PART NINE: Sleeping in the Chinese Village, Mae Aw Chinese Village

Mae Aw- A Chinese Village in Thailand

22km north of Mae Hong Son, on a mountain peak at the Myanmar border, Maw Aw is a Chinese KMT (Kuomintang) settlement. The scenery from Mae Hong Son to Mae Aw is breathtaking, with lush tea bushes neatly nestled on the plains of the mountainscape.

Being a Chinese, I had initially planned to go to Chiang Rai, and head to the Mae Salong Chinese village. I thought it would be fun to meet Chinese people, speak Mandarin and feel “Chinese” in Thailand. I was hoping to speak to the old comrades and hopefully can get a real-life account of how these soldiers and their families have moved from China to settleThailand. As time was not on my side, I decided to explore the smaller-scaled version of Mae Salong, Mae Aw village instead.

Savouring Yunanese Delicacies at Mae Aw

Most tourists would come to Mae Aw for the specially brewed Chinese tea and the Yunan cuisine. For me, eating infamous stewed pork with herbs and the man tou (steamed rice flour cake) on a rainy night was a great treat. But chatting with the Chinese restaurant owner and getting a personal invitation to visit their house was the real highlight for me. I have always wondered how a typical village house would be like whenever I travel in the jeep, peering through the window, as the vehicle cruises along the dirt tracks of the villages. It is a great feeling when you feel the sense of trust for strangers and them for yourself.

Meeting Kind Souls in Mae Aw- My New Friend, Ah Zhen & The Restaurant Owner

Ah Zhen was the restaurant helper I met during dinner at the restaurant. I had initially hoped to see some old Chinese comrades and listen to their war-time stories and how they fought the war, but I understood from Madam Lin that the earlier generations, like her father, are mostly deceased or in their late 80s.

The restaurant owner, 61-year-old Madam Lin Chang Zhi has been staying in Thailand for more than 50 years. She got married at a late age of 38 years old, and has two children, one elder daughter studying in the university in Chiangmai and a teenage son. Her husband was from the 93 Battalion and many of them came from Yunan to settle in Thailand. Many chose to stay in Thailand after the war instead of going back to the communist state motherland. Ah Zhen, on the other hand, is born in Burma and was married to her husband at the age of 18 years old. Her husband is from the Akha village, and both couldn't write a word of Mandarin. She's thirty-two years old and has two sons, one 13 year old and another 8 years old. She has spent most of her time taking care of their vegetables, their pigs and chicken.

She now works in the restaurant and can whip up authetic Yunan cuisine, without batting an eyelid. She earns about 1700 bahts a month (about S$78). During the peak season, Ah Zhen sometimes have to work till the wee hours of the morning, around 2am before heading home for a night's rest and to get back to work before dawnbreak. Her house is about a 25-minute walk from the restaurant and the city centre. My guest house was at the midpoint leading to her house.

Peaceful Life in the Village & A Special Invitation

Life is the village is very tranquil. By 8.30pm, most of the people are already nestled in their own homes. After dinner and a nice conversation with the smiley restaurant owner, Mdm Zhang, Ah Zhen offered to walk me to my guesthouse as it was dark and I had no torchlight.

When we reached my guesthouse, she asked if I would like to go to her house, since I was planning to leave tomorrow. I didn’t quite get her invitation at first because of the language barrier. When I realised, I was thrilled by the unexpected invitation. Shyly, I told her that I would need her to walk me back later as I would not know how to find my way back to the guesthouse in the dark. I asked if she would be too tired to do so. Ah Zhen, smiled, and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll walk you back again.”

Like a happy lamb, I followed her and her husband and we chatted about her children, her husband, her family along the way. Her husband keep a distance, but was faithfully and sweetly, tailing behind us, shining the torch on the dirt-track, to point out puddles of water and muddy spots to avoid. Their newly furnished cement house was built by Taiwanese craftsmen.

No fancy decorations or plush sofa set, but nonetheless cosy, in a very primitive way. Her two sons were at home watching television. I tried to “chat them up”, but they were extremely shy. I guessed it must be the first time they have ever seen a foreigner in their house.

Feeling the Chinese Warmth and Hospitality

Ah Zhen disappeared for a short while and re-appeared with a plate of western sponge cake and specially home-brewed Chinese tea.I guessed it must be her way of reciprocal to the plastic bags of tomatoes I had given her during dinner. During my “chat-up” attempt, a wrinkled face appeared from the bedroom, with a wide sincere smile. I guessed I must have been too noisy, and woke Grannie up, as she walked out from her bedroom.

Grannie is Ah Zhen’s mother-in-law. We couldn’t understand each other, but the body language speaks it all. Grannie came to the table, where we were sitting, just outside the house, to offer me a pack of biscuits. Without speaking, she gently took out a few pieces of biscuits from the plastic bag and placed them onto the plate which holds the sponge cake. It was her humble way of extending her hospitality to a foreigner like me. I was touched. Ah Zhen shared their family photographs, of her deceased father and her brother with me.

One interesting fact I've learnt from Ah Zhen is that it takes about three months to grow and harvest the maize plant. Once harvested, the maize plant will die and the planting routine repeats itself again. I have always wondered why crops of maize plants often wither together and Ah Zhen’s explanation helped solved this mystery. I took numerous photographs of the family and promised them that I would send the photographs to home when I returned to Singapore.

After staying in the house for about an hour, I baded goodnight to the family, so that they can have a good night’s rest. I was deeply touched by the family’s hospitality and warmth extended to me, a complete stranger. The visit to their home made the stay in Mae Aw worthwhile, better than what any packaged tour can offer. To make my trip for memorable, I accidentially slipped and landed on my butt while trying to catch a glimpse of the twelve pigs that Ah Zhen reared, just 2 minutes before I left their home.