We visited two refugee schools in the Mae Sot border area, both run entirely by volunteers, funded by donations.  Many of the children had been left on the Thai side of the border by their parents to keep them safe and so they could get an education.  These schools, however, are not recognized by either government, and are not accredited.  The children may be receiving a good education, but in the eyes of institutions of higher learning, they have not been educated.  This, obviously severely limits their earning capabilities.

All the resident girls slept in this small room on mats or blankets. School. 73 out of the 119 students at the Matawang Lon school live there. Some parents live on nearby farms,but many live on the other side of the border.

Kitchen at the Matawang Lon refugee school

Dinner?

 The second school we visited serviced about 200 children, most of them living on site.  This school had a lively atmosphere, and a lot of activity.  Some of the teenage girls recently started a knitting project to sell scarves and bags in order to raise funds for meals for the students.  The crafts will be sold in the U.S. through Deh Kwe Life (website to follow).

The Knitting Girls

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We took a tuk tuk to the border, just to see what it was like up close, even though the bridge connecting Thailand and Myanmar has been closed since the Thai election.  There is a market running along the river, mostly containing counterfeit electronics and Buddha statues, but the market was dead and the salespeople apathetic.

We walked along the narrow Moei River, and watched the people and cars move around the streets of Myawaddy in Burma on the opposite bank.

But the town had a creepy vibe, and we all got really cranky as soon as we got there–all 3 of us just wanted to leave. I was glad we went though–it was a palpable reminder of where we were.

Sam got disgusted with me every time I took a photo of a child and gave me a speech about child exploitation.  It’s not that he wasn’t (sometimes) right, but I’m a sucker for a cute face, and was usually clicking away before I gave it much thought. (Now I give it a lot more thought before I take out my camera.)  I gave this little girl my bracelet.  Sam was really fed up with me after that.

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There is one Burmese restaurant in Boston (Yoma), that we go to all the time.  While in Mae Sot, there was no shortage of restaurants where we could eat tea leaf salad and tofu curries.  Sam was thrilled because with the price of the meals (about $1/dish) he never went hungry.

Momo is one of the owners of Borderline, where we took our cooking class.

We spent a wonderful day taking the cooking class at Borderline, where they took us to the market, to a Burmese tea house where all the revolutionaries hang out and where we had a fascinating conversation with Burmese Borderline owner Momo (above) .

A woman in the market (the markings on her face indicate that she is from the Karen tribe)

In the market in Mae Sot

Sam in the Burmese cooking class

Fruits of our labors

Aiya, our favorite Burmese restaurant in Mae Sot, where we ate every day.

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Although Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand, it feels like a small town compared to Bangkok.  It is pretty, walkable, and easy to get around.  The city is marked by Doi Inthanon mountain in the distance at one end, and the Mae Ping river on the other–a local gave me that tip to always keep my bearings.  After an intense month of volunteering and trying to absorb the situation at Mae Sot, we were pretty tired and ready for a vacation.  With a week in Chiang Mai we were able to take it slow and spend a lot of time wandering around.

Our guesthouse in Chiang Mai was perfect–comfortable, clean, not expensive, run by such nice people.  Korn and his wife organized all our activities for us.  Korn even rented a tuk tuk to take us around so Jackson wouldn’t get carsick.  (He did much better in the open air tuk tuks.)

Rachamankha Flora House

We spent our first day visiting Wat Doi Suthep, the temple at the top of the mountain right outside the city.  The temple was impressive, with elements from different eras.  We wished we had a good guide with us.

This hilltribe girl makes a living for her family looking cute for tourists on the steps of Wat Doi Suthep. The boys got so mad at me for contributing to her exploitation by taking her photo.  I snapped it without thinking–she was so adorable.  Now, of course, we think more about these issues, even though the answers are not always so clearcut.

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One of the highlights of our trip was the day we spent at the Baan Chang Elephant Reserve near Chiang Mai.  We didn’t want to see dancing or watercolor-painting elephant shows, so after lots of research we settled on this under-the-radar reserve that claimed to be rescuing elephants from abusive situations.  The elephant issue isn’t simple.  Baan Chung, for example, has to buy the elephants from their owners, and needs to provide enough land for them to move around, and enough food to keep them healthy (between 125 and 175 pounds per day).  Tourists provide the funding for the elephants, but what is okay and what isn’t?  Is riding okay if it’s bareback?  Training them to be pet by visitors?  Even training them to perform if they are not being hurt in the process?

We learned so much during the 6 hours we spent almost entirely in the company of the elephants.  Jackson and I declined  riding them up the mountain, but Sam thought it was a great experience.  Jackson became attached to the baby elephant, that followed him around for his bananas.

Learning to mount the elephant

5 minutes was about enough for me!

Sam stayed on to ride the elephant up the mountain

Scratching during a break

Jackson and I decided to walk up the mountain

Jackson and I walked up the mountain ahead of the elephants.  Jackson is wearing the Mahout (elephant trainer) clothing that they had for us since we got very wet and dirty over the course of the day.

They are imposing at first, but soon we felt more comfortable getting to know them close up

Bathing the elephants

Relaxing after lunch

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