Kanchanaburi - Somsak Mining

From Thong Pha Phun, off the main road from Kanchanaburi to Sanghklaburi, a narrow route, frequently blocked by landslides, twists through limestone mountains until it dead-ends at the Myanmar border.

Just before Pilok a sign indicates that there is 5.1 km to Somsak Mining Homestay, but warns that the road is rough and only suitable for 4WD vehicles. As usual, such claims are only partially true as there is sufficient traction in the dry season for a normal vehicle to handle the inclines and declines of the road. However, extra ground clearance is a must due to the rocky and pot-holed road, so while no sedan can possible handle the road, a 2WD Fortuner, Hilander or Prerunner should be able to get handle that road in the dry season.

In the rainy season, things can be a bit more challenging if/when rainwater erodes the surface of the already bumpy road.

At the end of the rough road, first time visitors are invariably amazed to discover a few small cottages suddenly popping up in a lush jungle valley. The homely resort is run by a smiling and welcoming farang “auntie”, Glennis, from Australia. She has quite a story to tell.

She met Somsak, a handsome young Thai studying at the school of mines in her hometown of Kalgoorlie. They got married and Glennis arrived in Thailand in 1966. Somsak went to run the tin mining concession that had been in his family’s hands for some 100 years. Pilok was back then a prosperous community. Cross-border trade flourished and the mines attracted workers from Myanmar.

Due to difficulties in accessing Pilok 40 years ago, Auntie Glen lived in Bangkok while Somsak came back to her and their son once a week. When the mining business faltered because of a sharp drop in the tin price, and Somsak got sick, Auntie Glen decided to move to Pilok. She fell in love with her new home in the jungle.

Somsak succumbed to cancer in 1994, a year after mining was halted at Pilok in wake of a worldwide slump in tin prices. Young people left to seek jobs elsewhere. Those who remain eke out a living among ramshackle buildings and forest huts.

Some 240 of Somsak’s former employees remain in the area, among them five families working for Auntie Glen and a Myanmar Buddhist monk taking care of their spiritual needs. Here our 4x4 are parked just outside the tiny temple, which is reached by crossing a small bridge. 

The homely resort consists of two long bungalows in the forest and the converted warehouse for dining and lounging, all imbued with a tropical atmosphere mingling with ceramic bunny rabbits, pastel colored duck-lings, doilies and other Australian Victoriana. There are no telephones and electric power runs just five hours a day.

However, the combination of comfortable weather and a cozy home in the jungle attract travelers - particularly off-roaders. Various stickers on the door indicate just how popular the resort is with various off-road clubs.

Driving from Somsak back to the main road, to Pilok and onwards to Myanmar will reward you with some amazing views. From atop, you can see a small village nestled in the valley below, right on the Thailand-Burma border. Huge gas pipes and telecommunication towers can be easily seen among the small old houses.

That is Ban E-Thong and the pipes are part of the Petroleum Authority of Thailand's 260km pipeline carrying gas from Burma's Yadana field in the Andaman Sea to supply a 4,600 megawatt power plant in Ratchaburi.

Once Ban E-Thong and Pilok were bustling tin-mining towns. Thousands of miners, hundreds of merchants, shops, theatres and a casino kept this place busy around the clock. As they are only located around 50 km from the sea, many Burmese merchants back then came weekly to offer fresh seafood at very good prices.

Now, these towns are very quiet. All the miners have gone, but groups of tourist are now coming. Guesthouses and coffee houses thrive (except in the rainy season) and locals are getting into the tourism business as more and more people discover the joys of hiding away in these remote border towns.