January 7th 2011

What goes up must come down... finally back to Britain. Not with a bang, just a 4.15 National Express coach back to a grey UK into what appeared to be a power cut across south east england actually turned out to be business as usual. Compared, however to the blaze of colour we left Thailand in - the blue skies of the beach, the fiery gold coloured temples and simple 60 watt bulbs illuminating the food vendors stalls, Britain seemed a dreary world; drained of light, warmth and colour, as though the aeroplane we returned on had flew by accident back to the 1950's.

Enough already of the weather; Thailand has gone from being in the in the present to the past and is now a memory to look back fondly on, aided and abbeted by numerous photo's, films and gifts fuelled by magnificent memories, anecdotes and personal flashbacks that have embedded themselves into our spirits, probably forever.

Returning to what we left however is disconcerting. What we were perfectly happy with before is some how diminished or overshadowed from a different experience. Life is probably more realistic now than before. Whilst Brighton is one option for living, we have been pleasantly reminded that it is not the only one. As by completing approximately 3,000 miles of travelling on public transport across Thailand, Samina and Jehan have amply demonstrated their ability to simply 'be' for long periods of time by enduring four 6 hours coach journeys, two 13 hour train journeys and numerous rides in taxi's, tuc tuc and ferries, without real complaint, dissatisfaction or unhappiness at being in this situation. But on the other hand, would all our money, planning and hope have been wasted if, as temples, palm trees, unfamilair language, smells and sights flew past, could people - children, adults, grandparents - not marvel at the way this new world unveiled itself before our eyes.

Suffice therefore to say, Thailand, at the end of 2010, was an explosion of everything, a cultural hand grenade, thrown into normal life, exploding all we held true but replacing it with something new, rich, warm and true. And, above all, irreversible. Fortunately time cannot be reversed. Whatever the future brings, the past, of which Thailand has now become is, (for the present) literally another country...

We are so grateful for the kindness shown to us by friends and family here in the UK before we left (and since returning, sitting through our interminable slide shows!) and people - friends, colleagues and strangers, in Thailand who, with their courtesy and respect, made our holiday so unforgettable.

'Khawp khun maak Khrap'- Thank you very much in Thai.

From Janaki

As we prepare to depart, I look back on the two weeks we have spent here in Thailand. Our visit has been two fold, one to re-kindle friendships from 15 years ago and the second to introduce Samina and Jehan to exotic travel.

In many ways the situation on the Thai-Burma border remains unchanged. Despite the elections last month there has been no political shift and if anything the situation for the Karen people is worse as fighting in the area has intensified. Visiting the refugee camp felt much the same as it did when we were working here. There are differences of course the main one being that the community groups are much better organised. The committment and enthusiasm of these groups are very much alive as they seek to ensure the refugees needs are met. Mairah and Esther are as busy as ever working for the women's groups, documenting human rights abuses and conducting peace and conflict resolution workshops. The years since we last met melted instantly when we greeted each other which made me realise how deep our fiendships go. Time was short but precious as we exchanged important news. The children being there seemed very natural as both Esther and Mairah treated them as their own. It was a sad parting as we don't know when we will meet again but the internet certainly helps reduce the distance.

We received an equally warm welcome from our Thai friends Su, Pat and Anchalee. When we knew each other 15 years ago we were younger and believed we had the power to change the world. Now, with more maturity and life experience, we have more realistic expectations of the difference we can make. It was wonderful to discuss the paths they have all taken which are not far off from the dreams we used to have. They all have Masters degrees and are working for a range of NGOs dealing with cross-cultural education, HIV prevention and control and the rights of indigenous people. Again we part in the knowledge that for our friendship, time is insignificant as the bonds we once had were still as strong.

Samina and Jehan have taken to travelling with complete ease. We have journeyed many hours on various forms of public transport without a single complaint. Their highlight is riding and swimming with elephants. A close second is the warm sea and sands of Koh Chang. They have absorbed all we have shown them and are now looking forward to being home again. I too will miss the sunshine the food but otherwise feel it is time to get back to reality. The past two weeks have been nostagic, exciting and re-juvenating. Till the next time ........

Jungle to Concrete

Hi 'followers'

One of the weird things about blogging is feeling a continual need to update blog with, regadless of interest, news, events or activities. Not wishing to break tradition, the first three images below are;

- Island landscape we said good bye this morning
- Scoffing at the misspelling - Hot Dogs with one change of letter becomes 'Hot Dots' (Also baht becomes 'Bath')
- You are (were) here....

Two weeks in Thailand

Samina @ temple on final day in Chaing Mai before leaving by overnight train for Bangkok. Temples provide welcome respite from hustle, bustle and tussel of the northern city.

Paradise found ! How much could it differ from some of these coastal settings this island offers. The relaxed simplicity it invokes within is something that I hope will remain somewhere within for a long time after the holiday is over and the last suitcase unpacked...

Jehan took the picture below this evening of Janaki and I infront of the setting sun over Koh Chang. For some technical reason I appear to be bloated and billowy but this is merely an optical light issue and I assure you I don't. Really.

