rainforests, hill tribes and trains. chiang mai!

oh my gosh, that was so clever. get it? lions and... anyway, i took the overnight train from bangkok to chiang mai and arrived early this morning. the train was actually quite fun! unfortunately, i was seated next to a quiet old thai man rather than a strapping young lad, and this italian woman a seat over starting yelling into her cell phone at five in the morning, and this chinese girl was running around in her underwear, but overall, thumbs up. around seven o'clock the train men came around and magically turned all of the seats into bunk beds. i was on the top, which was fine by me as i normally sleep in a loft. so after dinner, i climbed up onto my bed and fell asleep at my usual time of 8pm.

but first, a crisis. think zancudo. but this time, instead of angry fishermen with knives, i was facing angry thai officials with guns. somehow, all of my baht had disappeared and i had already ordered dinner. i panicked for a while. i ran and hid in the bathroom. then i thought of a brilliant plan. i struck up a conversation with some friendly chinese kids (one of them was in her underwear). the first few didn't speak english. finally, i convinced one of them to sell me baht. this doesn't sound that scary right now. but at the time, i seriously thought i was going to be arrested or shot or something awful. anyway, i made it to chiang mai intact and got a room at the sk guesthouse. it is the cutest little place ever. it even has a pool! and a sink, and an electrical outlet! i am in an odd island room with windows on three sides. i do have a little balcony that looks over the pool, and there are lovely sitting areas in the lobby. i dropped my bags and headed out for a walk around the neighborhood.

chiang mai is nearly eight hundred years old, and the old city is surrounded by a moat and a big wall. i walked along the moat for a bit. then, i accidentally stumbled upon wat chiang man, which was exactly where i was hoping to end up. it has two buddhas made of crystal and marble. i'm not quite sure i managed to find them, but it had a few very pretty temples, and it is the oldest wat within the city's walls. i met a man named chiang who offered to take me around to the sights. i, unable to say no to anyone ever, agreed. first, we went to wat suan dok, where the royal family spends the winter. the east part of the wat seemed almost like a cemetery with dozens of white monuments filling a courtyard. it had a beautiful chedi in the center and good luck bells all around. next, we went to wat phra singh, built in 1345 under the lanna kingdom. on the way back to my guesthouse, my driver surprised me with wat chedi luang. it actually took my breath away. i suppose it might be the first big ruin i've seen in asia. an enormous indiana jones temple reaches up out of the middle, and white elephants guard the perimeter. quite stunning.

the tuk tuk drivers in thailand offer some really stellar deals if you are willing to be dragged around to shops in the city. some shops will give the drivers gas just for bringing tourists, even if they don't buy anything. i had already been to two tailors, two TATs (tourist authorities) and a market. chiang decided he wanted me to see the entire eastern market, featuring a gem shop, furniture store, rug maker, umbrella craftsmen, fan wizard... i politely declined after the first three. some of the shops are very interesting, actually. the gem store had a big warehouse with demonstrations of the stages of jewelry production, and the carpet shop gave me a demonstration of the weaving process. if only i had $17,000 to spend on a carpet.

chaing told me that he could take me to see the long neck tribe, and i decided it might be good so i could spend the next day in the jungle. we drove to a fake hill tribe village not too far out of town. i have mixed feelings about tribal village visits (and similar thoughts about visiting temples. i think it is very intrusive to people who are actually worshipping) because the villagers are in such a subordinate position. the hill tribes in thailand don't have legal rights. they have to pay to live in their villages here and are not allowed to leave or go into the cities. tourists pour into the villages every day, stripping the people of their privacy and autonomy. i hoped that the fake village would be better because the people there choose to live there, and they are paid for every tourist that comes through. when i got there, however, i realized that the people there were only there because their alternative is utter poverty. all of their expenses are covered in the village, from food and government fees to medical care. almost all of the money they earn selling handicrafts is sent back to their families and the village they left behind. some families come together, but those that come alone might not ever see their families again. i actually started crying as i walked up the path to the village. i felt like i was visiting a zoo.

i got to talk to a few of the women in the village. they were very friendly and willing to answer my questions about their lives and tribes. once i walked away, however, they went back to their craft and waited for the next tourist to stroll by. i got to speak with one of the managers, chi chi, who is hoping to learn english while working in the village so that he can eventually be a tour guide in the city. most of the villagers, however, would never even have that opportunity as they are denied citizenship in the country.

i know it seems hypocritical that i took photos of the women while i was in the village, but chi chi said that the most important thing is to educate the public about the hill tribes so that their traditions are not lost with the waves of tourists that pass through their villages every day. i think that many of the villagers here might not mind tourists, as long as they are willing to stop to talk and learn about the culture. i spent the most time talking to the kayang girls. they explained that the metal rings are placed on their necks when they are five years old, and taken off every few years to be lengthened. an eighteen year old said that hers weighs 5kg and that it hurts a little bit. she was proud to wear it, though, because it symbolizes the traditions of her tribe. the photos here are both of kayang, but i also met people from the white karen (like chi chi), palong and lahu tribes.

i left the village with a whirlpool of thoughts rattling around in my brain. we have to save the environment. now, before it is too late. we have to work as hard as we can to stop poverty and exploitation. we have to work to improve the standard of living for every person on this earth without eroding the traditions that make us unique and valuable contributors. oh god, this is only day four.