Chillin' in the Mountains

Now that school has let out for a few weeks, I am able to catch my breath and get to some things on my personal task list. Crazy how fast this last semester flew by. Of course, learning a new job makes time go fast but it's also learning and adjusting to my new living environment that keeps things interesting most days. All in all, I would say it was a great semester at school but I am glad for this Christmas break.

Early in December, Dean and Uan asked if I wanted to go with them to Hyuay Par Pok Resort (translated means "stream forest cover"), a resort in the mountains owned by friends of theirs. Any chance to get out of the city is welcome on my part, not that I dislike city life but at times I sure miss living in open spaces with surrounding nature. So five of us rented a house at the resort and took the 3.5 hour drive northwest from Bangkok to district of Baan Rai in Thailand.

On the way, I noticed this part of Thailand is sugar cane country as we passed field after field of sugar cane and a seemingly endless parade of trucks delivering the product to the local processing plant. I had no idea that 5% of Thailand's agriculture was sugar cane after rice, fruit and cassava (shrubby tropical plants widely grown for its large, tuberous, starchy roots).

In addition to the sugar cane trucks, we passed numerous road-side stands offering snacks of fried rat and king cobra. Too bad I had lunch before leaving and didn't have room to try. Ya, as if. I'm OK eating a lot of different foods, including octopus and pigeon, but I have to draw the line somewhere...

Upon arrival, I immediately noticed the quiet around me -- not even air conditioners were running because of the cooler temps! You notice what is missing from your typical living environment when encountering it again, like the fresh mountain air and especially the flowering trees called Dok Beep. I would have to say the aroma from this flower comes in a close second to the Lilac.

Nature in this area reminded me of both the cottage in Ontario and my years of hiking in Colorado. Seemed like every time I turned around there was another sight, sound, or smell to enjoy. Our walk at sunset provided some great photo opps as well.

It isn't often a person can open their window in Bangkok because the temperatures remain on the high-side year-round. Even at this time of year our average high is 33 C (90 F) with a low of 22 C (72 F) so my trip to the mountains was the second time in Thailand when I welcomed a jacket in the morning! We slept with the windows and balcony doors open all night to enjoy the cool temps and listen to nature calls. The music that woke us in the morning was not nature sounds I am familiar with in NA but tropical insects and creatures like the Tookae, the largest of Thailand's lizards.

During the day, we ventured to some local areas of interest including what I call Oasis d'Serenity, the Bat Cave, lunch in the town of Baan Rai and then further into the mountains to visit a Burmese village (see next posts for details).

Burmese Mountain Village

One afternoon while in the Baan Rai district, we decided to head further into the mountains to visit a Burmese village. I'm not sure of the village name but we learned that it houses refugees wanting to start a new life while escaping the fighting in Burma.

As soon as we got out of our vehicle, a local 12 year old girl came to tour us around the gardens. This village is supported in part by the King and Thai government encouraging the growth of organic gardens including vegetables such as purple eggplant, the largest green onions I've seen, pumpkins and what they call Mickey Mouse Squash because of its unique shape.

Some of the gardens included a nice variety of flowers, including copious poinsettia at the front entry and flowering trees.

After vegetable, flower and strawberry gardens, our guide took us to vendors selling food, clothing and other locally crafted goods. Prices are hard to beat with an entire fresh cut pineapple at 10 cents! This visit reminded me so much of my visit to Mae Sot last October and spurred my desire to help the Burmese where I can. For instance, I was told families make about $60 a month so purchase of the local products we see at their stands is important.

It is an absolutely beautiful mountain location to live and farm. Evident is also the sense of community where residents look after one another. Even the large number of roaming cats and dogs seem part of the community, typical of villages and cities throughout Asia.

Oasis d'Serenity

Our group ventured on an early morning visit to Wat Tham Khao Wong, or what I've renamed Oasis d'Serenity. This seems a fitting name because a Buddhist monk built this facility and landscaped the gardens for meditation purposes some 20 years ago.

Having an eye for architectural detail, I spent time not only admiring the gardens but use of wood and design of facility -- from the building appearing to ‘grow out of a tree stump’ to the natural use of wood for bridges, lanterns and cladding.

The structure itself houses a Buddha in the upper level where visitors are required to remove their shoes before entering.

Interestingly, the monk who designed this facility is no longer of the Buddhist persuasion so the locals have stepped in to keep the property properly maintained.