Day 2- From the Lahu hill tribe to the "Shan" village

I woke up to the sound of pigs and roosters running around underneath me. I walked out on the porch and see my 8yo friend using a machete the size of her torso to cut up some slop to feed the pigs. Suddenly there are 6 or 7 little piglets that come running out of the brush to greet her.  

We bid our Lahu hosts farewell after breakfast and head out for our longest trekking day. We're told it will be approximately 8 hours of hiking through jungle forest and mountainous trails. Initially we hike uphill through jungle forest, reaching a ridgeline that opens our path for a good part of the day. This portion of the trek is a challenging jungle trek for about 12 miles, with the final 2 miles rewarding us with truly spectacular views. The only view that wasn't spectacular, was a GIANT spider along the path hanging right next to the largest poison ivy plants I've ever seen.  Had to be super careful going through there! En route, we pass through a local coffee plantation and a rubber tree farm.  

Rubber tree farm

Giant spider! Measures from fingertip to my wrist! 

Green tea bunch, fresh picked on the hill side

This evening is spent in an impressive "Shan" village. The Shan of Thailand, or Thai Yai (Great Thai) as they 

are known locally, are a small but significant Tai-speaking ethnic group in North Thailand. Their historical 

roots are in Yunnan, China. Only about 30,000 Shan live in Thailand, mainly in the Maehongson province, west of Chiang Mai and near the northwestern border. The Shan are of Thai descent and speak a Thai dialect. The language is related to Thai and Lao, with a written script that is less complicated than Thai. Few of the younger generation of Thailand-educated Shan can read their own language, but all of them still speak it. The majority of Shan are farmers growing rice to eat and a variety of crops to sell in the market- especially coffee. 

Prayer and offerings to the monk

Most Shan are Buddhists. The life of most communities is centered around the temple and its rituals. Every morning the villagers bring food and pray with the monk that passes through. The Buddhist lunar calendar structures the ceremonial cycle with four holy days each month. There are temple festivals celebrating events in the Buddha’s life. The Shan insist that they do not worship evil spirits, only good spirits. However, there is a very real fear of spirits evident among them. Almost every house has a 'spirit house' out front which houses a good spirit to ward off any evil spirits that may try to disturb them.

It was really great to do a home-stay with a Shan family and see what their life is really like. The house was covered in house plants which the woman sells at the market. There were also tons of bags of coffee beans which is their main source of income. They grow coffee beans and shell them and dry them. The entire roof of the house next door is covered in coffee beans which are drying in the sun. I head inside to scope out the basic house of our host family. The woman even put up mosquito netting for us westerners so we don't get eaten alive.... a good thing since I forgot to take my anti-malarials! Woops.

Home stay

Cooking, or grilling, our breakfast.

Coffee beans drying on the roof top next door.

It was nice to be able to take a shower, though the 'hot' water comes and goes and the shower is in a shared room with the toilet and part of the kitchen sink. One interesting thing that I noticed as I was getting ready for bed, was this couple has cell phones, but no consistent electricity or matress. I think I'd go for the mattress over the cell any day. Our guide is friends with this family so they spend the evening catching up and I play with the 2 puppies who I named Max and Bella.

Max (left), Bella (right)