Saturday, March 6 - Driving to Thaton

Saturday, March 6 - Breakfast at six and off at 6:30. We were with Dion again and explored some dirt roads winding through pine forest with occasional wild banana trees. We got some glimpses of rare birds before returning to the hotel to load our bags onto the vans and get some cookies and coffee. We had 45 minutes until we were to leave, so I dashed down the street where I had spied some small shops and took a walk around the block past little stores selling medicinal herbs, mushrooms, groceries and bought a few handicrafts.

We stopped to watch a new wat being constructed by some monks.

We took off back to the main highway leading to the infamous Golden Triangle where we’ll be in a couple of days. After two hours we turned off and reached the Kok River and the Thaton River Resort about one. This is our most basic hotel  (no internet!!)but still very nice. There is a big open air restaurant and a long winding boardwalk that leads to the cabin which overlook the river. The walkway and railings are suffering from tropical rot as is everything that isn’t highly maintained around here. We had a buffet lunch which included French fries much to RR’s delight. I had mushroom soup, curry and papaya and star fruit. We had until 3:30 for siesta so I and a few of the other women walked over to a group of tribal hill women selling handicrafts. They were all wearing elaborate headdresses and embroidered clothing. The older women looked pretty worn and thin, and had badly betel juice-stained teeth, but the younger ones said they were off to school tomorrow, were learning English and looked as if their lives might be a little easier than their parents. I looked too long and got barraged by all the women. I finally told them I'd buy five purses and pointed at five different sellers leaving some very happy and others angry…but what can you do?? Typically they all make the same crafts so its impossible to browse.

I sat on our porch watching the river and saw some young monks splashing and enjoying the water. We’re at a much lower elevation here and have been warned to expect a very hot afternoon and long day tomorrow staring off at 4!!

We assembled at 3:30 and set off for some nearby fields. The ones we went to first were full of weedy, very spiny, low acacia and were very unpleasant to walk in. We drove over the river to a garlic field and walked quite a ways seeing some hawks and starlings. The sun was setting in a brilliant orange ball because of all the smoke in the air. It looked like Los Angeles of 30 years ago before smog was controlled. We finally returned to the hotel and caught quick showers to clean up and cool off and reassembled at 7:30. The golden wat on a hill top across the river began setting off elaborate fireworks as we sat down to dinner. We had a whole fish fried, cut up and reassembled, spicy beef, noodles, fried rice, and for dessert, mango with sticky rice and coconut sauce!

Friday, March 5 - Exploring Doi Ang Khang

Friday, March 5 - We had breakfast at the hotel at 6 AM and off in the vans by 6:30. We all drove to a nearby, but little-used road and walked down it for several hours, seeing many unusual birds and a really neat 8” walking stick insect.

At ten the cooks provided coffee and commercial biscuits of various kinds, today’s specialty being Cream Buns, soft cakes with custard inside.

We continued birding, seeing some nice butterflies, such as the Common Sailor, and then stopped for lunch at a small pull-off. The cooks outdid themselves today, providing us with soup with pork-stuffed squid, sautéed shrimp and a dish of pea tendrils! We returned to the hotel and had a luxurious 3-hour siesta, which I spent catching up on computer stuff in the beautiful hotel lobby and walking around the hotel grounds.

At 3:30 we set off with Dion in one van and cruised through some beautiful flower fields as fresh flowers seems to be a successful local business, and with the King’s encouragement, replacing opium of years past.

We then took a wrong turn and ended up in a tiny village of Chinese who had moved here years ago.

Reversing our route, we ran into a birder who told us about a nearby small hotel with a tiny waterfall where we could find the very rare White-capped Water Redstart. We sat beside the stream for about an hour and got some very good views of this lovely reddish bird with black chest, head and wings and a snowy white cap that skulks along water courses. It was getting late by then, but we continued on trying to see pheasants that come out in the evening. We got back to the hotel at 6:50 and were told to meet for the List at seven, but Dion and David relented and let us off until 7:15 which just gave me time for a quick shower before the usual evening’s activities of List and Thai dinner.

Thursday, March 4 - to Doi Ang Khang

We met at six, loaded onto the vans and drove in the dark up into the park to a side road. The cooks had coffee and donuts ready and after snacking we set off on a crude concrete road that went straight up a steep hill through dry deciduous trees and scrub.

