Go-Go Girls At The Door to The Water Underworld

It has been over a week since my last blog, but it is not because we have not been doing anything. To the contrary we have been very busy. I have completed reviewing approximately 2,000 35mm slides from the past 32 years. I ended up with 57 packets of 35 slides with identification labels attached. After boxing them up, we were off to the Post Office to ship them to the USA where they will be sent to India for digital scanning.

Saturday we set aside everything and went to a show put on by Duang's brother.

Her youngest brother continues the family tradition of performing. Duang's father is a former mahlam morlam (Lao traditional music). His youngest child puts on and performs in the modern versions of the shows. The shows are popular throughout Isaan. Performances are presented for religious holidays, weddings, festivals, anniversaries of a death, Monk ordination celebrations celebrations, and sometimes - to just have a party. Often as you travel the roads of Isaan you will pass trucks loaded with staging, sound equipment, musicians, and dancers traveling to or from a performance. Often in the middle of no where, you will stumble upon a show venue. The shows are put on in the morning, afternoon, and nights - sometimes all night long.

The shows are typically comprised of a live band. For big shows such as Siriporn Amphaipong the band has 16 musicians. Duang's brother's band runs 6 to 8 members. In addition to the lead performer there are other singers. Duang's brother typically has 3 to 4 other singers whereas big shows can have up to 8 other singers. The shows always have dancers. At one Siriporn Amphaipong concert that we attended, I counted 56 dancers - male and female. Duang's brother has 3 to 4 female Go-Go dancers. His show's complement depends on how much money that he gets paid for the show. More money gets more performers and more musicians. Typically a show will last 6 to 8 hours. Most of the time the shows are free. When we attend the big Siriporn Amphaipong productions, it costs around $3.00 USD for the 6 hour show.

In downtown Udonthani, there is a street alongside Wat Matchimiwat there is a street where many Mahlam Morlam performers live. They live in very narrow and small tin roofed buildings with large advertising banners for their shows over the doorways or utilized to provide additional weatherproofing to the structure. The entire front of their home opens up to the sidewalk when the sliding doors are opened. The residents can always be found sitting at concrete tables and chairs that are set on the sidewalk. There is a very strong sense of community amongst the residents of this street.

Saturday's show was scheduled to start at 10:00 A. M. at Wat Kham Chanot about 2-1/2 hours from Udonthani, so we arrived at the performer's street at 6:15 A. M. As we sat outside on one of the concrete benches, people were just getting up and starting the day. In addition to Duang's brother's show that morning there was another show to prepare for. Young girls, the Go-Go dancers came out of their houses and either set off to the local market to buy breakfast or to sit on the concrete benches to commence doing their hair.

Go-Go dancers in Thailand wear elaborate hairdos. The hairstyle, like their dance moves, are very reminiscent of the late 1960's. Typically hair pieces are worn that provide long tresses down the dancer's back and a large bun of curls on the top of their hair. A tiara is often used to accentuate the hair style.

Upon arrival at the show sight, the girls set their shopping bags of cosmetics and plastic boxes of costumes in the sheltered area behind the stage that the roadies had set up earlier. After placing sahts, the ubiquitous woven reed mats, on the ground the dancers commenced the laborious task of applying their make-up. Like the singers in the luuk thung shows, the dancers wear heavy makeup. The eyes get very special treatment - many different layers of powders, liners, and outrageously long eyelashes.




I sat down and just photographed the girls as they prepared for their performance. It was not long before we were joined by some young children. Two young girls stood by intently observing the go-go girls applying their make-up. Their attentive demeanor was much like any young girl watching a bride to be applying her make-up on her big day. These young girls were perhaps dreaming of the day when they will be watched as they apply their make-up before a show. This is a reality of Isaan. To escape the grips of poverty and limited opportunities in the region, many young women enter into the entertainment field. The villages of Isaan are continuously supplying fresh young dancers and entertainers to local shows as well as to the tourist centric establishments in the bigger cities.


