Did you know that Thailand had tea terraces? We didn’t either. That is until we spent a day hiking in Thailand’s tea country. Before that, we didn’t even know that Thailand had a tea industry. But once we understood the history of Doi Mae Salong, it all made sense.
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History of Doi Mae Salong
Settled by Chinese Nationalists of the Anti Communist movement known as the Kuomintang, soldiers made their way out of Yunnan province in China to Burma (Myanmar today) after the Chinese civil war in 1949.
They were eventually forced out of Myanmar and made their way to Northern Thailand in 1961 where they were granted citizenship by the Thai Government. In exchange, they fought for Thailand until 1982 to help them fight communism in Thailand’s north.
The Thai government attempted to integrate the soldiers and their families into society, but the north of Thailand was caught in the middle of the Opium trade. Read more: 23 Fun Facts About Thailand – The Land of Smiles
Taken over by the warlord Kun Sha, Doi Mae Salong was caught in the middle of the opium trade for several years.
It wasn’t until Kun Sha was forced to move his headquarters across the border to Myanmar after an assassination attempt that the rebuilding began.
Building a Road
The Thai government worked hard to integrate the Yunnan descendants into Thai society. In the 1980s a road was built to connect Doi Mae Salong to the rest of the country and a campaign was set to establish tea production in place of opium. The former soldiers and descendants of the Kuomintang now live peacefully holding on to their Chinese traditions.
Yunnan and Mae Salong Similarities
Having come from China only a couple of months earlier, we could definitely see the similarities of Mae Salong and their homeland.
Mandarin is widely spoken, the town definitely has a Chinese feel and many aspects of Chinese heritage can be seen. The drinking of tea is one of them. Doi Maesalong is 1800 meters above sea level and the perfect climate for tea production.
Known for its Oolong Tea, Doi Mae Salong in Northern Thailand has about 28,000 hectares of Tea Plantations.
While not as picturesque as other tea countries we have visited in places like Sri Lanka and Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands, it was still a pleasant hike walking through the terraces of this Northern Thai village.
Meeting Locals of Doi Mae Salong
We came across a Hill Tribe Village where the eldest grandmother loved to have her picture taken. When we saw us coming, she grabbed her pipe, sat down on a bench, and gave us a big smile.
Our guide Scott of Smiling Albino told us that he has visited this village before and gave her a copy of a photo once. She has loved getting her picture taken ever since and looks forward to her visits from the Smiling Albino groups. We promised to send Scott a copy of the photo so that he can give it to here the next time he goes through.
It was a very pleasant visit even though none of us could communicate with each other. Even Scott who speaks Fluent Thai couldn’t break through the language barrier as this tribe only spoke Akha. Read more: 35 Amazing Things to Do in Thailand
But we exchanged smiles and laughter as the whole family came out to say hello. It is definitely one of the few Hill Tribe Villages of Thailand that haven’t seen an onslaught of tourists pass through yet. They were genuinely happy for the visit and we were very grateful for the honour of being allowed to sit with them for a few minutes.
Walking Through the Tea Terraces of Thailand
The walk through the farmland and tea terraces took us about 3 hours and ended with a couple of ice cold Chang Beers on the terrace of our hotel room. As the sun went down we made our way to the dining room where we continued with a bottle of wine and some delicious Chinese/Thai fusion dishes. It was indeed, a very good day.
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These are wonderful pictures!
I started the business Daokrajai Lanna Fine Teas to help expand the markets for farms such as this.
Not only, has tea been able to displace the opium trade, but they produce wonderful teas. Their Oolongs are among the best available.
That is not only my opinion. but from sommeliers worldwide.
Our goal is to help increase the income of people such as the lady in the photograph. A worthwhile cause I hope you will agree.
Websites for online sales are available for anyone with an interest in helping us achieve our goals and who would like their own business.
Please visit us at: http://www.daokrajaitea.com and see the full range of teas produced in this wonderful part of the world.
Regards
John Wombwell
Ack! You guys have me eager to travel a lot more through Northern Thailand than I have…really gorgeous photos, I had no idea they had a tea indsutry up here either!
I never associate Thailand with tea. Consider me informed. And loved the photos.
>Leigh: I never associate Thailand with tea. Consider me informed. And loved the photos
U know in Thailand a lot of teas and some of them we send to China. Try to visit http://tea-vilage.com and u can see how many flavors of tea we have
That first photo took my breath away. WOW.
Fab photos and very clear views- makes me feel like I am there. I do believe terracing is also to prevent erosion?
My sister also just visited Thailand, one of her favorite places- sent me a link as a matter of fact to purchase real estate.
as an avid photographer myself, one day I will get to this beautiful place there for sure!!!
Love the picture of the woman smoking! She looks very wise (despite the smoking, I suppose).
Great photos Dave! The HDR on the top is perfect! You guys have been so busy you’re going to need a vacation soon 🙂
Wow, what a really amazing experience! I’m such a tea aficionado, so I would have been in heaven. Gorgeous pics!
Great pictures! – personally I prefer B&W (cause all my color pics always turn out crap) but these, really nice ones and make me wish it was already july whwn I return to Thailand.
Hi,
That first picture rocks! Late afternoon light plus a little bit of HDR pimping? Very, very nice.
A day that ends with a cold Change on a terrace tends to be a good day. Cheers!
Christian
Stunning photos! Especially the pipe smoker!