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The
guys were great company, Ralph singing old Beetles songs kept up a
good pace and Fridel was a laugh a minute. Camp, when we reached it consisted of a single hut on stilts made of
vines, bamboo and cane with a nat shrine in the corner. Five bedrolls
indicated the size of the labour force. A change of clothes did
double duty as pillows and there were no creature comforts in
evidence. A hard life indeed. There was no sign of
elephants but we were assured they were in the area. We ate our
packed lunch with tea made by the Karen oozie and mandarin oranges which
our Shan guide had picked from trees en-route.
Because of the
danger of getting too close to the elephants we were kept by the hut, but
as time passed security became lax and we wandered across the stream and
climbed on to the log piles. Time and daylight were running out, we had
been waiting for over an hour, they would have to come soon or we would
have to leave without seeing them.
Fridel
ventured along the path then came running back with the news that the
elephants were coming, he had seen them. I called to tell him that
if he got between my camera and the beasts I would kill him if they didn't
trample him first.
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