Got some great views of Black-headed and White-bellied Woodpeckers and other birds and returned to the cooks’ van by 8. Bob and I got the cook to whip us up a cheese omelet instead of the fried eggs that were a little cool by that time. We drove to and birded a waterfall and then the rice paddy that I had explored yesterday and finally got back to the hotel to pack up by 10:30.

We sadly left Doi Inthanon Highlands Resort and headed back to the city of Chaing Mai, arriving there at 12:00 at our old friend, the Amari Rincome Hotel, for a large buffet of Italian and Thai food followed by make-your-own sundae with a variety of toppings, mysterious but delicious. We were to meet at 1:45 so I dashed out to a nearby street where some crafts were available - you have to move fast to buy anything on this trip! - and found some nice scarves and fabric stores. Found an ATM as we’re running through our beer/internet/laundry money fast and postage stamps for a few postcards and made it back on the dot for our departure.

We left Chaing Mai, driving past the colorful center strip plantings of bougainvilleas and entered rich agricultural countryside: melons, corn, rice,.


We climbed up and up and gradually approached the Burmese border. The two countries meet at a river that cuts very deeply through sharply rounded peaks creating a stunning landscape.

Unfortunately this is the agricultural burning season and the smoke somewhat dims the views of the mountains. Our poor vans really had to struggle to get up and down the very steep roads, and finally arrived at Ang Khang Nature Resort, a beautiful, quite luxurious, hotel, really in the middle of nowhere! We settled into our nice room for a few minutes and returned to the lobby for the List and dinner of plain rice, fried rice, veggie dishes, chicken, salads. Delicious but too much!!

Wednesday, March 3 - A day off!!

Wednesday, Mar 3 - We were up at 5 to set off at 5:45, and suddenly I knew I had to have a day off. Most of the rest of the trip we’re 1.5 days at a location, but here we’re 2.5, so I told RR I was going to explore and paint and recover from the endless rushing and looking. Got up at seven and wandered over the bridge to the outdoor restaurant. Not much English spoken here but I was able to order coffee and egg and got a full English breakfast: egg, toast, ham, bacon and hotdogs! Managed to eat some of it and set off exploring the grounds of this lovely, tropical hotel. I was the only one about as everyone else seems to be a birder and therefore out birding!

I cleaned up our computer and at 10 AM my sister, Hilary, was on line so we had fun IM-ing for while! I painted a watercolor of the restaurant from our porch and then took off for “town”.

I wandered down the street and off on tiny lanes winding through rice paddies. Everyone seemed rather severe until I smiled and tried the Thai greeting of bowing with hands in the prayer position whereupon I was greeted with smiles and giggles!

I passed a school and got a chorus of “Hello, hello!!” from the kids inside, probably thoroughly interrupting their lesson. I walked about a mile and was getting hungry. I was tempted to try one of the roadside huts displaying delicious-smelling chickens on a spit, but thought Bob wouldn’t approve, so went onto the open porch of a small hotel and by pointing at pictures managed to order a Coke and a large bowl of pork noodle soup which came with green and black leafy veg., pork meatballs and an inch-thick cylinder of egg (soy?) custard sliced into large pieces. Delicious! The staff of four watched me eat as I was the only customer!



I walked back and all the food huts were doing a good business - lunch doesn’t seem to start until 1 PM - and wandered around the hotel grounds and into the woods to look for wildlife- I knew I’d be drilled on what birds I had seen on my slothful day! It was pretty quiet but I saw a few and figured them out.

Back to the hotel, ordered a large Chang beer and did another watercolor from the restaurant terrace which overhangs a pond. I felt really refreshed and relaxed! At five the vans returned and the bedraggled birders trooped in to take showers in preparation for the List and dinner.

Tuesday, March 2- Exploring Doi Inthanon National Park

 Up at 4:30 and met at the buses at 5:15 AM. Pitch black with a setting full moon. The hotel is at about 1000’; about half a mile from it we passed through the entry gate for Doi Inthanon National Park and started climbing up a steep road. After an hour it was starting to get light and we reached the summit of the mountain we had been climbing: the high point of Thailand! 8400’ and very cold! We had been warned to bring some warm clothing and were very happy with our scarves, windbreakers and down vests! There was a chill wind which made the 50 degrees feel colder. (I know this sounds ridiculous to you east coasters, but it was chilly up there!).



