I've been spending a lot of time mountain biking on the trails of Doi Pui and Doi Pla Klong lately and have run into these small

"stalls" on primitive roads and single track trails. There are usually several of them with ramps to get in and out. Sometimes there is string connecting them together, and they are usually within 2 km of a hill tribe settlement, but never within 10 km of a village or paved road. But what are they? Midnight market stalls? Animistic rights of passage hallways? I'll find out next week when I visit the Pui Yai Gaew for Bann Pong Yang Nye, but my curiosity won't let me wait. What are these things?

I've been spending a lot of time mountain biking on the trails of Doi Pui and Doi Pla Klong lately and have run into these small

"stalls" on primitive roads and single track trails. There are usually several of them with ramps to get in and out. Sometimes there is string connecting them together, and they are usually within 2 km of a hill tribe settlement, but never within 10 km of a village or paved road. But what are they? Midnight market stalls? Animistic rights of passage hallways? I'll find out next week when I visit the Pui Yai Gaew for Bann Pong Yang Nye, but my curiosity won't let me wait. What are these things?

No authoritative answer T, I just figured they were shelters for the mountain folk to get out of a heavy downpour while transporting their goods around the hills and to market. I've pulled my bike under these a few times to avoid gettin drowned while riding up there in rain season, before heading back out again to slip and slide around in the mud. don

My wife says they are salaa (no idea how to spell that) Which means they are just a place to get out of the sun for a bit, or rain I guess.

She said it is unusual to see four in a row though.

Fron thai-language.com:

ศาลา saaR laaM

1. [noun] Thai-style pavilion; open-air gazebo

A gazebo is better than a placebo for a geezer

Well, I am keeping my money on "Sala for the ancients", or "mystic sala" or maybe even "time travel sala"! Will be interesting to find out what they are, but I think it will end up being closer to ghost market than rain shelter. They are just too small to be anything as practical as a real sala, but I do appreciate the inputs.

Up on Doi Pui and beyond, one can often find above ground grave sites where the Hmong have recreated the living quarters of the deceased so the spirit can continue to live on. Quite fascinating to see chairs, cooking implements, and sometimes even the loo recreated in a small area. Out of respect, we try to avoid these areas but they are a very interesting example of how diverse the culture of Northern Thailand is.