Umphang

Umphang
Originally uploaded by toy ghost.

"I've dined with kings, I've been offered wings,
and I've never been too impressed." - Bob Dylan

I used to think that was a real bad-ass thing to say. I thought it seemed cool and stoic to walk through life unaffected. That attitude is linked to that self-involved "I am" conceit the Buddha talked about, and i've come to realize that it causes numbness and stagnation. I never want to run out of things i treasure and respect. As long as there are places like Umphang, i have faith it will never happen. It's a place i wouldn't mind dying- alone or with you.

Me, Sing, Gyo and Oo (told you she follows me everywhere) packed up the truck , armed ourselves with dried fish snacks and hit the road to Umphang in Western Tak. Western Tak is wildly mountainous and heavily forested. The drive was a five hour hike through the most windy mountain roads i've ever been on. Folks, you gotta REALLY want to go to Umphang. Sing and I shared the back of the truck with a rear axle of another truck, and shivered like fools when the sun went down. It's COLD up there. The only relief from the cold was when we literally drove THROUGH a forest fire. No fire service out here. They just let them burn out.

In the morning i saw why we came. We woke up in some huts by the Klong river. Before i knew it we were rafting down it, past strange fruit trees, magical birds, 4 foot-long pea pods with peas the size of crabapples, waterfalls, and forests of vines. It is simply amazing. Rainbows in the waterfalls, y'all. We stopped off at some hot springs that feed the river and took a dip. A few hours later we came to Thailand's biggest waterfall, Thilawsu. It's quite amazing. Awe-inspiring. If you're ever in the area, Umphang is totally worth the trip. Didn't see any elephants, but it doesn't matter. I've seen elephants before. Umphang rules. Just go look at the pics.

I've dined with kings, and i accept the wings graciously.