We extended our stay in Thailand a little, to spend more time in the forests and jungle of northern Thailand. We headed to Nan, a good departure spot from which to reach several trekking areas, notably Doi Phu Kha National Park.
We had several days of great hiking in Doi Phu Kha, including scaling two 6,000-foot peaks. We hiked in evergreen jungle, and in pine forest. There are some very bizarre trees, including an ancient palm that looks straight out of Jurassic Park (it dates from the dinosaur era, and occurs only in a few spots in SE Asia.). We also saw a full grow tree of the same type as we had on our porch in Pasadena. After several years in Oregon and one year in Pasadena it had grown to about six feet. The one in the forest had a trunk as big around as me, and was probably fifty feet tall!
One hike was up a new nature trail. It was incredible. We started in a low, creek area with deciduous forest, and then ascended into a pine forest. Above that was an evergreen rain forest, with palms, ferns, vines and bananas. The upper story of the jungle was 150 feet magnolia trees! Eventually, we poked through at the top of the ridge for a view of the whole area.
Doi Phu Kha clearly is a beautiful spot. We hiked down to a wonderful waterfall (Ton Tong). We watched the stars at night. We also enjoyed the tranquility of the outdoors. We started each day with an hour of yoga. We hiked until about 2 pm, and then showered and relaxed for the rest of the day. Good mental health.
Thailand is making major investments in this park. There are new trails being built, new buildings, and new campgrounds. There are scores of park employees and contractors working at headquarters. The workers greatly outnumber the visitors!
But ultimately, we left the National Park earlier than we expected. We just couldn't take the non-stop burning of the forest. The whole of northern Thailand seems to be burned in March, getting ready for planting crops. In the mountains, the forest is cleared and burned to grow sticky rice. So, most of Doi Phu Kha National Park is not protected forest, but is instead agricultural land. For many of the hill tribe people, it is subsistence living and the rice is their mainstay. The hills are very steep, and the soil weak, so the people clear and burn new areas every year.
We couldn't take the burning on two levels. First, our eyes stung and it was hard to breath, especially at night. Second, it is incredibly sad to see such a beautiful area being destroyed so rapidly. Thailand has dropped from having 45% of its jungle intact a decade or two ago to just 25% now. At this pace, Thailand just won't have much forest left in a few years.
The wildlife is greatly affected. In fact, there just isn't much left. After years of hunting animals and destroying the forests, there is little left except just the insects and birds. While it is unusual to see large animals in most forests anywhere, usually if you are observant you can see their signs --scratches on trees, footprints, dung, nests, paths, something. There just aren't any signs of life in Doi Phu Kha, except for the bugs and birds. At least there weren't any that we saw. We talked with some other people about it, and apparently the wildlife really has been decimated to this extent.
So we ready to leave northern Thailand, with very mixed feelings. The government is trying to very rapidly protect the forests, change agricultural practices, relocate villages, and build a tourism economy. Just as at Doi Inthanon, we saw enough to know what the forests in Thailand used to be, but overall we really feel we are witnessing the destruction of one of the world's great ecosystems. It may be that Thailand's efforts to save the forests are too little too late.