In a previous blog I noted that people working in the garlic fields make 100 baht a day ($2.85 USD). The 18 and 19 year old dancers that work for Duang's brother are paid 500 baht for a 6 to 8 hour show. In addition the dancers are often given tips from people watching the show. Spectators often walk up to the edge of the stage to hand a singer or dancer a gift in appreciation of their performance. Gifts are often 20 or 100 baht bank notes but sometimes are fresh flowers or paper chain necklaces like we used to make in elementary school to decorate Christmas trees. The exchange and acknowledgement of the gifts is a significant as well as important component of the performance. Tips from a show can run from an additional 200 to 1,000 baht for a dancer depending upon the venue.


Saturday's show was at a Wat Kham Chanot out in the middle of no where. This Wat is an important place for the local people. It is located in an area known as "Wang Nakhin" - (Naga Place). Nagas are water serpent creatures that have mystical powers. In ancient times the worship of naga spirits was practised in China, India, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. The belief if not worship of these spirits remains today in many areas - in particular Laos and Isaan. There is a shrine located on an island out in the middle of the rice paddies that is reached by walking along an elevated zig zag concrete elevated bridge. At the head of the bridge leading out to the island are two naga heads. Their bodies lie atop the railings of the bridge out to the island. The shrine is built on an island where the local vegetation has remained untouched. Huge palm trees and all kinds of tropical plants flourish at the site. The name of the site "Kham Chanot" is derived from the tall chanot palm trees that grow unencumbered on the island. There is a large elevated pool of water at one side of the site. People walk up to the side of the pool to collect its waters in plastic bottles or to sprinkle the water over their head while reciting some prayers. I was told that this was very special water because it was very old and came out of the center of the Earth. This mystical and spiritual site is considered to be the door way to the water underworld of the naga. Outside of the shrine there were three gongs varying in diameter from 6 feet to 2.5 feet. The gongs were made out of thin metal and had a round protrusion pressed out in the center and smaller bumps pressed out of the disk closer to the edge. I have seen these before and I have actually rung them using a mallet placed near them. However Saturday was different. After kneeling before the gongs, saying a prayer or two, the worshipper placed their hands inside the hollowed out protrusion and vigorously rub their hands back and forth. For most of the people, and for some unexplained reason - all the children, the gong would start to vibrate and give off a loud as well as an un-earthly hum. Apparently this facilitates the prayers being heard by those who can do something about the requests.

On the land side of the Wat complex, a festival was being held. These festivals are very similar to the church bazaars held by the Catholic Church back east in America to raise money to support the Parrish. There were booths with local foods for sale. Other booths sold small fireworks. There were stalls where typical festival games such as breaking balloons with darts, shooting targets with air rifles, and throwing rings over bottles. There was a small merry go round for very small children as well as a large inflated slide. There were even two trampolines for children to jump on. I knew that I was not in America when I noticed not "Release of Liability" documents to signed by the parents, anyone spotting at the side of the trampolines, 3 to 5 children jumping on each trampoline, and no lawyers hovering around in eager anticipation of a negligence suit. The children had a great time just being children on a hot sunny day jumping and falling on a trampoline under the shade of a blue plastic tarp. Part of the joy I have in Thailand is due to the innocence of the children as well as the adults here. It is much like the America of my parent's childhoods that they told me about so many times. A place where people are free to be themselves and not preoccupied with the fears of not being politically correct or intimidated by the specter of capricious litigation. A place where you can stop and talk to babies without aggravating the parents. A place where taking photographs of strangers is accepted as an honor or compliment rather than as a perceived threat.

The festival at the Wat was several days long. As part of the celebration rockets were being launched. Saturday there were several rockets launched with a great roar and swoosh. Little boys perhaps in dreaming of or contemplating the future fired smaller bottle rocket type fireworks into the sky at the edge of the rice paddies.

The previous night a stage had been erected and a makeshift movie screen had been set up. A movie was shown for the enjoyment of the villagers and others. Others? The movie was apparently a comedy that the villagers enjoyed very much as well as the phii (ghosts) that showed up to watch. Apparently several ghosts had been observed watching and laughing along with the people. This area is well known amongst local people for having friendly and good phii.

Anyhow - back to the Go-Go girls.

