Changrai - 2nd day

Although I am in a magnificent suite,I didn't get a good night's sleep.  Maybe I'm not used to such richness, certainly not used to the 4 post netting canopy overhead! However, no one ever died from a bad nigh sleep so onward and upward.  Breakfast is the open air restaurant by the river.  I caught up with Joe as he came into breakfast and got him to check the itinerary he had planned for us for today compared against the one with our ticketing.  He saw that included in my copy from the tour company was a visit to see the Karen people (long neck hills tribe) and he was going to take us into Myanmar to see them.  Re going into Myanamar (Burma) this wasn't on our itinerary but we all agreed yesterday that as we were so close to the border and it is relatively easy to go in for a few hours without visas, etc that we all wanted to at least have a look.  Joe intended in getting us on tuk tuks once we were across the border and see a Karen tribe in the Myanmar hills. But after my conversation with him at breakfast he changed the plans around to confirm that the tour company would pay for our visit to see local Karen people and therefore it wouldn't cost us so much to go into Myanmar. Not sure that I've explained that well, but it makes sense to me and after all this is MY travel blog...
However, back to my day.  We were on our coach and away for an 8.30 day touring the region. We had to get off the coach and transfer to a small truck type vehicle - imagine a long ute with a covered canopy and plank seating along the two sides - where we then went up to Mae Salong Mountain.  The roads were so narrow and winding that our coach would never have made it.  Mind you, on a couple of corners I wasn't sure we were going to make it either! however both trucks managed to get to a tea plantation where we had a short look around and then were invited to drink tea, Thai style.  It really ws quite a ceremony and just wonderful. I was very impressed with the tea pot used, so impressed that I bought one for myself.  the lass who did the demonstration was really sweet and gave me a big box of tea bags as a gift.  No one else got a gift so I considered myself very special. [NB to Princess Shiny Bright when she reads this - I am using 'special' in the correct manner, not the way you use it when describing our friendship!!!) The tea plantation is about a kilometre above sea level.  The hillside was just beautiful and again so contrasting with all the different things being grown, interspersed with dense jungle.
Back on the truck and we then went to the tribal village of Yao where we had an opportunity to walk through the village.  the women do the most amazing cross stitch.  The also weave and all the traditional clothing, hats and bags are very colourful.  Back on our truck and back down the mountain to get back onto our coach that takes us to lunch at a restaurant called 'Cabbages and Condoms'.  Joe had told us the story of how the restaurants came into being and how they were named and had us in stitches. the short version is that a local Thai doctor was working amongst the hill tribes and at the time HIV was a serious problem.  The local tribes had no concept of birth control so the doctor attempted to reduce the spread of the HI virus and improve the health of women from having one kid after another so attempted to teach the local men how to use condoms.  That's where all the hilarity was had with Joe telling us the stories of the failed training attempts.
The doctor initially had limited success in getting the message through but as his information was getting out to the local tribes he needed money to fund his continued research and training, so set up a restaurant in the city.  In deciding what to name the restaurant he decided on the C & C name because the locals grew cabbages and he needed the money from the restaurant to fund purchasing condoms. The initial restaurant was such a success that I think there are about 3 or 4 others in Thailand.
Our meal was once again a banquet with 6 courses and we have all learnt to take it slowly and no obligation to consume everything in sight! The restaurant was good fun too as the staff were nearly all young local people who volunteered to work there to learn their hospitality skills. Joe ended up doing most of our serving!!! As we walked into the restaurant we were met with an Elvis mannequin - it was only when you got closer to it that you saw that the entire costume was made from condoms!!! Hilarious. Waddled back to the coach and away we go towards the border with Myanmar. It was a real eye opener, that's for sure.  we actually had to hand in our departure cards as we left Thailand and had our passports stamped accordingly.  Then we walked across a small bridge and had to have our passports stamped again by the Myanmar customs officers, who were very friendly and laughing with us.  We then got on to small trucks similar to those that took us to the mountains and went to a high point of the city to get a look out over Myanmar.  We were accosted by women and children wanting to sell us flowers for the temple and postcards but none of us were buying. The difference between Thailand and Myanmar was palpable.  Having a little knowledge of each country's history makes it understandable. We take our little truck back down the hill to the market right along the border.  If you remember the likes of Hong Kong 30 plus years ago, then it was
similar with very narrow pathways through the stalls, motor scooters trying to barge their way past you as you walked by the stalls and copies of copies and therefore very cheap and nasty. The only person who bought anything was Joe, and that was a re-chargeable outdoor lantern. We then filled out our entrnce form to get back into Thailand, queued to go through Immigration where they put three stamps in my passport and we were back into beautiful Thailand once more.  What an experience.
