CHIANGRAI – Many places in Thailand, including Prachinburi, Pitsanulok, Ayudtaya, Petchabun, Muang Nong Bua Lam Phu and MaeSuay, ChiangRai, are “San” shrines (spirit residences) for King Naresuan the Great (Somdet Pra Naresuan Maharat; สมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราช or Somdet Phra Sanphet II, สมเด็จพระสรรเพชญ์ที่ 2).

From the age of 20, Naresuan (then Pra Naret) participated in 29 military campaigns with major battles between large armies, and as King, busy conquering, spent only 2 years in his capital. A map at his MaeSuay shrine shows Naresuan to have controlled all of Cambodia and Laos, parts of Western Vietnam, southern Burma to the Irrawaddi and most of the Shan States, west past the Salween and north to Hsenwi, where the Shawbwa was a friend from childhood. This map is fanciful fabrication.

In a time of great martial instability, Pra Naret was able to quickly raise armies and defeat other armies. This had nothing to do with administering a country, but everything to do with re-establishing one of the greatest port-trading communities on the world. Trade made might, Lanna was no more, and mainland Southeast Asia was becoming a busier, more international area. The idea of a country had only started to take root; the idea of Siam, as opposed to Ayudtaya, was equally new. At the time, international borders simply did not exist (feudal obligations did). The idea of restoring some former Siamese glory from that time is but myth, wishful thinking, or delusion, but the existence of these shrines testifies to its active continuance.

At the shrines are hundreds of plaster-cast roosters, a symbol memorializing a story of Pra Naret beating the Burmese Crown Prince at a fighting cock contest: “Not only can this cock champion a money bet, it can also fight for kingdoms,” Pra Naret is said to have said.

Naresuan (the ‘Black Prince, พระองค์ดำ) started rebuilding recently destroyed Ayudtaya about 1580; with powerful Dutch and British traders joining Arab, Indian, Persian, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and French ones, it had been, and would soon again be, the busiest port in Southeast Asia. Naresuan captured Siamreap, Battambang and other important Cambodian cities, as  King Boromoraja of Cambodia had invaded Siam a year after Bayinnaung (Burengnong) sacked Ayudtaya. Burengnong had annexed ChiangMai and the rest of Lanna in 1556, invaded Ayudtaya in 1563, took most of it 1564, and finally sacked the city of over a million in 1569.

In 1594, and Cambodia became a vassal state of Siam, ruled by its own prince, Soryopor (who became Barom Reachea IV). Naresuan left a Siamese army there, but it was driven out by Rama Chungprey in 1595. Cambodia wasn’t annexed, only paralyzed – so that Naresuan could deal with his Burmese arch-enemies without danger at his back; Siam needed ports on the Indian Ocean, so in 1593, Naresuan took Tavoy and Tenasserim. He then aided a successful Mon rebellion from Moulmein, took Martaban, and marched on Toungoo. But his successes ended there. A pustule, most likely of smallpox, suppurated, and he died in 1605. For the brief period that Naresuan was master of much of Cambodia and some of southern Burma, his rule over Ayudtaya’s (Siam’s) north wasn’t yet established.

His successor Egatosrost (Ekat’otsarat, aka Ekathotsarot the White, Naret’s younger brother) abandoned Siamese efforts in the Shan States. In 1610 Ekat’otsarat was succeeded by Int’araja (“The Just”). Local Japanese sacked Ayudtaya, while the King of LuangPrabang attempted to come to their aid. Order was restored in 1612, but the Burmese soon recovered Moulmein and Tavoy. Laotian kings and continued to rule throughout. The empire of Naresuan as depicted by the MaeSuay map never existed.

Why is this ancient history of significance? Mostly because of the immense popularity of small computerized communication devices.

Once again there’s a glut of drugs in Thailand. Only this time, men in uniform who aren’t just the usual lowly hired mules (usually poor tribal folk) are getting caught. Whether any of them actually serve much in the way of time, or catch much else in the way of punishment, is hardly of importance. That once again, there are significantly armed competitors is (back in the 50s to early 60s, Thai military and police were that). Now, who is directing what is hardly clear.

A main reason for the new situation is the “opening up” of Myanmar (an euphemism, to be sure). In the northern areas, especially, is much untapped mineral wealth. But locals, with a long history of brutal, ruthless and completely conscience-free exploitation of jade, are wary (to put it mildly). The Kachin (not a tribe, but an amalgamation of peoples) know that they are hardly likely to benefit from mining. Others know that mining there could elevate them onto the map of real global wealth.

