Allen's World, 2013 In Review

Now that just about everyone has gotten out their "Year In Review" or "2013 In Review", I thought that I would share some of my favorite photographs for the year that just concluded.  Staying here in Thailand gives me the opportunity to actually have two years in review, 2013 as well as the Buddhist Era year of 2556.

Life here in Isaan continued to be very interesting as well as fulfilling.  There were more than a year's share of festivals, family events, travels, and ordinary daily activities to keep me both satisfied and more importantly happy.

So let's see what the past year brought forth.

January - Udonthani
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/02/for-love-of-king-and-country.html

February - Ban Chiang
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/02/ban-chiang-weekend.html

March - Si That
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-rare-day.html

April - Maehongson
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/04/poi-sang-long-festival-wednesday-03.html

May - Ban That
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/05/ban-that-rocket-launches.html

June - Yellowstone National Park

July - Ban Nong Han
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/07/road-of-opportunity-plenty-of.html

August - Ban Tahsang
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/08/all-along-back-roads.html

September - Ban Nong Han

October - Sakon Nakhon
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/10/wax-castles-of-sakon-nakhon.html

November - Ban Tahsang
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/11/another-rice-harvest.html

December - Luang Prabang

It had been quite a memorable year as every year is.  It was filled with joy, sadness, challenges like all the previous years.  It had been a year of many opportunities just as all previous years and as I know this new year, 2014, will be - for everyone.

Another Rice Harvest

Harvesting Rice Outside of Tahsang Village

Our rains. in Isaan, ceased about three weeks ago.  The rice paddies that only a month ago were covered with standing water are now parched.  The rice plants that a month ago was a vibrant green a month ago has been transformed under the hot sun into straw with heavy drooping heads of rice kernels.  Another growing season has concluded and the time is here once again to harvest the rice.

As you drive along the highways, country roads, and dirt trails of Isaan you will come upon many locations where people heavily clothed and in anonymity under large hats along with tee shirt masks are stooped over cutting the rice stalks.

We have been travelling the highways and roads a great deal lately due to Duang having to care for her father either in the Kumphawapi Hospital or at his home in Tahsang Village.  I bring her out and her cousin returns her to our home in the evening.  As the youngest daughter, Duang has a great deal of responsibility for taking care of her father - it is the way things are in the ethnic Lao culture.  Fortunately her sister and two brothers help out so Duang does not have to spend nights away from home and gets a break during the early morning.  I use our trips out to Kumphawapi and Tahsang Village to reconnoiter locations for photography on my return trip.

Along the the highways and byways you will come upon places where motorbikes, farm wagons, and sometimes even bicycles are parked - a sure tip off that harvesting is going on in the nearby fields.

In other locations you can see people working in the adjacent fields sometimes with little more than their broad brimmed straw hats visible above the standing rice plants.

In addition to the rice harvest, people are also occupied planting sugar cane while others are harvesting reeds that are used to weave sahts.

There is much more work related to the rice harvest than going out into the dry paddies and cutting the stalks.  After the rice has been cut, the stalks are laid out in the paddy to dry out further in the sun.  After drying the individual stalks are gathered up and bundled into sheaves - several stalks held together at their base by using a couple rice plants as string to tie them.  After the rice in a paddy has been bundled into sheaves, the sheaves have to be gathered and brought to a central location.

At the central location the sheaves are either loaded on to a farm truck or placed on blue plastic netting.  The sheaves that are placed on the plastic netting will be threshed either by hand or by a truck mounted threshing machine at that location.  The sheaves that are loaded on the farm truck will be transported another location for threshing.

Loading Sun Dried Rice Into Fertilizer Bags

As part of the threshing process, the rice kernels are placed in recycled fertilizer bags - 50 kg (110 pounds).  If the rice is sufficiently dry, the bags of rice are put inside of raised granaries in the yards of the farmers.  If the rice is not sufficiently dry after threshing, which appears to be the case this year, the rice is spread out once again on the blue plastic netting in front yards, backyards, side yards, parking lots, vacant lots, and even on Wat grounds to dry another 3 or 4 days in the sun.  After the rice is dry enough it is placed back into the fertilizer bags for long term storage.

