Phrae to Chiang Rai - Day 8

We leave Phrae this morning early on our way to visit a Pre-school supported by Grand Circle, of which OAT is a part.  What a wonderful experience!  When we arrived the students came to our bus with flowers/leis for each of us, and then took our hands and escorted us to the front of the school where they lined up, raised the flag and sang the national anthem for us.  Then they did about 20 minutes of exercises, each one led by a different child.  Then we went inside where they immediately split up by ages, 2, 3, and 4 year olds and began working on various projects.  There are 45 students, 3 teachers, and they have a surprisingly good facility and lots of materials.  They attend 5 days per week from 7;30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and are given lunch while there.  It is very progressive, with the children learning both Thai and English alphabets, numbers, and colors.  It was a great way to start the day.  From there we visited the local Senior Center where the Grand Circle Foundation has given them startup money to produce local crafts for sale to various clients including tourists.  By the way, average life span for women is 50-55, and for men is 70.  So-o-o  they generally think we are quite elderly!  They have even asked Marce for pictures because of her white hair.  We then visited a local family for a home hosted lunch.  This is considered “plain” food because it is what the local farm families eat.  Didn’t seem to plain to us as the entire meal was cooked and served in banana leaves and was delicious.

We are heading into the Golden Triangle, once a producing region for the opium trade, most of which has now been replaced with other crops such as pineapple, rice, bananas, papaya, and other fruits and grains.  Tourism is now very profitable as well, as this is the point where Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), and Laos meet as rivers from each country empty into the Mekong River.  The countryside is lush with green vegetation everywhere, no doubt a result of the very high humidity and regular sunshine.  After lunch we board songtaew  taxi trucks to take a ride in the nearby hills to visit what are known as the “hill tribes.”  We visited two tribes, the Yao who have lived up here for 600 years, and the Akha who have lived here for only about 50 years.  In all there are more than 20 of these hill tribes, all subsistence farmers, and each with its own culture and language.  The Yao gave us a weaving demonstration, while the Akha, dressed in their traditional costumes, did a native dance for us.  Both very colorful and interesting.  We arrived at our hotel later than usual, but it was well worth it.