Jungle Trekking & River Rafting

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Karen

The Karen numbering some 70,000 are one of the largest hill tribes.  They are nomadic and practice a slash and burn style of agriculture. 

Growing rice and opium on the steep hill sides
   
The postcard Hill Tribe village of yesterday disappeared overnight

 

Life is harder in this village and a day and a half of un-seasonal torrential rain didn't make it any easier, for the villagers or us

 
  No piped water here it has to be carried in daily

 

The silver lining to the rain, an improvised shower perched  on the railing high up under the eves
With The Rivermen

Heading for a lovely relaxing end to our trek, we walked out of our last hill tribe village and down to the river to meet our river men who had been building rafts on which to transport us down river to their own rural Thai village
 

 

   

At the end of the day we arrived at their village.  Quite different from the tribal villages.  They have electricity, their bamboo houses contain simple furniture and are set in fenced yards with brightly flowered hedges, water is pumped from wells

 

 

Rock a Bye Baby

 

 

 We spent the evening at the village bar

Hearing the rumble of distant thunder we were assured there was nothing to worry about,  it was just the 'bom-bing in Burma' a few miles away. 

Ten years later we would fall in love with Burma and the Burmese people
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