What can be found at Doi Angkhang besides birds

Doi Angkhang 14th - 18th January 2008

This is morning clouds where most of us cannot resist to comes down from the van to take this scenic shot. My prosumer camera batteries does seems to function well at 4 celcius, therefore this shots are not taken by me. Due to I wish to remember the very moments we stand there on top of this mountain amazed with this beautiful scenery, I post her photo here.
The Royal Arigcultural Station Angkhang never fails to attract alot of casual vistors besides bird-watcher during winter due to the blooming flowers there. This place play an important role in tourism in North Thailand. Angkhang visitors can see plants being cultivate in this cool climate including apricots, peaches, plums, carrots, salad greens and beautiful flowers such as carnations, roses, asters and chrysanthemums. This place is often referred to as the Switzerland of Thailand. Temperature here at night during winter can drop to 2 celcius. Barn Luan Resort Owner told me that there is one year it was so cold that that there is ice being caked up at his resort ground.

This garden would be packed with alot of visitors after sun rise, everyone here seems to pose in their favourite corner to have some pictures taken . This photo taken by one of our friend in the very early morning when the visitors are yet to arrive.
This signboard describes the species of bamboo, OOps how to read?... they are all in written in thai.

This is the only food stalls in Barn Luang (Barn in thai means hse or a village). Peoples over here are the migrants from china from the district of Yunnan. Their parents are from Yunnan who sought refuge in Thailand after Mao Ze dong and his communist party came to power in China. People in this village still able to speaks mandarin. I and a few team-mates have no problems to communicate with them cause we also can converse in mandarin. This small stall sells khao soi yunnan - egg noodles with 2 super small curry chicken without coconut milk, with the local vegetables that are not planted in malaysia, clear based soup with additional cordinments of fry egg noodles. This bowl of noodles are serve with some vegetables pickles - cabbage, shallots, chillies and lime. Fish sauce and others types of chilies are place on the dining table for you to spice up the bowl of mee as one delite. Salapao Yunnan - steamed Chinese bun with stuffing or without stuffing for you to choose from. Pao seems to be found in every corner in the world that are with chinese. :-)

At her stall we order "man tow and mein". We have no problem to informed her "low pan niang wor yow toer ye wan mein .. cheah tor chai ar.." (lady boss I want one more bowl please add more vegetables for me).

One of the local man there wonder how come this visitors can coverse in mandarin.. look at us with a curious looks. He even ask the lady boss.. "thar men chong nar le lai der" (these peoples come from where?..) .. Well being a chinese I do understand that it is such a joy able to find someone who can speaks your own mother tongue.

I can read her mind.. as she prepare all this bowl of mee, she must be smilling all the way cause she is now having a groups of hungry peoples craving to taste her home-cooked mee.
While we are waiting to be serve, we heard mules start to walk pass. The mee lady told us there are still a few more mules on the way up. This mules are use as a mode of carrier for their fire-woods and for the local to ride on as well. This lady is drying up this vegetables to makes "kiam chai" - preserve vegetables dry up by the sun. Never taste this before wonder how does it taste, even though consuming all types of preserve vegetables sale in malaysia is nothing new to me.
The chinese over here most of them are muslim but I notice there is a church nearby too. This is Al-Agso mosque build with the chinese taste.
This is the village of Barn Luang.
Today is teacher's day where the kids are not required to go to school. These two brothers are given the task to cut this types of reeds to makes broom for their house. This reeds is then place on the ground to be dried up. They stay nearby at Barn Nor Lae.
Branches that are fallen down in the forest are not put to rot. The locals here would collect it, chop it into the required lenght, buddle them up, bring it back home for fire-woods.
This is a three generation of ladies, (grandmother, daughter and grand-daughter). We noticed this 3 ladies as they walked to tender their farm.. We picked up our cameras to takes a number of their photos. We gives them some souvenier after their photos session.. We told them..Tai root.. Tai root.. (take photo... take photo).. We admire their outfits..
This a group of kids at the immigration - border of myanmar and angkhang. We are not sure for what occassion that they are here... but this is our first time seeing peoples in this outfits.

