Baby boomers out in the world
Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a very recent addition to the must-see places in Vietnam. In 2005 a local man was searching the mountainside for medicinal herbs and discovered Paradise Cave, which stretches for 31 kilometers (19 miles) below the mountain. Opened to the public in 2010, tourists generally get to see the first kilometer, with further depths restricted to more serious spelunkers.
Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, holds thousands of karst mountains jutting out of the sea. Most visitors get there via a 4-hour bus ride from Hanoi, or a tour boat from China. It’s best to spend a night on board a yacht anchored far out in the bays so you can soak up the incredible views. Here is a brief tribute to this stunning experience.
Our yacht left harbor with our band of 10 travelers plus a crew of 6. There was space for 20 guests, so we had plenty of room in the cabins, each with an ensuite bathroom.
Fishermen live virtually full-time on their boats, rafted together in a protected bay. They nap and often party by day, then fish at night, drawing in schools of squid and fish with powerful spotlights.
Some of the islands hold caves where you can climb and explore. It’s not for the claustrophobic. Humans lived in these caves in prehistoric times, leaving behind deep layers of snail shells from their dinners.
After a long cruise we reached our day’s destination. As we sat at anchor for the night I enjoyed watching the kayaks glide by.
Old-fashioned fishing boats were juxtaposed against modern kayaks.
Yachts sit in a sheltered bay as the shadows deepen into night.
We had a stellar dinner with our tour group, followed by a round of karaoke in the main cabin. Too soon, it was time to bed down in our queen size cabin. I barely felt the waves on the becalmed ocean.
In the morning we awakened to the sound of seabirds.
On a quiet deck we enjoyed our coffee and reflected on the beautiful surroundings.
On Monday morning we hired a private tour company to take us trekking in the mountains southwest of Chiang Mai. On the agenda: climbing, waterfalls, Karen hill tribe people, and elephants.
Along the way we stopped at a rustic market to acquire some lunch; this would be shared with our 3 guides and the Karen family we were going to meet.
As we ascended the mountainside we observed a lot of water-laden farms. It’s harvest season right now, so the land is brownish and not very green. The weather was warm, around 83 degrees F, but some clouds kept the sun from beating down on us.
We passed some touristic spots where people were visiting and/or riding elephants. There were also places to ride bamboo rafts, but it’s off season for this pursuit, and the rafts sat empty by the riversides. At our destination we disembarked along with 2 of the guides, loaded up backpacks and began a serious trek up and down the mountainsides.
The guides stopped to examine every mushroom we encountered. Some of them are apparently tasty and worth money, but almost everything we found was judged to be “very bad” and “kill you”.
After about 2 hours of hiking we were rewarded with one of the most beautiful waterfalls I have ever seen. We lingered here in the cool mist, entirely alone with this site all to ourselves. We sat on a stone ridge and one of our guides shared with us his own lunch, some bread he makes at his “day job” as a chef. I was surprised that we saw no animal life. Supposedly there are wild pigs and monkeys in this area, and even some deer, but they weren’t showing up to enjoy the waterfall today. Overhunting has some bearing on this, according to our guides. So, the waterfall was ours. It’s always interesting how the world sounds when you get so far away from other humans that there are no motors, no outside noises, just you and nature.
After a peaceful rest that was entirely too short we started trekking uphill again. We heard the rattling of wooden and metal cow bells, and as we broke into a clearing we encountered a Karen woman harvesting rice from her paddies, with her cows munching away nearby. She was winnowing the rice and piling up the grains on plastic sheets, then packing the rice into large bags. Her only helper at this point was a dog named Dulu, who decided that we were more interesting than she was. Dulu became our faithful companion for the rest of the day, running nimbly up and down the ridges while we trudged along at a comparative snail’s pace.
We were walking along trails that were marked with tire tracks. If you heard a motor noise you all had to clear off the path quickly, because the oncoming motorbike would not be expecting people on these trails and you didn’t want to meet one head-on. Sometimes you heard an odd whirring noise, and that was a motorbike coming down the hill under gravity power, motor turned off. The motorbikes were carrying rice and vegetables up and down from the paddies.
At last we came into another clearing and found the home of the Karen family. Here was our lunch stop and a chance to rest and play a bit.
By the time we finished eating it was 4 PM and we had to get going. You don’t want to be negotiating these steep paths in the dark, and nightfall comes at 6 PM. We had 1.5 hours of trekking still to go.
On the way back to the city we stopped at an elephant camp. This is a no-ride camp, widely regarded as one of the humane ones. It was late in the day so the mother and baby were already in their pen for the night.
