"Chiang Mai To Chiang Rai 12/03/2005"

Trip Journal From 12th March - 22nd March 2005

Today Lawrie & I broke camp and headed north on our own. The others were going to the Thailand border to renew Janet’s visa and we wanted to go and see an old friend who is working as a missionary and lives in a small village called Huay Khrie. Cherry is working with stateless children on the border of Thailand and Myanmar.

Before we headed up north, Lawrie removed the fog lights and his prized “Nissan” sign off the grill to make it cooler for the up and coming hill climbs as outside today its 45 degrees.

The drive took us about 5hours, climbing high into the hills and cooler temperatures. All the trees were in full blossom and chickens with their little chicks were everywhere. We drove by lots of paddy fields, lush vegetation, national parks, crystal clear flowing rivers (a nice change) and loads of vegetables were being grown everywhere. The only thing that spoilt the drive was the thick air due to smoke from the many burn off’s we encountered along the way. Apparently the burn offs will continue for months, so the outlying hills are constantly covered in a thick smokey haze.

Upon arriving in Chiang Rai we decided to treat ourselves to a big, soft bouncing bed and decided to stay at a little place called Wiang Inn. That night it rained. I had forgotten what rain was (Now that’s a big call coming from a Kiwi isn’t it!) as it was the first spot of wet weather we have encountered since leaving New Zealand. I must say, it is almost a treat breaking up the journey with a hotel stay every now and again as it enables us to indulge in a few western comforts like reading the paper, washing, watching TV and catching up on the world news. The coverage for New Zealand and Australia is pretty good, but we could certainly do without knowing the dismal cricket results!

That evening in Chiang Rai we pottered around the night markets, bought our dinner and had an early night. The cost of a one night stay in the Wiang Inn was only NZ $60 and included breakfast. Well, the next morning we were both in “heavenly’breaky’land”. The buffet style breakfast had approximately 50 different delectable dishes to choose from and most of the dishes were European. Lawrie was like a kid in a candy store and couldn’t wait to tuck into the bacon, sausages and eggs. It was wonderful to tempt our taste buds with familiar cuisine after eating so much spicy aromatic Thai dishes.

After breakfast we went to get gather some things from Ruefee and as per usual Ruefee had another mob of fan club admirers checking him over.


We got chatting to a gentleman named Udi – unbeknown to us at the time, the chat with Udi would lead us to the most memorable day of our entire trip so far. Udi on the right, (Jakrapan on the left), introduced himself and informed us that he was from Chiang Mai, and specialized in 4x4 adventures. He was about to take a group of 10 from Israel 4 wheel driving into the hills behind Chiang Rai. He warmly invited us to join the group (at no cost) and promised us a trip of a lifetime. It was 9am and Udi was on a tight departure schedule leaving us with 10 minutes to get organised! So with a super quick decision to accompany them we frantically rushed to our room, packed up our gear, and checked out with not so much as 60 seconds to spare!

Ruefee was already packed up so we tossed our bags aboard brimming with excitement and loads enthusiasm for what adventure lay ahead of us. Before heading off, Udi explained that he is the only guided tour granted permission to do this unique 4x4 trip which also included permission to visit two particular villages. As part of his tour, Udi supplied the four vehicles with experienced 4x4s drivers and kindly supplied Laurie and I with a CB so that he could give us a commentary as we traveled. Jakrapan one of Udi’s guides accompanying us on the tour was a wealth of knowledge as he was able to fluently speak the local tribal language which differed from normal Thai language.

The first part of the drive we cruised along the banks of the River Kok. It was very scenic. We stopped to walk over a wooden swing bridge, made with planks with far too many spaces between them for my liking. Talk about “Hairy Scary”! As I placed my hand on the bridge railing I felt a short sharp bite. It all happened so fast that I didn’t have the chance to see what had bitten me. It was extremely painful and my hand began to swell almost immediately. Jakrapan took a look at the bite and much to my relief said that it wasn’t poisonous and proceeded to apply some “Magic Ointment” on the affected area which (as he promised) instantly and “Magically” soothed my hand. Jakrapan said that I had been stung by some sort of bee - certainly didn’t feel like a bee sting to me. A few hours later I was all back to normal THANK GOODNESS.

With the “Chiang Sting” saga behind me, we all clicked in our free wheeling hubs and set off on our 4x4 adventure following Udi’s lead. Lawrie was thrilled to be taking Ruefee off the tar seal and drive him on the terrains that he was built for!

