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~belief systems~ Tuesday, 23rd January 2001
a bus takes me from Chiang Mai to Sukothai ~ rice fields outside, street signs pointing to the South, but my thoughts are still in the North. yesterday i did a day trip, all organized, pick up and drop off at the guesthouse door. so neat, a group of 8 in a mini bus, and a guide.
the route: a visit of the Golden Triangle - the area where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myamar meet at the shores of the Mekong. China is only 200 kilometres away from there. a place of tales. in former times, opium was grown here, making the region one of the richest, "golden" provinces of Thailand. there isn't much left of the wealth, though, in this region around the Mekong. we made a boat trip on the Mekong, the border line. the left and the right side of the river, they look the same, still they are different worlds. it's dangerous to be out here at night, the guide told us. drug dealers roam the area. while he said it, a girl appeared on the Myamar side of the Mekong. she stood there, greeting us in the universal language that doesn't need words: a wave of the hands. we waved back. later, we visited a village in the hills. it belongs to the Akha, a hill tribe with their own culture and language. they aren't Thai, they came from China, and settled here, in the hills of North Thailand, in wooden huts. maybe they will move on one day, to another place.
the others took a walk to another village close by, where another tribe lives. i staid there, in the Akha village, under a tree, and watched the sun slowly bend over the valley. while i was there, two guys returned to the village on motobikes. they came home from work. a young woman appeared to great one of them. in their arms, a baby. this scene, it made me remember the hill villages of Germany and Italy, where only old people live, as the young ones move to the cities, to start a better life there. and then i thought of the big cities, filled with streets and buildings and people, and how people who live there long to move out of them, to a quieter spot, a greener place. curious,
i browsed the guidebook for some background information on the hill tribes. and
found this description of the Akha: as i read it, i couldn't help but think: this is the perfect description of a commune. and as i looked at the huts again, i saw them in a different light. maybe they aren't behind us, but in front of us, i thought. maybe they already had their share of city life, back then, in China, and decided to move on, to this beautiful place up in the hills, afar from the hectic of the modern world. vibes~~ see
the travel pictures: monsoon | |||
