Visiting the lovely kids of Baan Un Rak!
Kanjanaburi, Western Thailand. Visited now for a 2nd time by bicycle, and I cannot count how many times I have visited by bus or train - I simply am in love with this part of Thailand. If I was going to live somewhere based only on it being the most vibrant, culturally diverse, and naturally beautiful place I know... this place would be hard to beat.
I choose to live in North-Eastern Thailand because I love the people who live there, their lifestyles and attitudes are very beautiful to me, and I am going to complete a full 5 years living there before I open the door to something as big as moving to a new country... but for now I will just say that I am over-joyed every time I have the chance to visit Western Thailand. My next trip will be in April 2016, I want to visit Sisawat, take the road past the Mae Kamin Waterfall, and then ride up and into he hills an alternate route - spend time with these same kids in Baan Tung Nang Kruan, followed by Baan Un-Rak - I can't wait!
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| Climbing and descending these hills in the April-morning sun was just child-like happiness! |
I recently took the train from Ton Buri station in Bangkok, up to Kanjanaburi, then rode on for a lovely 5-day trip in a little town in the hills of Sangklaburi. This area is a gem, extremely diverse, due to it being one the larger points of immigration from Myanmar into Thailand. I have been here several times previously, but only once by bicycle. The total distance from Kan town to the border is 280km, and wow the hills of Kan are still just as stunning as I remember!
I also just learned that the districts of Tong Pa Pum and Sanklaburi are 2 of the 5 Largest Districts in Thailand. Actually, the whole province I live in now is barely larger than Tong Pa Pum! This might not sound like much, just lines on a map, but these are sectioned the way they are in Thailand for many reasons, most of them having to do with population. Therefore, these districts, bordering each other as well, barely have enough people to meet the requirements to be a district -
and those people live across an area the size of a full province! This is one of the least populated areas in the country, a large reason why Kanjanaburi is my favorite province when it comes to Natural Beauty! There is just so much of it to see!
This area has huge national parks, huge areas of forest with only native peoples and hill tribes living, farming, hunting, and many places where people still live fairly close to the ways they have for hundreds of years.
One
amazing experience I had on this trip was
seeing a jungle cat while riding between the towns of Tong Pa Pum and Pi Lok. This 70km stretch was definitely the most wild area I have yet traveled through in Thailand, even fewer towns along the way than the stretch from Mae Jan to Mae Fah Luang in Chiang Rai, and even more pristine looking forest views than the back road from Lom Sak to Nam Nao, Petchabun!
See these maps of the 2 days of climbing on trails and back-roads...
Tong Pa Pum to Pi Lok --
https://www.strava.com/activities/389761738
Tong Pa Pum, Tung Nang Kruan, Sangkla --
https://www.strava.com/activities/389054648/
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Clouded Leopards are quite rare, and endangered, but of all the
pictures I can find on the internet, the cat I saw looks most
similar to this picture here. I didn't even try to reach for my
own camera, but it was definitely a sight I won't soon forget! |
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African Leopard from the Masa Mara gamepark, about 250km
from the town in which I went to Middle School and High
School in Nairobi, Kenya. |
I spent awhile trying to be sure what type of cat it was - Thailand has many types of wild cats, supposedly even a few wild tigers left. If they are still around, I'm sure Kanjanaburi would be one of the places to find them - but what I saw was likely some type of leopard. I was very lucky in that I got a full view of the cat, I got to watch it for about 4 seconds (long for a cat! I have been happy to see African leopards for the split-second it takes them to disappear without a trace!). I saw that it had large brown spots with either light brown or red inside the spot, not black spots like the African leopard with which I'm familiar. You can see the picture underneath, and thank you to my sister for letting me use her photo :)
I would guess this wild cat to have been less than a year old, big enough to be away from its mother, but definitely not an adult. Years ago I spent some time playing with a leopard being kept as a pet, also in Kanjanaburi, several years ago, one of my first English Camps actually with Dragonfly in 2009! I know that this one I saw in the forest that day was of a smaller species - I will guess it was either an Asian Golden Cat, descriptions online make it sound like the size was right, and says that some cats will have larger, more reddish spots than others, or a Clouded Leopard. Clouded leopards are much more rare, but of the pictures I can find on the internet, what I saw looks most similar to this. Anyways, it was amazing to now have seen wild cats on 2 continents!
Pi Lok is the location of a very famously photographed mountain in Thailand, but not very visited - it is known as White Elephant Ridge (เขาช้างเผือก). Once you reach Pi Lok, the only town with hotel options is called Baan E-Thong, and the prices were from 800B and up. A bit expensive, so I found a guy with a pick-up truck on his way out, he was nice enough to take my bike back, and we followed on my friend's motorcycle.