Our cooks had coffee and tea ready along with donuts and when it got light enough to see a bit, we set off on a wonderful boardwalk trail though a Sphagnum boggy area. Pine trees and red and white rhododendrons festooned the walk and soon birds were flying in to get the nectar and pollen of the flowers. One spectacular bird was the Green-tailed Sunbird that several of us tried to photograph.



We spent a couple of hours on the walkway before returning to the parking lot where our cooks had yogurt, fruit and eggs ready. We drove down the mountain to 5000’ elevation, took a walk through evergreen forest and saw more species near a lovely waterfall. At one our cooks produced a delicious chicken soup, fish curry, rice and fried fish, followed by pineapple and papaya. We descended to 2000’ and stopped for ice-cream at Mr. Chen’s resort, a famous place for birds, and finished the day at a campground where Dion was able to play a tape recorder and lure out two very rare Black-tailed Crakes who hide in marshy areas.





It was four o’clock by then and a few of us wanted to get back to our hotel and clean up before dinner…we had been birding (and eating)for ten hours by then, so Bob and I and a few other slackers returned and rested before meeting with the others at six for the nightly list and dinner - more delicious curries, shrimp, and veggie dishes.

Monday, March 1 - to Doi Inthanon

Monday, March 1 - The plan was to take our buses to a wildlife area east of Chaing Mai and look for the rare Green Peafowl (peacock) before leaving the city at noon. We awoke at 4:30 and I thought I would take the morning off and explore this old historic city, but at the last minute I decided to go along with the group and we all left in the dark for Huai Kong Krai Agricultural Station and drove for an hour east.



We arrived just as the sun was coming up and on the other side of a reservoir we could easily see emerald Green Peafowl walking about and flying across the water. A really lovely sight. They soon disappeared into the woods and we walked around until eleven birding. We returned to the hotel, packed and left, so I’ve probably missed seeing the old walled city center - probably a poor choice on my part! We drove out of the city, a pleasant, flower-filled bustling city. We headed south and west and arrived in Doi Inthanon at four. Our hotel is a classic tropical small resort. The dining/bar area is completely open air, surrounded by gardens and lily pad-filled ponds and small houses with 3-4 bedrooms in each. Everyone set out to bird, but I needed a little quiet time and had a shower and settled down in the bar with a Large Chang beer and a couple of hours of computer time. At six we all got together for the List (every night on a birding trip the leader reads out all the species seen that day and everyone checks his/her list) and dinner and much needed sleep!

Sunday, Feb 28 to Chaing Mai

Sunday, Feb 28 We were allowed to sleep in a bit today and didn’t meet for breakfast until six AM. We birded the hotel grounds which I haven’t even seen yet (!) and we watched small flocks of Red-breasted Parakeets which Bob really wanted to see. They actually have lovely pink breasts, grey heads and green backs!



We set off for one last birding of the park; this time we rode with Dion and returned to the fruiting tree of yesterday, while David took his group to the far side of the park. Not a great day for birds, but the mammals were great. As we approached the tree, we saw a blond White-handed Gibbon (sometimes they’re brown with white hands) hanging from a branch by one hand and foot. He quickly left but was followed by Black Giant Squirrel and more Northern Pig-tailed Macaques, so named because their tails are only ~8” long. They’re quite tame, but can be dangerous as tourists tend to feed them. We drove on to the Visitors’ Center and had a rare sighting of a Smooth-coated Otter who proceeded to catch and rip apart a foot-long fish!



We had to leave at 10:30 and started on the 2.5 hour drive back to Bangkok. We arrived back at the Novotel Hotel at the airport and had a sumptuous buffet lunch. I had a bowl of Chinese noodles with fish balls and pork which is prepared as you stand there at the Noodle Station. Bob, very happily, had roast beef, potatoes and veg. At three we were herded into the Royal Thai Airlines terminal and onto a 747. The flight is only 45 minutes long, but we were fed a cute lunch box of curried potato empanada and tiny jellied rice flour sweets.



We arrive in Chaing Mai at six, already dark, and drove to our hotel, the Amari Rincome, a gracious old-world hotel with carved wood everywhere and a nice room with a fruit plate on our table and a refrigerator stocked with everything from Toblerone chocolate to condoms! We quickly changed and reassembled in the restaurant which is Italian, a pleasant change. I had risotto with mushrooms. Bed at eleven…..have to meet at 5:15 tomorrow…yikes..