On Our First Day, We Were Robbed and Bill Ate Rat
Fun Fact: Did you know there are freshwater crabs that live in rice paddy fields? They are called Bangkok Rice Paddy Crab (Sayamia bangkokensis)
After two flights, dinner in South Korea, and a dozen airplane movies, we finally arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Thailand is exactly 12 hours ahead which turned our internal clocks upside down. Our first night was 5 hours of rolling around and turning over – absolutely no sleep. When the sun poked up over the mountains, we decided to explore the city. We walked into the Old City, an area in northern Chiang Mai with towering brick walls and a deep mote that had been glamorized with flowers and fountains. It’s a beautiful mix of old and new. Brick roads and historic buildings are at odds with intertwined vines of electrical wires and a sea of mopeds. We stopped for lunch and our new home anxieties were immediately satiated by the taste of great food. Honestly some of the best we’ve ever had. Thai cuisine tickles the tastebuds with a blend of spicy, sweet, sour, and savory flavors. We were so indulged with our meal that we totally forgot about our hotel checkout and ended up being fashionably late. From there, we jumped in a Grab (Southeast Asia version of Uber) and drove out to our first destination.
Morning on the farm.
It took us about 2.5 hours through the windiest dirt roads to get to our bungalow in the jungle/farmland of the Karen tribe in the Mae Wang District outside of Chiang Mai. We were supposed to meet our host at a pickup spot near their village but were inconveniently dropped off in the wrong location by our Grab driver. The people at this spot did not speak much English and mistook us for a couple that made a reservation at their bungalow, then they proceeded to give us a key to a room. This new place looked quite different then the AirBnB photos, so we turned on cell service and contacted our host. Luckily, our host was able to find us, pick us up, and take us home. The area of our first stay was a mixture of farmland and beautiful jungle made up of rich, red clay, scraggly pines and large leafed trees, and winding streams, rivers, and waterfalls. The farmland was owned by the Karen tribe who settled around the Myanmar-Thailand border over a 1,000 years ago. They grow coffee beans, strawberries, snap peas, broccoli, persimmons, oranges, and much more. Our host at the Ma & Pa bungalow grew coffee beans, persimmons, oranges, and snap peas. The bungalow was set in a small farm with jungle and waterfall/river right next to it. The roar of rushing water was heard all throughout the day and night. Our little house was more like an open cabana with a little toilet and mosquito netting over the bed. The first night was filled with some of the most delicious food we have ever tasted: noodle dishes, pumpkin coconut soup, and fresh vegetables from the farmland. We never slept better.
Our first full day was spent entirely at the farm. Exploring the property, the village, the jungle, and the waterfall. Our host taught us how to cook Pad Thai, how to roast coffee beans, and how to fish with gill nets in the river. We had found some of our first reptiles and frogs on this day, including a Doi Suthep Bent-toed Gecko (Cyrtodactylus doisuthep) and Marbled Cascade Frogs (Amolops marmoratus). We discovered some new birds and, with Bill’s new zoom lens, hoped to get some great pictures. We think there is a high chance we may turn into birders on this trip! Bill always says “I ONLY photograph birds when there a no reptiles around” but he decidedly made exceptions for some of these beautiful birds.
Marbled Cascade Frog (Amolops marmoratus) photograph in-situ on the edge of a small stream.
Around noon, we went out to photograph the waterfall, only about 50ft from our bungalow. While we were there a tour showed up on ATV’s. The small group consisted of two locals and a French chef named Baci. While we were making introductions and small talk, the one local went back to sit by the ATVs, or so we thought… Only about five minutes later, we returned to our room to find our purse had been opened and all our Baht (the local currency) removed. Thankfully, everything else was there: our USD, passports, cards, and camera gear. He took about 2500 Baht (~$80), it was a stark reminder to never leave the purse alone. But overall, we felt fortunate nothing more was taken and are considering it an $80 donation to someone who needed it much more than us.
Our backyard waterfall. While I was making this photo, our bungalow was being robbed!
Bill and his rat.
That night, we were sitting around a fire with some locals, waiting for our dinner, when some of the locals started cooking something rather unique - rat. While most people would be revolted by such a sight, Bill loves eating oddities and immediately knew he wanted to try some. Food is food; if something can be eaten, people will eat it. We would argue Americans eating licorice is far more unnatural and weird than the Karen tribe eating rats. And to be honest, Bill thought it tasted quite good! Like a slightly meatier chicken.
We spent a few more days at the Ma & Pa Bungalow. Lots of exploring, eating, and photography. We were sad to say goodbye but also excited for next location. Our host were nice enough to drive us back to Chiang Mai, taking the bumpy back roads and driving through more Karen villages. We finally got back to our hotel for just a night and proceeded to prepare for our next location with buying much needed items and doing our laundry. For dinner we explored the night markets and tasted our first street food, it was unbelievably good.
The best part of traveling is finding the “new”: new sights, new people, new food, new culture, and so on. When traveling, we will try to focus on this and try as many new things as possible. It opens our eyes to how others survive and thrive. As the great philosopher Shrek once said, “[we] are like onions. Onions have layers. [We] have layers”. We find each layer we unveil from others unveils a new layer within ourselves.
Until next time,
Bill & Kate
