The residents are fed up!

The province of Lampang, which is plagued by annual slash-and-burn fires, has decided to reward anyone who can identify those responsible for the fires.

Like every year at the end of the cold season, slash-and-burn fires are raging in northern Thailand, and the resulting smoke laden with fine particles (PM10) is clogging the valleys. Over the past few days, the regional meteorological office has recorded a level of 127 microgrammes per cubic metre, whereas the maximum permissible level is 120µg/m3 - it is 50 µg/m3 in France. 

Every year, this air pollution affects the health of tens of thousands of people, particularly those with sensitive respiratory tracts.

To combat this scourge, the authorities in Lampang province announced on Tuesday that they would offer the sum of 5,000 baht to anyone reporting those responsible for agricultural fires in the region. 

Cases of smog occur regularly in northern Thailand. They are generally caused by seasonal burning, forest fires and drought. Every year, Thai and Burmese farmers set fire to weeds and burn their old crops. The ashes are carried by smoke forming a thick fog that stagnates in the valleys of this mountainous region.

Every year, during the school holidays (in Thailand the period runs from mid-March to mid-May), my family and I really enjoy taking a trip to the north of Thailand.

First of all, the north of Thailand is no longer Phuket, and has nothing to do with Phuket, either near or far.

Well, it's true, there's no sea, but on the other hand, these visits and discoveries give us a really good time every time. A welcoming atmosphere, where the smile is still natural and frank, the real Thailand, the one that takes the time to live...

During this annual trip, my wife takes the opportunity, and quite rightly so, to see her family for a few days: mother, sisters, brothers, friends... 

Then we hit the road again to discover new regions: every year we plan to visit other regions, and I'm always ready to bring back beautiful memories with my camera slung over my shoulder.

Unfortunately, over the last two years, I've been very disappointed to discover landscapes full of smoke, where it was almost impossible to take a single decent photo...

Like Mount Phu Chi Fa (alt. 1600m, Chiang Rai region) opposite, from which you can normally admire Laos and the Mekong River below... and where I didn't even cover the last few metres because the fog was so dense and had dampened my spirits. The horror!

That same day, in the late afternoon, we found ourselves in the famous Golden Triangle... a very touristy place, but for us it was just a short stopover, and there again, the disappointment at the end of all those kilometres was there for all to see.

We could barely make out the other side of the river, be it Laos or Burma.
Finally, to kill time, we went to visit the opium museum for our own personal enrichment, you bet!  

On Route 12, right in the centre of Thailand, a place I really like, there too, the devastating fumes undermine my morale. The magnificent Wat Phasorn Kaew temple may be photographable up close, but it's much less so from further away. 

Surrounded by this foul smoke, we regretfully left the area, but to go where? the whole of northern Thailand was thus shrouded in a thick, noxious fog. 

In the small restaurants where we stopped for a meal, we chatted for a few moments with the people and realised that they were really fed up and complaining too. After several encounters of this kind, we realised that the people are fed up: the government has to do something, it's time!

I'd also planned to go to Chiang Mai, which I don't know very well, and I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to visit my friend Gilou, but I cancelled my trip and my booking at his guesthouse and landed in Sukhothai, where I took the opportunity to add to my collection of photos of the historic park, which I find just as beautiful every time. At least my photos there will be of good quality because the smoke hasn't invaded the area...

For the moment, I'm planning to head south to Pattalung to take a series of photos at Thalé Noi, where there are countless landscapes and birds, and then a few photos of the ‘east’ coast south of Surat Thani, which I don't know.

I hope there won't be any smoke there...

As for the north... let's wait and see what the news tells us before deciding whether or not to go there, because the north is not just around the corner... for the moment, it's only Lampang province that has taken this decision, but it should be extended to the whole northern part of the country, because on our last trip up there, we had these fumes from Chiang Rai all the way to Khon-Kaen via Phitsanulok!