Back on the highway, we stopped near a local temple to take in its panoramic views before visiting a Lisu village. Known for their weaving and colorful bags, the Lisu products looked familiar because they are sold all over Mae Hong Son. Unlike the more reticent Hmong, the Lisu vendors lugged bags out to our vans and followed us around the village as we visited different families Kasma met on previous trips. Some trip members blew up balloons for the children, which created a very playful atmosphere and helped with the photos. Meanwhile, we shopped. I purchased some useful gift items, and some more eccentric pieces that might not work in the States.<\/p>\n On the road again, we twisted through the hills and took the exit for Tham Lot. Upon arrival, it was nearly 1:00 and time to consume mass quantities. Here we enjoyed the classic combination of Isaan (Northeastern) style BBQ chicken, spicy green papaya salad, and sticky rice. This was supplemented by a spicy pork larb salad, grilled yams (thin, yellow, dry, sweet potatoes), fried bananas, and some rather tough grilled corn. Excellent picnic, but hard to keep the photographer’s fingers clean between courses. We finished with a plate of market desserts, including a coconut flavored confection with alternating translucent and green layers, a cassava “cake” (more like a slab of pudding), and a repeat of the smoky shredded coconut balls from breakfast. Just when I was filled to the breaking point, we all headed over to the ice cream cart for Thai-style sundaes. The vendor drops a small scoop of homemade coconut ice cream into the bottom of a plastic cup, then quickly adds sticky rice, palm seed fruit, a scoop of taro ice cream, and a sprinkling of peanuts. For the truly hungry, cubes of bread can be added somewhere in the stack. Very tasty, and we were now ready to explore the caves.<\/p>\n One enters the caves at Tham Lot with a guide toting a lantern (Coleman style), floating to the first stop on a sturdy bamboo raft over shallow waters. The first cavern had a very dramatic and tall column formed when a stalagmite growing from the cave floor met a stalactite descending from the cave roof. This makes sense, since both are formed from the same dripping action, but perhaps frequent breakage events make these columns rare. The air in the cave was cool, but between the hike and the humidity, we were plenty warm. Across a suspension bridge, we alighted on a beach and gazed up at the intimidating staircase to the Doll Cave. Only about half the group braved the climb; with stairs about 4″ deep, it certainly was worse on the way down than on the way up. We toured the various formations and returned to our boats and continued through the cave. We soon heard a cacophony of sounds in the darkness. Not only do bats inhabit this cave, but also swifts; apparently there is no shortage of edible insects in the region. Disembarking at the foot of the Coffin Cave, there was bat guano pretty much everywhere, and the air was heavy with an oddly familiar odor (it reminded me of the scent of toasted teriyaki nori snacks, but I might be misremembering). Only three of us were interested in taking this staircase. I managed to avoid using the guano-contaminated handrail on the way up. We saw several thousand-year-old teak coffins carved from logs. None had intact tops, and many had been broken or shattered. A tap on the wood revealed it to be still soft and not petrified. Very mysterious.<\/p>\n By this time we were hot and tired, and made our way carefully down the staircase to find ourselves without a raft and at the beginning of a 1 km hike back to the vans. Our guide turned off the lantern and led the way, at one point stopping to harvest some fallen flowers (their purpose was not clear). I stumbled back in last place, quickly purchased a chilled roasted coconut for sustenance, and climbed into the van for the final leg of our journey.<\/p>\n![\"Breakfast](\"\/ttw\/jfs\/n08\/img\/MHS-BreakfastNoodles-3530_md.jpg\")
Breakfast noodles in Mae Hong Son<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nSacred carp at Thampla Fish Cave<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nCarp description at Thampla Fish Cave<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nHermit statue at Thampla Fish Cave<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nPeaceful stream at Thampla Fish Cave<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nMorning dew at Thampla Fish Cave<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nMisty ponds at Thampla Fish Cave<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nBamboo pipes at Thampla Fish Cave<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nLotus at Thampla Fish Cave<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nFarm near Thampla Fish Cave<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nFarm near Thampla Fish Cave<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nFarm near Thampla Fish Cave<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nReaching for the shot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/div>\nLisu village kids<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nLisu village kids<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nLisu village kids<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nLisu village kids<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nLisu village kids<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nLisu village kids<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nLisu village kids<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nPicking over kidney beans<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nSeparating kidney beans<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nDrying kidney beans<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nOld fashioned phone booth<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nVendors pursuing tourists<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nModeling a Lisu new year's hat<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/div>\nBBQ chicken near Tham Lot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nGreen papaya salad near Tham Lot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nBrown sticky rice near Tham Lot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nPork larb near Tham Lot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nCoconut and cassava treats near Tham Lot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/div>\nEntrance to cave at Tham Lot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nElephant formation at Tham Lot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nTall stone column at Tham Lot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nOne of our guides at Tham Lot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nPrehistoric painting at Tham Lot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nStalactite formations at Tham Lot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nCreaky bridge at Tham Lot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nCrocodile at Tham Lot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nAncient coffin at Tham Lot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nExtreme guano at Tham Lot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nCave exit at Tham Lot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n