Around Tahsang Village I often find myself amongst family members.  As I approach the good natured shouting and laughing start.  The family is well aware of my passion to learn and photograph their culture.  They seem to enjoy my efforts and will often call Duang to inform her of "interesting" things that they will be doing the next day or day after.

My efforts to photograph ethnic life here in Isaan is not limited to people that I am familiar with or even restricted to the times that Duang is with me.  I venture out on my own when Duang's family obligations prevent her from coming with me.  I often find myself photographing total strangers. 

Like the family members the people have no objections to be observed and photographed.  They seem to be as interested in me as I am of them.  I suspect they may find our interactions as entertaining as I do.

I hope that they learn a little about American culture from me as I learn more of their culture.  Some how with my limited Thai, their limited English, and a great deal of pantomime we are able to communicate on issues such as rice farming in America, working in America, and ordinary life in America.

I do not discuss Thai politics.  I know about "Red Shirts" and "Yellow Shirts" but I laughingly tell them foreigners are "Blue Shirts".  I am a guest here and good guests do not interfere in their host's affairs.  I tell the people that I just want whoever is in power to let me stay.  That ends, with a good laugh, any further attempts to discuss local politics.  Like it is often said here "Good for you. good for me"

Harvest Time - Cassava



Lao Loum Farmers Harvesting Cassava In Isaan

The weather here in Northeast Thailand, Isaan, has become rather monotonous - hot (90-95F), humid, heavily overcast, and often wet.  The monsoonal rains that we have been experiencing since May will end next month.

Earlier this week we drove out into the countryside.  The day was heavily overcast but was dry.  We were not on a photographic expedition or foray.  Duang had been suffering for a couple of days with a stiff neck and shoulder.  Although I was willing to take her to the Army Hospital to see a doctor about it, Duang preferred to seek a traditional cure for her suffering. We had gone out to Tahsang Village two days earlier where Duang had gone a special massage treatment from one of the village women who had a reputation for helping people.  The massage did not give Duang much relief.

Undeterred by her failed experience with massage therapy, Duang wanted to go into the countryside to one of her aunt's home.  This aunt has a very good reputation of helping people who have various aches and pains.

Despite it not being an optimal day for photography, I brought along my photography backpack as I normally do when we head out into the countryside.  Although the weather or even the lighting may not be great, there usually is something interesting or unique to photograph.  This trip was no different.

This aunt lives in a very small village somewhere out in the countryside.  I dutifully followed Duang's instructions for the route out to the village.  To get there we drove almost to Ban Tahsang (Tahsang Village) and took a small road off of the local farm road.  Eventually we ended up driving across a small dam and then across some levees followed by narrow blacktop roads, narrow concrete roads, some roads that were heavily eroded, and even some heavily damaged dirt roads on our journey out to the village.  No matter the construction or state of the roads, they shared one common condition;  there was more water buffalo shit on the roads than other vehicles.

Out in the countryside, water buffalo as well as cattle are "free range".  Early in the morning the animals are driven, well more like walked, out of their pens in the villages to forage the countryside until late afternoon when they return to their pens typically adjacent to the owner's house. The animals are tended by a lone man or woman who follows them as they eat the thriving vegetation wherever they find it.  Unlike American westerns where the herds have hundreds or even thousands of animals, the herds in Isaan are small - typically three to five animals.  The largest herd that I have encountered was twelve animals.

Cassava Tubers Awaiting Gathering

Duang got her massage from her aunt with instructions to return for another treatment on Sunday.  We then headed back home along the same route we had traveled earlier.  Along the way we came upon some farmers harvesting cassava - a photographic opportunity.