The show started at roughly 10:00 A. M. The girls danced with a great deal of energy as well as enthusiasm - song after song after song. The music has a rapid driving beat and the dancers synchronize their movements to the music. Often strong drum beats are accentuated with large pelvic thrusts by the dancers. Other popular dance moves are leg kicks, flailing arm movements, and even squats. The routines are very similar to what American teenagers and Go-Go dancers were doing in the late 1960s. Can it really be 42 years ago? Despite the provocative dance movements, the dancers are actually rather modest. They wear a tight opaque short tee shirt over their bra and underneath the "brassiere" portion of their dance costume. Underneath their dancing skirt they wear pantyhose covered by black very short-shorts. More skin is seen at any beach in the USA than is seen on these Go-Go dancers. Of course more can be seen inside the clubs and bars of the bigger cities but that is an entirely different culture and venue. The modesty of the dancers includes their costume changes. There are no dressing rooms at the concert venues so the girls change costumes behind the stage. They put on a typical Isaan or Lao long skirt and pull it up to their arm pits and change inside the skirt.

The Go-Go girls danced outside the doorway to the naga waterworld from 10:00 A. M. until approximately 1:00 P. M. when the show took a 45 minute break to eat. The show and their dancing resumed from 1:45 P. M. until 4:00 P. M. in the glaring sun. The temperature was at least 90 degrees F or 95 degrees F all afternoon. The afternoon set was more energetic than the morning set. The catalyst was the audience. The audience was very energetic and animated in the afternoon. The performers fed off the crowd's energy. The catalyst for the audience was beer, and whiskey. By the afternoon after several hours of drinking, everyone was in a party mood. I was busy filming the show at my brother-in-law's request so my involvement in both the drinking and dancing was limited. Even so, by 3:30 P. M. I was sick - sick from the heat and sun.

The go-go dancers had danced approximately 4.5 hours during the 5-1/4 hour show but their day was far from over. They and the rest of the company had to drive 4 hours to the south in order put on another show starting at 9:00 P. M.. The night show would continue through the night and end around 7:00 A. M. The dancers would earn another 500 baht plus tips for the second show. We were invited to join them for the second show but I wasn't too proud to admit that I couldn't handle it. I needed to get home and recuperate from another memorable experience in Isaan.

Nong Thong Lisu Village

APRIL 2007 - Maehongson - Nong Thong Village

Nong Thong Village is a small Lisu Hill Tribe village located close to Soppong, a market town along the road, Highway 1095, from Maehongson to Pai. and then on to Chiang Mai.

We happened upon Nong Thong Village by chance during our trip to the Maehongson area for the Songkran holiday.



We arrived in the village in the late afternoon during a rain shower. As we drove into the village we passed a young girl dressed in traditional Lisu clothing walking in the rain with a determined walk carrying an umbrella to ward off the rain.

Upon exiting the car we came upon a young mother feeding her baby. She was very photogenic and did not mind at all the attention that we were paying to her as well as her little baby.

As we were photographing the farm houses and hay stacks a Lisu woman walked by. She was very friendly and spoke very good English. It turned out that she was married to an American from California. She invited us to accompany her to her home.

We walked the short ways to her home. We met her husband and ended up having a very long conversation while drinking tea.

The couple run a Community Based Tourist program. Their goal is not to have tourism become a alternative income source or focus of the villagers but to have tourism be a supplementary activity that serves as a catalyst to maintain the traditional subsistence activities of agriculture and forestry.

In addition the couple practise traditional Lisu herbal healing, Lisu massage, natural diets, and spiritual healing.

Susanan was born in the village and she is an expert in medicinal and edible local plants. She is also a message therapist.

Albert has an advanced degree in clinical psychology and once
had his own detox retreat in Northern California. He also is a Master Jeweler and teaches jewelry making.

As part of the home stay program in the village, four hour classes are available. These classes cover a wide range of topics and interests.

Classes include: Lisu Music, Lisu Dance and Chant, Lisu Sewing, Lisu Weaving, Bead Work, and Basket Weaving, Mushrooms and Wild Edible & Medicinal Plants, Lisu Diet & Food Preparation.

