Mae Hong Son Resort

... which has been a real boost for me (much easier with two people). School has been really good. I've taught all the grades now from the sweet little ones in grade 2 (7-10) up to older kids (of 14-15) in Grade 6.<br><br>Took a drive up on my bike to small mountain town of Mae Aw on the border with Burma on Thursday - wasn't sure if the bike would get us there as some of the roads are pretty steep, with some scary hair pin bends ...

... out well. Plan is to teach English while I look for paid NGO work, run The Branch Foundation and do a research piece for the TBBC. It took me awhile watching the Slaween River to decide which direction to take, but now it feels right. <br><br>In a few hours I will head back on the bus to MHS, one of the scarest rides I&#8217;ve had in awhile. A local bus, windows wide open, winding roads and a driver that looks like he is a wizard stirring his big pot as he ...

... sollten. Nachdem der Fluss sich mit dem Pai River vereint hat gibt es eine Strecke ohne Stromschnellen, an der man vorzueglich im relativ schnell fliessenden Fluss baden kann. Das lassen Andre und ich uns natuerlich nicht entgehen, also rein ins Wasser und sich unter den lustigen "Vorsicht, da kommt ein Krokodil"-Rufen der Guides mit der Weste im trueb braunen Fluss treiben lassen. Nachdem die anderen bereits schon wieder nahezu alle ins Boot ...

... if ever, such an experience of sensory deprivation. Without my light on it was pitch black as well. I recorded the sound of silence and some things I said then made my way out to catch the swift display. Got talking to the Man named Dave and yes, his daughter...oops here name often escapes me like...Chondra. They were very nice and Dave was interesting in that he's one of those characters. He's spent many adventures and years and ...

... and traditional ways of life. We thought this was perfect. As a matter of fact, they have a website set up, if your interested to see it: www.lisuhilltribe.com The road that goes to Sappong is in the foothills of the Himalayas; and happens to be the part of one the top 10 best roads in the world for motorbikes. So, we decided to drive a motorbike up ...

... walking around town during the breaks between the rain. I took a nice hike up to Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu, which is a Shan-built wat about 1,500 kilometers up in the mountains just west of town, and made an offering of flowers, candles, and incense to Buddha. Today, the sun finally came out and I woke up feeling mostly better, thanks to the antibiotics I brought from home. Most of the trekking companies weren't running ...

... waterval. Dan het volgende dorpje in de bergen, van de Hmong. We hadden snoep mee voor de kinderen en blij dat ze allemaal waren! Ze hebben daar ook niet veel maar die dorpjes zijn echt mooi en proper. In het volgende dorpje van de Shan konder we proeven van hun zelfgamaakte koffie, heel straf maar wel lekker; Op het einde van de dag zijn we naar een meer gestapt daar in de bergen, ongelooflijk mooi weer, en er waren heel veel kampeerders, net rock werchter in the ...

... until the middle of the afternoon. The appeal of it all eluded me. Venturing outside of town, things began to get better. Whilst the town itself seemed to me an ugly, packaged parody of how it wanted to be seen, there was no denying the beauty of the area. Where I stayed, the Shangri-La, was less of a guest house than an environment, with half a dozen basic bungalows set amidst a pleasantly overgrown garden (complete with stream!) in the hills ...

Our intrepid duo now makes their most arduous trip yet. At 6:00 in the morning, with no breakfast, they board a Sawngtheaw (a truck with seats) for a grueling 6 hour ride with 20 or more others for a stopover town called Mae Sariang. Then then board a bus for another 4 hours through the hilly northern terrain, to the town of Mae Hong Son. Tucked away in the northern hills, this is as far West as Anita and John will go ...

... Moni von unschaetzbarem Wert. Weiter fuehrte uns unsere Tour in das auf 600m hoch gelegene Trekkingzentrum Pai. Das kleine Staedtchen eignet sich vorzueglich zum Ausspannen und nach zwei Tagen faulenzen und Buchlesen am Pool oder in der Haengematte machten wir uns gemeinsam mit einer Truppe Gleichgesinnter und einem lokalen Guide auf in die Wildnis. Der wider Erwarten anspruchsvolle Trek fuehrte uns durch den Regenwald und die ...