A chance stop to look at a dilapidated cement mixer at a viewpoint on our Tour of Thailand led us to the little-known and little-visited Mlabri Tribe in the Doi Prae Mueang Mountains that separate Phrae and Nan provinces.

Steep, Twisting, Remote Mountain Roads

Route 1024 from Phrae is very steep, very twisty and quite remote. Some villagers we had chatted with earlier advised us against taking our planned route. It leads into Route 4010, acclaimed among the big touring motorcycle riders.

While heading east on Route 4010 on our way to the Pak Nai Fishing Village we spotted the interesting cement mixer seemingly abandoned on the inside of a very tight curve in the road.

Ban Pak Huay Oi Viewpoint

The viewpoint and what once had been a restaurant was on the outside of the bend, overlooking the village of Pak Huay Oi.

In conversation with the owner of the former restaurant at Ban Pak Huay Oi Viewpoint he informed us of the Mlabri Tribe, a little known, neglected group of people whose village was only a few kilometers along the road.

We continued for 3.5 kilometres along Route 4010 before turning off to the Mlabri village which is another 500 metres further in.

The Mlabri Village of Bun Yuen

Ban Bun Yuen is no model settlement but I’ve seen worse, particularly in southern Thailand.

Many Years on from First Encounter with Civilisation

Deforestation in the 1970s as a result of agricultural expansion, logging, and road construction was the deathknell for the nomadic lifestyle of the Mlabri in the mountainous forested areas of Phrae and Nan provinces in northern Thailand.

They experienced rapid social change over a period of about 20 years through to the 1990s as they transitioned from the subsistence lifestyle of hunter-gatherers to a sedentary lifestyle in permanent settlements.

However, their first encounters with civilisation was as exploitative, short-term labour on local farms, working for food and clothing.

Our Visit

Our arrival at the village coincided with Thai National Children’s Day.

A group of people from Phrae were ‘making a merit’ by providing food, ice cream, clothing, and other necessities for the Mlabri.

They most assuredly had the best of intentions and had made a solid commitment in terms of money and time, both in the fuel to get there, the food and treats they provided and their kind manner in which they served the willing recipients.

Regardless, it was an ambivalent ethnographic experience. I was initially reluctant to take photographs, however, after many of the kids (and some adults) requested pics I had a different perspective (excuse pun).

These instances of people helping others less fortunate are sometimes perceived as patronising or even condescending though I am sure (as an eye witness) the Mlabri didn’t see it like that.

It is difficult not to see Ban Bun Yuen as some sort of human zoo much like we observed on a visit to Ban Mon Doi Pui, a Hmong village in Chiang Mai province. Observers and commentators readily lay this charge against organised tour groups (very few now) and casual ‘blow ins’ like us.

Our visit to the Mlabri Village was a diversion from our Tour of Thailand Road Trip 2025.

 

This is an interesting and explanatory article about the Mlabri people.

Further Reading: From ‘Ghosts’ to ‘Hill Tribe” to Thai Citizens

 

© Kim Epton 2025
 616 words, 17 photographs.

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