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Hi,

The weather here is getting better by the day. The taste of rain we had has almost cleared the air. Blue sky and patchy clouds are a good sign. We'll pick up where we left off with our week of adventure after this musical flashback.

"(She wrote upon it) __ __ __, address unknown. No such number, no such zone. We had a quarrel, a lover's spat, I write, 'I'm sorry' but my letter keeps coming back..." Clue: It's all there so you really don't need a clue. Some of you got this one so it tells me it's not that hard. Hmm.

I forgot to tell you another story from our Tuesday adventure. When we crossed back into Thailand, Tay drove us to the top of a hill behind the marketplace where there's a temple with an observation platform. From there you can see the whole city of Mae Sai and the border area of Burma. We noticed a young couple with a little girl arriving while we were on the platform. When we came down the husband wanted to know if Kristin would pose for a picture with his wife and little girl. She said OK and he took the picture. Then the wife handed the girl to Kristin for another pic. We found out that the couple was from Burma. Tay tried to explain what she thought was going on. It had to do with superstition and luck, being photographed with a traveler from far away and all. Hmm.

Wednesday morning we got an early start on our day and left the house a little after 9a.m. We had a van and driver for our trip to what is called a 'mixed' Hill Tribe Village, and the Golden Triangle. Blue knew of a place where we could meet members of three different tribes. The village is called Yapaa and it's up in the mountains about an hour from Chiang Rai. The Hill Tribes (HT) are made up of ethnic minorities who are viewed as separate and unequal by most Thais. There has been a movement for many years to try and give them citizenship and legal rights but most are bound to the 'reservations' where they make crafts and are a curiosity for tourists. Some of the tribes migrated from Burma and Laos years ago and some are native to Thailand. We have known a member of the Yao tribe for years and we see Akha and Yao women in the Night Bazaar all the time. We view them as unique people who continue with very traditional ways even in the face of discrimination.

At the Yapaa village we met members of the Yao, Akha, Palong and Paduang (Long Neck) tribes. Each tribe may be different in one village from members of their tribe in another. Some part of their costume will have an identifying stitch or pattern that will set them apart. We mostly saw the women of the tribes since the men generally work away from the village doing farm work.

Doug and Blue took tons of pictures, Kristin posed for many pictures with the women of the various tribes and we had a very memorable, spiritual day. I'll be posting some pics of our experience very soon on the Flickr site. To get a better understanding of the HT experience, you might want to get a copy of Blue's wonderful new photo book: "Faces of the Golden Triangle" http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/378955/b5206baeaff1cfa263d3886e315ae894

Our next destination was the 'Triangle' itself. The junction of Thailand, Burma and Laos is another spot you'll definitely want to visit when you come here. (Ha) We had lunch looking out over the Mae Kong River, with Laos on the other side. There was lots of activity on the water. Barges and boats from China hauling freight and small speed boats carrying passengers back and forth across the river. After lunch we visited the tourist shops and our resident photographers took pictures of relics at a temple dating back to 1302 B.E. (or B.C.) Incredible.

I'll be back tomorrow with more HT adventures. Have a Great Day.

Peace,
Danny

"Never believe that a few caring people can't change
the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have."
~Margaret Mead

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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