Winter in Thailand is a relative thing - definitely mild on the flatlands of the Mae Sa Valley, where the temperatures drop to maybe 10-12C over-night and we have gorgeous, clear, blue-skied days of between 25C and 30C. But in the mountains which surround the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, it can drop to 0-2C over night and sometimes only makes it to 10C during the days. It doesn't snow, since we're in the middle of dry season and it is DRY, but an occasional frost accompanies the biting cold wind that comes down from southern China and the southern Himalayas.
Asian people from the warmer, tropical parts LOVE "winter" here in Chiang Mai and it's our peak tourist season. And yes, people pay money to rent a blanket and an oil-burning stove to sit up all night and watch the dawn over the mist shrouded valleys.
Even during Covid, cool winter season means tourism, and so locally it's always the best time to find special places & events that are cool-season specific and simply gorgeous. Like the Royal Project Tribal Winter Market.
What is the Royal Project?
The Royal Project was created after His Majesty the King Bhumibol, Rama IX, visited the hill-tribe village of Doi Pui in 1969. During this visit, the King learned of a variety of peach tree that provided the local farmers with a higher income than the opium poppy. His Majesty realized that alternative agriculture including fruit trees as a major component could be used to replace opium and would generate higher incomes, solving the problems of poverty, opium production and deforestation at the same time. His Majesty immediately called on national and international agencies to make this vision a reality, and the Royal Project was born. Source
Today, just over 50 years later, the Royal Project is the major employer for many of the hill tribes - as they're called locally - the Hmong, the Karenni, the Akha and the Shan ethnic people groups, in particular. These people are definitely NOT Thai, although many were born here within Thailand or arrived here as refugees, and they have vastly different languages, foods, clothing and culture. And it is this diverse tribal culture that is celebrated annually at the Royal Project Tribal Winter Market. This year - 2021 - it runs from 24th December to 29th December.
The setting in the grounds of the Royal Project offices at the foot of Doi Kham, is really lovely. Green, natural and reminiscent of the areas these people groups naturally inhabit in the mountains around Chiang Mai.
Even on the first afternoon, and despite poor promotion and general Covid neurosis locally, it was really well attended.
And, like most people, we came for the market!
Specifically, we came for mountain grown strawberries and blueberries - highly exotic in tropical Asia and definitely WINTER FRUITS here! 😆 Half a lifetime traveling and living in other cultures has taught me that local perspective is everything.
But there were some other fabulous and highly "exotic" vegetables on sale too - like zucchinis, melons and the super-yummy small Japanese pumpkins, as well as all the usual Thai gorgeous yummy local veggies.
You can see all the stalls are made in local building style, from bamboo and using the huge dry teak leaves which fall at the start of the cool season for roofing materials. There were several locally constructed typical tribal houses on show too, for the Bangkok hi-so travelers who have never seen a dwelling that isn't a high rise condo made of concrete.
Apart from the amazing local fruits & veggies and traditionally prepared foods, there were tribal clothes and instruments and all sorts of things your average Thai city dweller or international tourist has likely never seen before.
LOL - yup - that pic under the locally made traditional bamboo & paper umbrellas is Moi! Facemasks continue to be mandatory outside of the home and in all public spaces, with heavy fines for non compliance. But Thai and Asian people have been respectfully wearing masks in cool flu season and in crowded places for decades now - long before any Covid mandate. It's a simple politeness in a culture where paid sick leave is a serious luxury. Happy to report that all the scan ins and temperature checks where delightfully absent.
But what captured my attention the most? The GORGEOUS orchids, the winter-exotic flowers that are cultivated here with such care in the cool season, and the incredibly thorough way everything was labeled and the information available in multiple languages.
Geraniums? LOL. Yup. Highly exotic here in Asia. The hydrangeas sold out within the first hour. Equally exotic.
I wish I could share the FRAGRANCES of this amazing market wiht you.... the heady lilies with undertones of frying fish and coconut treats.
Meanwhile, the camphor trees that I find so fascinating and exotic were sidesteped and ignored by most of the locals.
We came away with bulging baskets and loads of holiday treats, including some amazing Khao Larm - dark sticky rice slow cooked over a fire with coconut milk and peanuts in hollow tubes of bamboo. Sorry - devoured before we remembered to photograph it.
What was really sweet on the way out? The local Thai coconut ice cream man being allowed and enabled to ply his trade and make a living too. 30 cents for a cone? Yup. We had one too.
Grateful to be living in a country with extreme levels of ethnic diversity and an astounding diverse array of local cultures. Loved the market - highly recommended as a stunning cool season travel experience if you can get to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand, next year.
BlissednBlessed.
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