This bit was a lovely one-day visit to a very special area of Thailand. I have heard from another friend recently (mid-2015) that she successfully crossed the border into Myanmar there, so it is obviously becoming developed. I am happy to have known two very special parts of Kanjanaburi before they became popular, and wow is it ever crazy how many guesthouses are in Sangklaburi! Visiting in 2009, I think there were only a few options for backpackers. Now there must easily be 100 different guest houses of every price range, and then many hostels too. Very cool, still very beautiful, but definitely not the same 'wild' feelings of a unique, solo-type traveler experience.
I am not trying to reach every province, definitely not wanting to try to just "hit them all!" I am more interested in seeing what each province has to offer, visiting not only the province but several towns besides the Provincial Capital as well. I'm not leaving Thailand anytime soon, so if it eventually happens then I guess that would be pretty cool...
BUT just to talk about the beauty of Kanjanaburi, I think I've now been to 59 of the 77 Thai provinces, so I have traveled quite a bit in Thailand - If I have a chance to travel then my top 3 favorites are: Chiang Rai, Nakon Panom, and Kanjanaburi. My favorites due firstly to diversity within the larger Thai culture and the people I have met, a close second would be the food I have had there :), and then finally the large parks and natural areas still to be found... for its size, Thailand is just packed with sights, both historical and natural beauty.
On a motorbike, this trip all the way to Sangklaburi would be 1 very long day, or 2 relaxed days. By bicycle, I thought that 3 days would be a good bet. I rode 4 hours each morning, no straining, no soreness, able to enjoy every step of the way, and just relaxed all afternoon and evening. Motorbikes are easily rented from Kanjanaburi town, if you are there backpacking or even just on a weekend trip from Bangkok, you might be up for this!
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This kid was either jealous of his friend eating all the
sugarcane and just wanted to be alone, or he really was just
being brave, but for whatever reason he sat with me and
followed me around, even when the other kids took a little
while to warm up... |
In the months of April, May, June, July, and August, pretty much any day can see temps of 38C, (100F), anywhere throughout the country of Thailand. Each day of this trip I saw 35C before lunchtime, so I was intent on finishing my riding each day by 10AM. A few years ago I met a couple in Laos, 9 months into their trip cycling from London to Singapore, and they said that they rode 80km a day, taking 4 hours to do it, setting out at 530AM each day.
In Thailand this is perfect to avoid the mid-day heat, actually mornings here are quite lovely, and this also even fits well with Thai culture. They are an 'early-to-bed-early-to-rise' type people, and so in the mornings one can witness the entire community waking up, giving alms to monks, sending the children to school. Very cute, very lovely, picturesque scenes of Thailand... and cool weather. In the afternoon, Thai people take things more slowly, not a full siesta like in parts of Europe or Mexico, but they do take long lunches almost every day, and they know how to respect the power of sunshine in Tropical latitudes.
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| There are only a few buses per day from Bangkok for travelers, but even local buses are few and far between in this area. Locals walk considerable distances, and the nicely paved roads are much easier on the feet, so this scene is quite common :) |
So, Western Thailand. Only 5 provinces but covering a huge area of land - the largest province, Tak, is the least inhabited area of the country. This place is unique to Thailand, unique to the world! Each time I visit I am amazed at how many languages are used in the area, and how many different types of food you will pass along the way! Finally reaching my destination, I had passed people working in the area who used Thai Ner, Esaan, Thai Central dialect, and even true Laos language… this was only the Thai half of Kan! Also living in the area are Mon, Karen, Karieng, even some Nepalese refugees, and a few full Burmese (Bamar people)! An incredibly diverse area, I think only the provinces of Loei (Northern Esaan), and Chiang Rai (Northern Thailand), could compete for such ethnic diversity found in a single area of Thailand.
I had SUCH a great time hanging out with the kids here, seeing what they get up to each day, practicing some Burmese with them and loving how they spoke Thai better than I… one day we had fun learning how to make a few simple bracelet designs. Within a few hours they had each made about 10 bracelets, and I wish that my own students in Esaan worked half as hard as these kids. Not only in bracelet making of course, but they all spoke English better than my students, actually spoke Thai as well as plenty of the Laos kids in my class (Burmese is only structurally related to Thai whereas Laos and Thai are quite similar…). Of course they spoke Mon and/or Burmese as their native language, so with a minimum of 3 languages each, as well as their ability to handle the living situations that refugees are usually forced to handle the world over - these children were, needless to say, Very Impressive.