What is cassava?  Cassava, Manihot esculenta, which is also known as manioc and mandioca, is a woody shrub originally from South America that has a starchy tuberous edible root.  The edible root is very much like a potato.  It is more fibrous and more mushy than a potato prepared the same way.  Cassava.  Unlike the potato, it is important to properly prepare cassava.  There are two varieties of cassava, sweet and bitter.  The bitter variety is typically used for industrial purposes. The sweet variety is the kind most likely to be eaten by people.  Both varieties can expose people to cyanide if not properly prepared.  The bitter kind has 50 times the concentration of cyanide compounds than the sweet.  Proper preparation of the sweet variety involves peeling and boiling the tuber ensuring to throw the water away.  the industrial variety needs to be soaked in water for 18 to 24 hours.

When the root is dried to a powdery or pearl type extract is known as Tapioca. Cassava can be eaten as "french fries", "potato chips", or "boiled potatoes".  In Brasil the tuber is dried, powdered, fried with butter, packaged and sold as "Manioc Flour" or "Farofel"  It is sprinkled on meat or beans for flavor and to thicken the consistency of the dish.

Cassava is a good source of carbohydrates but a poor source of protein for people.  It is grown because it does not require fertile soil or a great deal of water.  The cassava shrub is also very drought resistant.  Because it can grow in poor soil and without a great deal of water, cassava is a natural choice for a cash crop here in Isaan.  It is called "mahn falang" by the Lao Loum farmers.  Cassava is used in rotation with sugar cane.  Of the three cash crops of rice, sugar cane, and cassava, cassava brings the least amount of money to the farmers.

Gathering Up Cassava Roots Exposed By Previous Day's Plowing

The first step in the harvesting of cassava, is to cut down the woody stalks.  Later the stalks will have their leaves and branches removed.  The bare stalks will then be bagged up and removed to the farmer's home.  At the farmer's home either underneath the shade of a large tree or under the protection of a corrugated metal shelter, the villagers will chop the stalks into approximately 25mm (10 inch) pieces.  After soaking in water the stalks will be stuck in the prepared ground to commence the next crop.

The second step in harvesting the cassava, is to plow the field to expose the elongated tuberous roots.  The plow pulls the root clusters up from the ground and leaves them on top of the soil for the farmers to collect.  The farmers are working against the clock to harvest the tubers.  Since the farmers are paid by the weight of the delivered crop, they need to get the tubers to the nearby processing plant as soon as possible to avoid weight loss due to dehydration.  The crop also starts to deteriorate quickly too so speed is of the essence.  Since they had exposed the tubers the evening before, the farmers that we encountered were working hard to gather up all the roots and get them to the processing plant that night.

Cutting Up The Tuber Cluster To Save Space

As you will see throughout the fields of Isaan, men and women work side by side pretty much equally sharing the divisions of labor.  Most of the people are working their family land.  If the family needs extra help, they typically hire neighbors or friends - the minimum wage has been raised from 150 Baht ($5 USD) to 300 Baht ($10 USD).  Employers also feed their workers two meals a day along with supplying beer and Lao Lao (moonshine whiskey) at the last meal of the day.

Tossing Cassava Roots Into the Farm Truck

After taking many photographs and Duang having a good conversation with the farmers as I photographed them, we got back into our truck for the ride to Kumphawapi to get the truck washed.  It has been a long time and too many muddy roads since the last time the truck had been washed.

Moving Down the Line to the Next Bunch of Roots

Kept On Truckin

Back in 1968, in the first issue of Zap Comix, there was a one page comic strip of many different men strutting confidently (i.e. about 25 degrees vertical from the ground with a distorted view of the bottom of their lead shoe) across different landscapes.  The drawings became iconic images of optimism of that era.

Even today there are many men over 60 years old that, to their embarrassment, still have a "Keep On Truckin" tattoo on their upper arm.

Well the other day during my stop at the staging area for sugar cane deliveries at the Kumphawapi Sugar Company, I came upon what I felt was Isaan's response to the proverb to "Keep On Truckin".

