My Travel Companions





Denitsa, Emmanuel and Pierre

I'm looking very fat because I'm wearing my purse and passport under my pullover.





Christmas in Tham Lod

More or less the same group of us set off today in search of the Christmas cave. We walked up and down steep hills, along deserted roads, near-vertical rocks towering above us, tufts of vegetation sprouting out of the top and sides, clumps of banana trees among the forest of trees of all shapes and sizes. Then we turned off the road onto a path so steep and slippery that it was very difficult to get a foothold. All sorts of vegetation clung to our clothes, leaving seeds, some star shaped, some like tiny needles, some round  prickly burrs, embedded in our trowsers, socks, shirts sleeves, even clingling to our bootlaces. The path went uphill steeply through thicker and thicker vegetation. Eventually someone decided that we had gone past the "turn off" to the stream, so we trudged back. I left the rest of them to keep looking and walked back to the road, where the dog, who had accompanied us, was sensibly waiting for someone to walk back with.

One of the girls came back later and said that eventually they found a cave with a river running through it. The French guys set off to find another cave and they haven't come back yet. It's getting dark . I hope they come back soon. I have bought some more of that Thai rum, coconut cream and orange juice to make that Christmas bacida that was so popular last night.

The guy who runs this place has found a branch of a fir tree and decorated it with lights. Hes also hung fairy lights from the rafters creating quite a festive atmosphere.

Tham Lod

I'm in a big airy building with teak floors, open sides and dried leaf roof. I can see green leafy tops of trees, and hear birdsong, the sound of a river and faint distant cow bells.

 I caught a local bus from Pai, that crawled up and down the steep hills, through thick forest to Soppong, then hitched a ride in a van that was bringing some people back from  Kayaking trip. There's a cave not far from  here, that I must go and investigate. This is tribal territory, Lisu, Hmong and black Hmong.