Ingenuity.

There is an often held belief that indigenous people, especially those who have traditionally lived off the land are simple. My background is in Anthropology and this is a concept that I have come across many times. It is know as the myth of the noble savage. I don't particularly care for the term but that is what I know it as. It is the idea that traditional values were noble, simple. That the people who lived in this way would be natural stewards of the land and environment. I think the reason that this is such a popular concept is that it is a lovely ideal to hold up and in someways aspire to. Yet it is an idea that has very little basis in truth. Indigenous peoples were/are certainly less destructive to the environment than modern society, and at first glance, they seem to live very simple lives off the land.

However the lives of indigenous people is anything but simple. It is in fact, every bit as complex and sophisticated as the modern life we lead. I was reminded of this today by an elderly lady that came across our path as we sat and contemplated the first half of the ride that has just taken place. Just past where we were sitting, she bent over and began cutting something off of a tree that was growing near the path. I went over to see what she was collecting and found that she was cutting the tree open and removing some of the wood. The part that she was taking wood looked as if it was part of a different plant that was a parasite of the main tree. She handed us a piece of the wood, making the hand to mouth motion. The taste was almost exactly that of cinnamon toast crunch minus some of the sweetness.

Returning to the point, we tend to think that our modern lives are more complex and sophisticated than those of people who live off the land. For example, I know how to use a computer while this elderly lady who clearly lives part of her life off what she can find in the forest or can grow herself likely does not. Yet sitting there, watching her harvest the wood from this tree brought me to thinking that while I have one highly specialized skill set, she has another that I lack. She was not just wondering the forest, looking for something that might suit her needs, she had a very specific idea where to find it, how long it had been since it had been harvested last, the use of the plant that she was harvesting and likely a word to describe exactly what it is. I on the other hand have none of this knowledge. Is there a value judgment to be made here? I am I a better person because I can operate a computer? Her because of her knowledge of plants and animals that are useful? Is it truly a case of the noble savage, pitted against the modern world that seeks to harness the earth to our own means while in the meantime destroying that what supports us? Or are we all the same, with a very specific set of skills, handed to us by the culture we have been raised in?

Thai Life.

I have been hearing stories lately of a stabbing at a local market. From what I understand of the indecent two food vendor had been bickering about a prime piece of space in front of the market in which to sell their goods. They were apparently very quite about the whole thing and many people I talked to had no idea that the two had been arguing at all. Until one day last week, tensions rose to the point where one of the two lost control and stabbed the other (as well as his son from what I hear). Incidents like this serve to remind me that it is not all sunshine and roses here all the time. Thailand, while being a wonderful place to live, is just like any place. It has its good and its bad points, its friendly and caring people and a certain number of people who just could not care less about being proper.

This is also a good reminder of what can happen on the roads here. Thai drivers are notoriously unpredictable and at the worst of times aggressive. As a motorcyclist, I am fairly vulnerable to the whims of drivers in cars. This incident also reminds me to be a polite driver myself. I have heard many stories here of motorcyclists or drivers in cars being accosted for wronging someone in one way or another. Before I left for holiday there was a news story of a German man being shot to death by boy in a car. As the story goes, something as simple as the motorcyclist cutting the driver off, resulted in the driver of the car knocking over the motorcycle at the next intersection, followed by the motorcyclist throwing his helmet at the boy. The end result was the German man being shot dead at the intersection. I'm not going to lay any fault here or make any judgments about the incident. I will only let it serve as a reminder to myself and others to take care on the roads and treat others with the respect and dignity oneself would like to be treated with.

Doi Pui

One of the things I love about living in Chiang Mai is that you don't really have to go very far to get away from it all. You barely have to leave town really. While just twenty minutes away Doi Pui offers some great opportunities to explore that rarely see much traffic. The first part of the ride up to Doi Suthep is packed with people making the drive/walk/bike up to the temple, and while the temple is beautiful, it is most often packed with people. A bit farther up the mountain however and the people thin out. And for those that seek something off the beaten track the fire roads that wind their way up and bypass the peak of Doi Pui offer some very rewarding riding in their own right.

Only twenty minutes away, these trails that wind their way up the mountain, offer a respite from the congestion that plagues daily life in Chiang Mai. I have ridden these trails a number of times and have yet to see a single other person up there. Perhaps it is the lack of any obvious tourist attractions. Perhaps people just don't know about them. (I didn't for a long time). Whatever the reason, the summit of Doi Pui warrants some serious exploration.


Even the view point looking over Doi Inthanon in the distance, a place that is on most tourist maps, rarely sees many people. It offers a great place to just sit and watch the sun go down. A place to breath in the cool air and relax before heading down the mountain back into the chaos of city life.

More Chiang Dao

Chiang Dao.

Riding again.

Chiang Mai is hot. There is no other way to put it. Oppressively hot. I spent the last month in Canada and the weather was wonderful. I could not have asked for better weather being Canada and prone to be very cold and snowy in April.

However, I'm back in Thailand and it is HOT here.

As always the only places that are reasonable in terms of heat, are the mountains and the malls. Me not being very much for the mall does not leave me with very much in the way of options.

I have been riding the roads south of Chaing Mai a disproportionately large amount before I left and when presented with the opportunity to do some riding near Chaing Dao, I jumped at the chance. Once past the oppressive traffic around Mae Rim the riding is quite nice. Even the highway up to Chiang Dao is relatively relaxed, with wide sweeping bands of pavement and surprisingly little traffic. Just before reaching Chiang Dao, we turned off the highway with the intention of going to Pakhia and making a loop back towards Chiang Mai. Of course even the best laid plans sometimes go astray and instead of making a loop like we had originally planned, we ended up losing our way and riding the same roads back and forth before eventually getting kicked out on the same road we entered on.

There is something I very much like about getting lost. It has never been something I have been afraid of and indeed, I have come to relish the possibilities that present themselves when you are lost. Being lost is really the only time in our modern lives when we are really feel like we are exploring. It gives one a feeling of being beyond the confines of a map. Every juncture in the road requires critical thinking and an advanced sense of where you are trying to go, even if you only know in direction. You start to build landmarks when you are lost, committing details to memory that would normally pass you by. The shape of a mountain in the distance. A tree next to a fork in the road. Little things that you might need later. Being lost also forces me to leave behind any sense of urgency, if you have no idea where you are going, you can't be in a hurry to get there. It reminds me of a quote from Lewis Carroll

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there."