My plans are getting kinda set now. More or less ^^ - Sunday : graduation ceremony of Aom - Monday to Wednesday/Thursday : border town of Mae Sot, refugee camp of Mae La - On the 25 th : going to Laos, my visa ends. 3 weeks in Laos - March 15th : plane...

I'm still kinda stuck in Chiang Mai. But that's only because I want it, in a way ^^ I bought a really good book on the Karen and Thai-burmese border situation. It's edifying... It's Restless souls, by Phil Thornton. It's worth reading if you happen to...

I'm spending so much time with them that I take for granted so many details that you are not aware of... I'm gonna try to share them a little. Story number 1 : monks give without thinking twice They live from donations, from the alms offering, from the...

Among the Buddhist traditions, one of them is about "spiritualizing" the Buddha statues, putting a spirit in it. For this, a ceremony is held during which they open his eyes. They were covered by wax beforehand, and the head was covered by a white cloth,...

At the back of the pick-up, some glances at the roads of Thailand. And a Hello from Boi. In the refugee camp, at the wat, children at school and then just before the candy distribution

The monastery and the temple nowadays. 50 m on my right, you have a small glen, where landmines are burried. On the other side of the glen is Burma... Class room, in the wat of the refugee camp Candy distribution In the morning chill, 9am. I'm freezing....

* 6 years ago * In the mountains, in the Shan state, the Shan Army is fighting against the Tatmadaw. Obviously, the burmese soldiers eagerly blame the villagers for helping the rebels. While fighting, in the middle of the night, the Tatmadaw invades the...

Everything told here was either said directly by the leader of the camp or by Phra Sanet Being Shan, not Burmese, the people of this state is under a constant crackdown. Foreigners are only allowed to go to Tachilek, Chiang Tung and 1-2 other big cities....

The Shan state is the biggest of Burma, situated in the north-eastern part of the country. It's bordered by China, Laos and Thailand. Once upon a time, the Shan used to dominate a huge empire, influencing the Chinese emperor himself. Have you ever heard...

So here's a map of the area. Laos in the north-east, Burma in the north-west, Thailand in the South. You have Mae Sai at the northern part of Thailand, the border town, twinned with Tachilek. It's 4 hours away from Chiang Mai. But on Wednesday, we went...