Oh my, what a journey this has been. I think today I will take some time to describe some of the photos from the day and my thoughts on them. The Internet access has been a little spotty, so now that it is working, I will type fast to get it all in. This first picture was in a small town on our way to the Golden Triangle. I have seen a few bicycle type rickshaws, but most are motor cycle driven ones and are called Tuk Tuks, pronounced duke duke, or something close to that.
There were many farms along the way and many people out working in the fields. This one was so unique because this field went straight up a rather steep mountainside. You can't really tell it from the picture, but it was really steep. there were two women cutting the crop by hand working their way up the mountainside. The plant reminded us of an aloe plant, but we are not really sure what it was.
All along the roads as you come to settlements or villages, there are roadside stands and people selling anything from trinkets to local produce to energy drinks and wine. There may be many stalls in the same village selling the exact same thing, and if you stop at one to look at something, they will run over from their stalls with the exact same thing in their hand trying to get you to purchase it from them. It is really quite overwhelming at times because so many people around you are talking in a language you don't understand all trying to sell you the same thing for the same price.
Next stop, Silver Springs. This is a natural hot spring and geyser. They have built a bathing system where you can bathe in the warm, natural mineral spring water. There was no entry fee and it made a nice short stop on the way up the mountain.
We finally made it to our destination of the day, the Golden Triangle on the Mekong River. In this picture, Burma is to your left, Laos to your right and the photo was taken from Thailand. I couldn't help but think of how many young men and boys serving our country fought battles along this river, sacrificing life and limb. I can't explain the emotion I felt standing, looking out over this beautiful land thanking God for all the soldiers from that war and the many others who have fought for our freedom.
Sai's parents and her nephew were able to join us for the day. Makaila also convinced her daddy to allow her to take his camera and take photos of our adventure. It really was neat to show her how to use the camera and how to focus and frame the shot. She is really a fast learner and was taking her time to make sure she got a good shot.
There are also "Spirit Houses" on nearly every corner and every piece of property. Joseph says that some business owners or home owners will pay a monk to come to their land and tell them where to place the "Spirit House". They believe the spirits live in the land and since they are going to be disturbing the land when they build, they need to find a most pleasing place to build their sacrificial altar. Every day they place items at the altar for the spirits. It can be items of food, special flowers and they are especially fond of sacrificing red Fanta. I asked Joseph who decided the spirits like red Fanta, and his answer was "I don't know. Probably Coca Cola." :).
This Buddha is HUGE! Look at how small the people are around it. It was built on the Thailand side of the river, probably in order to compete with the large Buddha on the Laos side. But the amazing thing is, these are all over the country. On mountain tops, in the smallest villages and the largest cities. Every where you look, you can see another shrine with one or more Buddhas. What bothers me about this is that the monks are supposed to be without material goods, some even going barefoot and only wearing their orange or burgundy robes. They collect alms to support themselves, but the money seems to go to building more shrines to a dead god they worship and leave food for every day. It seems that the land is so saturated with these idols, that everyone just goes through the motions without being really committed to their religion. It is so commonplace that it doesn't really make a difference in their lives and how they live. They just go through the motions. It really made me think about my faith and beliefs and how much I take for granted in my life and how often do I just "go through the motions". Has Christianity in America become just another religious ritual to so many that we have forgotten that it is supposed to be a relationship, not a religion? This journey I am on is not just a journey to a new land, but I believe it is a journey to a renewed relationship with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
These two pictures need some explanation. While at the Golden Triangle, we went to an opium museum to see about the history of opium. Sai's father fought in the Burmese war and had to guard shipments of opium through the country. Her mother also remembers the poppy fields and seeing many people smoking the heroin made from them. So it was very interesting for them to relive this part of their history. There was also an exhibit there about the "Long Neck Karen" tribe in Thailand. The women there wrap coils around their necks. They really don't have long necks, and their necks aren't stretched by the coils, but the weight pushes down on their shoulders and sternum and it appears their necks are elongated. It destroys the muscles and vertebrae and weakens the neck so much that if they took off their coils, it could be deadly. anyway, these coils represent the weight of a typical long neck and of course, Joseph being silly asked Joshua if he wanted to try it. He did and this was the result. Joshua then insisted daddy had to try it, and so he did. Joshua got a big kick seeing his daddy like this.
So, this lead to the next part of our adventure. On the way home, Joseph all of the sudden turned around and said, "There it is." We asked there what is and he replied, "The Long Neck Karen sign." He remembered seeing the sign on the way and was looking for it on the way home. By now, the sun is beginning to set and he turns at the sign which happens to be on a dirt road. A very rutted, dirt road. I mean so rutted that I was sure I was going to get whiplash just driving down this road. All of the sudden there is a sign for a Catholic Church. I said turn here, it has to be safe. As we pull up into a very small settlement of about 4-5 buildings, I see a woman walking with a walking stick, smoking a pipe in her tribal dress. As she sees us pulling up she walks toward us. I roll my window down and ask if I can take her picture. She drops her walking stick and motions for us to wait as she runs back toward what I assume is her house. She then takes a key out and unlocks the door, goes in and comes back with something in her hand.
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She has a hand full of braided yarn bracelets and hands them to me telling me to buy some. I asked how much and she counted out six of them and said "100 Baht". Joseph said it was way too much, but I just told him to give me the money, we had to buy some. Now all this took place while we were sitting in the car. As I was picking out my bracelets, I heard Joseph say, "Oh, man, he has a gun." I said, "Who has a gun?" and as I looked around, a man had come up to Joseph's side of the truck, sure enough carrying a gun and a machete. I didn't feel frightened, he wasn't pointing it, but still, I was ready to go. Joseph proceeds to ask the man where the long necks are and he points down the rutted, dirt road. I thought surely we were not going further down that road, but Joseph had other thoughts. So along we bounced up a steep hill until we came to another settlement that seemed very deserted except for one family loading into their truck. Joseph asked them where the long necks were and the acted clueless. Thankfully he decided they were probably all in their houses tucked in for the night and so we should probably leave. By then there was someone following us on a motorcycle and several more motorcycles waiting at the end of the road. I guess they just wanted to get a look at the crazy white folks who were looking for the long necks.
But as we were leaving, Makaila said, "Nai Nai, look at the view. And oh what a view it was. The sunset on the way home was glorious, and Joseph obliged by pulling over at opportune times for photos. After stopping to take home KFC for dinner, we finally arrived back at Sai's house for a final night. Just wait to see what tomorrow's adventure brings.
In His Love,
Pam
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