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Young Western
backpackers were the pioneers of Thailand's eco-adventure travel. From informally organized small groups in the early 1970s that
penetrated to the mountain fastnesses of Thailand's northern hill tribes, the trekking industry has developed so rapidly over
the past couple of decades that nearly every hotel and guesthouse
in the northern capital of Chiang Mai now arranges hill tribe tours. More than 100 agencies are registered as members of the
Professional Guide Association of Chiang Mai and the Jungle Tour Club
of Northern Thailand.
Beyond Chiang
Mai, agencies in smaller northern towns also arrange hilltribe
treks: Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Pai, Chiang Dao, Wiang Papao,
Mae Taeng, Mae Sai,
Tha Ton, Mae Sot, Khun Yuam, Mae Sariang,
and Umphang. A typical hill tribe tour involves a group of six
to ten trekkers, a guide, a cook, overnight stays in hill tribe villages, and a hike of four, five, or even ten days.
While trekking
has become a more up-market industry - often with elephant rides
and raft trips thrown into the package - the slog up and down
mountain trails still demands youthful stamina. The old, the
infirm, and the physically unfit will simply not be up to the
demands of long hikes coupled with hot sun, drenching rain, and
basic food. This aspect of the hill tribe trek has not changed
at all.
Still, the trekking
business has become more sophisticated in recent years. Now it
provides a neat package of transport, three daily meals, village
accommodation, and basic first aid. Wary of over-exposing remote hill tribe
villages, tour groups generally take care to space
out their visits and to avoid overlapping the trekking areas
of other groups.
The Professional
Guide Association of Chiang Mai meets monthly to issue regular
reports to the Tourism Authority of Thailand about individual
treks, their problems and successes. Members also cooperate in
setting trek prices.
Weather is a
factor too in choosing a hill tribe trek. The cool winter months
of
November to February are the best time to travel. Avoid the
height of the rainy
season in August and September. In the dry
months between March and May, the temperature can soar uncomfortably
high for strenuous mountain hikes.
Treks are designed
to expose visitors to a variety of hill tribes who typically live
at various mountain elevations. They grow temperate-climate fruits
and vegetables. Clinging to the highest hilltops are the poorest
tribes, the Akha and Hmong, once closely associated with opium
poppy cultivation. The Tribal Research
Institute in Chiang Mai recognizes ten different hill tribes in
Thailand, estimating their population
at around 550,000. Numbers
are necessarily vague, given the isolation and semi-nomadic character
of the groups.
Trekking,
Rafting, Elephant Riding
Northern Thailand
offers an infinite variety of hill tribe tours, by foot, by raft,
by
elephant. The Kok River is a favorite thoroughfare for visits
to hill tribe villages north
and south of its banks. At the riverbank
town of Tha Thon, hiking and raft trips can be arranged.
Rafting can
be arranged either on a typical bamboo raft or in an inflatable
boat. Going more up-market, some tours employ a spacious steel-hulled
raft with a bamboo roof. Going cheaper, it is possible to arrange
your own group and rent a house raft.
West of Chiang
Mai, near the Burmese border, Mae Hong Son has several guesthouses
that specialize in hill tribe treks. South of Chiang Mai, in Tak
province,
the small town of Umphang has developed into another center for
hill tribe trekking. Populated mainly by Karen, Umphang
is a popular jumping-off point for treks to more remote villages.
Further south,
in the heavily forested province of Kanchanaburi, tour operators
offer
raft trips down the river, with side excursions to the
Bridge on the River Kwai, the
War Museum, and Hell Fire Pass.
Gulf
of Thailand Islands
Although virtually
every beach along the coast of the 247-square-kilometre island
has a resort village, Ko Samui's main beaches are still Chaweng
and Lamai. Of the 250 bungalow resorts, a third are concentrated
on Chaweng, the island's longest beach.
A few A-frame beach huts
are clustered at the north end of Chaweng, change to concrete
bungalows near the central beach.
Behind the line
of beach resorts, a secondary road is flanked by Thai and European
restaurants, grocery stores, curio shops, beer bars, and throbbing
mega -discos.
Local laws prevent structures rising taller than
coconut palms, so the beach has retained its easy-going, rustic
charm. Further south, Lamai Beach is flanked by hills. On these
perch some of the more attractive resorts.
Outside the
two main beaches , there are scores of other attractive resort
sites. The most luxurious resort on the island is the Imperial
Tongsai Bay, a Spanish mission-style complex with a private beach,
a free-form swimming pool, tennis courts, and sailing boats.
On the other
end of the economic scale is Ko Phangan, the backpacker haven.
The main beach is Hat Rin, on the Southwest coast, with many
others curving along
coves scattered about the east and west
coasts of the island.
Ko Samui serves
as the embarkation point not only for Ko Phangan but also for
Ang Thong National Park, 40 small islands with sheer limestone
cliffs, hidden lagoons,
and deserted white sand beaches. Samui-based
boat tour operators run daily trips to the Ang Thong archipelago,
30 kilometers Northwest.
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