Village in Northern Thailand
Northern Thailand 2007
The Mekong River flowed past the village. Flat bottomed skiffs belonging to the villagers crowded the river bank. As we disembarked from our long boat crowds of children came to greet us. They were well-behaved but curious. We walked through the stilt-supported houses where most villagers sat outdoors sorting and drying chili peppers…a dietary staple.
“Gimme!”
A family of women worked under the shade of their thatched roofed hut. I climbed the stairs and came face to face with this woman who was no slouch when it came to asking for baksheesh. I admired her thick hair and her ability to sit on her haunches and rise unaided. It is one of my goals to always be able to rise unaided. After all, if people in the third world can do it, so can we.
Boats on the Mekong