There is a lot of controversy about elephant tourism, and Chiang Mai is a center for this activity. You can’t avoid these conversations here. Many sites still allow and encourage tourists to ride on the elephants, either bareback or in metal boxes perched on top of the elephants. Some also employ rough metal hooks to prod or beat the elephants into submission. Almost all camps chain the elephants at night.
After feeding these elephants I have to say that they are stunningly strong and amazingly big. Yes, I knew that intellectually, but there is no substitute for the sensation you get when a 6 month old elephant grabs your arm and takes control of it for even a few seconds. You are not in control. If he wants to keep your arm, he’s keeping it. I’ve seen a local advertising photo of one of these babies laying on top of a tourist, and the tourist seems to be laughing, but if it was me I’d be wondering how many ribs were going to be broken. That is a big, powerful baby. And then the mama? Respect the mama, she’s large and in charge. There is no way for her to have a real semblance of freedom; there are no cages big enough to keep her captive, so she must be chained at the ankle for hours at a time, on a relatively short chain. The chain bothers me more than anything. I was honored to be able to look these sentient creatures in the eye and have a few long minutes to interact with them. But I have to admit, I have qualms about how humans capitalize on their captivity. There may be a domesticated relationship between the mahout (trainer) and the elephant, but I am not yet convinced that it’s a mutually beneficial one.
On a cool Saturday morning we strapped on our hiking shoes, packed up some minimal gear and set out for Wat Pha Lad, a mountainside site that is one of the lesser known temples. It’s a challenging but reasonable trek up a rocky trail. We knew we were looking for trail markers left by the monks, bits of their old robes, and I was relieved to see them on the path near the start.
I’m loving these funky trousers I bought here; the rayon cloth is lightweight, so you enjoy the breezes without getting bit up by mosquitoes. No one from Thailand seems to wear them out in public, it’s a tourist thing only. Ever since I noticed that yesterday I have had a sneaking suspicion they may actually be pajamas. If that’s the case then I don’t want to know. My fellow tourists and I are happy to wear them. (As a bonus, they fulfill the requirement that women must cover their knees while visiting temples.)
Along the way up and down we came across a dozen other people, including a few monks. The monks greeted us in English and we had a bit of conversation. These monks live in Chiang Mai, and were visiting the mountain retreat for the day.
As we climbed we started to hear and then see small tributaries off the mountaintop waterfall.
After perhaps 40 minutes of climbing and admiring the views we emerged into a sunlit clearing, and encountered a rickety woven bridge. Here was the entrance to the wat (temple grounds.) The hand railing offered some comfort but no actual protection.
Upon crossing the bridge and turning a corner, a broad expanse of rocky waterfall appears. You have to walk on the waterfall in order to access the rest of the temple grounds. As you turn corners the beauty of the place is breathtaking. Everywhere you see hand-carved stone statues and buildings, the product of years of human efforts and devotion, and all of this is set against the natural beauty of mountain, waterfalls, plant life and butterflies.
We wandered in awe for the longest time. In addition to the ever-present sights we were entertained by the presence of a film crew and actors in historical dress who were setting up to make a movie, apparently about bygone times in Thailand.
And then I realized I had made a mistake: I left our snacks back at the apartment. As soon as Matt said “I’m getting hungry” I realized that I was not just a bit hungry, I really needed to eat soon. We found a vendor stand that only sold tea and coffee drinks, and decide that our only choice was to buy the most sugary drink we could get and then make a fast retreat down the mountain, a challenging path where rushing and distraction could lead to bad things. I was pretty chagrined about my critical error, but we’d just have to cut this visit short. The clerk sold us our drinks, and then cheerfully gestured toward the tables full of food that were being laid out. The locals were hosting a birthday celebration for one of the monks. After the monks filled their alms bowls we would all be welcome to join in the luncheon, sharing in the vast amount of food that remained. Furthermore, to share in the monks’ meal provided you a special blessing, so please, stay and eat. I could hardly believe our luck!
The food wasn’t just good, it was really good, stews made of expensive ingredients with apparent care and affection for the monks. We sat on an old bench savoring every taste, and tears filled my eyes as I thought of how very lucky I am, how grateful I was to have this experience.
The crowd dispersed to almost nothing, so we thanked the locals who provided the feast and walked away to begin our descent. About 10 minutes later, off in the distance we heard them sing Happy Birthday to the monk. In English.
The Loy Krathong festival offers such a target-rich environment for photography, it’s impossible to fit it all into one tour plan (or one blog post.) With all the focus on the floating and flying lanterns, the rest of the scenery could be overlooked. Here’s a photo journal of some of the other beautiful highlights during the 3-day celebration.
