December 03, 2006

chiangrai 2005 - 18 Ban Panasawun to Ban Heka trek

[151205] third leg of Mae Salong to Ban Klang trek: from Ban Panasawun to Ban Klang & then to Ban Heka....

yet another Akha village:

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e imperata grass thatched roofing is perfect for keeping e sun out & e interiors cool even in e blazing midday heat, no need for air-con =)

on either side of a small bridge:

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everything is dated according to 'nth year of e Republic of China'. e road we have been walking along is called Yong3 Le4 Road

spirit gate of e Akha village:

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salaa with a wonderful view of e valley below right outside e village:

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e kinda place where you can sit down with a good book for a long long time =)

unidentified plant:

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descending into tea plantation near Ban Klang:

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& a final climb up to Ban Klang proper along e Ban Pasang-Mae Salong highway. sat down for ice cream & a chat with Mrs Li, who runs one of e roadside provision stores, & her husband, who has been to Taiwan for higher education. decided to continue with an approx 4km roundtrip to Ban Heka since we'd walked all e way here, & have never visited a Lisu village before....

between schools & villages there will be e trail of non-biodegradable litter left behind by kids:

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photo by YK

in e days before plastic wrappers & tetrapaks & tin cans, littering wasn't so much of a problem. everything was wrapped up in huge teak leaves or fragrant banana fronds that you could throw just about anywhere, & e village cows, pigs, goats, chickens, dogs, rats & ants would take care of it.

left fork goes downhill to Ban Heka:

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Ban Heka:

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photo by YK

only evidence of this being a Lisu village:

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photos by YK

a lady in a traditional light green Lisu top with e characteristic multiple super-thin-coloured-stripes sleeves.

Ban Heka was full of meows:

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back at Ban Klang we had no luck hitching a ride from passing trucks & vans. Mrs Li came to our rescue, hailing 2 passing motorcyclists on their way to Mae Salong & asking them to give us a ride back....YK rode pillion with a young lady who has a Singaporean boyfriend, while e cat got a lift from some guy who was nice enough to drop it off right at e doorstep of Shin Sane =)

YK's choice of strange-looking 'noodles' for dinner at Salema again:

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photo by YK

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