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| All of these people were born in Myanmar, but here you can see half of the group (kids that have been in Thailand for awhile) teaching a song, in THAI, to the other half (more recently moved). While the countries do share a border, their languages only share some rarely used religious terminology. Everything in daily life is totally different... |
Actually the first time coming here in 2009 with Migrationology Mark Wiens, to participate in a trip for another friend Dwight’s project In Search Of Sanuk, we stayed at a place not 100 meters down the road from where I stayed on this trip! I cannot even begin to list, to others but even more to myself, the ways in which I have changed in the time between, but wow… Even how much Thailand has changed around us in just 6 years! it is always fun to see where you have been, where you’re going, and continue to wait expectantly for the surprises life will throw at us next!
I did ride my bike, had a total blast, but I actually came to visit another good friend who has since moved from the city of Nontaburi near Bangkok. She is now living up into the hills around Tong Pa Pum, and she came to work with migratory peoples - specifically their status-less children and growing families. The people in this area are usually just the measure of hard-working, low-paid farmers, trying to gain citizenship in a country that is not too excited to have them, but there are of course many families dealing with the inner-family turmoil that such situations and their resulting mindsets can bring. In a country with an already ridiculously high divorce-rate, this area seems to be even higher still, leaving simply terrible amounts of one-parent homes or even completely orphaned children in the area. Without legal status, these kids are taken in by relatives who are already strapped to provide for their own kids, and life just gets really tough for them.
A little bit of history on the area: Traditionally Mon, an ancient people from Myanmar, a people who have had their lands divided up by the modern Thai-Myanmar border, controlled this area for almost a thousand years. They are actually one of the first united peoples to ever come into this SouthEast Asian area, many thousands of years ago! They have their own language, written and spoken, and even after becoming almost totally incorporated into Thailand, people with pure Mon heritage still number more than a million in the world today! They are mostly split in the area here between South East Myanmar and Western Thailand… and they still have their own wonderful cuisine (pictured below :) ) and many more of their own customs. Mon were actually the first culture to receive Buddhism when it was brought over from Sri Lanka, and are responsible for the Dvaraviti (Therawat) culture of Central Thailand and Esaan today.
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| Somewhere between Tong Pha Phum and Sangkla... The morning haze just clearing up. |
I did not ever stay long enough to really dig into this culture, but I met a few volunteers working in the area who had been there for years, and they loved it! They mentioned sub-cultures even within the greater Mon culture, just amazing how much more diverse this country gets as I dig deeper and deeper over my six years here. And humourously, how much more diverse than its government is willing to admit!
Thai people usually do not want to talk about such things, but really the tension between Thai and Myanmar should be unnecessary today. Without the occasional direct conflict over some natural resources in border areas, the two countries do share a common heritage… But lets talk about something more fun right now, like how they differ in terms of cuisine! :)
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| Young, Un-ripe Jackfruit at the top left, some grilled pork in a sour sauce below it, a fish curry on the top right, a different type of fish curry on the bottom right, Thai-style fried Mackarel on the bottom, and in the center - an unbelievably flavorful ultra-sour Mon Mango Salad! |
I enjoyed some lovely Mon Fish Curry, made by the family in who’s house I was staying. The mother made sure that I was stuffed after every meal, crying from the heat of her chili peppers, and ready to relax for a few hours and be back for more! Our first meal consisted of my favorite vegetable, okra (pictured to the left), some super spicy and salty fish, and finally some awesomely spicy Mon dipping paste tasting very similar to Thailand’s Nam Prik Gapi. Both Myanmar and Thailand enjoy this shrimp paste, usually eaten as a dip with steamed vegetables, and the Mon prefer it the same way I do in Esaan, eating it with baby jackfruit! There was also a spicy and intensely sour mango salad that I had never had before, much different than the Thai style mango salad exchanging sour mango for papaya, (Yam Ma Muang)... unbelievably tasty!
Other meals included some dishes that I had known from a previous visit, and a few new ones! There is always the super spicy Barking Deer Curry, and then the Burmese style Fermented Tea Leaf Salad (Lah Pet Thoke) eaten with rice or one of the many types of Roti breads or Naan from the mini-tandoor, and then some awesome Mon-style roasted Eggplant.
