Ban Hin Taek

This village, composed mainly of Akha people, has had a very vivid history involving the drug leader known as Khun Sa.

In order to reach Ban Hin Taek, one must take the road which starts at Bap Basang on Route 110 between Chiang Rai and Mae Sai.

In 1976, he came back again with his wife and children.’”[6] In 1974, Khun Sa was released from Burmese prison he set up his base 2 years later in Ban Hin Taek.

As long as the Thai generals were getting some of the drug revenues, Khun Sa could keep operating in Ban Hin Taek.

Khun Sa was also beneficial to the Thai because they hoped to topple the Kuomintang (KMT) and Rangoon’s hold on north-eastern Burma so that Thailand could become more influential in that area.

Once the communists came to power in both Laos and South Vietnam in 1975, Khun Sa was able to get a much stronger hold over the drug trade as the KMT’s smuggling routes in the area were now disrupted.

[8] According to Apinan Apinanderthai, the kamnan of tambon Therd Thai, the villagers “called Khun Sa chao oo, or father.”[9] However, Khun Sa’s generosity came to an end when the Thai government suddenly changed hands from General Kriangsak Chomanan to General Prem Tinsulanonda.

The new general, along with pressure from the DEA who were trying to stop the flow of heroin into the United States (US), decided to kick Khun Sa out of Thailand.

Thus, in January 1982,[2] the Thai army, in conjunction with the Border Patrol Police, launched an offensive against Khun Sa’s base in Ban Hin Taek.

Ban Hin Taek recently has fallen prey to drug traffickers who operate from across the Burmese border.

[4] As mentioned above, the drug trade allowed Khun Sa to build schools and other public facilities which helped the economic situation of the village.

Since Khun Sa was expelled from Ban Hin Taek, the village slowly started building a tourist industry.

The committee still fears that investors will abuse Ban Hin Taek, forgoing all of its cultural diversity and customs in favour of profits.

[14][15] Ban Hin Taek population of approximately 3000[16] people is ethnically diverse consisting of Shan, Yunnanese, Akha, Lisu, Lahu, and other tribespeople.

The houses in Ban Hin Taek are not built in an Akha style, but instead show signs of Yunnanese influence.

There is a Thai Buddhist wat on the north-eastern edge of the village, a mosque on the western front and a little ways out of Ban Hin Taek, a large Chinese temple resides.