Laos I

Mae Salong

The town of Mae Salong is in the northern tip of Thailand, very close to the Myramar border. The town nestles itself between several mountains populated by scattered villages of four or five different hill tribe cultures. Surprisingly, up to 85% of the inhabitants of Mae Salong speak Chinese as their first language. The people here are the descendants of the 93rd regiment of the Chinese KMT who refused to give up fighting when the communists took over. These divisions fled into Myramar, still fighting communist forces and held out for over a decade until they were pushed across the mountains and into Thailand. There they were enlisted by the monarchy of Thailand to help fight off their communists and were essential in the destruction of communism in that part of SE Asia, but not until the early 1980's. In return for their service they were granted Thai citizen status (as refugees) and were allowed to settle in the area which is now Mae Salong. For more information on the history of Mae Salong, click here.

Mae Salong is populated by many colourful people who seem to get along even thought they speak several different languages and come from many different cultures. In the morning I climbed the fabled '700 steps to enlightenment' (712, I counted) and was rewarded with 10 minutes of a spectacular view of the town and it's neighbouring country-side. After that, the clouds rolled in an it was like I was on an island amoung a sea of clouds. The only clue to any kind of civilization was the sounds of roosters crowing, children playing and the never ending hammering of construction.

The man with the donkey is quite famous in the town, showing up in many tourist publications. He walks theow the town wildly dressed, banging symbols, and demanding that you photograph him. The woman is an Ahka hill tribe woman who was selling crafts in the market.

Pai

Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai

It's good to be the King (of Thailand)

It is not an overstatement to say that the Thai people hold their king in reverence. All over the country their are pictures of the king (and queen) along the roads, inside the shops, and in the houses of ordinary Thai people.

Map of Thailand

Map of Thailand

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Ayuthaya

Ayuthaya

Ayuthaya is another old kingdom in the nation what is now Thailand. Ayuthaya was founded around 1350 competed with Sukhothai for dominance of the area. I believe that Ayuthaya outlasted Sukhothai rather than conquered it. It's area of influence extended south into what is now Malaysia, up to the city of Malacca. The Kingdom of Ayuthaya continued until the mid 18th century and was the main force in Thailand at the time of European expansion. These people were he Siamese that gave the name Siam to the area. The kingdom fell in 1767 to the Burmese. For more information on Ayuthaya, click here.

Transportation