So, Chinese triads (from China, Thailand and perhaps elsewhere), corrupt governments of the region, corrupt men in uniform of high rank, secret agents for global mega-corps and a few significant others hardly wise to mention are vying for position, and position means control of private armies. Which demands lots of ready cash, arms and experienced men, in place to protect mining operations when they at last can begin. And active drug marketing as the best route to efficiently and effectively accomplish that.

Conspiracy theory? Sure. So what. To deny conspiracy is about as wise as to deny science. It is happening, with results of jails full of inexplicable varieties of folk: pretty young girls, middle-aged peasants with mysterious but ample financial backing, foreigners, and occasionally even the type of person hardly ever imprisoned around here before (except for reasons of political activism): the educated, connected and financially competent. Illegal casinos are booming, as is export of stolen vehicles from Thailand to Myanmar. Many were but “mules” transporting contraband to get some otherwise very difficult to obtain money, working for one uniformed faction or another then caught by a rival faction.

The Burmese regime continues to kill in Kachin State, while meanwhile adverts for novice business correspondents to write articles in English for Burmese periodicals appear on Facebook (wanna buy a bridge?). Daw Aung San Suu Chi has helped northerners fight some mining, but the potential money will clearly match what is there to fight it; looks to me a bit like the “Blood diamonds” thing.

Oh my but it is truly scary. The lust for wealth, power and serious involvement in international business eclipses all sense. In Laos, a government opposed to modern mercantile, materialistic greed has caused there to be no animal life left to be seen – all killed by a very hungry populace. By April, the air here in northern Thailand will be almost unbreathable again, due to burning fields and now even mountaintops, for increased corn crops. And the Thai government will be going broke from its populist rice pledging scheme (the warehouses are full of rotting rice, while businessmen buy rice from neighboring countries for export). Oh my but it is sad.

As long as the Western mad lust of gluttony, cheap WallMart crap and angry intoxication remains, the “Third World” will become an increasing danger to that Western society, so dependent on sweatshop labor, exploitation of our Earth’s underground (well, and above-ground) wealth, and the use of force.

There are those with power who dream of a Southeast Asian EU-type amalgamation, of Bangkok-centered control over all that Naresuan ever had power over, and even power and influence sufficient to rival that of China and the Chinese. But it is more fighting over a scrap-heap than planning for a viable future. As I write, trucks are carrying dirt from our Himalayan foothills to cover other dirt as just another real-estate bubble prepares to burst, when Bangkok people attempting to flee the dangers of that morass find out that there simply won’t be enough income here for them. The US and European economies may receive a short-term fix, but it simply can’t be sufficient for all the world’s people to have cars, refrigerators and rare-earth powered communication devices. Naresuan tried to grab more than he could keep or use; we’re doing it too.

CHIANGRAI TIMES – Joel Barlow – My wife said it is, but she was just trying to get me interested. I didn’t find out what kind it is, besides “giant” (yak, yaksa – ยักษ์ ). But it’s big enough to be interesting, and in an interesting area with lots of tribal villages, terraced rice paddies, river views, hot springs, waterfalls, shrines and hill-top temples. Much of that is covered at www.chiangraiprovince.com/guide, recommended at guest houses, and so easy to find that quite a good number of tourists here do.

Big on the backpacker hit-list are Doi Klong Khai Rice-box Hill, Huay Mak Liam Hotsprings and the suspension motorcycle bridge, all in the area. Not so well-known is the huge tree. It’s even an easy bike ride out – only 14 km. from the Den Ha intersection where SanKhong Noi and RatchYotha cross. 7.2 km. from Don’s Café, with Western food from noon on. At a large picture of the King under a red corrugated roof, with two red pillars to the front, turn left: there are blue signs to the “Ton Ngoon” and Huai Kaeo Waterfall on botyh sides of the road just south of the Kok river (following along it from not far past Hang Dong). Start watching after the tree (with tree shrine) in the middle of the road, it’s about 1.5 km. past that, at Ban Huai Pu Patana.

