Lone Rider
Blokes Who Can
[center:ifblh1l7]Pang Ton Dua Thai/Burma Border Area and Waterfalls[/center:ifblh1l7]
A few days ago I headed up north in the truck to Fang and beyond to look at a few waterfalls as well as the White Stupa in the Pang Ton Dua area. Had heard about the white stupa from several sources but, only after Roderick Page posted some pictures of it on another forum, I decided that I would have a look myself. From Thaton I took Rd 1314 to the northwest and the road climbed steadily up from an altitude of about 470 meter at Tha Ton to about 1000 meter at Ban Pang Ton Dua and Ban Doi Leam.
The view down to the Tha Ton valley from the area occupied by the 956 Kiu Hung Military Operations Base
According to a story in the Bangkok Post in 2002 (http://www.burmalibrary.org/TinKyi/archives/2002-04/msg00013.html), it was widely believed that Burmese forces who once occupied the disputed territory put the stupa up to show where the boundary lay and that Gen Maung Aye, who was than the Burmese army commander-in-chief, was said to be responsible for the chedi's construction when he was a junior officer posted in the area.
In Ban Pang Ton Dua we headed north to Wat Chom Khiri which, depending on what maps are used, is either in Thailand or in Burma. The ESRI GPS maps show Wat Chom Khiri in Thailand while the old Thai army map for that area shows it in Burma. Actually, on the latest version of the ESRI GPS map (version 11.1) the whole area is now shown as to be Thai territory. Not sure if that is correct though as there are several Burma army camps in that same area. What is sure is that it is a sensitive area and care should be taken when traveling over there.
Old map (about 30 years old) showing the border line as on the map (white), the border line in red on older GPS maps from ESRI and in light blue as it is shown on the ESRI GPS map version 11.1
However, in the past and in particular once Khun Sa was defeated by the Wa army in 1996 (seehttp://www.burmalibrary.org/TinKyi/archives/2000-01/msg00007.html), this whole area has been in dispute. At present it appears that both sides consider the area as being a "demilitarized zone" and apparently both sides have withdrawn their armies from the area. To my, surprise when we turned off north, I expected to be stopped by the army but that did not happen and I could drive around "at will". We just followed the road and came to an area with a sala next to a small waterfall and on the south side a sign that this was the trail to the Stupa.
Tiny waterfall and the blue sign pointing up to the stupa
A steep climb up brought me to the area with the Stupa. Unfortunately, much of the area around the stupa was overgrown although there were also signs that people visited the area on a regular basis. It was so overgrown that I had great difficulties finding the trail down back. Watch out for the trenches dug around the stupa area as these were difficult to see due to the waist-high vegetation
The stupa and a bunker at present (my picture) and how it was a few months ago when the vegetation had been cut down(photo Rod Page)
Some of the bunkers and the entrance to the bunkers around the stupa
Nice views to the south
A Biker apparently had fun here drifting on a second track which leads to the wat and village to the north-west.
North Thailand Offroad GPS map combined with Google Earth showing the location of the stupa and access points.
The top of the stupa is barely visible from the main road (Rd 1314 in Pang Ton Dua)
After the Stupa visit it was off to see some waterfalls in the area. A 5-6 meter wide new road has been built from Rd 1314 to the Tad Luang waterfall. The falls were very small and difficult to reach as the area was overgrown and at the last part of the road, nature was busy to creep back to where it once was.
The barely visible Tad Luang falls and the road being encroached upon
We missed the Tad Mok/Tad Moei waterfall further downhill on Rd 1314 as we had picked up an old Muser lady and we were so busy trying to figure out where she wanted to go that we missed the falls. The old lady could not speak a word Thai and the only thing we thought we understood was that she wanted to go to Kaolii (Korea). Luckily she knew where to get off and only then we figured out that she wanted to go to the Korean supported Mai Ai Pure Center. All in all a nice day running around in the Thai border area to see new things.
