"Sa ou ne na.......LA a LA"
Yes thats right folks....thats a Traditional Karenni song.
For roughly the past two weeks the team has been in the mountains of Northern Thailand
living with some Karen villagers. It was a moving and touching experience for all, even if some chose to eat
pig intestines and blood....mmmm gourmet meal comin right up! We all learned alot about the Karen culture
and whats more important, we all learned alot about ourselves and our bodily limits (how far our body will
let us go before it has to.....cleanse itself). Our first stop was to a Christian Karen Village called Huay Hee.
Huay Hee is situated along the only road that winds through the mountain side. It was a fairly simple village
that offered all it could and asked for nothing in return. We were able to attend a worship service as well as
hike up to the highest mountain in Northern Thailand or something similar to that...either way it was HIGH!
**leader's note - Doi Pui (the afore mentioned mountain)
is the highest peak in Mae Hong Son province.**
The second Village was a Buddhist Village named Huay Tong Koe. It was situated around the winding road
but in more of a 'typical' village style, with the Big Chief sitting on the top of the hill looking down over the
rest of the village. So here are a few pics of our time in the two villages. As well there are pics of our time
at the Fern Resort. A naturalist resort where we stayed for 3 days to study 'knowing yourself'. So, without
further adiu...HERES........THE PICTURES!! (*crowd cheering*0
/
\V
MAE HONG SON
After disembarking from our fighter jet
Wes doing his 'crazy eyes' look again
Two love birds on the pond in Mae Hong Son
Calvin Klien or American Eagle
Priscille and Andrea
Women waiting for the sunrise
Mike... posing in the wrong direction
There we go, thats better
Nick looking tired, and Lis looking.....not! Then theres Andrea...We dont really know
what emotions she was feeling.....I think shes leaning towards the confusion side.
Lis and Nads in Mae Hong Son
Two ganstas on the top of the hill. (Mae Hong Son in the background)
Our fearless mountain guide Amanda
The great GEORGIO
Crazy eyes again
yes this is the other leader......where do they find these characters?
HUAY HEE
Our luxury cruise liner.
The first portion of our trip on a paved highway.
Then we moved onto the more dangerous and rugged dirt roads.
Then onto the lightly rougher 'offroading'
Two hardcore offroaders. Brave enough to stand up.
Our first village Huay Hee.
Andrea learning to weave Karen style
On the hike to Doi Pui
The view from Doi Pui
A young Karen boy
Pii Chu and some of 'da boyz' on dop of Doi Pui
the rolling peak of Doi Pui
drying rice
Karen family
farewell ceremonies at Huay Hee
George, Josh and family in Huay Hee
group in the salad watching the farewell ceremonies...well everyone but me!
On top of Doi Pui
....almost there....on thats right its the false summit...muhahaha!
Yes ladies and gentlemen, those are gaters that Josh is wearing. SEXY!
The twins and my host family.
A mountain we saw sometime on the trip...
Jodie sharing her nail polish. ...i tried to get in, but the kids laughed me out of the circle!
The group singing at the worship service
1/2 the group on top of Doi Pui
Wes' new adopted family....jk!
Wes and his Sam Steele mustache
Zac on top of the world
HUAY TONG KOE
Village of Huay Tong Koe
We were treated to a sword dance on our last day at Huay Tong Koe
The cementing of the squatty potty
A HUGE bug we found in the village
MY DAD!!! the 'Big Chief'!
Lady showing us how she catches field rats to eat. These traps are
insane and crazy. Dont get caught in them!!
Zac breakdancing during our skit.
karate portion of skit.
Still karate
yup...thats karate.
Buddy2...we nicknamed him...he was awesome. He taught us how to sing
traditional Karen songs. He also told Zac that he sounded like Buffalo when he sang
Buddy 2 again
Water Buffalo horn blowing thingyamajiggy
centipede
rice harvesting
Wes showing what he puts under his pillow every night.
BEWARE!
Josh and George posing with host dad Buddy 2.
This is how we kept the mosquitos away from the girls...or is it the otherway around...dum dum dum!!
hike through the rye
still hiking
mmm look at that pig
our guide to the ryes
mmmm passion fruit
kids giving the soccer player pose..with the team resting in the background
yes that is a beheaded pig. That later Josh at the intestines of. But it actually tasted good!
Lone kid
the future mothers of the group
still the kid would not smile!
As i said before...future mother!
yes that is food in their mouths!
This is what i like to call my impression of Napolian Dynamite
The twins and my family
Nick posing in the door of the bathroom we helped build with the villagers!
Shanna just realizing that we were not longer at the Juniper Tree!
4sworded sword dance
squatty potty mold
Just so we will never be forgotten