all in a weekend

the idea of what to do for a birthday varies greatly from person to person. some people like a quiet evening with a few close friends...

or there's Avis Rideout.

founder of agape home, Avis is insanely energetic and full of compassion, which shows in the way she likes to celebrate her birthday. november 21st is the only day of the year the orphanage is closed because every single child goes to her house for a huge party. and i mean huge.first off, avis comes to agape to surprise the kids in some funky costume. last year she was a cowgirl, this year she was pipi longstocking, complete with orange painted braids that were held up with wire.

we spent the whole day watching the kids play and run around while the nannies and older kids sang karaoke to thai pop songs. the cooks from agape made heaps of awesome food for lunch and we all ate coconut ice cream for dessert. it was pretty awesome. some of the guys

even lit fireworks but seeing as it was a sunny day, there was more bang than a pretty sight. all of the kids then had a big sleep over at her house, every single kid.

wow.

well at 5am the following morning, the six of us volunteers [maiken, camilla, hanna, sarah, alice and well, me] headed out on a completely different sort of adventure. we all thought it sounded like a great idea to hop into a van with our trusty friend Noi and her family and set off for the mountains. now thailand doesn't exactly have 'the hills are alive...' epic alps, but thailand does have the most intense road i've ever been on. i even got a certificate that verifies that i have gone on the curviest road in thailand...1,864 to be kind of exact [and that was only one way].

first stop: pai [the p is pronounced like a b...don't ask me why]

a small town three hours west of chiang mai and i have never felt so at home as i did during the few moments we were there. pai is this little notch of bohemian slash art slash good coffee. i walked into a shop and damien rice was playing over head. now that may not seem of any consequence to you, but in a strange way it felt freeing. i was in city next to hills taller than houses, feeling a cool breeze and enjoying french toast and coffee and looking at the beautiful art displayed on so many walls. it was everything i loved minus the people i love, and if the latter had been there...well it would have been close to perfect. unfortunately we had an itinerary to abide by, so being yanked from my day dream, we headed off to many more sights, smells and sounds.

our destination for the night was a village type area in the mae hong son providence, a good few curves away from pai. along the way we made a few stops, one at this chinese village [random] where we took a ride on this crazy swing slash carousel thing. there was waterfall at one point and fish cave at a beautiful park.

our place of rest brought us to a glassy, serene lake and rooms that only used electricity between the hours of 6 and 9pm. we ate a feast in the dark, rice and fried omelet, veggies and other tasties. we actually had to wear long pants and sweatshirts, i almost freaked out when i realized i could see my breath. i was in the mountains and it was cold and it was wonderful.

the morning brought us freezing cold showers out of a bucket and a beautiful sunrise that was promised but never showed. we drank hot chocolate and i learned that everyone else in the world calls granola, 'muesli'.

we headed out to spend a little time of pampering, seeing as riding all day in a comfy van really wears you down, we decided we earned it. we went to a spa where we got mud masks, took pictures of us looking like silly monsters and then got thai massages. but once our faces returned to our normal state of caucasian, we set out for the real purpose of our trip...

FLOWER

MOUNTAIN.

during the later weeks of november, giant bushes full a beautiful and vibrant yellow flowers bloom everywhere. so of course we had to see it.

we saw little bushes here and there along our way but once we actually came to the main place the flowers grow, the sight look my breath away...seriously.

our entire trip was for this one purpose and it was worth it. i felt like every picture i took couldn't grasp the enormity of that place. it was a beautiful day and i just couldn't give it justice in a frame.

there was also another attraction that day...us. we only saw one other farong [foreinger] at the mountain, but the place was packed with thais everywhere at shoulder level. apparently seeing white people is just as exciting as the yellow flowers. we had more than a few people take pictures of us, including two monks. it was strangely ironic, however i would like to think i try and stay discreet when i take pictures of random people. all of us felt rather uncomfortable after awhile, it's tiring the be a circus act.

an adventure it was, my weekend came to an end with new memories and a nasty cold i just got over yesterday. if i disappear any time soon...you might find me three hours west of chiang mai.