This was all very interesting.

Costs for two people for room, board, classes excluding class materials were about the same cost as a room at one of the resorts in Pai. The cost is less than most motel rooms in the USA.

The opportunities of a home stay in the Lisu village are far greater.

The photography opportunities are immensely more diversified and unique.

Wat Rong Khun - A Man's Devotion and Obsession

Two years ago during our tour of the Chiang Rai area, we visited a place called Wat Rong Khun outside of Chiang Rai. In addition to enjoying the physical beauty of the Wat which is under construction, we also got to meet and speak with the the creator, Khun Chalermchai Khositpipat.

Khun Chalermchai Khositpipat is a famous Thai artist. I am not well versed in art or art history, but his painting style reminds me a great deal of Salvador Dali. However, Khun Chalermchai deals almost exclusively with Buddhist themed works. I use the term "almost exclusively" because I know that he has done at least one painting of the King of Thailand.

Khun Khositpipat style, in my opinion, utilizes very bright colors, intricate composition, and sharp details. There is a certain degree of surrealism in his work but not to the extent of Dali.

Chalermchai was born in the village of Rong Khun in 1955. He attended college in Thailand and graduated with a degree in Thai painting. In 1977 he won the National Arts Contest. From 1980 to 1996 he traveled the world painting and exhibiting his works. In 1997, he ceased painting for patrons or art markets and returned to his home village of Rong Khun.

He returned to his village to commence his mission to contribute to his country, his religion, and the people of the world. His contribution was to be a Buddhist work of art that would be considered as one of the world's greatest works of art. The greatness of the work would reflect upon the greatness of Thailand. These are pretty much his own words. Like many artists, either great or marginal, he is somewhat eccentric which is part of his charm.

His inspirations for the building of the Wat complex were nationalism, religion, and royalty. The artist is very proud of his nation and views his art as a contribution to the Thai heritage. Buddhist religion is a passion for Khun Chalermchai. His current lifestyle and attitudes are much opposed to those of his earlier years. Like many reformed people, be they recovering alcoholics, born again Christians, or other types of "saved" individuals, he has a desire or perhaps a need to bear witness to his redemption. Creating this work of art is undoubtedly a great testament to his redemption and salvation.

In 1998 he started construction of Wat Rong Khun. He no longer sells his works and has used his personal fortune to finance the creation of his offering to Buddha and the Thai nation. He is often seen at the construction site motivating and inspiring the workers. The day that we visited the Wat we inadvertently became involved with him.

We saw a man dressed in blue farmer's jacket and a dark pith helmet walking around very animatedly with a couple of Europeans. After awhile they came to where we were standing. Being curious, I listened in and determined that he was the artist behind the place and was being interviewed by a German magazine. They were interviewing him in English and had asked him a question that he did not understand and they could not rephrase so that he could better understand. I interjected and gave him some English words and phrases to better understand "passion, passionate". He ended up graciously posing for some photos by us.

I listened to his interview and was fascinated by his vision and goal. He indicated that he was tired of living. He did not mean that he wanted to die now but that he was tired of the Buddhist concept of reincarnation where by he was continually being born, dying, and being reborn until he reaches the point of enlightenment when it will stop. As part of he progress towards achieving enlightenment, he was earning merit in this life by building this exquisite Buddhist Temple.

Typical of Thai Buddhist temples, the concept motivating the design and construction of Wat Rong Khun is to depict Heaven on Earth. What is striking about Wat Rong Khun is its brilliant white color and reflective surfaces. The white color symbolizes the purity of Buddha while the reflective glass mirrors represent Buddha's wisdom spreading truths and shining all around the world as well as the six types of rays that emanate from Buddha's body.

To enter the Ubosot, consecrated assembly hall, you must cross a bridge. This is also symbolic. The bridge symbolizes the crossing of a circle of life upward to heaven, then upward to world of Rupa Brahma, and further upwards to two more higher levels until finally entering the hall - Nirvana.

There are large monster statues that represent the 16 types of passion (passion is not a good thing in Buddhism).

