This isn't big news to people who are elsewhere in the world where it is possible to simply buy a tray of dozens of these things no problem but here in Thailand where pastries of this sort are actually kind of rare it is a very special occasion.
This is not the first time that this member of the Chiang Mai Hash House Harriers has done this either. In a past life, well a past profession, "Taste my Buns" was a baker and pastry chef so to her, this isn't really even hard work. For me and most of the other members of the Hash, we wouldn't even know where to start. Unlike other foodstuffs that we have at the end of run, members were restricted to one piece each because we cant have the gluttons taking all the good stuff for themselves.
There were some other moments on this run as well, although I think everyone would say that the buns were the highlight of the day.
Frequently on these runs on mostly private property farmland we will encounter things like this. This tiny little pond has got a small boat next to it, and we can't really discern why. It isn't connected to waterways and is just an area where runoff water ends up during rainy season. We have been here a few times and have never seen the owner actually using it.
Mushroom gathering is a way that some of the farmers in this area make some money during certain times of year. I don't know enough about them to not kill myself by eating the wrong ones so I just leave them alone. It is also important to point out that the mushroom gathering industry is actually a big part of the reason why we have smoke and smog season in Chiang Mai every Jan/Feb because it is much easier for the farmers to gather the mushrooms by simply burning the undergrowth every year to expose the mushrooms that are hidden below. This is a big problem but the people who are gathering the mushroom are so poor that the government cant really do anything about it. Everyone has to make enough money to survive.
Sometimes on these runs in the jungle we will encounter a "ghost house" in the middle of nowhere. While I am not truly up to speed on the tradition behind this, these houses are meant to keep spirits away from your actual house and gifts of liquor, water, flowers, and other things that spirits might find appealing are placed at these locations on a regular basis in order to encourage the spirits to live here instead of taking up shop inside of the homes in the area. I have heard from Thais that in more ominous situations, that these ghost houses are placed where they are because something terrible happened at that location and the houses are placed there to appease the spirits of the people who died in a terrible or violent manner.
This terrain, although kind of lovely, doesn't have the best history. A lot of these locations are old mining sites or simply backfill locations where the dirt was moved to other locations. Once the people conducting the excavation are done with it, they simply walk away. I guess they don't look too bad but they can be a bit dangerous.
Scouting such areas can be a chore and we have to be a bit accommodating to the older or less mobile members of our crew when we do use them. The last thing we want is to injure someone who is participating in our ranks and while it is rare, we have had some people fall and hurt themselves. Therefore, when we do get involved with terrain like this we will normally create another path around that is known as the "wimp" trail.
All this and more can be something that you experience as well if you are ever in the Chiang Mai area. All you have to do is turn up on one of the 3 days per week that we do this and we will welcome you in! Have a look at our official website if you want to get involved!
Interesting that he farmers burn the vegetation to expose the mushrooms later in the season. We have smoke during the winter months for no other reason than the locals burning fire wood to stay warm. Pretty cool you get the cinnamon buns made for you by a must keep runner.
we joke about how the only reason we continue to allow her to attend events is because she bakes delicious snacks... the joke has been told countless times but still puts a smile on her face.
Perhaps the burning helps the mushrooms to grow better. I honestly have no idea how the process works.
Can these forest house be shelters for the people tracking or working in the forest & not only ghosts?
I am a mushroom hunter & I have never heard of this burning practice. It is very strange!
If you are less than 8 inches tall I guess so :P
I know nothing about mushroom hunting and would imagine that the burning would also burn the mushrooms so yeah, it doesn't make much sense to me either. There are other reasons for the burn such as eliminating the rice crop waste to prepare for the upcoming planting but since our runs are in the hills where there are no rice crops, I don't really ever see those but just know they do in fact happen on a large scale.
Then, it is probably other reason like: they are burning only the bushes, grass and species with shorter growth cause they want to keep free passes for walking the forest for hunting animals cutting wood for building & heating/cooking purposes. Otherwise it would be a dense jungle almost not available for walking through...
⋆ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ғᴏʀ sᴏᴜᴛʜᴇᴀsᴛ ᴀsɪᴀɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴏɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ
⋆ sᴜʙsᴄʀɪʙᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ
⋆ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ᴠᴏᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴀɪʟ
⋆ ᴅᴇʟᴇɢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ʟɪɴᴋs 25 ʜᴘ⇾50 ʜᴘ⇾100 ʜᴘ⇾500 ʜᴘ⇾1,000 ʜᴘ