It was awesome to actually get off the beaten track and see the real Thailand. Driving high into hills we overlooked Ban Karen Rruammitan elephant station which was nestled on the banks of the River Kok, what a terrific sight. As we nudged further along we stopped for a swim in the Pha Soet Hot Spa which was a delightful treat for the entire tour group. Steadily climbing, we crossed through many rivers and drove over bamboo bridges, always with fingers crossed knowing the mass weight of Ruefee. The roads were deeply rutted with bamboo lining the side of the tracks. In one particular river that we crossed was an inquisitive water buffalo. He allowed us to pass without incident but he sure kept his eye on us. He was resting in the deepest part of the river (who would blame him in soaring 40 degree heat) and obviously was not impressed at being disturbed.

At one stage we thought we would have to get the winch out to haul Udi off a big protruding rock, which would have given us great pleasure being able to assist however his 4x4 skills were ultra sharp and in no time was back on track continuing on. The scenery was different around every corner.

Udi told us to look up and across to our left where we saw a high mountain range, saying that was where we were headed to visit the first tribal village. As we wound our way higher up the track, looking down we saw more of the River Kok spreading out below, absolute postcard material. In fact we couldn’t resist stopping for a moment to take in the view before quickly bouncing back on track to Udi’s voice crackling over the CB saying, “Don’t bother stopping there – we will stop for better views further up”. Lawrie and I looked at each other and thought, you have got to be joking, it can’t get much better than this! With the 5 vehicles traveling in a convoy style, every now and again the tour group would break into a hearty song. The group from Israel were such a happy bunch of travelers and we both felt so privileged to of been given the opportunity to join them.



Reaching the first village we visited two local hill tribe people from the Akha and Lahu tribes. The houses they occupied were mostly made of split bamboo with woven floors, woven walls and thatched roofs. Surprisingly the houses were quite cool. We were fortunate enough to be invited inside a Native Akha village house. Upon entering we were greeted by the owners who proceeded to place bracelets on our wrists which is the usual custom for guests. We both felt honored as we had two bracelets each tied on our wrists with the rest of the tour group only receiving one each. Later on we quizzed Jakrapan about the custom of bestowing bracelets upon guests and asked why it was that we were both given two while everybody else had only received one. He totally deflated us by saying that the older you are the more bracelets you are given! Well that could of gone in the “Not wanting to know department along with the dismal cricket results”.

The villages by our standards were very primitive and just had the bare essentials. Each house had a corner set aside for a shrine and cooking was done on an oven pit in the corner of the hut. With no chimney for smoke to escape everything was quite blackened. Most houses accommodated two rooms. Animals roamed freely around the villages. Pigs, chooks, buffalos, dogs etc, and coffee beans were left to nature drying on racks in the sun. All the work is completed by hand with no intervention of any machinery at all. We saw the villagers working on the land high up the hills as far as the eye could see. Above a small river the village woman were tossing rice (dehusking) using a cane screen then manually ground. Both villages we visited were situated at the highest elevation agriculturally in Thailand.

Ruefees 4x4 handled the very steep sections of the mountains with total ease, and harnessed everything we threw at him with superb excellence which had Lawrie gushing with pride and confidence! After 8 hours of four wheel driving, it was time to park the vehicles and begin the one hour each way trek through the picturesque national park ending at the 70 metre Khon Kon waterfall. It was an exhilarating trek, especially after all the driving it sure got the blood circulating. The National Park was so green and for a fleeting moment it almost felt like we were bush walking in New Zealand.

Arriving at the Khon Kon waterfall, which incidentally is the highest waterfall in Thailand, Lawrie took a seat, intent on kicking back and taking in the fantastic scenery. All of a sudden a branch came whipping down from great heights landing beside the spot where a few milliseconds ago sat a “kicked back relaxed Kiwi bloke named Lawrie”. I have never in my life seen Lawrie move so fast. If he had of moved any faster one would have been forgiven for mistaking him as Tarzan of the jungle! I cracked up. A cheeky monkey above had decided to snap off a branch sending Lawrie's senses and reactions into a frightening panic!
While some of us changed our undies, The rest of the party enjoyed a cold swim in the pool at the base of the beautiful Khon Kon waterfall.

After trekking back to our vehicles, Ya (Uri’s wife) in our absence had prepared a fantastic traditional Thailand meal for us all which completed the most memorable day so far on our overland journey.

Udi certainly organizes a fantastic 4x4 adventure and we would highly recommend his tour to anyone that is lucky enough to visit Chiang Mai. He expertly guided us through some of the most panoramic scenery, exciting and challenging 4x4 tracks and gave us the opportunity to touch upon the real Thailand and experience its unique culture. Udi was true to his word – He provided us with the ultimate adventure and some wonderful memories. For that Udi, we can’t thank you enough!

