Burma

Yesterday I had the chance to cross the river (border) and go to Burma. The occasion was the Karen New Year, hence the dancing and festivities. What I had always imagined Thailand/Burma would be like!

Lan Sang National Park

I spent last weekend out of Mae Sot again, this time at Lan Sang National Park. A group of us went camping. Get this... for the equivalent of $3.00 you get a tent, blanket, and pillow... not only that, they set up everything for you. The pics above show from the top down: a market we stopped at on the way, camping, celebrating the King of Thailand's 82nd birthday, and a hike we did. Thailand continues to blow me away.

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Some friends and I spent the weekend in Sukhothai in North Central Thailand. The Sukhothai Kingdom existed from 1238 - 1438 and has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage historical park. While there I experienced my first Thai massage, amazing.

Spelunking

Sorry for being out of touch recently...internet connection has been a bit hit and miss. This pass weekend some friends and I went caving just a few minutes North of Mae Sot. It consisted of a 20 minute walk up stairs to the mouth and then we hiked in the caves for a couple of hours. Absolutely beautiful. So big and seemingly untouched by tourists as we were the only ones walking in hundreds and hundreds of feet of open caves. Come visit and I can show you!

A couple shots...

Well, this is my first official post since I have arrived in Thailand. I slept in a bed for the first time last night, as the previous two nights were spent on the plane and then on a bus. I arrived in Bangkok on Friday morning (Bangkok time) and had to wait 8 hours for my bus to leave for Mae Sot. I finally arrived in Mae Sot on Saturday morning at 5am. Mae Sot itself is a relatively small town made up of about 50,000 people. It is considered to be one of the most diverse towns in all of Thailand as there are Thai, Burmese, and Karen refugees that live here. In addition there is quite a international presence as there are many NGOs that have offices in the city. I got a tour of the city yesterday as well as the clinic that I will be working in. I start first thing tomorrow morning at 8:00am! More updates and pics soon.

Map

Another year away

Well this will be the first of many posts for my next adventure starting in January. Thanks to the funding provided by the Whitaker Foundation I will be working in a medical clinic in Thailand. The clinic is located in a town called Mae Sot, positioned in on the West border with Burma. I begin work on November 13, 2009.