Parked amongst all the various models and ages of trucks heavily laden with freshly harvested sugar cane was an Isuzu lorry.  Lorry?  Lorry is a British term for "truck".  Upon close inspection of the vehicle, I could not in any good faith refer to it as a "truck".  Fred Sanford, the television character, drove a truck.  Jedd Clampett, another television character, drove a truck.  This vehicle was unlike any thing that I had seen before.

Riveted Bodywork - A Long Lost Practise

After some Internet research, I determined that Isuzu commenced manufacturing "lorries" in Thailand in 1957.  I strongly suspect that this was a lorry from 1957.  Why?  First of all the lorry did not have a sheet metal body. It had a STEEL body.  I saw portions of the fender that had RUST thicker than the sheet metal used in today's vehicles.  Secondly, portions of the bodywork were RIVETED construction.  I looked closely to ensure that the rivets were not for decorative effect.  Thirdly, the vehicle did not have doors on it.

No Need for Doors ... or Upholstery!

Closer inspection of the driver's compartment revealed a wood bench seat with no upholstery or cushioning other than a folded saht that the driver had placed himself.  There were no side windows either.  With no doors or windows there was no need for air conditioning.  There was no radio or GPS.  This lorry added a new meaning to "bare bones".

This lorry was obviously over 50 years old and still running.  This in itself adds a totally new aspect to the adage that they do not build them like they used to.  Given the lack of the Lao Loum "preventative maintenance" practises in regards to mechanical equipment, the fact that this lorry is still able to perform is a testament to the design and durability of its construction.  Here in Isaan, when something is broken it is typically repaired by shade tree mechanics.  With thick steel construction, dents are minimized, rust through is reduced, and repairs are easy to make when necessary.

The trailer portion of the lorry was constructed of wood and with a unique color scheme - definitely not original and most likely not even "lead free".  As I photographed the lorry I kept thinking of all the repairs that were made to keep this lorry... to keep this lorry truckin.

It appeared that the  windshield had been replaced.  The windshield seemed to fit properly but had a unique mechanism to keep it in place. Three ropes were strung across the face of the windshield to fasten it to the steel frame of the cab.

Yes this lorry has been kept on truckin long after comparable vehicles in the USA have been scrapped.

Once again I had witnessed how important it is that things be fit for purpose rather than "looking good".  Once again I had seen that planned obsolescence once could be resisted.  Once again I marvelled at the persistence and ingenuity of the Lao Loum people to make do with what is available ... for much longer than you might expect.

"Keep On Truckin"

What A Difference A Week Can Make - Cane Harvest

Sugar Cane Trucks Awaiting Offloading

Last week, activities in the fields in Isaan centered around rice cultivation, more specifically threshing this year's rice harvest.  As you drove along the narrow country back roads you would see clusters of people in the parched paddies collecting the sheaves of rice for threshing.  You would encounter small farm trucks transporting bags of threshed rice back to the farmer's home.  Occasionally you would encounter a small farm trucks transporting sugar cane from the fields to a refinery.  Well one week has changed all of that.  The three month sugar harvest is now well underway.

A Typical Isaan Farm Truck

The back roads of Isaan on now filled with large, very large, and heavily loaded trucks transporting harvested sugar cane from the fields to the sugar refineries. These trucks will run all day and well into the night for the next three months.  The heavy trucks and amount of trucks take a heavy toll on the roads.  It seems that the roads are destroyed after two seasons of the sugar harvest requiring the roads to be replaced every three years.  yes that's right - destroyed every two years and replaced every three.  That is the way it is out in the countryside.  For one year you learn and become adept at avoiding the potholes, lumps, and bumps of the back roads.  I often joke with the local politicians and officials that if they will fix the road that year, I will vote for them.  I suspect that elections are every four years so the roads are fixed every three years as demonstration of the elected officials performance.  Right now the road out to Tahsang Village is great (the elections were in November).