For those who are interested in Khun Sa (who had one of his bases here - the bunkers at the stupa were probably built by his army) and his activities, there is a documentary entitled "The Lord of the Golden Triangle" available on YouTube (6 parts). The URL's are here:
Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mx0fQR_-Xs&feature=player_embedded#at=53
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eabBW0KMrr8&feature=related
Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdN65MXGYGE&feature=related
Part 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbZhzjNZxeQ&feature=related
Part 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4M-LHwNWsU&feature=related
Part 6 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqOD1cpIUBU&feature=related
A few days ago I headed up north in the truck to Fang and beyond to look at a few waterfalls as well as the White Stupa in the Pang Ton Dua area. Had heard about the white stupa from several sources but, only after Roderick Page posted some pictures of it on another forum, I decided that I would have a look myself. From Thaton I took Rd 1314 to the northwest and the road climbed steadily up from an altitude of about 470 meter at Tha Ton to about 1000 meter at Ban Pang Ton Dua and Ban Doi Leam.
The view down to the Tha Ton valley from the area occupied by the 956 Kiu Hung Military Operations Base
According to a story in the Bangkok Post in 2002 (http://www.burmalibrary.org/TinKyi/archives/2002-04/msg00013.html), it was widely believed that Burmese forces who once occupied the disputed territory put the stupa up to show where the boundary lay and that Gen Maung Aye, who was than the Burmese army commander-in-chief, was said to be responsible for the chedi's construction when he was a junior officer posted in the area.
In Ban Pang Ton Dua we headed north to Wat Chom Khiri which, depending on what maps are used, is either in Thailand or in Burma. The ESRI GPS maps show Wat Chom Khiri in Thailand while the old Thai army map for that area shows it in Burma. Actually, on the latest version of the ESRI GPS map (version 11.1) the whole area is now shown as to be Thai territory. Not sure if that is correct though as there are several Burma army camps in that same area. What is sure is that it is a sensitive area and care should be taken when traveling over there.
Old map (about 30 years old) showing the border line as on the map (white), the border line in red on older GPS maps from ESRI and in light blue as it is shown on the ESRI GPS map version 11.1
However, in the past and in particular once Khun Sa was defeated by the Wa army in 1996 (seehttp://www.burmalibrary.org/TinKyi/archives/2000-01/msg00007.html), this whole area has been in dispute. At present it appears that both sides consider the area as being a "demilitarized zone" and apparently both sides have withdrawn their armies from the area. To my, surprise when we turned off north, I expected to be stopped by the army but that did not happen and I could drive around "at will". We just followed the road and came to an area with a sala next to a small waterfall and on the south side a sign that this was the trail to the Stupa.
Tiny waterfall and the blue sign pointing up to the stupa
A steep climb up brought me to the area with the Stupa. Unfortunately, much of the area around the stupa was overgrown although there were also signs that people visited the area on a regular basis. It was so overgrown that I had great difficulties finding the trail down back. Watch out for the trenches dug around the stupa area as these were difficult to see due to the waist-high vegetation
The stupa and a bunker at present (my picture) and how it was a few months ago when the vegetation had been cut down(photo Rod Page)
Some of the bunkers and the entrance to the bunkers around the stupa
Nice views to the south
A Biker apparently had fun here drifting on a second track which leads to the wat and village to the north-west.
North Thailand Offroad GPS map combined with Google Earth showing the location of the stupa and access points.
The top of the stupa is barely visible from the main road (Rd 1314 in Pang Ton Dua)
After the Stupa visit it was off to see some waterfalls in the area. A 5-6 meter wide new road has been built from Rd 1314 to the Tad Luang waterfall. The falls were very small and difficult to reach as the area was overgrown and at the last part of the road, nature was busy to creep back to where it once was.
The barely visible Tad Luang falls and the road being encroached upon
We missed the Tad Mok/Tad Moei waterfall further downhill on Rd 1314 as we had picked up an old Muser lady and we were so busy trying to figure out where she wanted to go that we missed the falls. The old lady could not speak a word Thai and the only thing we thought we understood was that she wanted to go to Kaolii (Korea). Luckily she knew where to get off and only then we figured out that she wanted to go to the Korean supported Mai Ai Pure Center. All in all a nice day running around in the Thai border area to see new things.
For those who are interested in Khun Sa (who had one of his bases here - the bunkers at the stupa were probably built by his army) and his activities, there is a documentary entitled "The Lord of the Golden Triangle" available on YouTube (6 parts). The URL's are here:
Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mx0fQR_-Xs&feature=player_embedded#at=53
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eabBW0KMrr8&feature=related
Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdN65MXGYGE&feature=related
Part 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbZhzjNZxeQ&feature=related
Part 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4M-LHwNWsU&feature=related
Part 6 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqOD1cpIUBU&feature=related
