Phaen Din Thong to Thoeng

December 24, 2022

Hmongland back down to Thailand

It was a mediocre sunrise from our luxury bungalow with sliding glass doors to a large deck high in the mountains with an unobstructed view to Phu Chi Fa in the east. It looked like anyone standing on top of the Phu Chi Fa viewpoint had a spectacular sunrise though. There are lots of resorts/guest houses on a ridge near to Phu Chi Fa but we didn't have the energy to go further up last night. And they can be expensive too but some of them provide shuttles to the top for sunrise. Phu Chi Fa is the highest point on the ridgeline of that range of mountains and provides a spectacular view of the Mekong River in Laos to the east. The ridgeline forms the border between Thailand and Laos. From our vantage point it was still a dramatic sky and the view we had of the mountains was wonderful even in dull cloudy light.

The bungalow that saved us the night before.

Sunrise from our bungalow of the range of mountains that form the border between Thailand and Laos. Just on the other side of them is the Mekong River.

This was the only "decoration" in our room that we paid more for than any other on our trip so far. I kind of liked it.

I believe the peak on the right is Phu Chi Fa which appears to be lower than we are. Peaks are so deceiving.

I would have liked to have gone up to Phu Chi Fa but probably not with a bicycle. Maybe someday we can get there another way.

The steep hills yesterday took us a little by surprise so as far as I could tell from Google Maps (not an elevation profile) it looked like it could be that we start off with six miles of pure Hell - ups and downs just like yesterday. We were not complaining though. We knew we could handle six more miles if after that we were on the valley floor again. I can't distinguish elevations very well on Google Maps but I can see flat rice paddies.

Before we started riding we wanted to do a selfie Christmas Instagram since it was Christmas Eve. There was the perfect poinsettia bush outside our bungalow, plus a strange big heart. Perfect.

After our photo session we got on our bikes for the dreaded Hell Ride continuation from yesterday. But, wait......Imagine our surprise when we left Charoensuk Resort and placed our bikes on the asphalt and pushed off downhill, (downhill not uphill ) and the road continued downhill for the next nearly six miles dropping more than one thousand feet! It was too steeply down at times but that is not something I'm going to complain about. There were lots of beautiful, gentle curves and the road was in perfect condition. Besides the few places of 16%, it was one of the most enjoyable downhills I've ever experienced. Most enjoyable was the surprise of pure Hell turning into pure Joy. It was a Christmas miracle.

Not far from where we stayed we passed through a typical Hmong village situated right on a ridgetop. There were stores, rice storage buildings on stilts and homes spread along the road for quite some way. The Hmong always place their homes right on the ground without stilts, and the walls are wide vertical boards, unpainted. We've seen the exact type of Hmong towns on ridgetops in Laos. I guess the Hmong prefer to live way up high. I wish I had stopped to take a few photos of the town but I was so astonished to be going down that I didn't want to harsh my down. Now I wish I had taken some photos because the town had a definite Hmong flavor. It was pretty sleepy too I suppose because of all the celebrating last night. That was nice as we quickly descended because we could take the lane and be away from loose sand or stones. Only the occasional car appeared in our mirrors. What a great ride.

The outskirts of a beautiful Hmong village that followed a ridge line.

In a flash we were back down to the flatland valleys full of rice paddies. And we were back in Thailand. I know, I know, we had been in Thailand the whole time but for about 24 hours it seemed like we had been in Hmongland. I like the Hmong, appreciate them and have great admiration for them but I have to say, I was happy to be back in the land of Thais. I understand the Thais better and they understand me better as well. I don't know any Hmong language either. It was a wonderful time in Hmongland though, just great.

We did what has become the normal things for us every day: Eat noodle soup, stop at some temples and drink some coffee at an interesting coffee house. Simple, normal stuff we like. This time we chose a coffee shop called Mao Kao Coffee. Once again a young entrepreneur had no doubt set up the coffee shop. There were swings and lots of wood, multilevel sitting places, nooks with interesting kitsch I guess. In one nook was an Instamatic 100 which was the first camera I owned when I started taking color photos. I was 7 years old and the year was 1960. Seeing it there as kitsch I felt old as the hills.