Back on the coach and off we head in search of the Karen people, where the women have the brass rings around their necks to stretch them as a supposed sign of beauty, therefore giving them the name of long neck hills tribe.
As this clearly wasn't part of Joe or Chook's original plan, neither were exactly sure to go and we ended up going about 45 minutes out of our way before joe got on the mobile to get directions from his office, where we then had to re-trace our steps to eventually find the turn off wch we had passed about 40 minutes earlier.  The road was not one that considered a large coach might want to go down it one day.  Chook did an amazing job of getting around very tight bends and the couple of on-coming cars were able to pull off the road just far enough for us to get past. Once we finally got there, Joe told us that his office people he rang had told him that a coach couldn't use the road that we finally got there on, which is why they had tried another way (even though it clearly wasn't even close to going in the right direction - I think that both men were too proud to ask for directions earlier...) but the wait and oute was well worth it. there were 5 women and a couple of children in the area we went to.  It broke my heart to see the women with these metal rings around their neck, arms and lower legs. the 2 young girls, one no more than 4 also had the rings around their necks and as they grow older, more will be added.  A couple of the women were weaving scarves, although all of the women had scarves and shawls (the latter not of their making) for sale.  Some of our group bought scarves and had their photos taken with the women, but I wasn't prepared to buy from one and not the others and I really didn't want that many items so instead bought none.  I have no right to impose my views or beliefs onto anyone and each of the women seemed happy enough for us to be there looking at them, but if what they go through stretching their necks the way the rings work and the pain they go through each time a new ring is fitted (they will weigh about 4 1/2 kilo by the time they have added them all), if this is not a form of mutiliation that subjugates women then what the heck is?
I am really pleased I had the opportunity to meet these peaceful kind women, but it is not something I ever want to see again.
Time to get back onto the coach and head for our hotel where we finally get back about 6.30 p.m. Just enough time to get to my luxurious suite, make a cuppa and then head to dinner at the ho9tel restaurant where we have a spectacular buffet dinner that had every conceivable delicacy to suit every  taste.  I started with Sushi, moved on to Thai curries and rice, then had the thinnest slice of beek cooked to perfection in front of me that I accompanied with paw paw salad (yum). There was no way I could even look at sweets but my hungry (read "some people don't know when they have had enough" or perhaps just read "greedy gutses") little kittens did and came back to the table with things like coconut milk icecream, bread pudding and custard, creme caramel, jelly (Thai style), toffee tart, butter cake and cream and other little delicacies that I don't know the name of. I think that I have managed to eat more than the cost of the trip's value!!!  I came, I saw, I ate my way through Thailand.
So, at a very reasonable hour I am back in my room with trusty night cap regaling you with my action packed day.  there is absolutely no rest for the wisked as we are off again to a new hotel and lots more adventures tomorrow in chiangmail.  Sadly that will be our last destination for our remaining nights.  No one wants to think about it as we are truly have a fabulous time.  Even Frugal who is a gigantic pain in the bum for being so damn serious and negative all the time (having any conversation with her is like being lectured to by a university professor who loves the sound of their own voice and is not interested in any response or opinion you may hold - she has no concept of small talk or humour) is allegedly having a great time. Not sure how you can tell other than if you ask her and then ignore the inevitable "but" that she adds to the end of her answer so that you are forewarned that she is now going to launch into all the negatives she can conjure up. However I don't want to end my day thinking of her as that truly can be a big downer. Instead I can tell you that MW who is the president of PL texted me the other day to check on how we are going.  I texted back that we are having a fabulous time. He then asked when do we get back and I replied that I had checked with the kittens and we are all in agreement that we are not coming back!!! MW is delightful but very serious. It could just be that he thinks I am serious, and come to think about it, we just might be. LOL...
There might still only be 24 hours in a Thai day, but we are fitting a day and a half into every one of them. I now need to replenish my night cap and put myself to bed. Looking forward to Chiangmai as I know lots of the things we have to look forward to.  My kittens are going to love them.
Now where did I put the scotch bottle??