The ladies here are selling some souveniers here. Some of the product are perishable goods and some are not.
Every stalls seems to display the same range of goods.. I strolled from one stall to another and then back again carefully look at those small unperishable souvenier that I can buy from them. It is indeed quite a hard decision to makes. If I buy from this lady the others lady would ask .."why she don't like my goods..." Anyway I only can afford one sourvenier for myself.
This boy of course is not mean for sale. He has to be pack along cause mah-mah have to tender her stall.

This is one of the scenic shots taken from this place.

The white bulding on top of the hill there is myanmar.

There are some soldiers there across the border.

This is still in thailand.

Smile... Now I'm at thai border.

The reason why we touch our feets there is to try our luck to look out for brambling. We ask the soilders have they seen brambling lately. :-) The soldiers here are fully aware what is brambling. This is a photo hang up there given by one of the thai bird photographer. Now we have a good looks of how a brambling looks like. Thank you for who ever you are for contributing this photos. This would makes sure every birders would not leave empty handed not able to look at brambling..
This is another corner at this small immigration grounds.

Coffee break for the coffee fans. There is only 3 of us who are non-coffee fans.

This how normally we ends our birding day.. we get out from AK yai before the sun rise and we only start to pack our gears just before the sun set.

This is worms cracker. Thanks to David for introduce this bamboo worms. It looks yucky but Hmmmmm.. it taste nice. A good source of protein by the way..
This is Ban Luang Resort. Angkhang Villa and Barn Luang resort owner are brother and sister.

If you wish not to stay in town request them stay at their resort at Ban Luang. To booked by phone call them at +66 53 450010, fax +66 53 450022. Ask for the Ban Luang branch. They also can be contacted by email: angkhangvilla@gmail.com

As of the time of our visit they are selling the chalet with hot shower that can fit

10pax for peak period - 2,500 - 3,500B Non-peak 1,500 - 2,000B.

Chalet that can fit 2-4 pax peak period - 1,200 - 1,500B Non-peak 800 - 1,000 B

To have a rough idea how the accomodations looks like, click on the url link below.
http://www.travel-is.com/forum/view.php?qID=257

The first photo looks more like one of the chalet at Ban Luang branch.

During winter this type of tree will blooms., peach, plums or apricot ? well I not good at tree ID..

This is how the tree looks like from far.

Another view of this.. well we don't have this in Malaysia.

Another types of plants.

Eggs and more eggs even at the last night dinner together at Doi Angkhang Royal Project Restaurant. Just discovered from this trips that one of my birding friend is a eggs fan. He has introduced us a full eggs course... This is one one of his favourite dish - tomatoes with eggs.. Well yummy though.

Part to the dishes we ate that night. Salad made from fresh vegetables plant in Angkhang a must to taste. This salad is the courtesy from Mam and the rest of dishes are from David and Alagan. Burp... thank you very much.. everything is SOoooo delicious here. Aiyak I nearly forgotten Kim bought us desert too chocolate fudge. Thank you ...thank you for the kindness of you guys and gay.

Korp kun mah kar... Aroi mak-mak..

Starting form the photos below are the scene we would see at the tourist center of the Royal Project. Many local female and children would sit on the ground to display their goods for sales. Those gloves are from china.. they are much more better quality than what I packed along from malaysia. OOOi where is the saleswoman ? They normally would turn their face away or walk away when you point your camera at them. Sorry I can't archive their sweet faces here in my blog.

OOOH... what a beautiful sight...alot of flowers here that can melt alot of hearts. This garden at the tourist center would have english roses, poppy flowers to orchids. Are they for sales ? I doubt I recall they are tag with a prize. There are others Angkhang products that are label with a prize tag waiting eagerly on the display racks. If I can recall there are dry kiwi, tea, honey...etc..etc but no T-Shirt for sales.

This is Uncle B in action.. All tourist here walks in with a camera all seems to point their lens and says.... CHEEZE.

Below are the contributions from Lam.. We cannot pack this back as well as we also cannot afford to let it accidentaly drop into our pockets or bags. We only can have this in our camera.