Just keep on truckin' baby...

Notes from Thailand January 2010:
One day we decided (me, two Canadians and one Italian) (all strangers) to hire a car to take us into the mountains to see some coffee and tea plantations. We left Chiang Rai early in the morning and headed east into the mountains near the border with Myanmar.  This was suppossed to be an easy day of just touring in the car with a bit of light strolling from time to time. 

 As luck would have it, the truck broke down as soon as we were about a hour past civilization. We had two choices: mope and whine and wait to be rescued, or, start walking to the next village.

In keeping with the saying "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade," we started walking.  We kept at it all day long, mostly walking from village to village and sometimes hitching a ride. It turned into a fun day, except that I walked about 10 miles in flip-flops. But mai bpen lai; we had a great day.

 

Should we go East? North? South?  My new friend (at my feet) didn't care so long as I kept the little snacks coming his way. 

"Need a ride?"

Westerners walking casually along mountain roads is not a normal scene for the hilltribe locals. The look on their faces said it all: What are these foreigners doing here, so far from town, and on foot? People would stop and chat with us, and in our best Thai we told them "truck- uh - brokie brokie." They understood. This family rearranged their load and themselves and gave us a ride to the next village.

At one of the villages we found people processing coffee beans, separating the husk (red) from the bean (white).  While mom and dad worked the kids played a game that is a combination of soccer and volleyball.  This was a very happy place. 







Afterward the beans are spread out to dry, then bagged and taken to market for sale. 

As we walked the mountain roads through the forest and plantations, people would just pop up, wave at us and smile, then return to their work. If you approached them they would gladly try to chat with you. Some knew English and were proud to show it off. "How old are you? Where you come from?" were the standard questions.


The villagers taught us a lot about how coffee is grown, harvested, processed, roasted, brewed and consumed. I drank so much coffee that I began to hallucinate. For a while I was certain I could just fly back to my hotel.

At one of the villages we came across a group of hilltribe people building a house. But not everyone was working. I thought of joining this little guy but ran into stiff opposition from the group.  OK, we hadn't eaten in several hours and had walked many miles, so they were feeling a little peckish. Still, they were wearing shoes and I was in sandals, so I didn't think they had any business getting cross just because I wanted to take a little break.  

At one point the road became very steep and rutted. This was compound low and hold-your- breath territory.  We all became re-aquainted with the term "sucking seat cover."










Eventually the road disappeared into a creek. I wanted to to get out and soak my aching feet in the water, but I once again I was voted down by the group.  Some people just don't know how to have a good time.

We finally made it back to Chiang Rai around ten o'clock. We were tired, thirsty and hungry. Most eateries were closed, but we found a hole in the wall that served up a little snack. Although it is prudent to shower first after trekking and before going to dinner, we broke the rule and went straight for food and drink, and drink, and drink. 




After a shower and a good night's rest I still couldn't walk right for a week.  But they have excellent medical facilities in Thailand.  Here I am, receiving treatment.

Who are these guys?

If you ever visit Thailand, then be sure to take some trips out of the cities and into the countryside.  It's beautiful, and the hilltribe people are friendly and very interesting.  Take this gentleman, for instance.  The driver of our van parked near where he was working.  He was curious and a bit confused by our presence until it was explained to him that we were just going to take a walk and take some pictures.  That was OK with him, as long as we didn't trespass on his little piece of land.  What he was working on remains a mystery, but we think it must have been buried treasure.

Howdy stranger

This is one of our buddies, Hairy.  In the mountains spider nests were everywhere along the roads, and the inhabitants were far too willing to come out and greet you.  At sunset we learned that these spiders also live in trees.  They love to drop from the branches at night as we rode in the bed of a pick-up truck.  Creepy?  Yeah, creepy!

First Post

As with anything new, we have to kick the tires and go for a test drive before we make a decision to continue.  Here goes....

This is one of my favorite pictures from my days of inspecting houses in the Tahoe area. Yes, this picture was taken in the USA, and yes, that's a mushroom growing between the toilet and shower stall.

Poll question: would you sit on this toilet seat?