There will be 9 buildings each with their own distinctive architectural style when the complex is completed. Although each building will be different they will all have Buddhist meanings. Included in his grand plan is to build the most beautiful toilet in the world. Khun Khositpipat estimates that it will take 90 years to complete the project. Although he will be gone before the project's completion, he is leaving plans and instructions to ensure it is finished according to his vision. Part of his involvement in supervising the daily construction is to train local artisians, architects, and designers. These people and the ones who follow them will continue his work to completion.

Our visit to Wat Rong Khun was very interesting as well as entertaining. It is always good to have the opportunity to meet and speak with people with such interesting personalities.

Three significant developments to report today.

My Visa has been extended for another year here in Thailand.

I have a new Multiple Re-entry Permit from Thailand so I can leave and more importantly return any number of times for the next year without MOST IMPORTANTLY having to reapply for a new Visa.

I have finally completed the gallery of Maehongson/Poi Sang Long Festival photographs.

The link is as follows: http://hale-worldphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/7888946_PRUHv/1/511560275_96GnU

Newest Photo Galleries

We have been very busy lately. To go along with writing these blogs, reviewing, and editing photographs associated with the blogs, we had to go to the American Embassy in Bangkok regarding personal business. Two documents notarized - $60 and 10 minutes. Getting to and from the Embassy - 17 hours on a bus plus overnight in a hotel. We get to do this all again in a month.

Tomorrow we are off to Nong Khai to extend my long term visa to remain in Thailand - more photos, and paperwork but worth it all.

I have managed to complete two photo galleries associated with two of the most recent blogs - Death in Isaan, A Buddhist Funeral, and Isaan Rockets.

The galleries are located:

http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/gallery/7968251_gHqxM/1/517638800_D596g

http://hale-worldphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/7968595_fFoZv/1/517645776_Lrqf2

I am still working on the large Poi Sang Long gallery and will indicate when it is ready to share.

Maenongson 03 April - Poi Sang Long

Thursday 03 April 2009, was the fourth and final day of Poi Sang Long Festival in Maehongson. It was also known as "Kham Sang Day". Although it was the final day in Maehongson, Poi Sang Long festivities were starting on Thursaday at Mork Jam Pae Temple in Muang district, and Wat Pa Kham temple in Pai district. People told us that at one place there would be 100 Sang Long (jeweled Princes). This was good information for future reference for our plans were to witness the final Maehongson procession in the morning and then to spend the remainder of the day at the Baan Huay Sua Tao refugee camp.

The procession on the last day of Poi Sang Long in Maehongson was restricted to circumambulation of Jong Kum Lake three times in front of the Wats. Once again a good number, 3, played a distinctive part in the ceremony. I am sure that the number 3 is representative of Buddha, the teachings of Buddha, and the Buddhist religious community.

Prior to the start of the morning procession, many families posed for photographs with their Sang Long. Mothers, Fathers, Grandparents, and siblings assembled around their jeweled Prince to be photographed by another family member or friend. Their sense of pride was very evident much like graduation photos in America.

Today was a little different in that some of the porters carrying the Sang Long around were very energetic. Some of them showed off their strength and agility by dancing around with the boy atop their shoulder. A couple men got into an impromptu competition to see who could bend their jeweled Prince lowest and most parallel to the ground. Yes - the acrimonious banging, clanging, and drumming music continued. There was quite a festive air to the morning event. After the procession, the boys entered the Wat and were ordained. We did not stick around for that and left that as a reason for having to return next year for Poi Sang Long.


After the procession we headed out to Baan Huay Sua Tao. As with the previous refugee camps there were few tourists visiting. As I was pulling over to park the truck along side of the road in the Shan village outside of the refugee camp, I spotted a very interesting sight. Three elephants were walking through the village. Rather than their handlers riding atop each elephant, there was a single mahout riding a bicycle besides the elephants. Occasionally he shouted out a command and all three elephants instantly obeyed. I jumped out of the truck and hustled ahead of the upcoming elephants to get some photos.

