Summer will soon be in full swing, and that means it's a good time to visit the hot springs of Chae Son National Park. To many people, this may not sound so rational, but the height of the hot season -- April, to be exact -- is the only time of year one can witness the massive gathering of cicadas that crowd in the thousands around the pools of warm, mineral-rich water at this park in Lampang province.
These noisy insects spend much of their lives underground as nymphs, sucking sap from tree roots. To begin the final phase of their life cycle, they emerge from their burrows to moult on trees in the park's deciduous forest.
After the moult, they become adults, equipped with wings which allow them to wander farther away in search of mates. Males attract the opposite sex by producing loud sounds with a special feature on their abdomens. The cicada cacophony is, therefore, their symphony of love. After mating and egg-laying, the insects die in just a few days.
Every April, in the last period of their short time in the open, the cicadas of Chae Son flock to the park's hot springs every night. Villagers, with torchlights strapped to their heads, also come to the sites to catch them. The insects, each bigger than a grown man's thumb, make no attempt to flee. You just pick them from the ground and throw them in a bag. In the dark, the villagers' headlights move around the area like supercharged fireflies. Every night, a villager can take home bags full of them, to be sold the next morning at the market. Deep-fried cicada is a delicacy to locals.
Another good reason to visit the park in hot season is that at night the temperature in the forest tends to dip to a comfortable level, much cooler than in the city. Staying overnight at the park is a must if you wish to see the cicadas, which come to the hot spring after sundown. Another benefit is that the next morning, before the day-trippers arrive, you get to have the onsen pools all to yourself.
To make sure you will see the cicadas, check before you plan your visit. The park can be contacted at 093-137-5533 or 089-851-3355.
