The Trek Part 8: Journey to the Lahu Village

Song was leading our trek for the next part of our journey. As we set off, we started on the dirt road that connects the Karen village to the surrounding areas. A black dog from the village followed us. We soon turned off onto a footpath, and were soon plunging again into the vaulted halls and courtyards of the forest. Our dog ran in front of us on the trail as if showing the way. He wasn’t the best guide however since he would often run off the trail in search of food. Song explained that he used to be a hunting dog before it became illegal to use dogs to hunt on the mountain and he was just doing as he was trained.

Song lead us over some rather rough terrain, exclaiming “oh my Buddha!” when he approached a steep incline. Song was a wonderful guide, pointing out different plants of interest as we walked along. Over the course of the day he pointed out a plant whose leaves retract when you touch it, (but more slowly than the similar one in the movie Avatar), an edible berry that was rather sour, until you took a drink of water which then made the flavor sweet, and teakwood and bamboo.


The second day of the trek felt considerably warmer than the first, so it was quite nice when we finally saw the village that we would be lunching at. It was across a river, but since the river was down in a small gorge there was a bridge going over it, rather than us needing to wade across like the day before. This bridge however, didn’t seem to be of the most sound construction. The planks across it were not spaced evenly, with there being openings from 1-1.5 feet between pieces of wood. The dog that had been with us all day did not go across the bridge with us. The bridge swung quite a bit as it was traversed. The old adage of ‘don’t look down’ definitely did not apply, given that looking down was essential to figure out where to step.

Although our dog didn’t cross the bridge, one of the village dogs ran out into the middle of it to greet us. I was certain for a while that this canine was going to take the plunge, but luckily he did not. In the village we were approached by villages ladies hawking the same trinkets that had been offered to us at the other village. Its interesting to note that the two villages are different tribes, this one was a Lahu village, and if they were genuine crafts there should have been some differences, but they were all the same. The hard sell techniques that many Thai people, both in the villages and in the markets employ is fairly annoying. It seems they try to make people feel guilty for window shopping.

Lunch took a while to be completed, but was quite delicious when served. We spent a good deal of time just lazing around the village. Steve tried fruitlessly to get the black dog that had followed us to cross the bridge and Jennifer was chasing the baby chicks around so that she could hold one without getting pecked by the hen. Song showed us how to “make a bomb’ by slamming his water bottle into his knee hard enough for it to loudly rupture.

When it was time to begin our journey again we had the option of taking the short route (around the side of the mountain) or the long way (over the mountain). We asked if there would be picturesque vistas on the long route and were told that there would be, so off we went, up and over. This was a rather steep climb, but by turning around every so often and looking at the view it was totally worth it. The dog that had greeted us out on the bridge came to accompany us on this leg of our trek. Steve and Song had the great idea of racing the dog up the slope, while the rest of us carried on at a more comfortable pace.

When we were walking down the mountain we happened upon a bunch of thick vines that were clinging to the trees. These vines, were strong enough for me to sit in, which was really quite fun. When we got to the bottom of the valley we had to again ford a river. There were some water buffalo enjoying the river right near us as we crossed. From there it was a short walk to the Lahu Village where we would be staying the night.