The morning of the fourth day of the tour we took a Songtaew 1 hour to a Karen village, TiPuYe. The Karen people originated in Burma. We watched a “Karen Dance’ performed by a beautiful group of girls. Then we visited a classroom of young children who sang a song for us. We gave them gifts of fruit and played games. They were beautiful children!
A beautiful Karen girl dancing.
Young children watching the dance from the classroom entrance.
Some beautiful photos of the Karen children in the classroom:
After the dance and classroom visit we toured the village which is totally self-sustaining. Americans can learn from this tribe! The Queen supports traditional silk weaving in this village (pays the women a salary then sells the weavings in a Bangkok store). We had a Thai-Kare lunch which was simple and delicious.
We then traveled to Thong Pha Phum, a 40 minute drive from the village, and checked into our next lodging. Afterward we hiked up a local hilltop to visit a temple and see the view. I was huffing and puffing a bit!
The local temple. In the distance on top of the hill is another temple, the one we visited.
A beautiful green Buddha.
To get to the temple we walked across a suspension bridge that roller-coasted up and down as we walked like a bunch of drunks.
We rose early the next morning to take alms to the monks. We stood outside this restaurant and offered rice, curry and bananas to the monks. It was a moving experience for me. The monks were so humble and light. They are not allowed to earn money so they ‘beg’ for everything. The locals feed them and contribute to the upkeep of the temples.