To contact Udi’s company and experience first hand a truly jam packed adventure, you can visit his website at www.udiya.com email udi@udiya.com or contact him on (mob) 01-8833049 (home) 06-5870676. Udi is situated at 7/14 Moonmuang Rd, Muang, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Arriving back at Chiang Rai, we made the short 30 minute drive up North to my friend Cherry’s place. By this time it was 8pm and as we arrived in her village gave her a call. She waited with torch in hand at the entry to her lane and guided us in. It had been four years since we had seen one another so it was lovely to catch up on all the news. The following morning we got up early and headed for the local markets and pottered around soaking up the local atmosphere. In the evening we headed out to dinner. With Cherry being our interpreter, ordering meals was wonderful. We found a couple of dishes that we really enjoyed and had Cherry write them down in Thai so that we would be able to order them again without to much problem as most of the time ordering is pot luck and we are never entirely sure what we are getting. Main dishes do contain frogs and ants eggs to name a few!

We were only 20 minutes drive from the Thailand/Myanmar border, so on Friday the 18th of March we decided to head over the border from Mai Sai into Tachilek in Myanmar (Burma) to “do the walk” as the locals call it and renew our visas for another month. There were hundred’s of shops so shopping was at the top of the priority list for me. Lawrie keeps reminding me of the need to keep Ruefees weight down. We did get some good CDs and DVDs to play along the way all under NZ $3.00 each which was quite a bargain. It cost us US$5.00 each to enter Myanmar. Coming back we were frisked at the border and Lawrie had to empty his pockets out. Cherry and I just got a few prods and some pats on our tummy’s. Tachilek is very different to Thailand. Visually there were more beggars, more poverty, more rubbish, and lots of “Hawking” from the stalls & shop keepers hounding you to buy from them, talk about very persistent.

Cherry was a wonderful host showing us all the local sights and just down the road we visited a local tribal village. This village was much wealthier than those we had seen high in the hills when we did our 4x4 drive with Udi. The local village people were harvesting some miniature sweet corn which was very tender and sweet. With the lovely climate in Huay Khrie they are able to replant and harvest three crops per year. One thing I noticed here were the magnificent pedigree Brahman cattle which have the most delightful ears! We drove up to Doi Tung (Doi meaning mountain) and looked down on Huay Khrie village and saw the Royal Villa and the magnificent Mae Far Luang Gardens. With mass plantings of flowers used to perfection, an array of water gardens, topiary trees and a glorious display of orchids it truly was a beautiful sight. Not forgetting to mention, we saw our first snake swimming in one of the gardens water pools. After its swim, it slithered off into the bushes – YUK! We also visited the local factories which are part of the Royal project. The Royal project is an attempt to give locals another chance of employment rather than growing drugs, i.e. heroin.

Our time with Cherry has just flown and every day has been full of interest. We arrive home at night usually after dark just shattered. We visited Chiang Saen and had lunch along the banks of the Mekong River as we looked down on the broken battered boats being hand loaded with cargo bound for China. We have visited the Golden Triangle, overlooked the borders of Thailand, Myanmar Laos with China way in the distance, we took a long boat ride up the Mekong River and briefly entered Laos at Don Xao Island. Cherry has a friend, John Roberts an Elephant Conservationist, who works at the Anantara Resort where they offer mahout training for the guests. We interacted with the elephants which was a novel experience. We had great fun giving the elephants some water and we were amazed at how much each elephant sucked up, we seemed to be holding the hose forever until one of the more mischievous ones hooked the hose with his trunk and proceeded to hose himself and Lawrie

Our time in Thailand continues to move us in many ways. Sunday we visited the Childlife Refuge Centre, in MaeSai. The centre was established by a young guy called Ngaow who had the amazing strength and vision to build a place for displaced, homeless and orphaned children. As we stood beside the rice fields and looked at the humble dwellings that housed the 82 children, a little boy pulling a car behind him which was made of a used plastic bottle. We witnessed a young girl of 12 preparing dinner while other children were tending to the chooks and gardens. Despite the certain amount of sadness we felt for these kids the children were very happy, especially considering some of their horrendous backgrounds. These children had been rescued from the streets of Mae Sai where they were at risk from child traffickers. As we walked around the refuge one of the staff told us that she had just rescued two street children from the Thailand/Myanmar border. Very sobering to think that we perhaps had passed them when crossing the border a few days earlier. As we walked around we felt overwhelmed by the conditions the children were living in and how little they had. Their sleeping quarters had no beds; they all slept on the floor. We met some amazing people who really cared for the welfare of these kids. Like Thomas, a young German who networks with lots of others from Germany. He had just had a group of German Doctors over who assisted with giving free medical care and their time to the children. We were very grounded and very impressed by the staff’s dedication to these children. We both felt deeply moved by our experience of visiting the Refuge.



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