On To The Next Village:

OK, before we start this narrative, remember that EVERYTHING Kim says must be taken with a huge "grain of salt" and the fact that she got eaten alive and I didn't get a bite, says quite a bit!!!

As we left the Karen Village on our way back to Chiang Mai for the night, we passed a long procession of forest Monks. The first long line took us completely by surprise, but we were able to get photos of a few here and there as the line thinned out going up the mountain road. It was difficult to explain to Donut that we actually wanted to STOP the van for a minute to take a photo. You would have thought they had dealt with enough camera toting tourists (In my case, yes, two, though one was just"little" point and shoot") before to know a great photo op when it happened.

The next morning, Khun Chiaya stopped to buy us some sticky rice cooked in bamboo. Bamboo is one of the most versatile crops in Asia. It is used as cooking containers, in building construction, cooking ingredients, food for animals, clothing and batting, furniture making. The list goes on and on.

The rice is cooked with red beans in coconut milk over an open fire. When it is finished, you merely pull back the bamboo and eat the rice with your fingers.

Our first stop was at the Polong Hill Tribe. Below is a gentleman, who couldn't quite undertand why Kim wanted to buy cut lengths of bamboo. He may have been a bit confused, but for 100 Baht he was happy to do it. Candle making is obviously another use for bamboo.

We were invited into his home to meet his wife who was both a textile weaver and Betel chewer. When she brought out the items she used for cutting, storing, and combining the betel for chewing, Kim's eyes grew big. I could almost hear her mentally working out how to talk this lady out of her great grandmother's lime pot.

While Kim left without her betel pots, I was able to get a couple of lengths of textiles the women of the village weave for their skirts. Yes, another item checked off the "to buy" list.

The village tours ended with this enthusiastic group of ladies who were quite insistent that we buy something from them. Did I say that nicely enough, Kim? We'll just call them the "swarm".

But then, who could say "no" to a face like this?

The morning ended with a late lunch at a homestay resort in the area. The food was great, the calm and quiet were even better. We were soon (well, 1 1/2 hours later) ready for the rest of the day.

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