Our last day here has left us feeling refreshed and holiday'd as we prepare for the final descent back by taxi, ferry and bus to Bangkok for a night. Homeward Bound....

25/12/2010 - In Thailand just another day

'You wanna go to Cambodia?' was the offer greeting us as Janaki, and I and the kids emerged from almost 24 hours of travelling through Thailand to catch the ferry to spend Christmas on Thailands second largest island - Koh Chang. Holiday in Cambodia (oblique reference to 70's single by Dead Kennedy punk band).

Sounds fantastic. Yes I do. But not today... Another day perhaps...

It's Christmas Day already here in Thailand. My first thought though is how, in a relatively anonymous internet cafe here in Koh Chang,
to summarise our last big journey by train, bus, taxi and ferry covering many hundreds of miles from Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand to the island of Koh Chang here in the south into less than half an hour of bloggin' time?.

Again, images will tell parts of the story, supplemented by my own disconnected and fitful recollections (Events and resemblance to characters living or dead is purely co-incidental!).

The more we take on, do, see, experience and absorb, the harder it becomes to sort and present them in an orderly fashion. Arriving in THailand, less than 2 weeks ago, I felt detached from what we were seeing. However as we assimilate into daily life, detached observation becomes harder to unwind.

However, putting that aside, in the last 10 minutes of online time, several events to report of some interest;

Firstly Chiang Mai - where I think I last I left you - time messes with your memories. Returning there after 14 years I found Chiang Mai to have become a far more congested and chaotic city with little sense of definition or focus. Few, if any, landmarks really stood out and what was recognisable appeared buried under a barrage of shops, partly consturcted buildings and a plethora of mopeds going here, there and nowhere.

However, whether the city was always like this, I struggle to recall. Or had my memory, overrun with 14 years of subsequent experiences, simply not kept up?. Or instead had actual change within the city occured or had the change occurred only within my own ' interior mind'?. A cheap internet cafe on Xmas day probably won't provide the answers but at least the questions were posed. Either way the effect I found it had on me was that, whilst being glad to re-visit, I left with feelings of regret at leaving, only pleasure at having lived there in the first place.

The temple featured in some of the snapshots below summarise the peace and beauty of Chiang Mai. The children enjoyed these too. Red, Gold, White and Yellow being the main colours - all set amidst the tropical greenery of surrounding trees and plants. Again what comes back to hit me is the inate kindness and friendliness of the 'Thai people'. Retained among them is a mixture of humbleness, innocence, openness and calm - perhaps it stems from the cyclical nature of Buddhism - yet it does provide a refreshing break from our red faced, money rich - time poor, society in which the demands for more seem endless.

Time expired. Just to say the island we are on has a beautiful and long coastline with a very calm current. Of course we are loving swimming and relaxing on beach with kids. Xmas eve was surprisingly theatric with lights, bbq, fireshows and music on the beach.


From us here,on what is otherwise just another day, Happy Christmas Day - hope you are enjoying being where you are and what you are doing - hopefully not too much washing up!.

Technical reasons have again prevented the following images from being in chronological order, making navigaton abut random. In no particular order therefore, they include;

...Temple in Chiang Mai on last day before overnight train back to Bangkok

... View of train travel with drop down beds (and breakfast) (6.00pm)

... Kids - open and closed in ardous s taxi drive across Bangkok to bus station (10.00 am next day)

... Ferry port to Koh Chang (5.00 pm same day)

... Beach, Janaki and I, - Xmas Eve

... More sunsets, temples and elephants !

Hope they brighten your day. Now where did that guy from Cambodia get to....

Part

Part II of Christmas Day on an island in the Gulf of Thailand. After a morning's swim in the sea - 10 minutes from our hotel - we had lunch - burgers for the kids and thai food for janaki and I. Beach here sandy and water clear. Busy but still a very relaxed feel on the coast. Kids absolutely loving the sea. Probably overheating as by afternoon, as you can tell, they are on hysteria's verge. All getting tanned of course.

Our highlight for Xmas Day was a pre-booked chance to ride with elephants and swim and wash them. How do you wash an elephant I asked Janaki. Again as the photo's show you get an idea.

Will write more in next day or two. In meantime, hope the cold front is retreating and that the Xmas day is going well.

Bus station to station

No journey is complete without a long journey by bus, a mad early morning dash to catch a imminently departing form of transport and a hot sweaty walk to catch an overpriced tuc tuc I explained to the children. In order to fully arrive you have to get there. Of course, as with 4 hours travelling on a bus from Maesot to Chiang Mai, they were'nt in a mood to believe me - even if they did. However by 2.00pm today we arived safely back in Chiang Mai in time to be taken out for an evening meal by our former landlord and his lovely family.

