Warning: I Drive a Motorbike

Mae Hong Son is a bit too hilly and a bit too spread out for me to ride a bicycle. Thus, as my title explains, I drive a moped. This is a first for me, but I am absolutely in love with this mode of transportation now that I've somewhat mastered it. Yesterday put my new found skills to the test in an all day excursion (by moped of course) into the mountains of the area.

For about an hour and a half we (we being myself, four other volunteers, and four Thai that we practice English with) journeyed through rice patties and jungle up winding, steep roads to the Chinese town of Mae Aw on the Thai-Burmese boarder. (Wow that was a lot of prepositions.) All the buildings in Mae Aw are made from straw and mud, and are situated surrounding a gorgeous lake. Large tubs in the front of shops display candied fruits, nuts, and teas. We were ushered into one such store and given a "Free" tea tasting. The Ginseng was excellent!

From Mae Aw we headed back down a bit and turned up another road that brought us to "Little Switzerland." You shall understand as I explain. As we rode up the mountain, the scenery suddenly changed from dense, twisting jungle to vertical, spaced out pine trees! It was quite a bizarre feeling to know that I was in Thailand, but sat by a river in a forest of pine trees that very well could have been somewhere in the Sierra's, or Switzerland.

After all that accelerating up mountains, it was time for a gas fill up. At a tiny rode side "gas station," the gas was suctioned down a clear tube from a glass container that had markings along the side for measurement. I'd never seen anything like it. But I digress.....

Last on the tour for the day was a phenomenal waterfall. Because it is the end of the rainy season however, we could not get too close. From there we headed back to the town of Mae Hong Son for some much needed refreshments.

So those were the major sights we set out to see, and as fantastic as they were, the real highlight for me was the scenery, the backdrop of this breath taking place. During the drive I had to constantly remind myself to stay focused on the road, for all I really wanted to do was try to take in everything around me. In fact the real danger probably was not my novice moped driving skills, but all the beautiful sights to be seen.

It was such great fun though - zooming up and down these mountains. Mom and Dad, sorry to say, but the inner Dare Devil emerged full force.

I should also mention that I am now a real fan of rice patties. They are absolutely awesome. First, they have a really great sent that I now can spot from afar. Second is their vibrant green color that perfectly contrasts the darker forest green of the hills behind them. And last in my obsession are the wooden huts that usually accompany rice patties, their straw roofs barely peaking out of the fields that look ready to engulf them.

OK, maybe I'm getting a bit carried away, but take away message is that rice patties not only feed a staggering proportion of the world's population. They do it with style.