Sugar Cane Laden Trucks At Kumphawapi Sugar Company Refinery

The loaded trucks take the sugar cane to sugar refineries.  On our way to Tahsang Village, just outside of Kumphawapi, Kumphawapi Sugar Company has their refinery.  Between the road and the refinery which is set a ways off from the road, is a large parking area.  The area used to be unpaved and was covered with a thick layer of very red dust.  This year the company greatly improved the parking area, it has been completely paved over with concrete and has a grass covered berm built around it. It is much better now to walk around it taking photographs than when the dust got into everything.  I suspect that the local residents are even more thankful.

The refinery has a limited capacity to offload trucks and to process the sugar cane.  The result of the refinery capacity and uncoordinated delivery of cane to the refinery, is a huge logjam of cane laden trucks at the entrance to the plant.  The parking lot is where the trucks await their turn to enter the refinery and offload their cane. During the height of the harvest, truckers can wait up to three days for their turn to be offloaded.  It reminded me somewhat of the huge line of trucks lined along the highway for about 20Km (roughly 15 miles) during the soy bean harvest waiting to enter the port of Paranagua, Brasil to ship their cargo out.

Trucks In Line to Enter the Refinery

At the Kumphawapi Sugar Company, the trucks arrive and log into the security office.  The truckers are given a number and they park their trucks to await their turn by number to get into the line to enter the refinery.  We spoke to a trucker and found out that he had already been waiting one day.

Passing Time, Waiting For Their Number To Be Called

Hearing that he had been waiting a day and knowing that some truckers end up waiting three days to offload, got me to thinking about how the truckers make money.  Do they own the trucks?  Are they hired to drive someones truck?  Are they paid by the hour?  Are they paid by the day?  Are they paid by the load?  Are they  paid by the weight of cane that is delivered?  Fortunately Duang was with me to ask and get answers for me.

For the most part, the drivers are hired by companies that own the trucks.  The drivers are paid by the amount of sugar cane that they haul.  The driver that we spoke with is paid 6 Baht ($.002 USD) per metric ton of sugar cane hauled.  For a tandem trailer, two 35 ton loads, he makes 420 baht ($14 USD).  General farm labor had been running 150 Baht a day but now it is closer to 300 Baht a day ($10 USD).  So running and offloading in one day is not that bad.  However, taking two or three days to offload is not very good.

The drivers pass away the time by socializing, listening to ethnic music, and sleeping.

Have Hammock, Will Sleep

Many of the drivers will sleep in their trucks overnight.  Food is readily available.  Townspeople have set up little stalls outside of the parking area where food and drink are available.  Some of the drivers, like the driver that we spoke to, drive their trucks back home for the night and return to wait once again early the next morning.  They keep the same number in the line until they are off loaded - whenever that may be.

Although it was a public holiday, The King's Birthday/Father's day here in Isaan, some people had to work.  Their work schedule is dictated by the ancient cycles of farming - times for sowing and times for harvesting.  There is also the need to take advantage of any opportunity to make a living.  Where opportunities are great, any opportunity, no matter when, can not be ignored.

Sugar Cane Trucks In Kumphawapi On Father's Day

Snack Time In Tahsang Village

Yesterday, Tuesday, we drove out to Tahsang Village to visit with the family.

The day before I had baked a pineapple upside down cake for Duang's son's birthday so we were bringing some of it to the village to share with some of the village children - especially Peelawat and Kwan.

Duang drove the new truck part of the way and did very well - much to my relief.
We arrived in Tahsang Village to find life going on just as it does every day. Various women and children were sitting on the raised wood platform with a thatched roof. While the women were busy talking and tending to the children, the children were busy playing with whatever they could get their hands on - empty plastic bottles, containers of powder, and plastic bags. There are not many toys available to village children.

We broke out the cake and the children including 8 month old Peelawat quickly devoured it. At about that time, Duang's oldest brother came by with his food cart.

Throughout Isaan, you will see food carts. Some food carts are pushcarts. Many of the food carts are side cars attached to motorcycles. Duang's brother has a typical side car food cart. He has a cart that has a small propane gas bottle and burner, unrefrigerated food case, a small ice chest, and a tray of various soda bottles along with plastic bags along with bamboo skewers. Sometimes he will also have a pot of soup or some other prepared food.


