On Our Way to Chiang Dao

Thailand - as I see it.  ,

As we left Chiang Mai, in our rented car, we travelled through the bustling city with motorbikes cutting in and out, Tuk Tuk's noisely plodding along, and red taxi cabs dotting the roadways.  Activity is everywhere.  As soon as we left the Chiang Mai city area, we saw a high thin, tall smokestack and were told that that is where the bodies are burned.  The smokestack is so tall because the ashes are blown up and out, as the fire is so hot, there is nothing left.  We saw one last year when we were here which was right in a group of houses. One can only think of how many people are strewn over the area.

We travelled through fields and fields of papaya trees and banana trees.  We see miles and miles of rice paddies that are dry now and corn is planted in them during the dry season.  Vegetables and fruits of all kinds dot the landscape.  Every so often we see little stands of watermelon, papaya, bananas, mangos and other unknown fruits.  Some are cut in slices and packaged in celophane bags with a stick closing them.  10 baht, 20 baht they ask for their produce.  30 baht approximately is one US dollar.  Coconuts early and fresh are cut with macheties so that one can eat the coconut gel and drink the coconut water.   The bananas are delicious.  There are long bananas and finger bananas which are thick, short and very sweet with a chewy consistency.  Ginger grows all over Thailand and especially in the North. Beautiful flowers and flowering trees are everywhere.  Bright green, bright yellow, snowy white, light and dark pink and various shades of orange.  Bamboo trees are swaying in the breeze throughout the countryside.  It is very noticeable how good the soil is and so rich where ever you look.  After this seasons crops, the fields are burned to get ready for the next crop.  We wished we had a botanist with us to identify all the unusual flowers, trees and shrubbery.