drugs, heroin. That’s why there is even, and only one, resort in this area, I thought. 

It was a quiet weekend as we lived according to Ms. Chen’s lifestyle. There were hardly any sounds of cars passing by in the night, nothing but the howls of the dogs, the roosters, and other creatures crawling about. She has a cell phone and laptop, but no wifi, and seldom calls people unless it is work related. She is a stern woman and diligent worker, and sees the bigger picture of her work.