As we entered the refugee camp it was very reassuring. The wooden bridge over the stream that runs through the village had been upgraded. The village looked very much like it did two years ago only it had been maintained during the period to prevent deterioration. Soon we were recognizing familiar faces. We stopped by Khun La Mae and Khun Ma Plae's house and learned that they were not home but would return in a while. We headed to the higher portion of the camp and came upon Khun Mudan.

Khun Mudan was the young Paduang mother that I first photographed in October 2006 breast feeding her infant son. She now has a 5 month old daughter named "Peelada". Peelada was a very charming baby. She was very active and curious about all things. Hands, fingers, legs, arms, feet and toes were every where exploring her world. To all of her body movements she had a wide range of sounds. Khun Mudan recognized us and in no time at all Duang had confiscated little "Peelada". We both had a quickly passed 30 minutes playing with Peelada and to a lesser extent her brother. He is a grown up 3-1/2 year old now so he is very independent. This is it for Khun Mudan. She has had two babies by C-section and will have no more children. She lives with her mother-in-law and husband so she has help with the children. It seemed ironic that Duang's 12 week old grandson is named "Peelawat". I am certain between Peelada and Peelawat there is in deed a great deal of "pee".

As Duang continued her conversation with Khun Mudan in Thai, I headed off and took photos of a Paduang women washing and brushing her teeth. I also found an older Paduang woman straining tea into a thermos bottle. These were people that looked very different from all the other people that I have seen in my life all over the world. But they were doing what all other people do every morning every where. Personal hygiene or preparing meals is not much different around the world.





We decided to check in on Khun La Mae and Khun Ma Plae once again. It was not much of a surprise. They were expecting us and warmly greeted us. The camp grapevine had notified them of our presence in camp.

Khun La Mae is no longer the village headman. He was replaced by another man about a year ago. No matter the case, I told him that I still considered him to be a friend even though he was not "big man" any more. I had seen enough of the camp and observed the inhabitants sufficiently to tell in confidently that the state of the camp as well as its people was a testament to his and the new headman's leadership. The camp and its people were in much better state than the other two camps that we had visited. Khun La Mae informed me that the camp was going to butcher a pig that afternoon and that there would be a festival the next day. As tempting as the offer was to stay with them in the camp and to extend our trip by an extra day, we declined. It was getting tiring and we needed to get back home as scheduled. We promised to return later in the afternoon and returned to the hotel for lunch.

After lunch and relaxing for a short period of time in our air conditioned room, we drove back out to the refugee camp. I did not know if I would have to pay admission to reenter the village. It turned out to not be an issue. I showed my receipt from the morning and was waved through.

When we got to Khun La Mae and Ma Plae's home, they were busy with some friends. The men were drinking Lao Kao - the infamous moonshine of the region. I was given a glass with two shots in it and downed it. I then made sure that everyone knew that I would not be drinking because I was driving. They respected my position and from then on only kept offering me and filling my glass with rice wine. There were three plastic garbage cans of the fermenting brew awaiting the festival to start the next day. The rice wine was exactly like the brew that we drank at the Khmu New Years Festival in Laos during our December trip except that it did not have vinyl tubing to suck on. Khun Ma Plae served the wine in a glass direct from the fermentation vat - complete with rice grains, chaff, hulls and assorted other debris. I quickly developed a techinque where I strained the drink with my teeth and then discretely picked and spit debris out of my mouth onto the dirt floor. Even so it was hours before the last of the debris was finally expelled from my mouth. All in all it was some pretty good stuff.

Writing of good stuff - Khun Ma Plae was also preparing food. She prepared the food and the men grilled it on an open wood fire. It was just as well that she prepared the food because some of the men did not appear to be in any condition to be handling knives. Although I refrained from drinking moonshine, there was no reason for them to refrain or even moderate their consumption. We ate with the people - the first time that I have eaten grilled pig intestines. Actually the first time that I have knowingly eaten pig intestines cooked in any manner or raw. It was not that bad tasting - sort of like eating a hot dog with very thick casing and nothing inside.


