Back to Australia

My time in Mae Sot is over, and on to other things now. Overall, it's been a brilliant experience and I feel very priveledged to have been a part of these young people's lives for a short time. It's been really rewarding, on many levels, and I'd reccommend it to anyone who was considering a volunteer position. Doing something for someone else is the best way of doing something for yourself...

I had to get from Mae Sot down to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, to fly home. On the way I spent a night and two days in a little place called Ban Kruit, on the south east coast of Thailand. It was great to have a bit of time to think after living in such a busy house. The little harbour was full of fishing boats, there was a temple on the hill, a perfect excuse to spend 2 days taking photos! The swimming was nice too.



I had a swim at dawn on Ban Kruit beach, so I made a self-portrait. I'm not going to get in a habit of doing this.



 

Coming in over Australia with Air Asia - a much better airline than I had expected.

Back home - Ballina beach.

So now, back home in Australia, there's the next phase of life to consider, and money to be made.

Whatever I do, I'll try not to fall into too much routine. There's got to be more to life...

Funny Stuff

Beware! This post may (read does) contain traces of snapshots! Oooh - perish the thought! If you're prone to snapshot induced trauma, look away now!

Here's a collection of crazy things - I didn't have my camera when I saw the "Dr Crust" brand of toothbrushes, and I haven't seen them since! I wonder why...

This one was taken by Manja (used with permission)

hehe

Beautiful Thailand

That "Election" Thingy

Yes, well, there was some action here over the last week or so. Myanmar (Burma) held it's so-called election, which I'm not going to say much about. This is not a place to talk about heavy politics. I did take a few interesting pics though.

A quick overview: Clashes erupted between the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and government forces in Myawaddy by the Thai border. (Thanks to wikipedia for these links) Myawaddy is 5kms from Mae Sot.

There was some gunfire, and a rocket-propelled-grenade or two sent over to our side, and the Thai military was standing by, keeping a close watch.We were called on to help the Red Cross at the temporary camp, set up to cater for the thousands that fled Myawaddy into Mae Sot to escape the fighting. We just handed out food and water, and assisted with unloading trucks that came in with supplies.

People searching for relatives from outside the camp

Children waiting for food and water handouts

The Thai military were there for crowd control should the need arise.

Some of the big crowd - estimates were around 20,000 but I'm not so sure. 

At the end of the day, men were loaded onto trucks and sent back. It all settled down as quickly as it had started.

The Hut

Another "cheese sandwich" type of experience: I took a beer out to a quiet spot that I like on the outskirts of town . It's oil-painting scenery here; overlooking fields with the mountains in the background. Often I can find these huts empty, and enjoy them all to myself.

Today there was a drunk there and I thought I'd go to another, but I like this one. I thought maybe he'll leave soon, but he didn't, and I'll be ever grateful for that. We talked a little although neither could understand a word. We just said stuff. I told him how I liked the place, he told me what he wanted, or maybe needed, to say. He was lying down on the wooden bench opposite me the whole time. After we finished "chatting", he pulled out a battered harmonica. "Here we go, time to leave," I thought. But it was beautiful. He didn't have a clue how to play, nor did he care. He just slowly played long notes one after the other. On any other day, you'd get up and leave, but it was so soothing that when he stopped I encouraged him to play some more, lay down on my wooden bench and absorbed it all.

The only problem was that I had broken my Mae Sot Golden Rule: NEVER, EVER leave the camera behind. I could have filmed the whole thing if only the battery wasn't on charge at home!

The Amazing Cheese Sandwich

I had a simple cheese sandwich with Manja yesterday. Wow, I'd almost forgotten the taste and how amazing aged cheese smells. We can get it here, but tend not to as we're always eating the yummy local food. In Germany or Australia, I can't imagine hardly a day going by where you don't eat bread and cheese.When you eat stuff every day, you miss out on the noticing of how it smells and tastes. God I love traveling, even for the small experiences.

More Mekong Images

Pak Beng harbour lights

I took more than 20 photos from this scene from a high point in Pak Beng, over breakfast. (wish I'd had the sense to take 200)

The bustle of Vientiane, Laos' capital city, from our hotel room. That's the Arc de Triomphe (hehe, at least that's what we nicknamed it while we were there. It's actually called Patuxay, built in the 1960's to celebrate Laos' independence.) 

The Visa Run/Anniversary Trip

We hopped on a bus last week to take a break from our school duties in Mae Sot. We timed it to celebrate our first wedding anniversary in Chiang Mai - another interesting northern Thai city. We found a great little guest house with a pool that would cost you a small fortune in any other country. Our balcony overlooked the pool and river behind it.

Chiang Mai

We had a little shopping spree at the night market - so many goodies on sale! You could buy a Rolex or a Breitling watch copy here for about 10€ (AUD$13) I was tempted, but bought some T-shirts instead. The quality of the copies is unbelievable - but do I really want to pretend that I can afford such a watch, and pass it off as the genuine article. At the market, in the heat of a buying frenzy, yes. Later, when I had come to my senses, not at all. A three-year-old could tell that the cost of such a watch, if it were genuine, doesn't remotely match the cost (or style) of the clothes that I wear. Okay, I just like shiny things...

We had a beer right next door to one of those Aussie-style bars and were treated to a little show when the fat ignited, and the whole barby caught alight. It burned for at least 10 minutes while they struggled to put it out. I tried to help by suggesting to up-turn a sandy pot plant over it as they had no fire extinguisher or fire blanket!

They did finally manage it by pulling the drip tray onto the street. Buy this time I'd taken quite a few funny photos! We then left for somewhere with less burned paint fumes in the air.

This beast was at the Thai/Laos border crossing at Chiang Khong. A Honda motor/Yamaha seat/and God-only-knows what other bits and pieces sticky-taped together. It looks like it would be in place on a Mad Max set. Thai Customs in the background, on the bank of the Mekong.

Then we crossed the mighty Mekong River into Laos in one of these beautiful little ferries. This was to set the stage for many, many more beautiful boats along the way.The crusty paint-jobs only added to their beauty.

Ferries, and one Chinese freighter

We very quickly learnt to say hello and thank you in Laotian(?), and jumped onto our ferry-boat for a 2-day trip down river to Luang Prabang. We had a full boat, and collected chickens and other cargo along the way. There's lots of little villages along the river, and the boat stops here and there to collect more passengers. Children come on board selling food and souvenirs. I got an icy cold beer from one.

Bilge-Rat

Our boat was in a constant state of sinking so this guy had to jump in to the open engine room to bail 'er out from time to time. The stern-gland (where the propeller shaft passes through the boat) had water gushing in. I know it helps keep the shaft/bearings cool, but this was a bit of overkill!

This is the fast way - gets you there real fast, but maybe not too safe.There's many sunken rocks along the way when the Mekong is low.

A Bamboo village along the river - one of many

If it's just the scenery you want to see - then go no further than the Hinchinbrook Island channel, in North Queensland. It looks almost exactly the same. Of course you won't have the lovely Asian culture...or those pesky rocks to navigate around...