The tree, I’m guessing, is at least 150 feet tall, 30 foot wide at the base, and when the trunk becomes round, it’s circumference might be 18 feet.
Although most trees here have some leaves in February, this one won’t until maybe May. But that means you can see the many huge bee hives attached to branches. The Ruesi hermit statue between trunk ridges is also pretty cool, especially as there’s a clay water-pot with wood nam-boui dipper by it, in old traditional fashion. Quite nearby is a Karen village (Mu 8) with lots of black pigs, a mountain stream and lots of hints as to what life around here used to be like before things got so accessible.

Southeast Asia has several folk beliefs about what a woman should do after giving birth; here’s one from Chiangrai’s hill people:
Sometimes after giving birth, a woman will become “pit duan” – thin and weak with yellow, itchy skin. To avoid this condition, a restricted diet is recommended: no beef, pork or regular chicken, only Kai Dam black chicken. Some kinds of fruit, vegetables and fish are OK, others not. Some chickens have all black meat and black bones, some have white bones and meat (like KFC or 5 Star), and there are gradations in between. Kai Dam is good, Kai Khao (white) OK, but yellow meat is regarded as distinctly bad. It makes new mothers weak, and to avoid that, many people are glad to pay extra (i.e. B150 as opposed to B120 per kilo) for the black meat on black bones, preferably from free-range chickens. That is thought best, for at least a month!

In fact, Gai Dam do have better protein, more amino acids, less fat and cholesterol, and other health benefits. Another chicken belief involves the Kai Khon Fu, fluffy, kinda scary-looking chicken. Raise that kind, and ghosts won’t bother you, won’t enter your house. Especially if someone has died there, this is seen as important. The fluffy feathers somehow close the door to the spirit’s return. Without the guardian chicken, the ghost might enter the body of some animal, and reek who knows what havoc…Joel Barlow

CHIANGRAI TIMES – There is now bus service from ChiangRai to LuangPrabang Laos – only B950, leaving daily at 1 p.m.! One is even given enough time to arrange a “visa on arrival” (good for two weeks) at the border.

On 19 Jan. 2012, bus service began from from ChiangMai to LuangPrabang began, reportedly leaving CM daily at 1 p.m, routing through ChiangRai. By the 23rd, the price was said to have dropped from B950 to B735. When I asked about that at the bus station, however, they disclaimed any knowledge about it.

From Chiang Rai the 2nd class, air-conditioned, 44 seat bus goes to Chiang Khong. Before this service opened, one had to make separate arrangements to the border, and once over the border you could get a Lao bus north to LuangNamTha, then on to UdomXai and LuangPrabang; this sometimes took three days.

Now the “999” bus office in ChiangKhong allows passengers holding tickets by 3:00 p.m. to be taken by tuk-tuk to Thai Immigration, ferried across the Mekong, and then, once again by tuk-tuk, taken on to the bus station a few kilometers out, for 5 p.m. departure. The ferry and tuk-tuk both sides are included in the price (whether B950 or B735). The ChiangKhong “Boh-Koh-Soh 999” bus station office is scheduled to be to be open from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. I didn’t check the new Amphoe ChiangRai station hours, but they are at least that.

Total distance by road ChiangRai to LuangPrabang 610km. It’s over 200 km. from HuayXai to the Chinese border, which this route almost reaches (just over 190 km to LuangNamTha). About 80% of the road is good, but it’s often narrow; HuayXai to Boten (at the China border) is wide and being upgraded. It’s believed that this will become an active highway, but that remains to be seen.

On the internet I found mention of a VIP bus, but again, the agents at the ChiangRai central bus station disclaimed any knowledge. They did say that the trip takes 12 to 13 hours; on the Net the VIP Bus is reported as 12 -15 hours, and the 2nd class bus as taking 18 hours, which would have one arriving in LuangPrabang at a more reasonable hour. Should one arrive an hour after midnight, prior arrangements for accommodations would be a good thing indeed! The Lao VIP bus might be something which can be arranged in ChiangRai at the new bus station, as claimed on www.thaivisa.com Chiangrai forum, but perhaps only at the tour agency offices. One report of the VIP bus mentions only 25 seats, but no aircon, no reclining seats, no service, and not enough seats for everybody. It was “very noisy, dirty, cold and we could only sit straight. There was 1 stop of 15 minutes, and a very short toilet stop. The total trip took more than 12 hours. Our clothes and personal belongings got very dirty and many people were coughing or having problems to breathe. Even though we were very tired, we could not sleep, since probably due to the bad suspension of the bus we were shaken in all directions, and several times and had to hold on to the chair in front”…

Plans to construct a bridge from ChiangKhong to HuayXai by late 1997 were derailed by the economic crash but it should be completed soon, perhaps this year. On one’s own, you present your passport at Thai Immigration by the river (open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.); they put an exit stamp in, give you a white departure card and then take your picture (normally done in about five minutes). You walk twenty meters to the river and take a small ferry boat across to the Laos Immigration, directly across the river: B30 for you and B10 for your baggage. This also takes about five minutes.