While we were eating and drinking, two Kayaw men walked by with a pig slung underneathe a bamboo pole that they carried between them on their shoulders. This was the "guest of honor" for tomorrow's festival. I ended up going to the back part of the village to photograph the children playing a game on the school play field. It was an interesting game. It appeared to be a fusion of cricket, dodge ball, bowling, and baseball. Lacking a ball to play with, the children had created a ball out of a plastic sandwhich bag and some small rocks and forest debris. A stack of empty metal "Birdy" drink cans was erected at one end of the field. A girl threw the "ball" at the pyramid and missed. The boys taunted her. A boy picked up the "ball" threw it and knocked down several cans. The girl ran and picked up the ball as he ran to a "base". He got off the base and taunted the other players to throw at him. While this was going on some of the other players were hustling to reerect the pyramid out of the cans. This action appeared to be correlated to the time that the boy spent off or on the base. It was confusing to watch but the children were enjoying themselves - except for when they were arguing over some fine points of the game - which was often

After observing the children playing and realizing that I would never understand their game, I headed over to where the pig was being butchered. The animal had already been dispatched when I arrived. The men with assistance from the women were busy shaving the hair off of the pig. The men used long knives to scrape the hair and bristles off of the pig. The women were busy in the houses boiling the water required to scald the hair and bristles. Children of all ages gathered around and watched with great interests. No doubt these children can answer the question of "Do you know where your meal came from?". I am certain that they can even tell you how it came to their plate. I photographed the process and left shortly after the insicision had been made and the men were pulling out the pig's entrails. I left just in time. Not that I was squeamish - surprisingly not but Duang had set out looking for me and was wondering where I had disappeared to. I guess she had her fill of intestines.

During our little get together, we were joined by a Kiwi (New Zealander) who now lives in Australia. Wayne had spent the night in the camp and was going to stick around for the festival the next day. He was an "alright and decent chap" as they say. He offered to burn some CDs of Ma Plae's music on his computer so that she had more copies to sell at the family's booth in the camp. Wayne is one of those people who are travelers and not tourists. He spends time to learn and experience the lives of the people that he encounters on his journeys. More importantly, he takes the time and makes the effort to help out in any way that he can. In our conversation about taking photographs, he mentioned about the things that you could do on the Internet. I told him that I had a blog as well as a photography site. He asked who I was, so I gave him my name and the name of this blog site. He exclaimed "I know you, I read some of your blogs and I have seen your photos!" It was a very pleasant surprise to meet someone who follows these efforts. I know that to date since February of this year this blog site has been visited 408 times from 43 different countries. The top two countries are USA (29 states) with 123 visits and Thailand in the lead with 139 visits. The associated photography site http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/ has had 307 visits from 41 countries. For the photography site, the leading country is the USA (33 states) with 132 visits followed by Thailand with 66 visits. It was a pleasant surprise to meet and talk to a human associated with some of those numbers.

Maehongson 02 April 2009 - Afternoon

Back to catching up on the activities and events of our trip to Maehongson -

After watching the Poi Sang Long parade in the morning, we returned to the hotel to freshen up and eat lunch before heading out for the afternoon.

There are three camps in the Maehongson area where Paduang people live and you are allowed to visit. They are Baan Nai Soi, Baan Huay Pu Keng also known as Baan Nam Piang Din and Baan Huay Sua Tao. We had previously visited the camp at Baan Nai Soi, so the agenda for the afternoon was to visit the camp at Huay Pu Keng.

Using the local map from a previous trip and memories from past visits to the area, we set off to find the boat landing where we could rent a long tailed boat to take us to the village. It was actually a great deal easier than I had anticipated. I had checked with the desk at the hotel and verified that there actually two boat landings with the second boat landing a little further down the asphalt road from the first. This information came in very handy when we arrived at the first boat landing and found it to be closed. We drove further down the road and located the second boat landing which we both instantly recognized from our trip two years ago.