In the food case he had hot dogs, along with various meat based dumplings and turnovers. In Isaan the hot dogs are deep fried rather than boiled or grilled. The meat snacks are put on bamboo skewers placed in small plastic bags along with shredded raw cabbage to be eaten with chili sauce. To wash down the food, he sells small plastic cups of soda with ice from his ice chest. Duang bought food and drinks for everyone - 80 baht - $2.14 USD - a small price to pay to be able to photograph some of my favorite "models" - Fheng, Kwan, Mai, and Peelawat.

Most people in Isaan do not have photographs of themselves as children or photographs of their children. They have not been able to afford the luxury of photographs. This is quite different from my personal experience. I have many fond memories of going through my family album and listening to the stories from my parents related to the photographs. The album was filled with pictures from my parent's childhoods as well as my and my sister's early days. Duang does not have any photographs of her childhood and I have a sense of loss for her.



I know that I can not change the past but I believe that I can make the present a little better for some people in that regard. I enjoy taking photographs of the village children and then giving some prints to their parents.

It is not my intention to change Isaan to be like the America of my childhood. I only want to provide some joy in a small way to some people in thanks for all the joy that I have experienced here.

Maehongson - April 1 2009

There were no scheduled public Poi Sang Long events on April 01 that we were aware of. Despite assurances that there was nothing going on, I got Duang up and headed out to the Wats at 6:00 A. M. There was no acrimonious music to be heard - confirming that nothing was going on. Duang took it well but I did hear about a couple times during the day about how I had not listened to her. I told her it was an April Fool's joke to go to the Wat early in the morning and we both ended up laughing.

Duang wanted to see the Monk who lives in a cave so we headed north out of town and back up the long and winding road that goes to Pai (Highway 1095). We had stopped by the cave on our way into Maehongson the previous day but he was not there.

We stopped at the cave and the Monk was there. A young boy from the nearby village was preparing the Monk's food on a burner set directly above a LPG bottle. The food smelled good. We talked to the Monk for a while and received his blessing. I first visited him in October of 2006 and make a point to stop in and see him whenever I am in Maehongson. Today he had another Monk visiting him. While we were there a married couple from the local village arrived and made offering of food to the Monk. After they received their blessing, Duang talked to them and learned that the woman had a small restaurant at the entrance to Fish Cave National Park. From the woman we learned that the Monk's name was "Thom Padang".

When we had stopped at the Monk's cave the day before, I took photographs of the various statues of Buddha outside of the cave. Of the four trips to the cave, this was the only time that the statues were dressed in vestments. Each statue was covered with an orange cape that had fancy bead work on it. I told Duang that I thought that the cape had something to do with the Poi Sang Long Festival. Duang asked the Monk and found out that the sautes were wearing capes because the weather had been cool. After Songkran, 15 April, the Monk was going to remove the capes. Although we had visited the sight two years ago during Songkran, we did not see the statues clothed. Duang told me that she believes that before not too many people visited the Monk so he did not have the money to buy the clothing. Now he is apparently getting more visitors and has the material means to buy clothing for the statues. This would also help to explain why he now has a chain link fence and metal framed chain link door across the entrance to his cave as well other developments such as new tarps lining the inside of the cave. Dressing the statues is not limited to this location. In Bangkok, the King but most recently the Crown Prince change the clothing on the Emerald Buddha at the changing of each season in a very special ceremony. We bid farewell to the Monk and promised to return later in the year. Interestingly yesterday Duang informed me that the Monk had a special request for us. She had told him about why we in Maehongson and that we knew people in the Huay Suay Tao refugee camp. Apparently the Monk also knows Khun Ma Plae and requested a photo of her. Monks are celebrate and are not allowed to be touched by women. Thom Padang's request is interesting and I will be happy to comply. Duang believes that he will send us amulets that will protect us - he is supposedly Number 1 Monk for car accident prevention. With an amulet from him, we will not have an auto accident but if we were to have one - we would not be killed. OK. With the way I have seen so many people drive around here, I am not about to turn my back on any possible assistance to stay safe.

