Trip through the mountains

As we were leaving the northern city, we came home a different way. We decided to stop in on a town that was settled by remnants of a division of the Chinese nationalist army. They moved from Burma once the Chinese communists solidified their hold on China. They originally funded themselves through the sale of opium, but once they struck a deal with Thailand to help defend Thailand against the Thai communist insurgents, they started growing alternative crops. Now much of the income comes through oolong tea.

The town is a nice town, but it looks a lot like every other Thai town. You wouldn't really notice a difference unless you read about the area or got out and talked with the people.

We stopped and bought a few trinkets from some Hmong ladies at the market. They were really items that we could buy in our own city. I didn't see anything that different. Then we crossed the street where people were selling the tea. One lady called us over for a free sample. They made several kinds of tea for us to try, and we enjoyed talking to them. We sat at their shop for quite a while encouraging her daughters to speak English with the tourists that come through. We bought a bag of their best tea, and they threw in a smaller lower grade bag of tea as a freebie. It doesn't hurt to ask for a little discount. You might not get a cheaper price, but you might get some kind of bonus.

We turned back to try to find some place to eat. We had just about decided on eating a place I had read about in a travel magazine when Rusty wanted to drive up a hill to see a Baptist church building. We had to turn around at that spot too, and the pastor came out to talk to us. After talking to him we asked for his recommendation for a place to eat. He recommended a Chinese muslim restaurant.
We had no idea what to order so we let the waitress pick our plates. We had some wonderful tender beef curry and steamed buns. We usually only order beef at muslim restaurants. Beef in the other restaurants is not always chewable.
We also had some yellow noodles stir-fried Yunnan style. This dish was ok, but it was easily outdone by the other dishes.
Anytime I can order lemonade, I try to get it here. It seems to be one of my favorite drinks.
The deep-fried mushrooms with the garlic dipping sauce were superb! I'm usually not a mushroom fan, but I would definitely order these again.
We had complimentary tea after lunch, and the waitress taught us a bit about how they serve it and what we were to do with the two cups. They pour the tea into the long tall cup and then cover it with the shallow cup. Then they turn it upside down and place it on the table before you. The tea drinker lifts the tall cup so that the tea pours into the shallow cup.
The tall skinny cup then has the scent of the tea that is great for sniffing. You can also hold it over your eye--the steam is supposed to be good for your eye. Some of the teachers at one of the schools that we work at say that it's good for getting rid of crow's feet. I seriously doubt that's going to happen, but the steam did feel good. We bought a few sets of cups to take home with us.
As we continued on to our next hotel, we were astounded by the beauty of the mountains. The views were breath-taking. I wish I had more pictures, but there isn't always a good place to stop.
We saw lots of villages that are home to both the Akha and Hmong hill tribes. These two tribes constituted a large portion of the population in the area. There are also other groups in the area, but we did not have a chance to talk to any of them. I was also surprised to see so many church buildings, but in some areas with church buildings they were also building new temples. We can't afford to grow weary in the work.