Northern Thailand is full of tiny, out-of-the-way towns and
villages, sprinkled with various minority groups and hilltribes. Among these
groups of not-quite-Thai Thais, the mountain-top town of Mae Salong, tucked
away on winding, hilly roads, has its own unique story.
In addition to the standard fare, Mae Salong is home to a population
of former soldiers from the Yunnan area of China. As Nationalists refusing to
surrender to the Communist Chinese, these soldiers fled overland through Burma. Various shifts in politics led to thousands entering Thailand in the early 1960s. Eventually, as they
stood at the ready to defend themselves against a potential attack by Chinese communists,
the soldiers were granted Thai citizenship in exchange for agreeing to fight
Thailand’s communist insurgencies of the 1970s and to forego opium production for growing oolong tea.
These days, the remaining population of resettled Yunnanese
is small, certainly smaller than the population of Thais and Akha. Most of the
Chinese influence can be seen in the numerous shops peddling tea and various
herbs, the restaurants claiming authentic Yunnanese cuisine, and the Chinese
Martyrs’ Museum on the outskirts of town.
The town hosts a Cherry Blossom Festival each winter,
with flowers blooming during late December and early January. Unfortunately, we
managed to miss the majority of the blooms by about a week, finding only sprinklings
of pink and white still clinging to some trees.
Like much of the world, what was once unique is now mostly a
tourist trap. Vendors all sell similar wares – teas, jewelry, paintings, handbags,
shoes, herbs – each stall mirroring the previous. The Yunnanese food was
overpriced by Thai standards (and similar dishes can be found sold in many
Chinese-run restaurants within Chiang Rai city).
There were several redeeming factors, of course. The drive,
though a grueling three and a half hours roundtrip on a motorbike, was made up
of breathtaking views. And the town itself, despite any flaws, sits on top of
the world, serene.