On our last trip in the middle of April 2007, the boat landing was filled with tourist vans of international travellers. It was not the case this year. We were the only vehicle and tourists . As we approached the small ticket office I told Duang to tell the man that I wanted his best price for the trip (not the foreigner price) or I would go to the other boat landing (the one that we had just gone to that was closed). I think the man understood enough English to get my joke. He quoted a price and I asked if it included admission into the camp. He added the amount that we had paid to enter Baan Nai Soi for me and indicated that Duang did not have to pay because she is Thai. I then pulled out my wallet and started to pay the man and completely blow our "hard bargaining". He had quoted 685 baht ($19.57 USD) to have the boat take us to the village and back when we decided to return including admission fee to the camp. I started to pull out 1,370 baht when he as well as Duang started to protest. The quote was "all in" for both of and was not for each of us. We had a good laugh to my relief and definitely not at my cost. I was impressed with the man's honesty. I explained to Duang that typically in America, those types of costs are quoted on a "per person basis". So it is important to ask and understand exactly what the quote includes and its basis no matter where you are. Sometimes it is different than what you expect or are accustomed to.

We climbed into our narrow wooden boat which was propelled by a recycled car engine mounted on the stern. It was a very pleasant journey along the river to the settlement. There was no traffic on the river. Fires 4 inches to 6 inches high were burning down the hillsides to the water's edge in several locations.

Baan Huay Pu Keng was the single village where all the Paduang people were supposed to or at least were encouraged to relocate to. I had heard this from Freida two years ago. I had read that additional facilities were going to be built and others improved at Huay Pu Keng to accommodate the new residents. As we approached the village, I did not see any new construction, It appeared to me that the village was two years older without any maintenance over the ensuing two years since our last visit. I suppose that this is not the first time nor will it be the last time that government as well as politician's intentions or promises get "delayed" or don't happen at all. There is an expression often used in Thailand - "Same, Same"


We walked into the village and came upon a little girl playing a guitar that was larger than she was. She was on the porch of her house with her mother, brother, sister and another woman with her daughter. The other people were occupied preparing raw garlic to eat while the little girl played and sang Karen music. We approached the little girl and we were quickly seduced by her charm.

The little girl was four years old. She was quite the entertainer. She did her repertoire of songs for us. She had a very animated singing style and was obvious that she enjoyed being the center of attention. The adults joined us and it appeared that they were happy to have someone to talk to. Duang and the two women talked, and talked and talked some more. I suspect, as someone who had lived in a closed camp for awhile, that the people had grown tired of each others stories and were happy to listen to someone new with different stories. I was in my own world taking pictures so the time passed very quickly for all of us. The little girl's mother grabbed the guitar and performed some songs. The little girl joined in and was very thrilled to be able to sing with her mother. The girl also put on quite a show of animated motion to the songs - much like small children in America singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" or "Wheels on the Bus". We spent so much time with the families that the little girl ended up wearing herself out. Just like most children her age, she got a little cranky and ended up cuddling up on her mother's lap for comfort. It was a treat to see the child learning from her mother how to play the guitar and sing the songs associated with their culture. It was reinforcement for me of my goal in my photography to show how different we all appear but that we are all alike. These are extraordinary people in difficult circumstances doing exactly what other people do everywhere else in the world.

With the little girl drifting off to sleep, we said goodbye and promised to return later in the year. We walked up further into the village and came upon a Kayaw (Big Eared) woman that we met on our last trip. We recognized each other and sat to talk. She was eight months pregnant with her second child. Her daughter, about 8 years old was busy eating as we got caught up on the events of the past two years. She confirmed that Freida was now in the closed refugee camp.

After walking around the village a little bit more we headed back down the hill to the boat. After stopping by the refreshment stand run by the Shan family with the twin daughters and "naughty little boy" we set off back in the boat. The naughty boy is now 7 years old with a buzz haircut and was wearing military clothing that said "US Army". He is still more of a terrorist than any type of professional soldier. I gave him some help as to how to properly salute - American style. If he ends up with some other nation's military clothing, I hope and trust that some passing tourist will give to him the appropriate instructions. I hold out no hopes as to him getting discipline.

As our boat pulled into the river we passed several children enjoying themselves swimming and diving in the cool water. Young Paduang girls with brass rings around their neck were immersed up to their necks in the water keeping cool on a hot and humid late afternnon in the Thai - Burma border region.