After visiting the Monk, we stopped at Fish Cave to grab a bite to eat at the woman's food stall. There were hardly any people at the park. There is typically 5 to 10 vans of tourists in the parking lot. There was only one other pickup truck besides ours. We ended up spending about 30 minutes sitting and relaxing with the woman and her young son.

We then drove to the Buddhist Meditation Center a little further up the road. We had discovered the retreat on our last trip to Maehongson. It is a very peaceful and relaxing setting with impeccably maintained grounds nestled along a fast flowing stream between a series of craggy hills. People from around the world go to the center to learn or to improve their meditation techniques.

As we pulled off of Highway 1095 to drive along the narrow road to the Center, we came upon four young boys absolutely enjoying themselves at the local swimming hole. A small dam across the stream running parallel to Highway 1095 has developed a small area of deeper water suitable for swimming. After overcoming their initial shock of me stopping the truck in the middle of the road, getting out, and starting to photograph them, the boys put on a show for us. They took turns running across the road and doing somersaults into the water. As I showed them their photographs, their enthusiasm increased proportionally. After demonstrations of their acrobatic prowess, there were a couple of races between the boys. It was entertaining for us to watch the boys enjoying themselves in such a simple and innocent past time.

We eventually arrived at the Mediation Center - we met the Abbott and he invited us to join the students for lunch. We had eaten at Fish Cave so we declined. As Duang paid her respects and made her offering to the Buddha shrine, the Abbott and I started talking. Duang joined us and we ended up talking for an hour prior to his next scheduled class. He was well educated and well travelled. He had travelled several times to the USA to teach meditation.

The Monk gave us his blessing, and gave us some unsolicited marriage counselling - I was to be sure to take good care of Duang as well as listen to her (how did he know about this morning?) and she was to take good care of me as well as to listen to me. As part of our discussions we talked about life in Thailand and in the USA. The subject of recent violence in America came up. I remarked that in general Americans had placed their faith in material things and material institutions. Now that there is a crisis and these items are wiped out or greatly reduced, these people have nothing left to believe in. Their faith and confidence have been greatly affected. For many this has deprived them of a moral or ethical compass to proceed with their life. The results are increased violence and depression - mental as well as monetary.

From the mediation Center we continued on to the end of Highway 1285. End of Highway 1285? On the map it showed that there was a market town of Ban Huai Phueng on the border with Myanmar (Burma). We had never been there before. We had time. We had a truck, so we headed north west. We passed another Army checkpoint without any incident. The Thai Army has many checkpoints in the area in efforts to prevent smuggling of refugees as well as amphetamines into Thailand from Myanmar.

After awhile the excellent two lane paved road narrowed down to a narrow road winding through small settlements. At one point where the road had narrowed to a single lane we came upon two large stacks of dried garlic bundles along side of the road. Two men were walking up a steep hillside to road level with huge piles of garlic suspended on both ends of a long bamboo rod carried over their shoulder. We stopped to photograph the men at their work. They were Shan farm workers paid to harvest the dried garlic from the fields in the land below the road elevation, transport it up the hill and stack it along the side of the road awaiting transport by truck to a large drying barn like we had visited the day before. The men work from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 A. M. and earn 100 Baht ($3.50 USD) a day. This is back breaking manual work performed in a smoke filled atmosphere for $0.43 an hour. Of course there are no social security benefits, retirement plans, unemployment benefits, life insurance coverage or medical insurance available for these workers.

We spoke with the two workers and learned that they were happy because there was plenty of work available these days. I could not help but think that at $3.50 a day no doubt that there would be plenty of work available!

