Escape, pt 2 + other photos

Maela Camp, a refugee camp in Thailand for Karen people. As you can see, it's fairly crowded. Many of Sunshine Orchards students either live here or have relatives here.

Boys playing soccer in Maela Camp.

The hut where Hannah and I have been staying.

First time washing clothes by hand

The resident Tokay at our hut. He only comes out at night and mostly stays on the back outside wall. He's over a foot long.

Dwee Mae Saw. I miss him...

Mr. Steck and I at a mural of Thailand's famous gorge.

A village we passed along the way

Haley, Me, Hannah Steck, Hannah Powell, Sharon, and Mrs. Steck. We are partway down from the summit of Thailand's highest mountain, about to read a book to end the Sabbath.

Looking out over the distant mountains. These girls are friends forever. Doing mission work together bonds you in ways that nothing else can.

Haley. I've never met such a color-loving girl before. She's been a wonderful addition at Sunshine Orchards, and will be taking two of my classes when I leave.

The Stecks, Haley, Hannah and I by a big tree in the ancient forest

Where we ate breakfast after camping one night

The bamboo-lined walkway leading to the gorge

A view downstream as seen from the bridge over the gorge

Going to the Salawin River, the road is right outside the front doors of these village houses. Their backyards are a steep drop down to a creek. The houses are all built on very long stilts in the back.

Riding in a boat, driven by a Burmese man, down the Salawin River

A view from Elephant Rock, looking upstream, high above the Gorge

The back sides of the houses that line the road down to the Salawin River

Maela Camp

More village houses. The dogs in Thailand tend to lay out in the road and do not move until the last minute when they're sure you're about to run them over.

How would you like to live in houses like that? Most of the floors looked like they could fall through at any moment.

The Salawin River

A caneball net by the Salawin River

The village beside the river

On the river. It reminded me of being on a lake in Tennessee

Hannah, in the front of the boat

Boarding the boat.

In the valley, on the way to the mountains

Cornfields in the valley

Rice paddies

Mountains as seen from Elephant Rock

This picture may not be interesting to anyone, but I took it because I thought the way that rock is formed is a clear example of some geologic formation process.

I liked the picture on this sign. It actually looks kind of fun to slide down a mountain that's only as tall as you are.

We looked, but could not find a toilet woman, only a women's bathroom. Strange....

There's a viewpoint over there!

I'll say. It's actually more like a free-fall than a slippery route.

The Hannahs communing on the top of a precipice

Hannah, on Elephant Rock

Approaching the Gorge.

Hannah. One of the few people I know who has a natural twinkle in her eye.

What made this sign a little unnerving was the random pair of flipflops sitting at the front of a very tiny indentation in the base of the rock. They were normal-sized, recent-looking flip flops, though. I'm sure they didn't belong to a prehistoric human

The pathway to the Gorge

The place where I woke up in the morning after moving to escape the ants. So. Peaceful.

I am looking in the luggage for my pants, so that I will not freeze while riding down the mountain on the back bumper of the car, and giving Sharon a cheesy smile to make her laugh.

The boardwalk through the ancient forest at Doi Inthanon

Sisters

Sharon. The only girl I've met who has the capacity to genuinely laugh about everything.

The Hannahs at Doi Inthanon

Eating mini oranges! Thai oranges are amazing. You would just have to try them to believe it.

Another boardwalk

Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand. The air was thin up there, and it was cold (like 66 degrees), but the sun was so incredibly bright. 

Try to say that three times, fast!

Ripe rice?

In civilization, Mae Sariang. I look a little wild because I have just ridden for a few hours with my head out the window. It was a fun ride!

Looking down at a big mural in the parking lot of the hotel we stayed in.

An interesting  building we passed

Inside my room, a long time ago

A little stretch of rice fields hidden in the mountains

A grove of betel nut palms in a village we passed

Sorry these pictures are all out of order, too. If you want the chronological story, please refer to Escape, pt. 1

The pictures of Maela Camp and Dwee Mae Saw and our hut/room, etc. were taken over the past few months. I salvaged them from my highly unreliable computer, which recently returned from getting a check-up in Chiang Mai. Apparently, the graphics card has gone bad. However, the machine has served me well for a good year. Not too bad for a 2006, refurbished model.

Next, I'll show you pictures from my classes!