Formerly rice paddies but it looks like either tobacco or corn is coming up.

I am imagining a group of old men gathering every evening to sit in these chairs and discuss important things.

In the distance, the hills we just dropped down from.

The back of Mao Kao Coffee overlooked rice paddies but from the newly mounded up soil in rows it looked like they were going to plant maybe tobacco instead of rice this year. Because the coffee house was on the way to Phu Chi Fa mountain viewpoint there were a lot of Thai families stopping in.

For some reason they have decided to grow something other than rice in this area.

The back portion of Mao Lao Coffee. There was even a place to do some barbecuing.

Each of these has a meniscus! And the person carrying them to us didn't spill a drop.

It's so nice to see Thais exploring their own country. That statement may sound odd but I remember when there wasn't much of a middle class in Thailand and people didn't have cars which meant that they worked all the time and didn't get to have weekends off to go exploring or if they did, by bus was not the best way to go far. It feels as though Thais are becoming the biggest tourist group in Thailand and to meet them is a joy because they are relaxed and happy and obviously really enjoying their new found middle class. To have seen this transformation again makes me feel old but this time in a good and happy way.

The red plants are celosia. It was a place where a lot of Thai tourists take photos.

We were sort of shooting for a resort at a crossroads but it was not near a town. On the fly, while we were stopped to sip some water, we decided to go four extra miles to the town of Thoeng because neither of us had ever been to Thoeng and there might be better lodging there too. We were ready for a bit of a bigger city experience although Thoeng is not a very big city, just bigger than any place we had been recently. Mostly it's just fun to explore a new place which we always try to do on each successive S.E. Asia bike trip.

In Thoeng we searched around a bit for a hotel. Thoeng is a big crossroads and usually travelers go through Thoeng but don't stay there. That, and it seems during the depths of Covid hotel owners turned their hotels into apartments for Thais in order to make ends meet. Two of the hotels we checked out had definitely turned into an apartment situation.

But, eventually we found a nice resort in a very quiet area on the edge of town right next to the Ing River. One of the housekeepers greeted us in English and right away I knew from the way she spoke English she was not Thai. I asked her where she was from and she said she was from Myanmar. We were delighted because many times Andrea and I have been very sad about what is happening in Myanmar and we are not able to go there at all. We asked her which town and she told us which small towns she was from between and we knew exactly where. It was then her turn to be delighted. I doubt she meets many travelers who know that part of Myanmar that well and she was touched. I could see a moment of reflection, connection, remembrance to her roots. It's always sad to be forced to leave one's family and roots and who knows if she will ever be able to return.

I noticed that she spoke Thai beautifully and I told her so in Thai. She had a quick smile and thanked me under her breath but then it was back to work. She seemed a bit embarrassed because there was another Thai person who had overheard me tell her she spoke Thai well. She had been in Thailand for years but she was still walking the fine line an illegal immigrant must walk and maybe she couldn't fraternize with a traveller too much. She spoke English better than any of the Thais there and she knew it. But she couldn't speak English too much or she would have been seen as taking on airs and acting more important than her Thai co-workers; something she really didn't want. She had to remain in her place, which was a lowly maid and an illegal one at that. I think I read her situation correctly and I didn't ask her any more questions. At least she had that brief moment of remembering her homeland with a couple of people who could understand and share how special a place it is. We gave her something that was brief but special and it was worth going four miles out of our way to be able to do that.

Our bungalow in Thoeng, the one on the end nearest to the Ing River. The name of the hotel or resort was all in Thai but it was located directly behind another hotel called Venus Hotel.

I loved the color of this place. And the price was $10.

lovebruce

Today's ride: 21 miles (34 km)
Total: 735 miles (1,183 km)

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Rachael AndersonWhat a great day! I’m so glad you got to go downhill and avoided any uphill.
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