Nan's border district of Thung Chang - Once a war zone

[PeteC]

Many photos at link, at least 30: https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/social ... the-basics

On the breezy top of the limestone cliff on the east side of Doi Pha Phueng, 1,600m above sea level, I zipped up my jacket and let the sights and sounds of the natural surroundings soak in. Before me was a sea of forest-clad mountains, bathed in the warm rays of the morning Sun. The air was filled with blissful silence, with faint songs from invisible birds occasionally seeping in from the canopy below.

Half-a-century ago, when Thailand was at war with Communist insurgents, it was a different world around here. Thung Chang, this northern district of Nan province near the Thai-Lao border, was among the areas with the heaviest fighting. The forests were teeming with armed men and women ready to kill anyone with different political ideologies. Blasts of gunfire and bombs echoed in the mountains. Bullets and grenades could come from anywhere.

In that kind of situation, I don't think I would dare sit in the open like this. Perhaps I wouldn't even have had the courage to set foot in this part of the country.

But in late 1967, the year the first armed clash between the government forces and the Communist guerrillas happened in Thung Chang, the first in the North, 18 months after similar violence began in the Northeast, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej came all the way to this troubled area to provide moral and other forms of support to the local people and servicemen. Despite the obvious danger, he returned to Thung Chang several times in the following years, sometimes with HM Queen Sirikit. Prior to one of his visits, a site on his itinerary was attacked by the insurgents. Still, the king refused to change his original plan.

To make a long story short, Thailand managed to survive the 60s and the 70s without falling under Communism like some of our immediate neighbours, thanks to everybody involved, many of whom paid with their lives. I hope the country will see no more civil war. I hope we learned some lessons from what happened in the past.

A strong breeze slapped me in the face, bringing my thoughts back to the present. This part of Nan is such a peaceful and charming place. The forest to the east of Doi Pha Phueng is now protected as Doi Phu Kha National Park. In the mountains to the west, meanwhile, are reserved forests as well as the fruit orchards and coffee plantations of Ban Mani Phruek, where high-quality arabica beans are produced.

The Sun was getting higher and stronger. It's time for me to leave the mountaintop and go have a drink at one of the coffee shops in the village.

TRAVEL INFO

Thung Chang is 93km north of Nan city, which is about an hour and 20 minutes by plane from Bangkok. You can take a bus from downtown Nan to Thung Chang, but it is more convenient to rent a car or hire a van, so you can drop by anywhere you wish.

The road up Doi Pha Phueng is not good for city cars. You can hire a pickup from nearby Ban Mani Phruek. Call the village's tourism group at 063-562-6696 or 062-248-5018.

In case you're interested in exploring Thung Chang's mountains on a bicycle or experiencing a rural homestay and farming, contact Pinyo Jindachart via Facebook.

[stretch]

[img][/sounds so interesting just shows what this side of the world was going through back in the seventies.