At HuaiXai one can get a Visa on Arrival, usually for US$35 (or B1500; the visa cost ranges between $30-$42 US, depending on your nationality. For Swiss, Japanese and South Koreans it’s free. The cost in Euros tends to be the same as the dollar cost, with Lao authorities ignoring exchange rate differentials). It’s a dollar extra on weekends. You only need to complete their form, and present one passport-size picture (or a photocopy of your passport information page) with your passport. There are money changers on the Thai side, so you don’t need to pay in baht (which can save you a reasonable bit). The Laos Visa on Arrival is Single Entry.

Upon exiting Laos Immigration, one can catch a tuk-tuk out to where the bus station is, 7 km south of town, and catch the regular Laos VIP bus – which leaves at 5:00 p.m. everyday. This VIP Bus has been running from HuayXai to LuangPrabang for over a year.

A warning: on arriving in Houay Xai, you might be approached by touts asking about your next destination. If you answer Luang Prabang, you may be pressured to reserve a ticket on a VIP bus, because the bus is invariably “sold out”. The ticket offered will be priced at something ridiculously high, perhaps 210,000-260,000 kip. Upon arriving at the bus station, you’ll be handed a ticket with the actual price, 145,000 kip, on it! At the bus station you can get a ticket all the way to Vientiane for 210,000 kip.

The local bus to Luang Prabang is about US$12 (110000 kip) at the station itself, a couple bucks more when arranged at a guesthouse or through an agent. They’ll claim the trip is 10 hours, but often turns out to be 15. The bus station is 7km from the town. However, if you buy the ticket at the bus station rather than through your guesthouse or agent then the price is lower (perhaps 145,000 kip, around US $14.50). You are told the journey is 10 hours but it can turn out to be 15 hours or more, so be prepared. Local buses leave 9 a.m. and either 12:30 or 2 p.m., and cost 60,000 kip at the station. From a guest house you might choose to pay 95,000 kip (about 350 baht) for a “package” including the 10 minute tuk-tuk ride to the bus station (usually only about 10,000 kip). There’s also the option of going by songthaew to LuangNamTha – they leave when filled, from early morning to after midnight, and cost about US$7.  The hotels in Luang Namtha said to be clean and cheap.

The local buses have a lunch stop along the way. The road (Hwy. 3) has been completely sealed, but some big sections in the middle have been churned up by trucks, which adds time to the trip. From LuangNamTha, it’s about 300 km. further to LuangPrabang (on Hwy. 13). From LuangNamtha to UdomXai the road has recently been resurfaced, but work is still being done on the verges. From UdomXai to PakBeng, only about 80 km., the road is bad, and that section often takes about three hours. Various obstacles may occur elsewhere, but there haven’t been any reports of Farang getting killed by bandits for several years now.

The area traversed is scenic, rural, and mountainous. The scenery is reportedly much better than the LuangPrabang – Vientienne route, but some areas are just rubber plantations, and about half the bus trip (or more) takes place at night. On one’s own, one can make stops, for instance, at “Gibbon Experience” in Don Chai, Bokeo Province, where you can stay in tree-houses and glide along zip-lines to view some of the last black-cheeked gibbons in Laos. There are also many tribal peoples, from about 30 ethnicities, including Khmu, Hmong, Lao Loum, Lahu, Akha, Pu Tai, Phou Noy, and Tai Lue. Driving on one’s own can be arranged, but as driving is on the right (as opposed to the left in Thailand), and you need to make local insurance arrangements, that’s of questionable advisability (much better for large parties than small).

For cycling, it depends on how well the hard-top has weathered, since it was last re-surfaced. It can be done, but there’s a lot of dust, and LuangNamTha to OudomXai can be quite bad.

HouayXai’s tiny airport has service to and from Luang Prabang and also Vientiane (about US$ 46 and $88, respectively). There’s also Lao Aviation service at LuangNamTha.

Arriving back to Thailand overland can mean that you will be given only a tourist visa, valid for just fourteen days.

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