From around the corner of the hill came a dust cloud. I covered my nose and mouth as we drove through. Around the corner there was a ute in the gutter of the road, on the wrong side. A woman with baby and two men got out. Their car was a bit damaged, but they looked ok, so we drove on.
This is ‘Death Highway’. Originally named that way because of the guerilla activity hindering highway development, but that ended in the 80s. But lives are still lost thanks to the steep and winding road with treacherous turns.
150km from Mae Sot to Um Phang, mostly following the Burmese border south. I’m in a sorngtaaou, the utes with benches along the side that are the public busses in Thailand, usually for short distances in towns. This was supposed to be a 4 or 5 hour trip, but I was in it for nearly 7 hours. I know there’s something as ‘Thailand’ time, but this trip must have been exceptionally long as the guys at the bus station laughed at us arriving so late.
It took about an hour to leave Mae Sot, piling people and stuff (bags of corn on cobs, peanuts in shells, rice, flowers, clothes, small trees and an engine) into the back of the sorngtaaou, and much more stuff on the roof, including my bag with laptop.
When I thought we were full and leaving, we stopped after 100m to pile in more stuff. Then at the bus station for more stuff. Then a few 100m out of town for 3 more people, two of which sat on top of stuff, and forcing one young man to stand on the back and hang on.
A few kilometres out of town we added more people. Some got on the roof.
For most of the trip there was 13 adults, one child and one baby in the back, a woman in the front with the driver and at least one person on the roof.
They were all refugees, hilltribe people from Burma. There have been large refugee camps along this border since 1984. Over 120,000 are registered, many more probably not. They have thai identity cards, but their travel is restricted. It’s a crazy situation, but better than the violence in Burma.
We stopped at many roadblocks along the way, checking identity cards (not mine).
The girl next to me keeps falling asleep bent over, and often ends up half on my lap. The older woman in front of me on the bag of rice is pretty much between my feet and holds on to my knee to keep steady.
We stop halfway, and moments later we pass a huge refugee camp where most get out, but the sorngtaaou soon fills up with new people. More children this time, and they can’t handle the bends in the road, so there’s vomiting. Some ended up inside, so from then my head is mostly half out, as I come close to vomiting too.
There’s at least three people on the roof now! Hopefully they’re not sitting on my laptop!
So I arrived in Um Phang in the dark, and the driver who speak very little English had some trouble finding Trekker Hill Guesthouse, which is a place I had recommended to me, and was in the Lonely Planet. Finally found it, and it was full!! Gah, every where I’ve been till now has been half empty!!(except Julies in Chiang Mai). Went next door, which the owner said was ok, but they don’t really speak english here. When I asked about eating/a restaurant (using hand signals), the lady gave me a phone number. Called it and turned out to be the owner of Nada Tours, Nada, which also own this accommodation. She drove up and took me to a restaurant with an english menu. Apparently there are two in town. There were four other westerners (the first I’ve seen since breakfast!), but they’re not doing any tours, and they were older, couples.
I ate a lovely dish of chicken and cashew nuts (my first meat in over 2 weeks!) and then walked home. I knew where I was on the map I had, but the map didn’t have many street names and was vague, so I got a bit lost before finding this place again, phew! Wasn’t much fun walking nearly deserted streets with dogs barking at me, my bottom lip may have trembled a bit, meh!
This morning after I woke up I sat outside on my verandah, and within 5 minutes a thai man greeted me in English and asked if I wanted to come along to pick up some trekkers at the end of their trek near a river. No idea where exactly we were going, or for how long, of course I said yes! I hadn’t had breakfast, but ate some crackers I still had.
This man, Sunshine, used to be a guide for Trekker Hill Guesthouse, but now just was a driver sometimes. His main job is now with AMI, a european NGO supporting the burmese refugees here. He drives refugees from the camps to the hospitals.
On the weekends he still does some driving for Trekker Hill, to earn some extra money.
We drove for half an hour on a road to Palatha village, but before we got there we turned into a dirt road to the river. There we waited for a danish family to finish there 3 day trek, the last few hours by elephant.
While waiting there was also a french backpacker who’d just finished a three day trek, just him and a guide.
I crossed the big bamboo bridge (built new every year for when the river is high) and took some photos of the danish family getting of their elephants.
Back to Um Phang, and now wondering if I should go on a one, two or three day trek, and if they’ll let me go on my own or find me a group. Talking to the french guy, going on your own definitely has it’s advantages!
Now it’s time for some lunch, and to write about the other adventures of the past week or two!
who Simone helemaal te gek joh.