Month: November 2019

Next Trek day

In the morning we got to say hello to our neighbor.

At 4am the rooster symphony began. in a town of 300 with everone havin at least one it was something to hear, Accordin to legend the sun made an agreement with the rooster, that the rooster would wake her up .

On the way out we said hello to the tree little pigs.

Today was very strenuous through amazing Karst scenery.

The hardest part was the river, my water shoes were too thin so ihad to walk for hours in flip flops

On the trek

I wont be able to post rhis until I return, but thsi is an amazing experience, like traveling to a world which has been gone for a long time, meeting people whose life is so different.

It started with a walk rhrouhg amazing jungle past limestone cliffs

Past fields, as this waa a place were people lived. The so called hill tribes who originated in tibet a thousand years ago and move to thialand from Berma has refugees a hundred years ago,

Part of the land was national forest to protect old teak groves . this is a hundred year old tree, about 18″ wide, Clearly or wonderfull teak garden furniture isn’t sustainable.

After a scenic walk were arived at the village.

Our bedroom.

The shower

You use the dipper to pour water over yourself, the water in the cestern is kept clean,

Our dinner being cooked

There isnt a chair in the village,

Our farm to table dinner. Including the pork and chicken.

One dish was squash and chicken and i actually liked it.

After dinner I had a massage. I felt a large nomber of hands I was being messaged by two women and a child.

Last day before trek

I decided to visit the large temple above the town. it took some thoought as the cab ride was about 30$. But it was worth because the human activity when added to the lavish art and architecture created the feeling of calm and wonder that was the goal of its creaters 700 years ago, although they surely would not imagine all the photography going on. I had to participate so I kneeled in front of a monk and recieved a blessing, and then shook the sticks and chose one which told my fortune. When I read it I realized that fortune telling makes no sense for an old man. My fortune has already happened, I guess I could still be blessed with a long life.

Elephants

Yesterday I was in Elephant Nature Park, with outlawing of elephant logging, it left 3000 unemployed  and abused elephants. The have become a tourist attraction, offering offering various levels of interaction: riding, washing, feeding… According to the internet many of these sanctuaries continue the abuse. I found one that was a foundation, that limited human interaction but one did get to observe up close and get a warm feeling towards these amazing animals.