The men told us about the area up ahead on the road to the border. We set out for the market town but never got there. We got close but not there. When we were about 5 miles from the border we came to a roadblock. The military man was undoubtedly surprised to see a falang driving a truck out in the middle of no where headed for the Burma border. Through Duang I found out that the area was closed beyond the road barrier and that photography was not allowed. He was friendly and pleasant so I informed him through Duang that if photography was not allowed, I didn't want to go there. We all had a laugh. We turned around and returned to the garlic worker's work location.

I parked the truck off of the road and we walked over to better view the work. We climbed down the hill about 200 feet to a narrow bamboo bridge spanning a clear stream. I set up and photographed the men crossing the four bamboo stalk wide bridge with their loads of garlic on their journey to and from the garlic fields to the staging point high above along side the paved road. The land from the road to the stream was filled with long yai fruit trees. The long yai fruit is very tasty and refreshing. The long yai trees are also the favorite habitat of the red ants that the people of Isaan are fond of eating. It turns out that the Shan people also eat the ants and ant eggs.

The workers invited and eventually convinced us to cross the bamboo bridge. We followed the men across the bouncy bridge and joined them on the other side. The other side was a series of dry and harvested rice paddies. On a previous trip in December 2006 to the region, I had photographed local people planting garlic. Crops are rotated in rice paddies to optimize available growing seasons and to assist in improving the poor soil. After harvesting the rice crop in November, the Shan people had planted garlic as a supplemental crop. That crop has completed growing, drying in the field, and is now ready to be harvested in April. After navigating a maze of dikes surrounding the paddies and crossing some paddies we arrived at the work sight. Several men and women were on their knees busy pulling garlic bulbs out of the ground. They were surprised to see us, mostly likely me in particular. I surmise that not to many foreigners make it out to this garlic field.

In no time at all, Duang had charmed them and I had sufficiently amused them so everyone was comfortable as well as relaxed. My previous photographs at the bridge were facing the sun. Now that we were on the other side of the bridge, it was possible to have the sun at my back. I made my way back to the bridge over the flowing waters. Carefully selecting where to place my feet, I was able to make it to a large rock in the middle of the stream - safe, sound, and dry. I did have to share my perch in the stream with many small butterflies as well as many flying insects. The flying insects were annoying but apparently not health endangering.

I spent a good amount of time in the stream taking photographs of the men transporting the garlic across the bridge. I went back to the harvesting site to see that Duang had joined the team in harvesting the garlic. Since I was wearing my pakama on my head like Lao Loum men in Isaan, the Shan people decided that I needed to try my hand at harvesting garlic. After an initial failure in harvesting grass rather than garlic which created a great deal of laughing, I was able to make some progress harvesting the garlic. It was back breaking work. I joked that with the way I worked, I would make about 5 baht a day. The Shan people were not done with me yet. I had harvested a good handful of dry garlic on their stalks but not enough to create one of the many bundles required to be placed on the bamboo poles to be hauled up the hill. My picking partner gave me her garlic. A man came along and tied the stalks together with one of the many strips of bamboo that he had on his back. One of the porters that we had spoken to earlier came up to me with his loaded bamboo rod. My new bundle was added to the load and the bamboo pole with garlic bundles was placed over my shoulder. The bamboo rod is about 4 to 5 inches in diameter and about 6 feet long. Each end of the rod is loaded with approximately 25 pounds of garlic. It was definitely a load. I may have been able to make it to the bridge but there was no way I could have climbed the four bamboo rungs to get up on to the bridge. On a very very good day, if some how I had managed to get across the bridge with the garlic, I possibly and just maybe may I would be able to get the garlic up the 200 foot high 35 degree slope to the paved road. To do this for eight hours a day - no way! To do it for $3.50 a day and not complain - as they said in the 1939 classic film -"Gunga Din" based on the Rudyard Kipling poem - " You are a better man than I am, Gunga Din" The Shan farm workers have my admiration and respect. Once again the reality of the world collides with our past experiences and perceptions - another reason why I enjoy living in S.E. Asia learning and experiencing life from a different perspective.

We returned to the hotel around 5:00 P. M. exhausted, satisfied, and content with the day's activities as well the insights into other people's lives that we had witnessed.