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| One place where I know to find Roti Ong - the cheap yet wonderful, most filling Thai/Burmese "breakfast food" that I know of... I remember the first time visiting this market in 2009, Migration Mark and I each had 4 of them, they were an unbelievable 6 Baht each! Now the price is 15 Baht, but I thought it was still fair for this awesome, fresh-made, oven-cooked snack. Kind of like an Indian burrito! |
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After a ride, its common for Thais to have a
"Kai Luak," a nearly raw egg (dipped in boiling
water for 8-10 seconds), seasoned with a dash
of soy sauce and a dash of pepper. My love for
all snacks that are served paired with coffee has
started me on a mission to see how many different
provincial styles I can find for this simple yet
powerful breakfast supplement. In Sangklaburi,
they take theirs with milk tea, AND coffee.
nice move :)
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This young guy was really into testing my bike gear,
he did his best to ride but couldn't quite reach the
pedals. The helmet made him happy enough though
while we chatted with his parents. |
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| An awesomely spicy version of Lah Pet Thoke that I had for the first time here in Sangklaburi! |
If you get a chance, you should try to visit the early morning Mon market across the river, across the wooden Mon bridge. I do mean early, it closes a bit after sunrise. During previous visits to Sangklaburi, people were still able to walk across the old Mon bridge, foot traffic only! In 2013 however, this bridge collapsed, and it has since been rebuilt. Much stronger and wider than before, and then construction is even now finished on another floating bridge next to the high wooden one. If there is ever an increase in water level I don’t know what will happen to this one, but for now it was ok to walk across.
The amount of tourists on this bridge is a little much, and if you’re wanting a serene picture of this specific area then you will have to go pretty early in the morning. In my opinion that is the best time anyways though, as the weather in this area can get pretty warm from mid-day onwards!
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| Coming up from the town, using the cement bridge, you will quickly reach an intersection with a few policeman hanging around. Turn left to come down to the Mon Town (you can reach this by foot after crossing the huge wooden bridge), and if you turn right you can make your way an hour further into the hills, eventually reaching the town of Huay Ma Lai. |
I rode up from Tong Pa Pum, arrived at about 1030am, and immediately knew that just 1 day was not going to be enough to enjoy this lovely town. The next day I rode in and around the hills surrounding the town, found a super cool swimming spot with my now-local friend (and her new friends), and then rode about 50km out to another town even closer to the border with Myanmar. For cyclists/motorbike riders I highly recommend taking this additional leg as a day-trip, or only a half-day trip if thats all that time allows… The name of the further town is Huay Malai. There is even camping here if you would like… very lovely town, definitely did not want to leave.
For those interested, by bicycle/motorbike, the trip is here -
Things to come back for:
The day trip to Pi Lok, about 70km from Tong Pha Phum, a place where, on a good day, one can look over the entire peninsula and get a view of the Indian Ocean! The way there, it was told to me, passes through 399 switchbacks. Thai people love the number 9, so who knows the true number, but trust me when I say its a tough and rewarding ride if you are wanting to take your bike! Who knows, you might even see your own species of jungle cat!
And finally, here's some photo gems... :)
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| Bluetooth Hack! Cell phone in the Headband! Learning it from a Monk! |
Thanks for reading, have a great day! Please respond, leave a comment below, with some other areas of Thailand just begging to be explored by bicycle! I know there are thousands upon thousands… :) I know I am lucky to be working in such a country. The little that I have given of myself, this country and its people have repaid me a thousand times over with these experiences I have been blessed to have...
-Joel
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A strange temple, a golden crocodile guarding the entrance. The name of the temple
also has the word crocodile in it! |
I will usually make 2 separate posts. I like to write a ton of details, helps me remember the facts that brains all too often love to alter! Also helps me to remember my feelings at the time, and to see how my own feelings change over time. Something valuable to me, maybe you enjoy this too. For people who just like to see photos though, those will be posted either on page 2, or down below (like in this post).
The fog here was so super thick, but then blew away as fast as I have ever seen fog leave... it was blazing sunshine again in literally 10 seconds. So weird, you can stand on this ridge and just watch clouds come at you, hold your breath once, and they are already passing by.
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The place reserved for tents is a bit further on, only accessible on foot (but I bet it could be done
by a determined mountain biker from the looks of the photos. Please tell me if you know anyone
who has tried!) What a view. |
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| Heading back to Tong Pa Pum, one of many bridge crossings |
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| Sometimes the roads were in great condition! And sometimes there was no road... |
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| On the way back, starting the road to Baan Un-Rak, about 50km still left to go... |
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Just 10km outside of Sanklaburi town, you cross a beautiful causeway bridge. This checkpoint was full of
smiling soldiers! They were surprised to see a biker when most of the traffic is motorbikes, and invited
me to have breakfast (Kao Thom)! Just in time, it was about 930am, I was hungry!
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