Umphang Country Hut Tak

... br>Things weren't all so bad once we got to the bus station, it actually looked half like it did on the pictures ( A rarity in SE Asia) and the driver was a middle aged gentelmen, thing's were not looking so grim. <br><br>The first 4 hours kinda sucked, especially after the lights went out as we couldn't read anymore but we pulled up at a midnight bus stop not long after to grab some snacks. <br>

... paramount, in your face and it makes me feel alive!<br><br>That&#8217;s all for now&#8230;time to finally check into my room now that the day has started. I have been sitting in a lil Thai style hut, writing as the rain fell, and watched the guesthouse owners prepare for the day. The woman comb their long hair, then hold their hair up with the comb, they consciously swept and cleaned the communal areas, singing to themselves and when our eyes met they gave me warm smiles.

... due to his terrible plague of sand flies in Jamaica, turning his body into a beautiful array of mosquito bites. Beau is known as Sun Diver, since he drunkenly dove into two feet of water after attempting to ******** a sea cucumber. This caused the bridge of his nose to spew forth arian blood and leave behind a memorable scar. Emma is Cake... If you know Em, you should know how much she loves chocolate, but that isn't a worthy name and while in Pai (pronounced pie) we dubbed her ...

... the dark side of the tourism industry in Chiang Mai, Pat (my partner in crime for this venture) wanted to create a project that symbolised the opposite of this. So far, I think we're on the right track. My apologies beforehand, for in this blog there are no fancy trying to impress writing styles, just me and my thoughts as they enter my head, the experiences and stories I pass during my journey through sustainable travel!

... cheap items...90% of the fun for me was negotiating with the Thai salesmen who would initially charge 5x the final price because of his product being "different than the others", "special quality", or "original"...after getting a few t-shirts, Pele soccer jersey, lamp, and "North Face" backpack for ~$30 combined--and enduring/dishing out a few insults along the way--I was quite proud of my accomplishments...

... place was a buzz with preparations. We were able to walk among the ruins which was really awesome, it's amazing to be so close to so buildings that are so old and with so much history attached. The thing that gets us every time with these places is the scale and amount of detail, some of the standing Buddha statues were around 10m, they must have been pretty heavy to erect.

... water tossed over the body, naked except for sarong-like longyi. We hear some music from a nearby campfire and I go to record. It's a group of teenagers. One of them is leaving for Australia tomorrow, so this is his farewell party. I attempt a brief interview, but his English is limited. "I'm going for education" is all he can say. They invite us to a meal and singalong at a small bamboo church nearby. The guitar is passed around, and people tell stories and ...

... a couple of guitar picks and strings for his beat up Yamaha-copy acoustic. Since there's not much for people to do, everyone can play guitar. But the one I'm looking for is an old man, a shaman of sorts, who's known as the local folklorist. I've seen photos of him playing the Thana, a small harp that's the signature instrument of the Karen, but no one in this part of the camp can remember where he lives. Khangsai and her brother walk with me to a hilltop church, where there are ...

... at. Back at the guest house we had a Thai Fondue for dinner...a bit like making your own soup, throwing lots of things into a large stock pot. As usual Stephane spent the evening on the pull...this time an English girl...the next day he told David he still can't understand English girls.

... of full out door restaurants not far from the river. Idan and me got into an argument and each went out own way later we found ourselves meeting each other at the bus station both telling each other about the free motorcycle ride we got from concerned locals who didn't think tourists should be carrying backpacks around at midnight all the way to the bus station. We sat and waited for the bus and we were offered that Taxi from before ...