But before I mention that let me go return to Saturday and our trip, courtesy of Su, to visit the Elephant Farm in Mae Sai, an hours drive north of Chiang Mai. At the time of course it was very special but writing about it several days later makes it harder to convey the special feeling this day trip evoked. Suffice to say we all - 4 children and 3 adults - all squeezed into Su's car for a misty drive up the hills to arrive at the farm for elephants. As I am sure you can imagine it is hard not to have fun when elephants are involved and this morning was no exception. The farm was set in a valley surrounded bhy rocks and towering trees and a fast flowing river in which the first elephants we saw were bathing. Next the 'show' began. Now I know 'Elephant and Show' are instrinsically wrong should not be in same sentence. However, putting reservations aside I have to admit what we saw was remarkeble. As the pictures show the elephants had been trained to play football, paint beautiful watercolours and, bizzarely of all, play darts. Which is where Samina came in. Selected by the Thai '

mahmoots'to play against an elephant she strode into the ring alone, surrounded by some of the biggest animals in the world! A thousand words at this point will be written by posting the picture of the

match



Going back to Maesot, here are a few additional pictures of the visit to Esther and the refugee camp - Maela- near to Maesot in which over 40,000 indigenous refugees from Burma stay. (And have done for over 20 years).

For technical reasons, allignment of text and image at midnight in thailand is not proving possible. Therefore the folink to llowing captions relate to the subsequent images. Does that make sense ??!

1) Samina and Su's two daughters - Schapo and Sharmi - are entranced by the show

2) Children's right to play - taken for granted

3) A solitary palm tree greets sunrise over Maesot

4) Imposing mountains seperate Burma from Thailand overshadow the sports area of Maela refugee camp

5) Spot the new Karen kid in class !

6) Could one image capture more kindness ? Miriah, Janaki and Esther - together again after 15 years - when (and where) will i see you again...

7) Sitting in th back of a pick up truck - Jehan'ss new preferred form of transport.

Thailand week 1: Chiang Mai and Maesot

Technical issues seem to prevent photo's being uploaded which is a shame cos there are some interesting ones. However just to update whoever is out there on our travels to date (while being mindful of those who's own travel plans, due to the snow, have been diverted, delayed or cancelled altogether) Working backwards though, today, Monday morning we woke up in Mae Sot, a town bordering Thailand and Burma separated by the River Moi - at our good friend's Esther Saw Lone. Esther has continued to be an inspiring role model and good friend to many many people from a range of backgrounds across the world and is always in demand from everyone who she comes into contact with. Therefore having not seen her in Thailand for almost 15 years we were delighted that she was in Thailand to greet us and spend time catching up on a decade and a half.

So meeting Esther again after a bus trip from Chiang Mai lasting 6 hours was a wonderful conclusion to the first stage of the third part of our trip to Thailand. Last night we were taken to a crazy kind of DIY BBQ which was conducted at our table, mainly by Jehan as the forthcoming pictures will show. Anyway it resulted in lots of meat and fish being consumed while the heat of the evening ensured a good time was had by all. The following morning we awoke early to make the journey by car to Maela refugee camp - home for almost 2 decades to almost 50,000 refugees.

During the journey there the road took us though some beautiful, traditional Thai landscapes allowing the kids to see traditional Thai houses, fields accompanied throughout by a soaring backdrop of haze topped hills over which Burma lay like a sleeping giant on the other side.

On arrival, Mairah, our equally long lost refugee friend with who we worked with in the 90's to complete the order for Oxfam, was there to greet us. As ' Gollowa' Karen word for foreigner, there was some question as to our entering the camp. The kids of course were both excited by the intrigue (as i was)but also slightly nervous about what their crazy parents were letting them in for !. However keeping as a low a profile as possible which being questioned by the guard, we found ourselves being allowed to enter the camp.

Main impressions of the camp were the absence of almost any man made structures or physical characteristics. Wood, bambboo and leaves continue to be the main source of materials for building any type of house, shop or community building. Closely confined conditions to enable so many refugees to live their was also apparent. As were the numbers of young men and women wandering, engaged in an activity or chatting with each other - all passing time, one commodity the camp does not lack. However it appeared clean and tidy yet seeing so many people, children in particular, still living in the camps deprived of both freedom and the opportunity to seek work was discouraging. Mairah herself was full of energy and we were all delighted to be re-united. A tour of a small part of the camp took place at which we sang songs to the nursery (Streets of London by me and Wind the bobbin up by Samina and Janaki) and visited the high school. Education and health are of course priorities in the camp and my photo's will eventually show the unloading of concrete waterbutts in the searing heat for the latrines.

During the hour long journey back to Maesot I reflected on the fact that although the road connecting the refugee camp and the town is merely one hours drive, the distance between the lifestyles of those living in transition and uncertainty and those who lives are open and full of potential is vast and for many decades has remained so.

From the less than sublime to the overtly ridiculous; a further post to follow on Saturday's visit to an Elephant Camp (not for displaced elephants from Burma) but in Thailand where a darts match took place in front of hundreds of people between Samina...and an elephant !!.Yes you read that right. AN ELEPHANT. You couldn't make it up but I do have the pictures to prove it. Suffice to say Samina won.