A Different Kind of Life

On a recent trip to Thailand, I went on a trekking tour just north of Chiang Mai, along the Burma-Thailand border. One of the villages we visited belonged to the Lahu tribe, and I'll never forget the day we entered the village and seeing a group of 10+ village children come rushing towards me and the rest of my trekking group.
It became quickly apparent that they led lives vastly different from ours. No electricity, no video games, no GI Joes, no Cabbage Patch Kids, No Barbies -- and no Transformers!!. Instead, the kids spend their days playing in groups outside their bamboo huts while pigs, chickens, dogs and other animals roam freely. Their faces, arms, legs and clothes get soiled as they romp around on the red-clay dirt -- meanwhile their parents watch from afar..ignoring the mess they're making. When we brought out our cameras, a delirious riot ensued -- they all wanted to get their picture taken. Apparently, there are no mirrors in the village and most rarely get to see their own faces. When they weren't clamoring to see their picture on camera, they were jumping on our backs and tugging on our arms, waiting for us to swing them around in circles through the air. When night fell, everyone in the village gathered around the campfire. The girls sang and danced to a few native folk songs, but we all had a good laugh when the boys treated us to their rendition of Jingle Bells (apparently the last group that came through had taught them). After a couple hours, the parents called them back into their huts as it was bed-time. As for us, we spent the rest of the night drinking Thai whiskey, and exchanging stories under a clear star-filled night sky. Some memories fade away easy, but the memory of this day was definately gonna stay with me for the rest of my life.